New Delhi: Asus has introduced the Vivobook S14 with alternatives for all three major processors, Intel, AMD and Snapdragon. The Snapdragon variants offer exceptional battery life, but suffer from compatibility issues with legacy software. The Vivobook S14 is a compact and stylish laptop aimed at essential computing. The device is aimed at students, office professionals, hybrid workers, digital nomads and casual users. This is a reliable, long-lasting device that provides a premium feel without high-end pricing. The design for all of these devices is nearly identical. This is a versatile thin-and-light laptop tuned for productivity and portability, but not specialised for high-performance workloads, so this device is not for gamers or power users. Those looking for a more premium build can consider the Asus Zenbook 14.
The laptop nearly disappears when viewed from the side. (Image Credit: Aditya Madanapalle/News9).
The box contains the laptop and a charger with a small brick, along with warranty documents and a manual. Now every laptop on the market is showcased as an AI-ready PC, but we are not big fans of the Windows experience, especially the continuously evolving newfangled AI features, and most consumers will not really care about the on-device AI capabilities of the device. These capabilities are good enough for live captions, noise cancellation or Windows Studio features for the camera, but not for multimedia editing or production. Stable Diffusion, for example, does not run on the device. This laptop boasts of a US MIL-STD 810H certification, and has exquisite construction.
Build and Design
The lid opens smoothly without any lift from the base, and opens up all the way to 180 degrees so the screen can be easily shared around a conference or coffee table. When viewed from the side, the device is razor sharp, and nearly disappears. The device is 1.6 cm thin. The sleek, lightweight chassis is primarily constructed from aluminium. The laptop weighs just 1.40 kg, and can be easily lugged around daily. The device is available in Matte Gray and Cool Silver variants. For this review, Asus sent us the Matte Gray device. The black keys on the keyboard contrast nicely with the base. The keyboards have white backlighting with three brightness levels.
Most of the slots are on the left side. (Image Credit: Aditya Madanapalle/News9).
The top edge of the display has a Windows Hello Infrared camera which is secured by a physical shutter, a feature that is always nice to see. Note that there is no fingerprint sensor on the device. The Power Button is sandwiched between the Print Screen and Delete buttons, but has a much higher resistance, which prevents accidental pressing. There is a generously large trackpad on the base, with ample space to rest the palms on either side. There are no vents on the sides, or even the back. The rear vents have been pushed to the base, which is a clever design.
The USB-A slot on the right is well-suited for attaching a wired mouse. (Image Credit: Aditya Madanapalle/News9).
This is not one of those laptops that rises from the back when the lid is opened. There are a pair of rubber feet on the base, extending the entire length of the device at the front and back. The back foot is taller than the front foot, giving the laptop a stance that is comfortable for typing and extended use. The speakers are on the edges of either side towards the front, and are positioned in a way that prevents the surface from muffling the sound. There are also vents on the base of the device.
The rear vents have been smartly pushed to the base. (Image Credit: Aditya Madanapalle/News9).
Most of the ports are on the left side. There is a 3.5 mm audio port, a pair of USB-C ports, a USB-A port and an HDMI port. On the right side are the power and battery indicators, along with a USB-A port that is suitably located for a wired mouse. The I/O ports cover all the bases. Either of the USB-C ports can be used to juice up the device. This is mid-range laptop that looks and feels like a premium device. The laptop is also hardy and boasts of military grade construction. In all, there is nothing to be desired in the build quality of the device, which appears to be robust and long-lasting.
Performance
The Vivobook S14 is powered by a AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 Processor, supported by integrated AMD Radeon graphics, 16GB of DDR5 RAM and 500 GB of storage. There are no additional slots for upgrades, but the SSD storage can be swapped out for a higher capacity card after the purchase, at a later time. This is a speedy laptop with excellent battery life and is good for everyday use and multitasking, smoothly handling office work, web browsing, video streaming and light editing. The laptop has a short startup time, and the software also load rapidly. Some real-world and synthetic benchmarks are embedded below.
Asus Vivobook S14 M3407KA by Aditya Madanapalle
For an ultrathin laptop that is not aimed at gamers, the device is surprisingly good at esports title such as Valorant or Dota 2. We played No Man’s Sky for hours on the device, and encountered no issues apart from a few rendering problems on the very largest bases. For those who like to game, this device can run games well at reduced settings, but is obviously not for intensive AAA gaming. The integrated graphics is surprisingly good for a mid-range, thin-and-light device and we were pleasantly surprised to discover that 3D Mark has made a ‘Sky Diver’ benchmark specifically for Asus devices. The juicy OLED display enhances the gaming experience.
The Windows Hello Camera. (Image Credit: Aditya Madanapalle/News9).
This 14” OLED display has a refresh rate of 60Hz, and goes up to 300 nits in brightness. This is bright enough for most use cases, except outdoors under direct sunlight. The display is sharp and vibrant, and represents dark areas quite well. Streaming is an absolute pleasure on the device, because of the quality of both the display and the audio setup. The speakers are clear and loud enough to fill a small room. The lower frequencies do not pack a punch, but are not muddy either. The higher frequencies do not sound shrill, which is a common issue with laptops in this category. For those who like to unwind after a busy day’s work with streaming or gaming, this laptop can handle both quite decently.
The display is crisp and vibrant. (Image Credit: Aditya Madanapalle/News9).
One of the great things about the device is the battery life, that easily lasts for 12 hours even under sustained use. The laptop can go through one and a half work days without needing to be juiced up. The device can also be charged with any USB-3 charger, and we actually prefer to use an Asus GAN Charger. The laptop also juices up pretty rapidly, and the performance does not fall off when the battery is nearly drained. Under regular loads, the laptop runs silently, and even under sustained tasks you need to listen carefully to hear the fans. We are also glad to note that the laptop also does not heat up at all even under sustained loads.
The Vivobook branding is the only design embellishment on the device. (Image Credit: Aditya Madanapalle/News9).
The camera is sharp and clear with automatic framing, eye contact and background effects supported in Windows Studio Effects. Portrait lighting and creative filters are not available. The field of view is also on the wider side, allowing for multiple people to be accommodated at once. The camera quality is great for one-on-one video calls, and also definitely suitable for video conferences with many participants, where the quality does not matter so much as all the windows are smaller. The on-device noise cancellation on the device allows you to get on calls even with traffic or barking dogs in the background, that are filtered out easily. What we really liked about the device is that you do not need to connect any peripherals for videoconferencing, with everything available on the device itself.
The camera quality is great. (Image Credit: Aditya Madanapalle/News9).
Overall, we were really happy with our experience with the device, and did not encounter any glitches or problems over three weeks of sustained use. This is a fun device to use, and feels much more expensive than it is. The keyboard is incredibly comfortable and fast. The multitasking capabilities are also great, and we were surprised to see that the device did not struggle even after loading over 250 tabs in a browser. The extended battery life provides peace of mind when on the move, and you do not have to hunt down charging ports at an airport or while commuting in a Metro. This is a robust and reliable computing companion, one that gets the job done without any fancy bells and whistles.
Verdict
The Vivobook S14 is a great all-round package for basic computing which is finetuned for users who want an elevated experience at an affordable price point. The I/O slots are intelligently selected, offering a pair of USB-A and USB-C slots, which is a bit rare, and favours those who continue to use USB-A peripherals. I really liked the fact that I could continue to use the same device for gaming, and did not have to power up my ROG device for the games that I wanted to play. The display is also bright and vibrant, and the multimedia consumption experience is just about as good as it gets for this form factor. In all, I was extremely satisfied with the experience of this laptop.
The lid opens up by 180 degrees. (Image Credit: Aditya Madanapalle/News9).
The Dell 14 Plus is a nearly identical device in the market. The Asus variant with similar specification costs a grand less than the Dell version. The Dell Plus 14 scores just a bit higher across most of our benchmarks, but the two devices are comparable in overall performance and pricing, with the decision between the two really coming down to the choice in brand. The on-board storage and memory can be upgraded on the Asus machine, which also features an additional USB-A slot on the right side. The camera on the Asus device is also far superior. The Asus Vivobook uses a juicy OLED display while the Dell Plus features an IPS display. Prices for the Vivobook S14 starts at Rs 70,990. We had a great experience during our time with the Asus Vivobook S14, which is an easy recommendation for anyone looking for an affordable, basic laptop for everyday use.