The ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406SA stands out in the ultrabook landscape, offering a combination of premium design, innovative AI features, and exceptional performance.
Build Quality and Design
The Zenbook S 14 UX5406SA’s premium design is highlighted by its sleek lines, lightweight magnesium-aluminium alloy construction, and distinctive “Ceraluminum” finish. Its slim 13.9mm profile adds to its portability and aesthetic appeal.
The Zenbook S 14 UX5406SA features an industry-first ceramisation process that transforms aluminium into solid, scratch-resistant ceramic. Ceraluminum combines ceramic’s durability with metal’s lightweight properties, offering unmatched longevity.
The high-tech ceramic finish is available in nature-inspired colours, Zumaia Gray and Scandinavian White, which adds a touch of sophistication to the Zenbook S 14 UX5406SA’s design. The Zenbook S 14 UX5406SA’s premium CNC unibody construction measures just 1.1 cm thick and weighs a mere 1.2 kilograms, making it the smallest 14-inch laptop on the market.
AI Features
The Zenbook S 14’s standout feature is its integration of AI capabilities, powered by Intel’s Lunar Lake processors. These processors enhance the laptop’s performance in various ways, such as improving audio clarity through AI-driven noise cancellation and optimising battery life with AI-enhanced power management.
The Zenbook S 14’s integration of Windows Copilot offers a personalized AI assistant that streamlines tasks and boosts productivity. By learning user preferences, Windows Copilot provides tailored assistance for scheduling meetings, setting reminders, and finding files.
In addition to Windows Copilot, the Zenbook S 14 leverages AI-powered features within Windows itself. These include AI-driven search for more accurate results and AI-enhanced security for enhanced protection. AI also optimizes performance, ensuring smooth multitasking.
The ultrabook also comes packed with ASUS StoryCube, a powerful tool that lets you create and share captivating multimedia stories with ease. Leveraging AI, StoryCube automatically organises photos and videos into engaging narratives, adding music and transitions for a professional touch. It’s a great option for content creators and casual users alike, simplifying the process of producing high-quality content.
Hardware
Powered by up to the latest Intel Core Ultra 9 processor (Series 2) with SoC design, it boasts a 27% smaller motherboard for improved cooling efficiency. The integrated LPDDR5X DRAM offers higher bandwidth and lower latency for enhanced performance and stability.
With up to 32GB of RAM and a 1TB PCIe4.0 NVMe SSD, the Zenbook S 14 provides ample storage and memory. Its versatile connectivity options include Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.1, USB 3.2, and WiFi 7. The 72-watt-hour battery ensures long-lasting power for all-day productivity.
Display
The ASUS Zenbook S 14 features a 16:10 14-inch OLED HDR NanoEdge display with 2880-by-1800 resolution, providing you with a sharp visual experience. The OLED display of the ASUS Zenbook S 14 supports a 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio, up to 500-nits peak brightness, and 0.0005 nits of deep black brightness, providing creators with a brighter and more detailed viewing. Along with an ultrawide colour gamut of 100% DCI-P3 and HDR content support, the display is also certified VESA DisplayHDR 500 True Black, Dolby Vision and is Pantone Validated, assuring accurate colour and high dynamic contrast.
Keyboard and Touchpad
The keyboard of the Zenbook S 14 achieves a 19.5 mm pitch (the distance between the middle of a key to the middle of an adjacent key) and offers many commonly used function keys, enabling users to type comfortably. The keyboard is backlit for convenient typing in dark environments such as flights.
In addition, the keys of the ASUS Zenbook S 14 series feature a subtle 0.1 mm dish-shaped indentation and 1.1 mm key travel — the longest of its class of laptops. The dish-shaped indentation subtly guides fingers onto the keys and the long key travel provides better feedback. Together, these features improve typing accuracy and replicate the comfort of using a desktop PC keyboard.
The ASUS Zenbook S 14 features a new ergonomic touchpad measuring 127.0-by-79.17 mm. This touchpad includes a hydrophobic coating and a high-end PVD anti-fingerprint coating, providing users with smooth feedback for every scrolling movement and ensuring excellent resistance to wear and tear. Even after more than 10,000 slides, the touchpad remains as smooth as new.
Additionally, the touchpad has an optimal click depth of 0.23 mm, offering a great feel with natural feedback. This design also significantly reduces unintended activations. The ErgoSense touchpad supports multitouch gestures in Windows, so you can use three- or four-finger shortcuts to launch frequently-used applications or functions, enabling users to quickly access commonly used settings and apps.
Cooling Features
The Zenbook S 14 is incredibly thin at just 1.1 centimetres, half the thickness of a typical 28W ultraportable. Despite its slim design, the Zenbook S 14 does not compromise on cooling. It features an advanced cooling system that efficiently dissipates heat, ensuring the laptop remains cool even during intensive tasks.
This system includes dual fans, a 0.7 mm ultra-slim vapour chamber, and a geometric grille design. These components work together to ensure the laptop reaches an optimal 28-watt TDP without throttling. The ambient cooling technology helps maintain whisper-quiet operation, keeping noise levels below 25 dB during light workloads.
WiFi 7
Connectivity is another strong suit of the Zenbook S 14, thanks to its support for WiFi 7. This latest wireless standard provides faster speeds, lower latency, and improved reliability compared to previous generations. The benefit of the Wi-Fi 7 is a potential maximum data rate of almost 5.8 Gbps.
This is 4.8X faster than the Gbps-level Wi-Fi 6/6E and could easily enable high-quality 8K video streaming or reduce a massive 15 GB file download to roughly 25 seconds vs. the one minute it would take with the best legacy Wi-Fi technology. It also has an ASUS-exclusive WiFi SmartConnect feature, which provides greater distance, stability, and seamless wireless network experiences for users.
AiSense Camera
The AiSense camera is designed to enhance video conferencing experiences. It features AI-driven enhancements such as background blurring, auto-framing, and lighting adjustments, ensuring you always look your best during calls. The camera also supports facial recognition for secure and convenient login.
Performance
Our review unit of the Zenbook S 14 was powered by Intel’s Core Ultra 7 258V processor, paired with 32GB of LPDDR5x RAM and a 1TB SSD. This configuration delivered excellent performance for everyday tasks, multitasking, and even some light gaming. The integrated Intel Arc 140V graphics provide a boost for graphics-intensive applications, making it a versatile machine for both work and play.
Verdict
The ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406SA is a well-rounded ultrabook that excels in multiple areas. Its premium build quality, innovative AI features, and robust performance make it a compelling choice for professionals and casual users alike. The advanced cooling system, stunning OLED display, and support for WiFi 7 further enhance its appeal.
While it comes with a premium price tag, the features and performance justify the investment. If you’re in the market for a high-end ultrabook that combines style, functionality, and cutting-edge technology, the Zenbook S 14 UX5406SA is worth considering.
Price: AED 7999
ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406SA (2024 Edition) AED 7999
-
Final Rating
Summary
The ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406SA is a well-rounded ultrabook that excels in multiple areas. Its premium build quality, innovative AI features, and robust performance make it a compelling choice for professionals and casual users alike.
