Asus VivoBook S14 (S435EA) Overview

The Asus VivoBook S14 is compact, correctly constructed and good wanting, and it pairs a steady 1080p show with a reasonable regularly processor and good battery life. It’s simple to look out additional processing power elsewhere, though, and the keyboard is loud and feels considerably harsh.

Professionals

• Good-looking, sturdy exterior
• Implausible battery life
• Show display screen delivers steady prime quality
• Core i5 processor offers reasonably priced power

Cons

• Missing important choices
• CPU is outpaced by rival chips
• The keyboard is loud and clicky

Key Specs

• Overview Worth: £749
• 14in 1920 x 1080 IPS present
• Intel Core i7-1165G7
• Intel Iris Xe graphics
• 8GB DDR4 RAM
• 512GB SSD
• Dimensions: 322 x 204 x 15.9mm
• Weight: 1.3kg

The Asus VivoBook S14 is a small, fairly priced laptop computer pc that seems additional fashionable than most of its rivals – and it beats them referring to battery life, too.

The Asus moreover undercuts its rivals on the checkout, whereas aiming to be slim, mild and sturdy enough to deal with every state of affairs whereas providing steady effectivity. It’s relatively quite a bit to vow for not quite a bit money, nonetheless can the Asus VivoBook ship?

Worth and availability

The model reviewed is the entry-level VivoBook. It comes with an Intel Eleventh-Gen Core i5 processor, and it costs £749 / $749. A model with a Core i7 processor will also be accessible, costing £849 / $879 / €799, nonetheless this model is obtainable solely in Europe on the time of writing.

One phrase of warning: the model reviewed proper right here makes use of the UX435EA half amount, nonetheless the sooner period machine will also be nonetheless accessible using the UX433 designation. These laptops embody Intel Tenth-Gen processors, wider bezels and no fingerprint reader, so be sure you’re getting the additional up-to-date pocket e-book.

Design and keyboard – Good wanting, sturdy and a steady fluctuate of choices

• The S14 seems to be like good and has some daring, fashionable touches
• Assemble prime quality is often good, and it isn’t too heavy
• There are first charge choices proper right here, nonetheless power-users acquired’t be sated

The VivoBook S14 does a inconceivable job at balancing shiny design with bolder touches. On the luxurious facet, it has crisp bevelled edges, small bezels and a great deal of gunmetal aluminium. On the gregarious facet, the Asus serves up an consideration grabbing deep-green lid, a neon-bordered Return key, and sheets of stickers for personalisation.

The daring look is paired with reasonably priced assemble prime quality and dimensions. The wrist-rest rattles a contact, nonetheless the present, the underside and the edges of this machine are sturdy enough to take care of every day life in and out of the home. The Asus weighs 1.3kg and is 15.9mm thick, so it isn’t overly huge.

The Asus compares correctly with its rivals. The Acer Swift 5 is lighter, nonetheless assemble prime quality is worse, whereas the Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 is heavier and additional bland.

The left-hand fringe of the Asus serves up an HDMI outlet, two Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports which will price the machine, and the headphone jack. On the right-hand facet, there are two full-size USB ports and a microSD card reader – one factor the Acer doesn’t embody. There’s a fingerprint scanner beneath the keyboard, too.

In numerous areas, the VivoBook is far much less spectacular. It has a 720p webcam of mediocre prime quality, no Residence home windows Hello there assist and no privateness shutter. Certainly one of many USB ports solely makes use of USB 2.0, and there’s no wired net. Lenovo’s machine is finest due to its Residence home windows Hello there digital digicam and full-size SD card slot.

Not surprisingly, the Asus has no numberpad, a single-height Return key, some extra buttons on the appropriate and smaller carry out and cursor keys – solely unusual stuff for such a petite machine.

The keyboard is fixed and fast. It’s loud, though, and the buttons aren’t mushy or mild. Within the occasion you want a solid-feeling keyboard, it’s preferrred, nonetheless the Lenovo is additional comfortable. Moreover remember the fact that the Asus’ backlight is considerably weak, and light-weight leaks from beneath quite a few the buttons.

The VivoBook S14’s trackpad is analogous. Its broad flooring is clear and proper, nonetheless its two built-in buttons actually really feel considerably gap after they’re clicked.

Lastly, the audio system listed beneath are nothing specific. They’re efficient for YouTube motion pictures and casual music, nonetheless the mid-range is muddy and the bass is weak, so don’t depend upon these for top-notch sound.

Show display screen – A punchy, first charge regularly present

• The 14in panel offers steady prime quality for day-to-day workloads
• The high-contrast ratio is punchy and vibrant – good for media
• Lacks the breadth of colour to take care of additional demanding workloads

The Asus is a mid-range machine, so there usually are not any surprises proper right here: it has a 14in IPS present with a 1920 x 1080 resolution.

For regularly work, web trying and media viewing these specs are fully efficient, significantly at this value stage. In real-world use, TV reveals pop, pictures look good and web pages and casual video video games look punchy and vibrant.

Benchmark outcomes have been good, too. The panel’s distinction ratio of 1462:1 is an excellent finish consequence for an IPS present, and the accompanying black diploma of 0.27 nits means this show delivers good depth alongside lashings of vibrancy.

The Delta E of 1.37 is steady and the colour temperature of 6277K is affordable. The Asus rounded out its first charge benchmark outcomes with an sRGB safety diploma of 96.6%.

That said, the sRGB diploma isn’t pretty enough for pro-grade workloads, and it couldn’t take care of the Adobe RGB and DCI-P3 colour gamuts. The peak brightness of 395 nits is good enough for indoor use, nonetheless not vivid enough for vivid daylight.

Effectivity – Frequently tempo alongside inconceivable battery life

• Intel’s Core i5 chip offers steady mainstream effectivity
• Rivals embody AMD processors which is perhaps larger for prime workloads

The £749 Asus makes use of a quad-core Intel Core i5-1135G7 processor with base and enhance speeds of two.4GHz and 4.2GHz, and the specification is achieved with 8GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and Intel’s built-in graphics. Twin-band Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0 take care of connectivity.

It’s the similar specification as a result of the Acer Swift 5, which now costs £899 with the Core i5 chip, but it surely certainly’s a step behind the Lenovo’s AMD Ryzen 7 4700U.

The VivoBook’s Core i5 chip proved to be comfortably extremely efficient enough to kind out any Office software program, a variety of browser tabs and mainstream photo-editing with out slowdown. Try to deal with extra sturdy duties with this machine, nonetheless, and likewise you’ll quickly uncover its prohibit. That ceiling is far elevated on AMD-powered laptops, and on the MacBook Air – they’re every larger decisions for demanding work.

The VivoBook’s benchmark outcomes are on a par with the Intel-based Acer Swift 5, and its single-threaded finish consequence beats the Lenovo’s AMD chip – nonetheless the Yoga was significantly faster in PCMark 10 and Geekbench’s multi-core check out, proving it’s larger for demanding workloads.

And, if you’re ready to spend considerably additional, the entry-level £999 MacBook Air deployed its Apple M1 chip to achieve 1731 and 7308 in Geekbench, making it in all probability essentially the most extremely efficient market in the intervening time out there in the marketplace.

The VivoBook costs £849 with a Core i7-1165G7, nonetheless the state of affairs stays the similar – whereas that processor offers a bit additional power, AMD’s CPUs and the Apple M1 chip every keep quicker in multi-threaded environments.

So compared with the rivals, the VivoBook lags barely behind the backs by the use of effectivity power. On the good facet, it’s an incredible thermal performer, remaining persistently cool and quiet.

The SSD’s be taught and write speeds of 2455MB/s and 1288MB/s aren’t ground-breaking, nonetheless they protect the machine snappy enough in every day use, so data transfers shouldn’t be a tediously extended course of.

Battery – Implausible longevity for work and play

• Glorious battery life helps the Asus outlast the rivals

The Asus will not present good power, but it surely certainly does have stellar battery life. With the brightness set to 150 nits and a PCMark 10 work check out working, the Asus lasted for 15hrs 48mins – that’s 20 minutes higher than the Acer Swift, and an hour larger than the Lenovo.

This laptop computer pc returned an almost equal time when having fun with video with the show at 150 nits, and the Asus nonetheless lasted a mighty 12hrs 47mins in a chunk benchmark with the show brightness at most. The VivoBook lasted for 3hrs 11mins with the elements really pushed, nonetheless you’re unlikely to run each little factor at 100% on this machine.

It’s a robust slate of outcomes. Within the occasion you’re cautious about the way you make the most of the Asus then it should nearly get by the use of two full workdays, and it’s merely capable of coping with a day of labor and a night on the sofa. It’s larger than every rivals, too.

Asus VivoBook S14 conclusion

The Asus Vivebook is an excellent Ultrabook, excelling on the basics with a well-built design, steady 1080p present and wonderful battery life. Nonetheless whereas this laptop computer pc is definitely no slouch, there are faster alternate choices – such as a result of the Acer Swift 5 and Lenovo Yoga Slim 7 – accessible at comparable value elements.

I’m moreover disenchanted by the keyboard, which is loud and feels harsh compared with these found on totally different laptops. That said, if you’re impressed by the battery life and attention-grabbing design, that’s nonetheless a terrific value laptop computer pc worth considering.

You should buy the Asus VivoBook S14 if…

• You need a laptop computer pc that seems larger than most fairly priced notebooks
  The combination of a shiny aluminium exterior and some surprisingly vibrant touches make the VivoBook stand out in a market stuffed with laptops that every one look a bit too comparable.

• You need one factor slim, mild and sturdy
  The Asus weighs 1.3kg, it’s decrease than 16mm thick, and it has a sturdy chassis which will survive being slung proper right into a bag. It’s a sturdy laptop computer pc which will handle your entire regularly circumstances.

• Battery life is an important consideration
  The Asus lasts for nearly 16 hours in a number of of our battery assessments, which is an excellent finish consequence and better than the rivals. Within the occasion you desire a long-lasting laptop computer pc, this is usually a good various.

You shouldn’t buy the Asus VivoBook S14 if…

• You desire a laptop computer pc for extra sturdy work circumstances
  The Intel processor is a steady regularly chip, nonetheless AMD’s Ryzen CPUs and the Apple M1 processor are every a lot better in sturdy work functions.

• You desire a mushy, quiet keyboard
  The keyboard is fast and crisp, but it surely certainly’s louder and isn’t as mushy as many various rival typing fashions. If you want a harsher-feeling typing experience that’s good, nonetheless this unit is neither delicate nor mild.

• You want to play video video games
  Intel’s built-in graphics core is okay for casual gaming and low-end eSports titles, nonetheless that’s it – it acquired’t play one thing demanding. You’ll need Nvidia or AMD graphics for that.