Review Summary
Expert Rating
The ZenBook lineup from ASUS has always been synonymous with premium design and cutting-edge technology. And the A14, which debuted at CES 2025, is no exception. It introduces ASUS’s new Ceraluminum finish, a unique material that promises both durability and a refined aesthetic. Moreover, it’s one of the first laptops to feature the Snapdragon X processor, the more accessible sibling to the powerful X Plus and X Elite chipsets.
With a starting price of Rs 99,999, the ZenBook A14 aims to deliver exceptional battery life and seamless mobile productivity without breaking the bank. But the question remains: does the Snapdragon X processor live up to the hype, or is it a compromise compared to its higher-end counterparts? Let’s dive in and find out in our in-depth ASUS Zenbook A14 (UX3407) review.
Table of Contents
Design and Display
One of the standout features of the ZenBook A14 is undoubtedly its design. The Ceraluminum build quality is remarkable. Initially, it might not strike you as exceptionally premium, but the laptop’s understated elegance grows on you. The real magic, however, lies in its weight. At a mere 980 grams, this laptop is one of the lightest in its segment, making it incredibly portable.
Despite this, ASUS has ensured durability, meeting the US MIL-STD 810H military-grade standard for ruggedness. Additionally, the texture of the Ceraluminum finish is noteworthy, providing a pleasant grip without being overly rough. Think of it as a smoother, more refined version of the Sandstone finish we loved on older OnePlus devices.
Another practical benefit of this finish is its resistance to fingerprints. No more constantly wiping down your laptop to keep it looking pristine. The design follows a refined and minimalist approach, offering a clean and modern look. The same philosophy follows to the front as well, with a simple layout and minimal bezels.
Inside those slim bezels is the 14-inch OLED panel, which is great for content consumption. However, it comes with a 60Hz refresh rate, which is a bit of a letdown. ASUS offers excellent 120Hz OLED panels across many of its laptops, including the VivoBook S14 OLED, which has a 3K 120Hz display. Compared to that, the A14’s 1200p 60Hz panel feels like a step down.
That being said, the display is by no means bad. It still boasts 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage, a brightness of 400 nits, and HDR support that pushes it up to 600 nits. For watching movies, editing photos, or general web browsing, the OLED panel delivers deep blacks and vibrant colours.
Ports, Audio, and Connectivity
Complementing the excellent display are the bottom-firing speakers, which do a surprisingly good job. The audio quality isn’t groundbreaking, but it’s much better than what you’d expect from such a lightweight machine.
The speakers offer decent bass, get sufficiently loud, and there’s no distortion at higher volumes. While you’ll still need a good pair of headphones or external speakers for a proper movie night, the onboard speakers do well for casual listening.
Moving on to connectivity, the Zenbook A14 maintains a slim profile without compromising on connectivity options. On the right side, there’s a single USB-A 3.2 Gen2 port for your older accessories, which is always a welcome addition.
The majority of ports are positioned on the left side, where there’s an HDMI 2.1 TMDS port, dual USB 4 Gen3 Type-C ports, and a 3.5mm headphone jack. Both the USB 4 Type-C ports provide fast data transfer speeds and support for external displays.
The ZenBook A14 also packs in a nice 1080p webcam with IR sensors for Windows Hello facial recognition. The picture quality is acceptable for video calls and casual use. It’s not super sharp or anything, but you can use Microsoft’s Studio effects for improved background blur and lighting adjustments.
The built-in microphone is also surprisingly good, and ASUS’ MyASUS software allows for AI-powered noise cancellation, enhancing clarity during calls.
Keyboard and Touchpad
Moving on to the keyboard, the ZenBook A14’s keyboard offers a comfortable and efficient typing experience. The keys have 1.3mm of key travel, providing satisfying tactile feedback. The spacing and layout are excellent, making it easy to adapt to the keyboard quickly.
The typing experience is quite balanced, offering a good compromise between tactile feedback and comfort. As a result, it’s suitable for both short bursts of typing and extended typing sessions. One minor drawback is the slightly slippery texture of the keys. If you have sweaty hands, this might be something to consider, especially during the summer months.
As for use in dim-lit conditions, the keyboard also features white backlighting, which can be automatically activated or deactivated based on ambient lighting conditions. The white colourway perfectly compliments the Iceland Gray colour of the laptop, making it look all the more premium.
The touchpad on the ZenBook A14 is, in a word, flawless. It’s massive, smooth, and responsive, with gestures working flawlessly. ASUS has also implemented smart gestures along the edges of the touchpad to control brightness and volume, which is a nice touch.
ASUS has also implemented smart gestures along the edges to adjust brightness and volume, which is a nice touch. The tactile feedback isn’t as refined as Apple’s Force Touch trackpad, but I’d reckon that most Windows users rely on tapping rather than physically clicking, making this a non-issue for many.
Performance and Battery Life
The ZenBook A14 we tested is the base variant, powered by the Snapdragon X processor, 16GB of LPDDR5X-8533MHz RAM, and a 512GB Gen4 NVMe SSD. The SSD offers decent speeds, as you can see in the CrystalDiskMark benchmark test below. However, it’s worth noting that while ASUS does have a more expensive variant that comes with the Snapdragon X Elite chipset, the SSD is only available in a 512GB option.
Thankfully, it’s a standard 2280 drive, so you can easily upgrade it yourself. Other than that, the rest of the internals are soldered on, as you’d expect. The laptop also comes with a fairly decent thermal solution, complete with dual fans. Additionally, unlike the global units where one fan isn’t attached to the heat pipe, the ZenBook A14 available in India has both fans connected to the heat pipe. As a result, the peak temps are well under control, and the fans don’t ramp up unless you’re absolutely stress-testing the machine.
Speaking of which, we put the laptop through our usual lot of synthetic benchmarks, including Cinebench R23, Cinebench R24, GeekBench, and 3DMark. The scores are quite satisfactory, both in the CPU as well as the GPU department.
As expected, the ZenBook A14 naturally falls behind the Snapdragon X Plus and X Elite processors found in the Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Gen and Surface Laptop 7th Gen, respectively. Additionally, compared to a more performance-enthusiast machine like the ASUS Vivobook S14 OLED, the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 easily outperforms the Snapdragon X chipset. Just for context, I also added the Acer Swift 14 powered by the Intel Core Ultra 5 226V processor, which gives an idea of where Intel lies when compared to the competition.
Then again, the Snapdragon X isn’t designed to be a performance powerhouse. Shifting gears onto more real-world applications, such as web browsing, email, and Microsoft Office, the ZenBook A14 performs flawlessly. Windows feels snappy and responsive, with quick boot-up and app loading times. Multitasking, however, can be a mixed bag, depending on your use case. If you primarily use ARM-native apps, you’ll have a smooth experience. That being said, if your workflow involves running apps that aren’t natively designed for ARM, you might encounter some hiccups.
It’s also worth noting that the ZenBook A14 is a Copilot+ PC, thanks to the powerful NPU in the Snapdragon X processor. That’s one thing worth giving Qualcomm credit for, which is that despite the Snapdragon X being a more cost-effective processor, it still comes with a 45 TOPS NPU. We tested it across GeekBench’s AI benchmark, and with a quantized score of over 700, the results are decent. In real-world scenarios, I was able to utilize Copilot with ease, especially in MS Paint, and the results were quite snappy.
Lastly, there’s the battery life, which is another strong suit of the ZenBook A14. Despite its slim design, the laptop packs in a 70WHr battery, which ASUS claims should last you up to 32 hours. In the PCMark 10 Battery Video Loop test, the laptop lasted around 20 hours, which is quite remarkable.
In real-world use, the ZenBook A14 truly shines. On a recent two-day work trip to Mumbai, I used the laptop extensively on flights and at the hotel, and it lasted the entire trip without needing a charge. It wasn’t until late in the second day that I decided to plug it in, with the battery still at 18%.
The included charger is also noteworthy. It’s a compact and lightweight mobile charger, making it easy to carry with you wherever you go. At 65W of output, it’s well suited to charge not just the ZenBook A14, but also your smartphone and other accessories.
Verdict
The base Snapdragon X variant of the ZenBook A14 is priced at Rs 99,999, while the higher-end Snapdragon X Elite variant is available for Rs. 1.3 lakh. Yes, there is a big difference in overall performance, but most users aren’t that likely to notice it in their day-to-day usage. Instead, I would recommend opting for the base Snapdragon X variant and adding more storage down the line if needed.
As for whether the base variant of Snapdragon X is recommendable or not, it’s an excellent choice for those seeking the lightest clamshell laptop possible without compromising on build quality or essential features. Its portability and exceptional battery life make it a perfect companion for frequent travellers and those who need a reliable machine for on-the-go productivity.
The primary consideration is app compatibility. While the situation is improving rapidly, with many apps already natively designed for ARM and new ones being added daily, some older or less common applications might not run as smoothly. In that case, the ASUS Vivobook S14 OLED itself stands out as a solid contender, offering excellent performance, but be prepared to sacrifice battery life. Alternatively, the Acer Swift 14 AI sits in the middle, offering a good balance of battery life and performance, while also costing cheaper at just Rs 90,000.
Editor’s rating: 7.5 / 10
Pros:
- Exceptional battery life & portability
- Solid everyday performance
- Durable build quality
- Great keyboard and touchpad
Cons:
- 60Hz 1200p display feels outdated
- Only 512GB storage offered
- Not for performance enthusiasts