Asus Vivobook S 14 OLED Review: A Light And Compact Power Player
Features include a Ryzen 7535HS processor, an integrated GPU, lightweight chassis and decent battery life
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ASUS has been a major player in India’s laptop market for some time now and by the looks of it, its positioning only seems to be growing stronger. While competitors like Dell and HP remain top sellers, ASUS is fighting tooth and nail by offering new and innovative products to Indian consumers. Its latest, the Vivobook S 14 is a good example of the company’s drive of besting itself every year.
This Vivobook S 14 aims to bring high-end specs to a wider audience. Offering features such as a 14-inch OLED screen, an RGB keyboard and most importantly AMD’s all-new AI processor, the laptop is proving to be a worthy contender in the 14-inch AI laptop segment.
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Let’s cut straight to the point. The choice of the Ryzen 7535HS processor might be a topic of discussion. We all know that Intel’s Core Ultra processors are the talk of the town at the moment. Despite that, Asus’ decision to go for an AMD CPU does raise eyebrows. However, the Vivobook S 14 stands out as an impressive device overall.
This laptop is designed in a way that it is not just a computer, it is a holistic companion, a jack of all trades, if you will. Crafted with aluminium alloy, the Vivobook S 14 gracefully unfolds up to 180 degrees with a hinge so subtle, that it doesn’t really stand out. the laptop weighs just 1.3 kilograms and is only 1.3cm thick. The minimalist aesthetic is dialled in just perfectly into the overall design. The 16:10, 14-inch OLED panel is framed by bezels so thin that they’re hardly visible. For those concerned about privacy, there’s also a webcam shutter. Oh, and do not forget the new Co-pilot key on the keyboard.
Connectivity is not an issue with this device at all. As far as I/O ports are concerned, we see an HDMI 2.1 port, a pair of USB 3.2 Type-C and USB 3.2 Type-A ports, a microSD card slot and last but not least, the good old 3.5mm audio port. Apart from these, we also witness discreet LEDs that keep users informed on charging status. It’s all well-designed.
But wait, there’s more. The back and bottom are not just for show; they contain the vents and speakers from Harman-Kardon. It’s the kind of laptop that doesn’t just try to perform; it also tries to impress.
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The Ryzen 5 7535HS processor has a hexacore CPU that supports 12 threads. The laptop offers 16GB LPDDR5X RAM at 6,400MHz clubbed with a 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD out of the box.
In practical terms, we used the laptop to edit photos (Raw), work on videos (1080P), work on Microsoft Office and do everyday tasks like emailing, streaming content and opening a hundred tabs on Google Chrome all at once. Not only this, we also played games like BGMI and Valorant on high graphics. Overall, the laptop is capable enough to impress anyone who is looking for an all-rounder machine that is easy to handle, convenient to carry and powerful enough to take on tasks head-on.
In terms of thermal management, the Asus Vivobook S14 OLED handles heat pretty well. In an idle state, the laptop stays at around 50-55 degrees and while playing BGMI on high graphics, it topped out at 95 degrees. Apart from this, the laptop is shock tested, high temperature tested, vibration tested and even high altitude tested.
The 75-watt-hour battery offers a run time of about 10 years in regular use and up to 6 hours if there are demanding tasks being undertaken such as video editing or gaming.
Well, the answer to this question is an absolute yes. The Asus Vivobook S 14 is a fabulous machine simply due to the fact that it is a multi-faceted PC that can potentially be used for anything that a laptop user can think of. Be it writing articles on Word documents, filling data in spreadsheets, streaming content on OTT platforms and even light to moderate gaming, the Vivobook S 14 can handle it all. Not only this, video and photo editing are also smooth in the Vivobook S 14, meaning that creators are going to have a good time using this machine.
Throwing terms like NPU, on-device AI processing and AI workload makes no sense at all if you don’t understand what they mean. In simple terms, the laptop can operate much more efficiently without putting the CPU under too much duress since it has an NPU. This also leads to better battery power which eventually translates into better overall performance.
At the end of the day, utility is what we are looking for in laptops. Be it consumer laptops like the Vivobook and the Zenbook or be it business laptops like Asus’ Expertbook series, it comes down to plain and simple utility and the S 14 has an abundance of it. The Vivobook S 14 OLED (M5406) is priced at a competitive Rs 89,999 in a bid to make it more accessible to a wider audience making it a great buying option for those who can’t do without good specs, performance, reliability and portability that too without breaking the proverbial bank.
The future of AI-powered PCs is surely going to be interesting. We’re witnessing laptops from Intel, AMD and even Snapdragon. Copilot+ PCs have hit the markets as well. It will be fascinating to see how well (or not) these AI-enabled PCs perform against each other, especially given the fact that they are all going for the same prize and the same target audience.
