This ultraportable Asus laptop is my favorite MacBook Air alternative (and it’s better in some ways)

ZDNET’s key takeaways

• The Asus Zenbook A14 with 16GB of reminiscence is on sale at Finest Purchase for $599.
• It is a implausible stability of innovation and worth with an OLED show, aggressive {hardware}, and a satisfying bodily type.
• Whereas its use case is clearly outlined, the laptop computer has its limits in terms of high-end efficiency.

apr / 2025

The Asus Zenbook A14 is on sale for $599 at Finest Purchase for the 16GB mannequin. That is a $400 low cost on among the finest laptops we have examined this 12 months.  

When Asus officially announced the Zenbook A14 at CES this 12 months, I wasn’t the one one to be low-key enamored with it. It is a great laptop in its personal proper, however it stands out as a profitable balancing act between efficiency and affordability whereas hitting all the proper notes that buyers care about. 

Fabricated from Asus’ proprietary ceraluminum materials, the Zenbook A14 virtually seems like a prototype mannequin that is empty inside, because it’s exceedingly gentle at simply 2.1 kilos (for reference, the 13-inch MacBook Air is 2.7 kilos). Whenever you set it down, the gadget opens simply with the carry of a single finger, revealing the sensible OLED show. 

Additionally: This 16-inch Acer is a full-package value pick I’d happily replace my main laptop with

Asus dedicated to a neutral-forward aesthetic with the A14. The model messaging options muted tones and quiet, subtle imagery punctuated by pure motifs, which work to type a cohesive id. 

This aesthetic highlights Asus’ dedication to ship a cohesive model message whereas balancing innovation and value. For instance, the show on the Zenbook A14 appears to be like good proper out of the field. It is brilliant, crisp, and environment friendly. However nearer inspection reveals that it isn’t as premium a show as you’d discover on, say, Asus’ ProArt P16. 

The show is framed by plastic bezels fastidiously designed to not look low cost, however once more… this is not the ProArt. Moreover, the panel over the FHD show has some slight warping that may give a funhouse mirror impact if you catch your reflection on the shiny floor.

As soon as the show is turned on, nonetheless, no matter jumpscare you simply noticed is shortly forgotten, because it delivers an excellent picture: distinction is crisp, colours are vivid, and it is brilliant, at 600 nits and a full HD+ (1920 x 1200) decision that pairs effectively with the speedy efficiency. 

Additionally: I switched to the Dell 14 Premium for a week, and it makes even the XPS feel outdated

Talking of efficiency, let’s talk about the tech that powers this gadget. Asus once more centered on stability, pairing the base-level Qualcomm Snapdragon X processor with the 32GB RAM configuration and the marginally sooner Snapdragon X Plus with the lower-end, 16GB RAM configuration. 

This balancing act leads to a barely unintuitive pricing construction: the laptop computer with the higher-end processor is cheaper ($999) because it comes with half the reminiscence (which is what you are actually paying for). The model with extra RAM and the lower-end Snapdragon X processor begins at $1,099. 

The distinction between the 2 processors is in the end not that huge, each are eight-core chips, however the Snapdragon X chip is restricted to three.0 GHz clock pace, placing a efficiency cap on this laptop computer. 

That cap is ok as a result of this gadget is not made to deal with intensive workloads. It is for the fashionable skilled who lives within the cloud, works remotely, and values a pleasant show. 

Additionally: The hybrid Windows laptop I recommend most for work travel also has an OLED display

That being mentioned, the efficiency is strong. It is a quick laptop computer: it boots shortly, masses apps swiftly, and navigates the net with out lag. It runs silent and funky, producing virtually no warmth — even with the slim type issue. 

In our benchmarking tests, Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X processor carried out higher than I anticipated towards extra premium gadgets with Intel’s Core Extremely 7 “Lunar Lake” chip, significantly in its higher-end sibling, the Zenbook S14, and Dell’s XPS 13 in multi-core efficiency. The processor even surpassed the latter in single-core efficiency. 

Evaluating this laptop computer’s numbers to HP’s OmniBook X with the Snapdragon X Elite, for instance, suggests the gadget is outclassed on the larger finish of efficiency however is extremely optimized for on a regular basis duties and in a position to ship a sooner, extra environment friendly expertise in these use instances.

The laptop computer’s robust efficiency is allied to an pleasurable bodily type issue. The keyboard is implausible — it is one of the crucial comfy laptop computer keyboards I’ve used. I make this declare with out exaggeration and notice its success is not as a consequence of something significantly costly or high-end. Asus simply hit the mark when balancing design and value.

Additionally: I recommend this Asus laptop to creative professionals and business users alike. Here’s why

The keys are clean and matte, with a slick texture that borders on ASMR. I additionally love how the laptop computer’s ceramic physique is fingerprint-resistant and straightforward to wash, even when splashed within the kitchen or espresso store. 

For distant or hybrid employees who transfer from place to put, the laptop computer additionally options the proper variety of ports (an HDMI, two USB-Cs, and one USB-A) to deal with no matter equipment you carry in tow or to cost the battery. I am (form of) kidding, however that leads me to my final level.  

Arms down, the most effective a part of this laptop computer is the excellent battery life. Asus advertises as much as 32 hours on a single cost. Though that is the highest finish of the estimation, it isn’t far off from what you possibly can count on with on a regular basis use. Throughout my testing, a day’s work within the workplace did not take me down previous 50%. 

The Snapdragon X processor reduces energy consumption to a trickle when it isn’t in use. In case you do want juice, the A14 expenses shortly, reaching near 75% after simply an hour of charging. This functionality interprets to a laptop computer that may final a few days’ work on one cost, even when that features a number of video calls. 

Additionally: I’m a Windows user, but the MacBook Air M4 could be my new primary laptop at this price

I will additionally point out a couple of of the drawbacks of this laptop computer (however there aren’t many). The primary is that the Qualcomm Adreno GPU on this method will not be designed for high-end gaming. Positive, it may possibly actually deal with informal video games. However this is not a tool made for the most recent FPS.

Additionally, the show, whereas it appears to be like nice, continues to be capped at a 60Hz refresh charge, which retains the battery (and value level) low however additional limits any aspirations of high-end gaming. Finally, whereas the Zenbook A14 is competitively priced, this isn’t a $1,500 laptop computer.

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

The Zenbook A14 has a coherent id: it is a light-weight, aesthetic machine for the fashionable skilled, effortlessly cellular in each type issue and battery life, however trades some uncooked energy for all that endurance. That being mentioned, the Snapdragon X processor punches effectively above its weight and competes handily with chips which are, on paper, extra highly effective. 

Due to its cohesive id, how effectively it balances innovation and worth, and the {hardware} efficiency, the Zenbook A14 is likely one of the finest laptops I’ve reviewed prior to now 12 months and one I might strongly advocate so long as its strengths align along with your wants. 

To prime all of it off, the starting price of $999, when not on sale, is pretty aggressive — if Asus succeeds in promoting this laptop computer’s model story in a means that positions it as an alternative choice to different ultraportable, corresponding to Apple’s MacBook Air. 

This story was initially revealed on February 14, 2025, and was up to date on July 31, 2025, to mirror the brand new Finest Purchase deal and the most recent related inner hyperlinks.