Asus holds a dominant position in the Indian market when it comes to high-quality laptops. They continuously expand their product line and consistently incorporate the latest CPUs into their models. Covering a wide range of pricing brackets, Asus offers options in both the Vivobook and Zenbook lineups. The Zenbook series, known for its premium offerings, has recently introduced the refreshed Zenbook 14 OLED for the year 2023.
The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED boasts a slim and lightweight design, housing the latest generation of Intel Core i5 CPU, a 2.8K OLED panel, a generous 75Whr battery, and more. We have been using this machine as our daily driver for the past two weeks and here’s our full review.
ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED UX3402VA Specification
- Processor: 13th Gen Intel Core i5-1340P
- Graphics adapter: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
- Memory: 16GB, DDR5
- Display: 14-inch 16:10, 2800 x 1800 pixels, OLED, matte panel
- Storage: 512TB NVMe M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD
- Connections: 2 x USB 3.2 gen 2 (Type C), 1 x USB 3.2 (Type A), HDMI 2.1, Mirco SD card reader
- Networking: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11b/g/n/ac/ax) (2×2), Bluetooth 5.0
- Battery: 75Wh Lithium-Polymer (4 cells)
- Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 64 Bit
- Camera: 720p 30fps, with Windows Hello support
- Additional features: Speakers: Stereo, Keyboard: 6-row chiclet, Keyboard Light: Yes
- Weight: 1.39 kg
Box Contents
A complete list of items you get inside the box:
- Asus Zenbook 14 OLED (2023)
- Laptop Bag
- Power Adapter (65W)
- Warranty and User Guide
Design
Priced at INR 92,990 for the specific SKU we reviewed, the ZenBook 14 OLED impresses with its solid construction and high-quality feel. The display lid is crafted from the same durable yet lightweight material, providing both strength and portability. The laptop boasts sharp lines on its exterior, adding a touch of character while maintaining a professional aesthetic. It’s worth noting that the ZenBook 14 OLED is available in various color options, and for our review, we received the Ponder Blue variant.
During our two weeks of usage, we found that the display unit remained stable without any wobbling issues, which can be common with ultraportable laptops. Asus has effectively distributed the weight, allowing the lid to be easily lifted with one hand. The chassis design incorporates sufficient space underneath to promote improved airflow, ensuring temperature control even in the ultraportable form factor.
Connections
When it comes to connectivity, Asus has adopted a contemporary approach, as evidenced by its choice of ports on the ZenBook 14 OLED. On the right side of the laptop, you’ll find a full-size HDMI 2.1 port, which is accompanied by two USB Type-C ports that conform to the Thunderbolt 4 standard. These versatile ports not only support Power Delivery but also serve as Display Out options, allowing you to connect external displays. Additionally, an audio combo jack and a Micro SD card reader are also located on this side.
On the left side, you’ll find a USB Type-A port that adheres to the 3.2 specifications, providing compatibility with a range of devices. Air vents for active cooling are also positioned on this side, ensuring efficient heat dissipation. Notably absent are an Ethernet port for wired internet connectivity and additional USB Type-A slots for connecting peripherals.
Software
The Asus ZenBook 14 OLED comes pre-installed with Windows 11 Home operating system, providing a modern and user-friendly interface right out of the box. Additionally, it includes a pre-installed Microsoft Office 2021 suite, ensuring productivity right from the start. It’s becoming increasingly common for laptop manufacturers to include bundled software, similar to smartphones, and Asus follows suit in this regard.
Upon initial setup, you’ll find several Asus applications already installed on the laptop. One such application is “Asus Battery Health Charging,” which takes care of power and battery management, helping to optimize the longevity of your device’s battery. Another application is “Smart Audio,” allowing users to customize audio input settings to enhance their audio experience. Additionally, the “Splendid” application is included, providing features for managing display profiles, optimizing Wi-Fi roaming, and more, enhancing the overall user experience of the laptop.
Keyboard & Touchpad
Despite its compact size, Asus has ensured that the keyboard experience on the ZenBook 14 OLED remains satisfying. While the keyboard maintains a 6-row layout, some of the rows have been adjusted in size. The keys are well-positioned, with a comfortable distance between them, allowing for efficient typing. The key’s pressure point and resistance are finely tuned, resulting in a seamless typing experience once you become accustomed to the layout.
The keyboard is backlit, and you have the option to adjust the brightness level according to your preference. The only notable absence is a dedicated numeric keypad, which has been cleverly integrated into the touchpad.
Speaking of the touchpad, Asus has equipped the ZenBook 14 OLED with a touchpad designed in the style of a numeric keypad, a feature also seen in other ZenBook models. Considering the laptop’s size, the touchpad is surprisingly spacious and offers a premium feel. It supports multi-touch gestures and utilizes Windows Precision drivers for precise and accurate tracking. As it features a numeric keypad layout, the numeric keys can be activated by pressing a button located in the top-right corner of the touchpad.
Display
One of the standout features of the ZenBook 14 OLED is its display. While Asus has previously only included OLED panels on a limited number of their laptops, the brand is now working on bringing this display technology to more affordable price points.
The laptop boasts a 14-inch 16:10 2.8K display with a resolution of 2880×1800 pixels. The side bezels are minimal, while the top bezel is slightly larger to accommodate the inclusion of the IR camera for the Windows Hello suite.
OLED displays are renowned for delivering rich and vibrant colors, as well as deep blacks. This 14-inch panel lives up to that reputation, providing stunning visuals. The display offers a decent level of brightness, with a peak brightness of 600 nits. It is Pantone calibrated and VESA certified, ensuring accurate color reproduction, and it supports the full DCI-P3 color gamut, making it an ideal choice for content creators. For those who enjoy streaming content, the display also supports the complete Dolby suite, including Dolby Vision, which enhances the viewing experience.
Asus’s Splendid Display technology makes a return in this model, allowing users to customize colors and other important display settings. Although the Pantone certification ensures accurate colors out of the box, this feature can be used for further fine-tuning if desired, although most users likely won’t find it necessary.
Performance
The ZenBook 14 OLED is available in various configurations, and the model we reviewed features the 13th Gen Intel Core i5-1340P, which is one of Intel’s latest upper-midrange processor options. This CPU is accompanied by 16GB of onboard LPDDR5 6400Mhz memory and M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD storage.
Regarding graphics, the ZenBook 14 OLED relies on integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics, which are integrated within the processor itself. In our unit, we had a 512GB NVMe M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD manufactured by WD, with the option to upgrade to a maximum capacity of 1TB. The storage performance is impressive, with average read speeds reaching up to 7,000Mb/s and write speeds exceeding 3,000Mb/s.
As for audio, the laptop is equipped with a pair of 2W Harman Kardon speakers, a feature commonly found in ZenBook series laptops. While these speakers can produce loud sound, they lack the punch required for an immersive movie-watching experience.
Battery
The ZenBook 14 OLED (2023) stands out in terms of battery performance. Despite its compact 14-inch size, this laptop boasts a sizable 75Wh 4-cell battery. During our testing, we found that the battery lasted approximately 6 hours when all networking peripherals were active. However, when the laptop was set to Airplane mode, the battery life extended to an impressive 9 hours.
Additionally, the ZenBook 14 OLED supports basic fast charging functionality. With the included 65W adapter, you can charge around 50% of the battery in less than 50 minutes.
Verdict
Our initial impressions of the Asus ZenBook 14 (2023) are highly positive. The laptop exhibits excellent craftsmanship, a premium design, and a remarkably lightweight form factor, making it highly portable. The most notable feature of this device is its stunning OLED display, which greatly appeals to creative professionals. With top-notch components such as the Core i5 processor, 6400Hz RAM, and PCIe 4.0 storage, the ZenBook 14 delivers impressive performance. However, it’s worth noting that the price of INR 92,990 at the time of this review may seem relatively high when compared to popular options like the Apple Silicon MacBook or the Dell XPS series, which are favored by professionals in this price range.
