The new ASUS VivoBook S series focuses on the younger crowd with its colorful laptops, which not only look good, but also do an outstanding job when it comes to productivity. We recently received the white version of the ASUS VivoBook S14 S433 for a review, though the laptop is available in four different colours such as Gaia Green, Resolute Red, Dreamy White and Indie Black.
Inside the box, the laptop accompanies a few accessories, that include a squarish power adapter which is smaller than most laptop power adapters you see on market. You also get some paperwork including the warranty information, the quick start guide and an envelop that says “Wow the World”, which includes some stickers that can be used to customize your VivoBook S14.
The VivoBook S14 S433 comes with a 14-inch display. Since the laptop’s bezels measure 5.7mm thin, you get a screen-to-body ratio of 85%. The display also comes with an video tuning system called ASUS Tru2Life Video technology that works like those found in high-end TVs. According to ASUS, Tru2Life Video enhances clarity, colour, and contrast in video.
The body of the laptop is made of aluminum alloy, with 3D nano-printing technology to provide a smooth surface. The VivoBook weighs 1.4-kgs and measures around 15.9mm in thickness. The laptop is so thin and light that it can easily slip into a messenger bag or backpack, so you can easily carry it around. Structurally, the VivoBook S14 S433 feels pretty though.
Open up the laptop and you see a gorgeous backlit keyboard with a yellow Gen Z Enter key, which adds a sort of an abstract design to the whole concept. The keys of the VivoBook S14 feature a subtle 0.15 mm dish-shaped indentation and 1.4 mm key travel, which ASUS claims is the longest in its class of business laptops. The keyboard is quite comfortable to use. You also get a fingerprint reader near the touchpad for added security.
Under the hood, the ASUS VivoBook S14 S433 is powered by an Intel 10th Gen Core i7-10510U processor running at a clock speed of 1.8GHz. You also get 8GB of RAM 512GB of PCIe 3.0 M.2 SSD storage to boot. Graphics on the laptop is handled by NVIDIA MX250 graphics with 2GB of dedicated GDDR5.
In terms of wireless connectivity, you get up to Intel WiFi 5 with Gig+ (802.11ac) and Bluetooth 5.0. There’s also a HD camera on top of the display for all your online video meetings during the “work from home” phase and beyond. When it comes to I/O ports, you get plenty of options.
On the left edge, you get the power port, an HDMI port, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, a USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port, and a 3.5mm combo audio jack. On the right edge, you get a microSD card reader slot and two USB 2.0 ports, with the power and battery LED indicators.
The VivoBook S14 S433 also comes with a special hinge called Ergolift, which lifts up bottom case when the lid is opened to improve typing comfort, hardware cooling and sound. The laptop comes with a 50 wh lithium-polymer battery, which offered around 13 hours of batter life on a single charge. It also supports fast charging – so you can go from 0% to 60% of battery capacity in about 49 minutes.
The audio system of the new VivoBook S14 S433 has been tuned by experts from the ASUS Golden Ear team and is certified by audio specialists Harman Kardon. In terms of audio presets, you get four inside the ASUS AudioWizard software. The presets include Music, Movie, Gaming, and Recording/Speech. You also get a Manual mode, if you would like to play around with the settings to create your own preset.
We were able to play with the device for around two weeks and I have to say I am impressed. The laptop not only offers good design and build quality, but it also offers good performance. We did not run into issues while multi-tasking, playing games or working on graphics intensive tasks such as editing and rendering a video file.
All in all, the ASUS VivoBook S14 S433 is a stylish laptop that offers you to customise the overall external looks as per your requirements. It also offer a nice performance and efficiency ratio, all the while offering good battery life. If you are road warrior, and looking to buy a light weight laptop to carry around, the ASUS VivoBook S14 S433 could fit your bill.
Price: AED 3,499
Photographs by Ranbir Sen
