ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED laptop review: Premium design, sturdy build quality

ASUS has been on something of a roll recently — on the heels of its ROG gaming series of laptops, the company unveiled its consumer portfolio, aimed at business and casual users, students. Sitting on top of this totem pole is the ZenBook lineup, which comes at a higher price point but offers several features that make it seem worth the money.

ASUS loaned me a ZenBook OLED 14 for review purposes and I've used for about three weeks. The first thing that struck me when I unboxed the laptop was just how light, compact, and sleek it was.

ASUS describes the ZenBook as a laptop that offers "ultimate combination of productivity and portability in a premium package," and I'm inclined to agree, mostly. It executes daily tasks without any trouble and, thanks to its light weight, is ultra portable — you can carry it anywhere and barely notice the weight; it weighs in at just 1.35 kilograms.

The OLED screen is incredibly bright and delivers vibrant visuals, with impressive viewing angles. Boasting a 2.8K resolution (2880x1800), slim bezels on the sides and an aspect ratio of 16:10, the screen offers a 90 percent screen-to-body ratio and a screen resolution of 2880x1800. The laptop also delivers 100 percent DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage, which basically translates into accurate-yet-punchy visuals.

At 400 nits, the screen is more than bright enough for indoor usage, though the reflective surface does detract from the experience somewhat in bright, sunlit conditions. The screen also comes with TUV Rheinland support for hardware-based blue light emission filtering, which reduces eye strain.

The model also comes with an IPS display option with 2.5K resolution, 400 nits of brightness, and 100 percent sRGB coverage.

The proprietary EdgeSense keypad is very comfortable to use — the keys feel nice and do not make much noise; perfect for students, editors or journalists whose work involves typing thousands of words a day. The keyboard also comes with backlight support, which in my opinion has gone from being a niche feature to a must-have.

The ASUS ZenBook 14 OLED has a premium design and sturdy build quality, as can be expected from a device at this price point — nearly Rs 90,000. The laptop also sports a 180-degree ErgoLift hinge that can swivel the screen 180 degrees.Further, it has all the ports one might need, like two USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, a USB 3.2 Gen port, HDMI 2.1, a 3.5mm audio jack, and a microSD card reader.