Laptops generally follow a similar pattern to how CPUs develop, shrinking in size and becoming more efficient. That’s why it shouldn’t be a major surprise that the Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED is a sleek, stylish laptop and one of the first to use AMD’s newest processor, the Ryzen 7 6800U (scheduled to start at $1,099, tested at $1,499).
Design
The Asus Zenbook S13 is a lovely little laptop. In contrast to other high-end designs, it is an alloy of lighter, more plastic-like magnesium and aluminum. The lid is minimal, sporting Asus’ new right-aligned logo and a little wordmark reading “Asus Zenbook.”
The hinge of the laptop is the bluest of all the blue-grey components. It’s connected to a long, curved bar that runs alongside the device’s rear, adding a mechanical-looking element. The keyboard is raised slightly to what Asus claims is a more ergonomic angle when the laptop is open due to the display’s short length above the hinge.
The Zenbook S 13 OLED is slim due to a lack of connectors on thin laptops, which is becoming more prevalent. It is 2.43 pounds in weight and 11.68 x 8.29 x 0.59 inches in size. Compared to the 13-inch MacBook Pro, which is smaller (11.97 x 8.36 x 0.61 inches, 3 pounds).
Display
The Zenbook S 13 OLED touchscreen has a resolution of 2880 x 1800 and produces deep blacks and vibrant flashes of color. But compared to screens using the same technology seen on other computers, it isn’t as brilliant or vibrant.
Also, the 16:10 aspect ratio chosen by Asus is helpful since it offers more vertical space than a typical 16:9 screen.
Battery Life
Ryzen keeps demonstrating the potential battery life of an x86 platform. On the battery test, which involves web browsing, streaming video, and running graphics tests while connected to Wi-Fi and with the display set to 150 nits, the Zenbook S 13 OLED lasted 11 hours and 2 minutes.
The Zenbook, however, outperformed the Yoga 9i with Intel’s 12th Gen P-series and the IdeaPad with an older-generation AMD CPU, lasting just under 10 hours.
The Verdict
The Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED is a small, light laptop that houses the newest CPUs from AMD. As long as you don’t mind some heat, it’s a powerful laptop that is also sleek and appealing.
The Lenovo Yoga 9i, a 14-inch Intel-based 2-in-1, on the other hand, could be what you’re looking for if you want something with more ports while still being stylish and small. However, it lagged in performance and cost more even when set identically.
Therefore, the Zenbook S is a good alternative if portable power is on your list, provided you don’t mind dongles and some extra heat.
