A showpiece for Intel’s Lunar Lake AI PC chips

ASUS’s newest Zenbook S14, very like the Zenbook 14 OLED we reviewed final December, is a strong ultraportable with one main promoting level: It is among the many first laptops to make use of Intel’s latest CPUs. On this case, it is the Core Extremely 7 258V, a processor that sits within the mid-range of the corporate’s “Lunar Lake” lineup. Whereas Intel touts these chips as its best ever, I have been inquisitive about what which means for uncooked efficiency, particularly since they prime out with simply eight cores.

Based mostly on my testing, I can affirm that the Zenbook S14 delivers the perfect battery life we have ever seen from an Intel laptop computer. It reached 16 hours and eight minutes within the PCMark 10 battery benchmark. Compared, the Zenbook S16 powered by AMD’s new Ryzen AI 9 365 chip solely hit 12 hours and 47 minutes. The Intel system’s timing is near the 17 hours and 45 minutes we noticed from the Dell XPS 13 Copilot+ , which is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite.

Whereas it is astounding to see how a lot progress Intel has made with battery life, that does include some compromises. In a couple of benchmarks, the Zenbook S14 does not rating a lot increased than Intel’s last-gen Core Extremely chips, and it is typically bested by AMD’s Ryzen AI on multithreaded duties. However, as we frequently say, benchmarks do not inform the complete story.

A beautiful ultraportable

After I reviewed the Zenbook 14 OLED a 12 months in the past, I could not assist however level out how dated it seemed. It was virtually the identical as ASUS’ laptops from a decade in the past (albeit with slimmer display screen bezels). Not so with the Zenbook S14. It is spectacular the second you open it up and really feel its lid, which is constructed with a fabric ASUS calls “Ceraluminum.” Because the title implies, it is a mixture of ceramic and aluminum, and it feels virtually uncanny, like one thing between high-end plastic and easy steel. It is nonetheless premium, however it’s additionally distinctly completely different from most different laptops.

Combining ceramics and aluminum is not precisely new — ASUS notes that it is a fashionable choice for aerospace and watch designs — however we’ve not but seen it deployed in laptops. It is not only for seems to be, both. The fabric also needs to be extra sturdy than commonplace steel. The remainder of the Zenbook 14 S’s physique is made out of a strong block of steel, however ASUS added some distinctive tweaks there as effectively. The decrease a part of the case contains a geometric grille above the keyboard, consisting of two,715 round cooling vents. ASUS claims this design enhances airflow whereas additionally maintaining dust and dirt out.

ASUS 14-inch 3K “Lumina” OLED show dominates the Zenbook S14, and it delivers every little thing I need from a contemporary laptop computer display screen. It sports activities a quick 120Hz refresh price and 500 nits of peak brightness. Whereas its bezels are comparatively skinny in comparison with older ASUS techniques, they’re nonetheless noticeably chunkier than Dell’s newest InfinityEdge screens on the XPS 13 and 14. The system would look a lot sleeker if ASUS may shave off extra of its backside and facet bezels. Most significantly, although, the OLED show seems to be wonderful, with deliciously darkish black ranges and colours that pop off the display screen.

The Zenbook S14 is surprisingly sturdy for a 14-inch laptop computer that weighs 2.65 kilos and measures 0.47 inches skinny. It is barely lighter and a hair thicker than the newest 13-inch MacBook Air, and feels equally polished. Notably, it additionally provides many extra helpful ports than Apple’s ultraportable. The S14 consists of two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C connections, a full-sized HDMI 2.1 port, a headphone jack and even an old-school USB Kind-A port. The one factor it is lacking is Ethernet and an SD card slot.

Sadly, ASUS could not get every little thing proper with the Zenbook S14. Its quad-speaker audio system is serviceable, however the sound loses any type of depth and element as you ramp up the quantity. And whereas it is good to have a Home windows Hiya-compatible webcam for quick logins, the 1080p sensor seems to be far grainier and fewer detailed than Dell’s XPS line and the MacBook Air.

Its keyboard additionally feels merely serviceable, with little responsive suggestions whereas typing. That’s a selected disgrace, since that’s been a continuing criticism we’ve had with ASUS keyboards. At the very least the touchpad is giant and conscious of swipes and multi-finger gestures. You may as well regulate the quantity and different settings by sliding your finger alongside the perimeters of the touchpad.

In use: Succesful, however do not stress it

Due to Intel’s Core Extremely 7 258V chip, the Zenbook S14 felt impressively zippy from the beginning. I breezed by way of the Home windows setup course of, downloaded the most recent updates and put in my standard testing packages in just some minutes. It did not sweat at any time when I wanted to leap between apps like Spotify, Slack and Evernote, and I did not discover any of the lag I typically see on Home windows notebooks slowed down by third-party bloatware. It was at all times able to get work completed.

In PCMark 10, the Zenbook S14 scored virtually precisely the identical because the Floor Laptop computer 7 for Enterprise, which makes use of the last-gen Core Extremely 7 165H. It additionally matched the XPS 13 Copilot+ version, which had a Snapdragon X Elite chip, within the PCMark 10 Purposes benchmark. The Zenbook’s multithreaded efficiency was noticeably worse than both of these machines in Geekbench 6, doubtless as a result of lowered core depend this technology.

The large promoting level for Intel’s Lunar Lake chips is their dramatically improved NPU (neural processing unit), which might attain as much as 47 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) of AI efficiency. Compared, the earlier Core Extremely chips had a considerably much less highly effective 11 TOPS NPU, whereas AMD’s new Ryzen AI chips attain as much as 50 TOPS. (Extra highly effective Lunar Lake chips can hit as much as 48 TOPS.) Larger TOPS figures means Copilot+ PCs just like the Zenbook S14 will be capable of sort out demanding AI workloads extra shortly, with out impacting total CPU efficiency.

Sadly, there nonetheless aren’t a ton of AI options to check on the time of this evaluation. Microsoft’s Copilot+ Home windows 11 replace for Intel and AMD techniques is not arriving till November, and even that may solely embody a beta model of the controversial Recall function. It is also arduous to search out apps that benefit from an area NPU — most entries within the Home windows Retailer “AI Hub” depend on cloud AI processing.

At the very least there’s Audacity’s OpenVino plugin, which Intel developed to point out off its AI PC {hardware}. It provides NPU-powered options like noise suppression and transcription, however it additionally requires an concerned setup course of that could be complicated to Audacity novices. I used to be capable of fully take away incessant jackhammering from a five-minute clip in a single minute and eight seconds utilizing the NPU alone. That is not very quick on the earth of audio enhancing (CPU rendering can sort out a noise-filled 90 minute file in three minutes and thirty seconds), however what’s secret is that the NPU handles the identical work utilizing little or no energy. That might be necessary for those who’re caught enhancing on battery in a airplane or distant location.

I used to be additionally impressed by Intel’s newest Arc 140V GPU, which let me play Halo Infinite between 35 fps and 45 fps in 1080p with low high quality graphics settings. That is removed from a easy expertise, however it’s fascinating to see it from a built-in GPU. Intel’s graphics additionally scored effectively above the Snapdragon X Elite throughout the board, particularly within the Geekbench 6 GPU take a look at.

Pricing and the competitors

ASUS launched the Zenbook S14 with a beginning value of $1,500, however it’s already barely discounted at Finest Purchase for $1,400. That configuration will get you a Core Extremely 7 chip, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. That’s not too shabby, contemplating the XPS 13 Copilot+ system with a Snapdragon X Elite prices $1,800 when outfitted with 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and an OLED show. The Zenbook additionally doesn’t have the compatibility points inherent with Snapdragon techniques, which must emulate older Home windows apps and may’t run many fashionable video games in any respect.

As standard, ASUS additionally delivers much more worth than Apple. A MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD prices $1,700, and that’s additionally caught with a 60Hz LCD display screen.

Wrap-up

The Zenbook S14 leans extra on effectivity than uncooked energy, however it’s nonetheless an unbelievable achievement for Intel, an organization that was notorious for energy-devouring cell chips. Whereas the Lunar Lake chip’s NPU makes the Zenbook prepared for Copilot+ and AI options, its true promoting factors are its wonderful battery life, slick ASUS design and beautiful OLED show.