is on sale for $599 at Best Buy for the 16GB model. That’s a $400 discount on one of the best laptops we’ve tested this year.
When Asus officially announced the Zenbook A14
Once the display is turned on, however, whatever jumpscare you just saw is quickly forgotten, as it delivers a brilliant image: contrast is crisp, colors are vivid, and it’s bright, at 600 nits and a full HD+ (1920 x 1200) resolution that pairs well with the speedy performance.
Also: I switched to the Dell 14 Premium for a week, and it makes even the XPS feel outdated
Speaking of performance, let’s discuss the tech that powers this device. Asus again focused on balance, pairing the base-level Qualcomm Snapdragon X processor with the 32GB RAM configuration and the slightly faster Snapdragon X Plus with the lower-end, 16GB RAM configuration.
This balancing act results in a slightly unintuitive pricing structure: the laptop with the higher-end processor is cheaper ($999) as it comes with half the memory (which is what you’re really paying for). The version with more RAM and the lower-end Snapdragon X processor starts at $1,099.
Hands down, the best part of this laptop is the outstanding battery life. Asus advertises up to 32 hours on a single charge. Although that’s the top end of the estimation, it’s not far off from what you can expect with everyday use. During my testing, a day’s work in the office didn’t take me down past 50%.
The Snapdragon X processor reduces power consumption to a trickle when it’s not in use. If you do need juice, the A14 charges quickly, reaching close to 75% after just an hour of charging. This capability translates to a laptop that can last a couple of days’ work on one charge, even if that includes multiple video calls.
Also: I’m a Windows user, but the MacBook Air M4 could be my new primary laptop at this price
I’ll also mention a few of the drawbacks of this laptop (but there aren’t many). The first is that the Qualcomm Adreno GPU on this system is not designed for high-end gaming. Sure, it can certainly handle casual games. But this isn’t a device made for the latest FPS.
Also, the display, while it looks great, is still capped at a 60Hz refresh rate, which keeps the battery (and price point) low but further limits any aspirations of high-end gaming. Ultimately, while the Zenbook A14 is competitively priced, this is not a $1,500 laptop.
The Zenbook A14, when not on sale, is fairly competitive — if Asus succeeds in selling this laptop’s brand story in a way that positions it as an alternative to other ultraportable, such as Apple’s MacBook Air.
We awarded the Asus Zenbook A14 an Editors’ Choice because it combines a sleek, ultraportable form factor with a balanced design and approachable price point. This laptop looks as good as it performs and balances the right amount of hardware for the everyday user looking for a versatile laptop for work and play. For this set of use cases, it’s the best in its class.
Source : ZDNet
