Asus Zenbook 14 (Snapdragon X UX3480Q) review: light, stylish, and surprisingly affordable

Asus is back with a brand new Zenbook 14, and once again with a Snapdragon X chipset. However, unlike the much pricier Zenbook A14 that was launched back in the Spring, this new Zenbook 14 is only £799.99.

And, seemingly, all that's different is a smaller battery, less storage, and a missing 'A' in the title. So you get the same professional look and feel, a light chassis, and a full set of features and capabilities. On paper, it seems perfect for the office.

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Asus Zenbook 14: Design

There is something very professional about the Zenbook 14; from its choice of colors to its smart iconography, everything is understated and stylish. It has a sort of pastel finish across the lid and an all-metal build that features a high-tech 'Ceramic Ceraluminium' material – essentially aluminium with a ceramic-style finish. This is both shock- and smudge-resistant.

A choice of striking colors can adorn the lid, chassis, and keys. We have the blue-gray model, which looks well suited to office work. There are also 'Zabriskie Beige' and 'Coral' (pink) variants, but the blue is probably the most sensible.

Lightness is key; it only weighs 1.10kg and is merely 0.55 in thick. It slips in and out of a rucksack with ease and barely registers when you pick up said rucksack. And, more and more on notebooks, we are seeing easy-to-lift lids; this is the case with the Zenbook 14 thanks to a new hinge that allows for the 'optimal torque'. So it's easy to carry and easy to open.

Asus Zenbook 14: Display, keyboard, and trackpad

Open the lid of the Zenbook 14, and you will see a pretty 14in WUXGA OLED display with a 1920 x 1200 resolution. There are some fairly thick bezels, particularly at the top where a 1080p webcam is housed, but it isn't too noticeable.

With our colorimeter, we measured peak brightness at 302.96 cd/m2, which is great for a laptop. The Zenbook was perfectly adaptable to most lighting conditions, and its adaptive brightness works so well you don't even notice it changing.

Color-wise, the Zenbook's 14in display is a high performer with 100% for sRGB color coverage and a whopping 169.4% volume. These scores were higher than the recently tested, and more expensive, Acer Swift Air. Add to that the 92.6% score for Adobe, and you have a super display for photo editing on the go.

Under the display, you have a chiclet keyboard on the Zenbook 14, with large, excimer-coated keycaps that are built to last. These have plenty of travel (1.7mm) and a nice feel when typing. There's no liberties taken with the layout, though the volume controls are far left along the function row.

Below the keyboard is an ErgoSense touchpad, with many gesture and finger-swiping controls. Most of these are standard laptop controls now, but there is simplicity to the way the Zenbook has incorporated them. Switching apps is pretty seamless with the three-finger gesture. The trackpad itself is nice and responsive, though it is a touch noisy with clicks.

Asus Zenbook 14: Specs and Performance

Arguably, the area where the new Zenbook 14 has managed to save some money is in performance and storage. So you get the Snapdragon X processor, rather than the X2 Elite found in the A14. You also only get 16GB of RAM, rather than 32GB. You do, however, get the Qualcomm Hexagon NPU with up to 45TOPS, which does sound a little more premium.

In Geekbench 7, the Zenbook's single-core scores were not as impressive as we hoped, bringing back just 1,324. The multi-threaded score was more to our expectations, with a mighty 10,547. But these are not the best benchmarks around for a Windows machine.

Similarly, the 3-cell Li-ion battery promises up to 18 hrs of web browsing, according to Asus, but only lasted 10hrs, 13mins in our looped video test. Admittedly, it did last for much longer during work, making it through a whole shift without needing a charge. But still, we did expect a little more.

Asus Zenbook 14: Features

For ports, the Zenbook is adequately stocked with two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C ports, one for display and the other for transfers, with data speeds up to 10Gbps. There is a more traditional USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A on the left of the chassis, with data speed up to 5Gbps. And you also have a 3.5mm Audio Jack and an HDMI 2.1 port. An SD card reader would have been nice, but all the same, there is enough here for the average desk setup.

There are also a number of software extras included, such as the Microsoft Pluton Passkeys, which are built into the CPU for security. Asus also bundles in its own apps – GlideX, ScreenXpert, MyASUS, and StoryCube – which are all useful in various ways. MyASUS, for example, offers features to control fan speed or filter out external noise from your microphone.

Asus Zenbook 14: Is it worth it?

If you were a fan of the Zenbook A14, but not so keen on the cost, then the Zenbook 14 is a great office laptop. It has a beautiful display, a stylish build, and it's very light, all for just £799.99.

The main trade-offs are an older Snapdragon chipset and lower RAM and storage options. The battery is also not as good, though it can get you through a standard working day. Not the best Zenbook around, but it is a dependable office laptop.

Asus Zenbook 14 specifications