ASUS Zenbook A14 review: A lightweight in every sense
With the Zenbook A14, ASUS has reached a new milestone of portability. It's a 14-inch laptop that weighs just 2.2 pounds, making it feel more like a tablet than a computer when you pick it up. And with its unique Ceraluminum case, which feels like a cross between ceramic and metal, the Zenbook A14 is a more viable premium notebook than LG's chintzy ultra-light Gram lineup. But there's always a tradeoff between size and power, and in this case ASUS has delivered the slowest Copilot+ PC we've seen yet. But I suppose that just makes it a true lightweight.
Now to be clear, the Zenbook A14 is a serviceable laptop for light productivity work. Since it's a Copilot+ AI PC, it comes with at least 16GB of RAM, so it can easily deal with juggling dozens of browser tabs and your typical office and photo editing apps. But the A14's Snapdragon X X1 chip limits its ability to do anything truly demanding, so don't expect it to be playing many games or rendering video. And since it's powered by that Arm chip, the Zenbook also has to run apps designed for Intel and AMD CPUs in a slower emulation. Some software won't work at all, including very old apps, and games like Fortnite that use anti-cheat software.
So while the Zenbook A14 may seem like a MacBook Air killer at first glance, it's more of a reminder of how well Apple has balanced that laptop. Sure, it's half a pound heavier, but the MacBook Air can also edit videos, render 3D and play games in a pinch. You won't feel the same sort of performance limitations you'll undoubtedly encounter on the Zenbook A14.
That being said, there's still an audience for an ultra-light, under-powered laptop. The A14 is an ideal machine for writing on the go, since you can travel with it effortlessly and it offers a whopping 18 hours and 16 minutes of battery life (according to the PCMark 10 benchmark). And let's face it, the Zenbook's sluggish gaming chops may actually boost your productivity.
I could see it being a perfect secondary computing device if you've already got a desktop or heftier laptop setup at home. And if you really just need to browse the web, reply to emails and watch the occasional video, you probably won't notice its performance issues.
The Zenbook A14 makes a startling first impression long before you see it in action. Its retail box feels alarmingly weightless, as if it only contains air and some cardboard cushioning. And once you open it up, it's hard to comprehend how a 14-inch laptop can weigh a mere 2.2-pounds. It also feels as well balanced as an artisanal chef's knife, making it easy to hold. As impressed as I was by the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 and G16 last year, the Zenbook A14 feels like a stronger example of how far the company has come from producing cheap MacBook clones.
Also adding to the Zenbook A14's overall polish is that aforementioned Ceraluminum case, which simply feels nice to hold. It's warm and inviting to touch, whereas Apple's MacBooks and most other all-metal laptops almost always feel cold (especially in heavily-chilled offices). As we've seen on other recent ASUS notebooks, Ceraluminum also feels sturdy, as there's no flex on the A14's slight frame.
The company clearly spent time fine-tuning the usability of such a light machine. Opening it up with one hand is effortless, thanks to a new hinge design that keeps the A14 from tilting backwards as you raise the screen. I've tested other light notebooks, including earlier Zenbook models, that required two hands: one to hold the computer's keyboard section down, and another to lift the display. I can tell you from experience that it's helpful to be able to flip open your computer with one hand while holding a crying kid in the other.
The Zenbook A14 sports an impressively thin profile when it's open, but it's also well-built enough to keep its screen steady when typing on your lap. That may seem like a niche point, but I've grown to despise unstable displays on lesser thin notebooks. It's yet another sign of ASUS getting the little things right in the A14.
And speaking of getting things right, I appreciated that ASUS was able to squeeze in a ton of ports: two USB-C connections, one USB Type A, a full-sized HDMI connection and a headphone jack. Apple, meanwhile, only includes two USB-C ports, a MagSafe charging connection and a headphone jack on the MacBook Air.
It's a shame that all of ASUS' thoughtful hardware design is held back by the Snapdragon X X1, an eight-core system on a chip (SOC) meant for ultra-slim and low-power devices. In benchmarks and general usage, it's clearly a much slower solution than the X Elite and X Plus chips that graced the Surface Pro and other Copilot+ systems. As I mentioned up top, that's the major compromise ASUS had to make to deliver such a slim notebook, and for some, it may be a complete dealbreaker.
The Zenbook A14 handled my basic productivity workflow just fine: browsing on Chrome and Edge with dozens of tabs, while also running Slack, Spotify and occasional photo editing apps. But in comparison to the Surface Pro and Laptop, it's like driving an entry-level car instead of a true luxury offering. And that's a shame since it's priced similarly to those PCs. Best Buy currently lists our review unit, which includes 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD, for $1,100. If those specs were paired with a better processor, I'd consider the A14 a smart purchase. Instead, it feels like a machine that should clearly be under $1,000 with 16GB of RAM and a smaller SSD.
On Edge and Chrome, I noticed slight hiccups when I was jumping between tabs and multiple windows. And those were native apps developed for Arm processors! Snapdragon chips need to emulate older x64 and x86 Windows apps, which introduces even more slowdown. While writing this review in Evernote (an x64 app), the A14 would often have trouble smoothly scrolling down long notes, and it would sometimes take a few seconds to load older notes. (Evernote owner Notion says it "does not officially support ARM processors at this time," which means users are out of luck if they encounter more significant issues.)
One upside to running a fairly slow processor? Excellent battery life. In the PCMark 10 battery benchmark, the Zenbook A14 lasted 18 hours and 16 minutes. That's around 30 minutes more than Dell's Copilot+ XPS 13 with a Snapdragon X Elite, and it's also two and a half hours longer than last year's Intel Core Ultra-powered Zenbook S14.
I appreciated the Zenbook A14 the most when I wasn't trying to benchmark it or search for its occasional slowdowns. It's a wonderful machine to grab when you just want to focus on writing, clearing out e-mail or finalizing accursed corporate training. Its keyboard is responsive and comfortable to type on, though I wish its touchpad measured clicks more accurately.
The Zenbook A14 is also great for catching up on Netflix shows in bed, since it feels practically weightless and video looks tremendous on its 14-inch OLED screen. Its speakers sound terribly tinny, though, so I'd use headphones for any serious binge-watching sessions. I was also surprised that its 1080p webcam actually produced decent footage, and it also lets you log into the A14 easily with Windows Hello IR support.
Given the combined issues of Arm compatibility and a slow processor, I wouldn't recommend the Zenbook A14 as a primary computer for most people, even though it's priced like a true MacBook Air competitor. If anything, it's a bit of an experiment by ASUS to see what compromises consumers will tolerate to get such a lightweight laptop. Instead of an impossibly light and underpowered notebook, most people would be better off with something like the Zenbook 14 OLED, which currently sells for $1,050 with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. Sure, it weighs 2.8 pounds instead of 2.2, but it's still pretty portable.
Apple's 13-inch MacBook Air, which starts at $999 with an M4 chip, is a half pound heavier than the Zenbook A14, but far more capable overall. Even the older M2 chip is faster than the Snapdragon X, and macOS has a wider selection of Arm-compatible apps, as well as faster emulation than Windows.
If ASUS' goal was to make an impressively premium ultra-light laptop, it almost got there with the Zenbook A14. While it outdoes the MacBook Air in weight and value, its slow processor makes it far less capable than Apple's ultraportable. Perhaps one day, with future revisions and more capable hardware, ASUS could finally deliver a powerful near-two-pound laptop. For now, though, you're better off waiting for a discount so the A14 can serve as a secondary PC.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/laptops/asus-zenbook-a14-review-a-lightweight-in-every-sense-133013668.html?src=rss