Asus, the notebook and PC component brand, has recently enjoyed being aboard the OLED hype train. And we get it – when it comes to display technology, there isn’t much that can beat the wonderful punchy colours and deep blacks that an OLED display offers. We recently got our hands on its latest – the ZenBook 14X OLED notebook.
This one, and some others, were announced at CES 2022 – that’s this year. Asus plans to launch the ZenBook 14X in South Africa early in 2022. Exactly when is a bit of a guess. Right now, the local lineup includes its predecessor – the ZenBook 13, and its Vivo-counterpart, the exquisite VivoBook Pro 16X OLED.
A familiar upgrade
At this point, if you’ve ever handled (or seen) a fairly recent Asus ZenBook device, you’ll recognise newer models by design at a glimpse. The company has managed to develop a distinct design style that’s held fast through the years. The top lid features the concentric circle flare design that encloses the Asus logo. It’s fairly good at avoiding pesky fingerprints while offering something fancy to look at, all in a small enough chassis.
It really feels small, especially if you consider the 4K, 14in OLED display that features an aspect ratio of 16:10. It’s an impressive display, and tiny bezels mean that the top part is almost all-display. We’re not complaining.
Turn your attention below, and there’s the brand’s wonderfully clicky keyboard, along with its ScreenPad 2. That’s a fancy name for the trackpad that allows it to transform into a calculator or numpad. You can run a few apps on it, just like the ScreenPad Plus on the ZenBook Duo and Zephyrus Duo devices – but just smol.
Our review unit comes with an 11th-gen quad-core Intel Core i7, backed up by 16GB of RAM and a 1TB solid-state drive (SSD). Because of its size, you get Nvidia’s GeForce MX450. Being at the top of the brand’s range, the 14X performed wonderfully during our review.
It offers speedy performance on daily tasks, including some light editing and rendering. You may find some resistance when trying to run games – this isn’t a gaming machine per se. And rendering demanding graphics may slow it down quite a bit. But it absolutely destroys any other daily computing process you can throw at it. Like in a good way.
Asus ZenBook 14X OLED verdict
The only real worry with an extremely light laptop is space for powerful components, and battery capacity. The Asus ZenBook 14X OLED absolutely nails that first one and offers a fairly decent battery that’ll give you a good 8 hours. Obviously, you can’t expect much more from an ultra-slim design like this. Pair it with the 100W USB-C charger, and you’re ready to go just about anywhere.
Local pricing for this one isn’t available yet. In the meantime, check out the wonderfully geeky Space Edition of the ZenBook 14X here.
