The sudden onset of procreative AI and expectant linguistic process models ( LLMs ) has create a new class of laptop : the “ AI PC . ” It start with Intel ’s Meteor Lake chipset , which added a neural processing whole ( NPU ) for the first fourth dimension in Windows laptops with the aim of speeding up AI - base tasks . The Asus Zenbook S 13 organic light-emitting diode is a Meteor Lake machine and therefore , technically speaking , an AI PC .

It ’s one of the better13 - column inch laptopsavailable today , coming in a very slim and light package with good enough performance and an first-class display . But it will be superseded soon bya new craw of laptops with faster NPUsand a greater focus on AIas part of Copilot+ . It ’s a proficient laptop computer , but its metre is growing short .

Specs and configurations

There ’s just one conformation of the Zenbook S 13 organic light-emitting diode , a $ 1,399 model ( down from $ 1,599 ) for an Intel Core Ultra 7 155U chipset , 16 GB of RAM , a 1 TB SSD , and a 13.3 - in OLED video display . At its Leontyne Price for $ 200 off list , it ’s a premium laptop computer but not too expensive . Its primary challenger , theDell XPS 13 , costs $ 1,549 for the same conformation . The MacBook Air is also a rival , and it costs $ 1,699 with the same configuration .

As more Copilot+ PCs and new laptops running Intel ’s and AMD ’s late chipsets roll out , it ’s probable that these prices will come down . If you could get the Zenbook S 13 OLED for 100 less than the new crop and it meets your execution need , then it could become a viable , more low-cost choice while provision last .

Design

The Zenbook S 13 organic light-emitting diode is a classic 13 - inch laptop design . It ’s very thin at 0.46 inches at its thickest , comparable to the MacBook Air ’s 0.44 inch and thin than the XPS 13 ’s 0.58 in . It ’s also very light at 2.2 pounds , which is around a half - British pound lighter than the Apple and Dell political machine . Both metric make the Zenbook S 13 OLED one of the thinnest and light laptops around .

The weightlessness is presumptively afforded by the partial “ plasma ceramic atomic number 13 ” mental synthesis that ’s light , secure , and makes for an interesting look and feel on the lid . I ’m not sure of the shape stuff , but the Zenbook S 13 OLED feels firm in spite of it miss the kind of dense feeling of the MacBook Air and the XPS 13 . There ’s no bending , flexing , or twisting anywhere , making for a very portable laptop that also feels very robust .

The esthetic is n’t as much of a standout as with the MacBook Air ( blockier and more elegantly designed ) and XPS 13 ( exceedingly modern when you open up the lid ) . It ’s a minimalist design in a dark gray with an even darker keyboard . The lid is the most attractive feature , in a grey that moulding on black and with a shiny geometric pattern . The bezels are n’t as tenuous as on the XPS 13 , especially on the bottom chin , and they ’re moldable and not border - to - edge glass . That ’s the one pattern feature of speech that , for me at least , always detracts from the premium facial expression .

Keyboard and touchpad

The Zenbook S 13 organic light-emitting diode has an fantabulous keyboard . It has big keycaps and is quite spacious , with a comfy layout . The switch are rattling and precise , with enough travel to be comfortable and with a bottoming activity that ’s not at all fatiguing . I found the switches the tiniest bit too stiff , go along Apple ’s Magic Keyboard at the top for me . But most users will likely love the keyboard . I did like it better than the XPS 13 ’s zero - lattice keyboard that take me some clip to get used to .

Asus incorporated its iconic keyboard angle that establish for a more well-to-do experience . It also offer up some advantage in airflow and cooling .

The mechanical touchpad is very large , especially for a 13 - inch laptop , and it has a precise flavour and antiphonal buttons . My big problem with it is that the clicks are a chip trashy and knifelike . And I ’m looking forth to the day when haptic touchpads are stock on premium laptop . The MacBook Air ’s Force Touch haptic touchpad is much better , and while the XPS 13 ’s haptic touchpad has a learning curve because of its obscure nature , it ’s still good once that learning curve passes .

Connectivity and webcam

Most pocket-size laptops today — and that includes some 14 - column inch laptops — have very circumscribed connectivity . The XPS 13 and MacBook Air both are limited to just USB - C embrasure with Thunderbolt 4 backup , and the Dell even drops the 3.5 mm sound jak . The Zenbook 13 S OLED is therefore a standout , with a solid mix of Thunderbolt 4 and legacy ports . Surprisingly , Asus even wield to fit out in an HDMI 2.1 connection , and yes , it has an audio mariner . All of that ’s impressive . There ’s no Wi - Fi 7 support , but that touchstone wo n’t be common for years .

The webcam is 1080p with an infrared camera for Windows 11 Hello facial recognition . That ’s equal to the XPS 13 and MacBook Air , and like the XPS 13 , there ’s an NPU that supports a few AI features like Microsoft ’s Studio Effect software that provides ironware - assisted background knowledge blur , face trailing , and some other single-valued function .

Performance

The Zenbook S 13 organic light-emitting diode is the second laptop we ’ve reviewed with the Intel Core Ultra 7 155U , a 15 - James Watt chipset with 12 heart ( two Performance , eight Efficient , and two Low Power Efficient ) and 14 threads . It ’s a significant step back from the more pop 28 - James Watt Core Ultra 7 155H that has more heart and threads , but the slower chipset promise better efficiency .

In our benchmarks , the Zenbook was slenderly faster than theHP Envy x360 14 2024with the same chipset , but it was importantly slower than the XPS 13 . It ’s fast enough for productiveness work , but anything that requires degraded multi - core carrying into action will be a challenge . Its Intel Arc integrated graphics are about the same as on the faster chipset , but that ’s not saying much . This is n’t a laptop computer for creators or gamers . And as I say in the introduction , other , much fast chipsets will be coming soon , and so this laptop will need to be a draw less expensive to realize out stock-taking .

Battery life

The benefit of persist with a 15 - watt chipset is good efficiency . The Zenbook S 13 organic light-emitting diode has a 63 watt - minute battery , which is a beneficial mental ability for a 13 - inch laptop and a bit more than the 55 watt - hours in the Dell XPS 13 . But the Zenbook also has a in high spirits - res OLED display .

In our battery suite , it do 8.75 hours in our web browsing test and 12.5 hours in our video looping examination . In the Procyon Office Productivity battery test that ’s a model of real - world work , it lasted for 13.5 hours . That ’s a lot better than the XPS 13 ’s 7.25 , 8.25 , and 11.25 hours , respectively . It ’s also competitive with other Intel Meteor Lake laptops .

The affair is , it ’s still not nifty . The upcoming Windows on ARM laptops running Qualcomm ’s Snapdragon X elect chipsets forebode much prospicient battery life , and the MacBook Air 13 is also a mess longer - endure . So , the performance drop cloth from the downhearted - power chipset does n’t yield sufficient dividends in battery life .

Display and audio

The Zenbook S 13 organic light-emitting diode has a 13.3 - in 16:10 OLED display run at 2.8 K ( 2880 x 1800 ) . Those are excellent specs that make for a sharp jury with dynamic colors and inky Black . Its only downside compared to some rival is its increasingly pedestrian 60Hz refresh charge per unit .

agree to my tintometer , it ’s an objectively fantabulous display . It ’s more than brilliant enough at 391 nit , its colors are spacious ( 100 % sRGB , 97 % AdobeRGB , and 100 % DCI - P3 ) and accurate at a DeltaE of 1.12 ( many OLED display are less than the 1.0 sign that ’s conceive the golden standard ) , and its contrast is incredibly deep at 27,180:1 .

It ’s a outstanding display for every user , whether for productivity , creativity , or media consumption . It ’s a much unspoilt display than the MacBook Air 13 ’s IPS panel , but the XPS 13 ’s OLED show is roughly equivalent although brighter at 482 nit .

The audio recording is n’t almost as good . The two - speaker audio is just fine , with sufficient bulk , clear mids and highs , and very little bass .

Another one bites the dust

If we were n’t going through one of themost significant transitionsin the Windows laptop earned run average ever , the Zenbook S 13 organic light-emitting diode would be a very compelling laptop computer . It ’s a bit too expensive even by those previous measure , given its lesser performance and just decent battery living .

But it ’s also going to have a bunch of new competition somewhat soon . Microsoft ’s Copilot+ PC initiative will start with laptop computer ply Qualcomm ’s hyper - efficient chipsets and will terminate up with much faster ( for on - twist AI ) and more effective chipsets from Intel and AMD . TheZenbook S 14 , for example , has already been announced , which is a full redesign that supports Intel ’s next - gen chips — and await gorgeous .

The Zenbook S 13 OLED is a near laptop computer today and will remain competitory for a few months give likely compatibility issue with Windows on ARM . But anyone who can await a while to buy a laptop likely should do so .