A showpiece for Intel’s Lunar Lake AI PC chips

ASUS’s newest Zenbook S14, very like the Zenbook 14 OLED we reviewed final December, is a stable ultraportable with one main promoting level: It is among the many first laptops to make use of Intel’s latest CPUs. On this case, it is the Core Extremely 7 258V, a processor that sits within the mid-range of the corporate’s “Lunar Lake” lineup. Whereas Intel touts these chips as its best ever, I have been interested by what meaning for uncooked efficiency, particularly since they prime out with simply eight cores.

Primarily based on my testing, I can verify that the Zenbook S14 delivers the most effective battery life we have ever seen from an Intel laptop computer. It reached 16 hours and eight minutes within the PCMark 10 battery benchmark. As compared, the Zenbook S16 powered by AMD’s new Ryzen AI 9 365 chip solely hit 12 hours and 47 minutes. The Intel system’s timing is near the 17 hours and 45 minutes we noticed from the Dell XPS 13 Copilot+ , which is powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite.

Whereas it is astounding to see how a lot progress Intel has made with battery life, that does include some compromises. In just a few benchmarks, the Zenbook S14 does not rating a lot larger than Intel’s last-gen Core Extremely chips, and it is usually bested by AMD’s Ryzen AI on multithreaded duties. However, as we frequently say, benchmarks do not inform your entire story.

A beautiful ultraportable

After I reviewed the Zenbook 14 OLED a yr in the past, I could not assist however level out how dated it regarded. It was virtually the identical as ASUS’ laptops from a decade in the past (albeit with slimmer display bezels). Not so with the Zenbook S14. It is spectacular the second you open it up and really feel its lid, which is constructed with a cloth ASUS calls “Ceraluminum.” Because the identify implies, it is a mixture of ceramic and aluminum, and it feels nearly uncanny, like one thing between high-end plastic and clean steel. It is nonetheless premium, but it surely’s additionally distinctly completely different from most different laptops.

Combining ceramics and aluminum is not precisely new — ASUS notes that it is a widespread choice for aerospace and watch designs — however we have not but seen it deployed in laptops. It isn’t only for seems to be, both. The fabric must also be extra sturdy than normal steel. The remainder of the Zenbook 14 S’s physique is made out of a stable block of steel, however ASUS added some distinctive tweaks there as effectively. The decrease a part of the case encompasses a geometric grille above the keyboard, consisting of two,715 round cooling vents. ASUS claims this design enhances airflow whereas additionally maintaining dust and mud out.

ASUS 14-inch 3K “Lumina” OLED show dominates the Zenbook S14, and it delivers every little thing I would like from a contemporary laptop computer display. It sports activities a quick 120Hz refresh price and 500 nits of peak brightness. Whereas its bezels are comparatively skinny in comparison with older ASUS techniques, they’re nonetheless noticeably chunkier than Dell’s newest InfinityEdge screens on the XPS 13 and 14. The system would look a lot sleeker if ASUS may shave off extra of its backside and facet bezels. Most significantly, although, the OLED show seems to be wonderful, with deliciously darkish black ranges and colours that pop off the display.

The Zenbook S14 is surprisingly sturdy for a 14-inch laptop computer that weighs 2.65 kilos and measures 0.47 inches skinny. It is barely lighter and a hair thicker than the newest 13-inch MacBook Air, and feels equally polished. Notably, it additionally presents many extra helpful ports than Apple’s ultraportable. The S14 consists of two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C connections, a full-sized HDMI 2.1 port, a headphone jack and even an old-school USB Sort-A port. The one factor it is lacking is Ethernet and an SD card slot.

Sadly, ASUS could not get every little thing proper with the Zenbook S14. Its quad-speaker audio system is serviceable, however the sound loses any kind of depth and element as you ramp up the amount. And whereas it is good to have a Home windows Whats up-compatible webcam for quick logins, the 1080p sensor seems to be far grainier and fewer detailed than Dell’s XPS line and the MacBook Air.

Its keyboard additionally feels merely serviceable, with little responsive suggestions whereas typing. That’s a specific disgrace, since that’s been a relentless criticism we’ve had with ASUS keyboards. Not less than the touchpad is giant and aware of swipes and multi-finger gestures. You too can regulate the amount and different settings by sliding your finger alongside the perimeters of the touchpad.

In use: Succesful, however do not stress it

Because of Intel’s Core Extremely 7 258V chip, the Zenbook S14 felt impressively zippy from the beginning. I breezed by means of the Home windows setup course of, downloaded the newest updates and put in my common testing applications in only a few minutes. It did not sweat each time I wanted to leap between apps like Spotify, Slack and Evernote, and I did not discover any of the lag I usually see on Home windows notebooks slowed down by third-party bloatware. It was all the time able to get work performed.

In PCMark 10, the Zenbook S14 scored nearly precisely the identical because the Floor Laptop computer 7 for Enterprise, which makes use of the last-gen Core Extremely 7 165H. It additionally matched the XPS 13 Copilot+ version, which had a Snapdragon X Elite chip, within the PCMark 10 Functions benchmark. The Zenbook’s multithreaded efficiency was noticeably worse than both of these machines in Geekbench 6, doubtless because of the diminished core rely this technology.

The large promoting level for Intel’s Lunar Lake chips is their dramatically improved NPU (neural processing unit), which may attain as much as 47 TOPS (trillions of operations per second) of AI efficiency. As compared, the earlier Core Extremely chips had a considerably much less highly effective 11 TOPS NPU, whereas AMD’s new Ryzen AI chips attain as much as 50 TOPS. (Extra highly effective Lunar Lake chips can hit as much as 48 TOPS.) Greater TOPS figures means Copilot+ PCs just like the Zenbook S14 will have the ability to sort out demanding AI workloads extra rapidly, with out impacting total CPU efficiency.

Sadly, there nonetheless aren’t a ton of AI options to check on the time of this evaluation. Microsoft’s Copilot+ Home windows 11 replace for Intel and AMD techniques is not arriving till November, and even that can solely embrace a beta model of the controversial Recall characteristic. It is also laborious to seek out apps that make the most of a neighborhood NPU — most entries within the Home windows Retailer “AI Hub” depend on cloud AI processing.

Not less than there’s Audacity’s OpenVino plugin, which Intel developed to point out off its AI PC {hardware}. It presents NPU-powered options like noise suppression and transcription, but it surely additionally requires an concerned setup course of that could be complicated to Audacity novices. I used to be in a position to fully take away incessant jackhammering from a five-minute clip in a single minute and eight seconds utilizing the NPU alone. That is not very quick on this planet of audio enhancing (CPU rendering can sort out a noise-filled 90 minute file in three minutes and thirty seconds), however what’s secret’s that the NPU handles the identical work utilizing little or no energy. That might be essential in the event you’re caught enhancing on battery in a aircraft or distant location.

I used to be additionally impressed by Intel’s newest Arc 140V GPU, which let me play Halo Infinite between 35 fps and 45 fps in 1080p with low high quality graphics settings. That is removed from a clean expertise, but it surely’s fascinating to see it from a built-in GPU. Intel’s graphics additionally scored effectively above the Snapdragon X Elite throughout the board, particularly within the Geekbench 6 GPU check.

Pricing and the competitors

ASUS launched the Zenbook S14 with a beginning worth of $1,500, but it surely’s already barely discounted at Greatest Purchase for $1,400. That configuration will get you a Core Extremely 7 chip, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. That’s not too shabby, contemplating the XPS 13 Copilot+ system with a Snapdragon X Elite prices $1,800 when geared up with 16GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD and an OLED show. The Zenbook additionally doesn’t have the compatibility points inherent with Snapdragon techniques, which must emulate older Home windows apps and might’t run many widespread video games in any respect.

As common, ASUS additionally delivers way more worth than Apple. A MacBook Air with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD prices $1,700, and that’s additionally caught with a 60Hz LCD display.

Wrap-up

The Zenbook S14 leans extra on effectivity than uncooked energy, but it surely’s nonetheless an unimaginable achievement for Intel, an organization that was once notorious for energy-devouring cellular chips. Whereas the Lunar Lake chip’s NPU makes the Zenbook prepared for Copilot+ and AI options, its true promoting factors are its glorious battery life, slick ASUS design and beautiful OLED show.