the ultra portable dandy

Asus has put all its know-how into its Zenbook S 13 Oled, its new ultra-portable PC as powerful and durable as it is elegant. A premium model that is not afraid of the Apple MacBook Air, but which comes at a high price…

At Asus, the Zenbook S range represents all that the Taiwanese knows how to do best in terms of ultraportable PCs. These light and compact computers generally benefit from all the latest advances from the manufacturer. So much so that this Zenbook S 13 Oled from 2023 looks like a real little gem. Asus has not only taken care of the design but also the ergonomics without sacrificing performance or autonomy. The other side of the coin: the price is commensurate with the efforts made to achieve a machine that is as light as it is efficient and the pleasure that we take in handling this PC on a daily basis. We were able to test the Zenbook S 13 Oled for several weeks. Here is our verdict.

Asus Zenbook S 13: an elegant and practical design

Asus has long understood what is expected of an ultra-portable PC: a compact size, light weight and a design that is both elegant and resistant. And the Zenbook S 13 in its 2023 version happily fulfills these three criteria. What marks first when you take it in your hands is first of all its weight. Our scale estimates it at 1 kg all round despite an all-metal frame. It is very light and very pleasant. Enough to carry it around all day without suffering or keep it easily on your knees to work. In addition, the 13-inch template is also particularly practical for slipping the computer into any backpack. He is very discreet.

As for the general design, Asus has pushed the plug a little further, just to emancipate itself from the MacBook Air look that we encounter a little too often in this category. For this Zenbook, the manufacturer has worked particularly well on its copy. The PC here adopts a cover with the appearance and feel of slate. A pleasing color to the eye and an original texture simply disturbed by white lines representing the stylized A of the brand as well as the name “Asus Zenbook” engraved at the bottom of the cover. The result is very neat and it also seems very resistant. The Zenbook accompanied us for a few trips in a backpack, without being protected by a cover, and we did not notice the slightest scratch. A great success.

Asus has also been able to avoid the pitfalls generally encountered with ultra-portable PCs regarding connectivity. Despite the thinness of the device (11 mm at its thickest point, near the hinge) the Zenbook S 13 has connectivity suitable for most uses. There are thus two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a USB-A 3.2 port, an HDMI 2.1 port (full format) and a jack (headphone / microphone). In short, there is no need to carry around a hub or specific adapters as soon as you go out on the road. Well seen.

Asus Zenbook S 13: a very comfortable PC

Once opened, the Zenbook S 13 reveals a rather large and pleasant to use trackpad. We appreciate the presence of a physical click when pressed. It doesn’t seem like much, but the fact that the touch surface sinks a little while letting out the characteristic click sound is reassuring to be sure that the command has been taken into account.

Above the trackpad is a four-tier backlit charcoal-colored keyboard. It is comfortable to use with a well-balanced key travel. Only misunderstanding: the positioning of the power button. It is not located in the upper right corner or on the edge of the PC as is customary on such devices, but just to the left of the Del key which occupies the last place in the first row of keys. It’s quite destabilizing since we inevitably tend to confuse them one and the other if we don’t look at what we are doing.

No fingerprint reader on this Zenbook, however. Biometric identification is assigned to the Windows Hello compatible webcam.

Asus Zenbook S 13: an OLED screen that is too bright

Key element of this Zenbook: the Oled screen. We had already greatly appreciated this type of panel on the Samsung GalaxyBook 3 with the infinite contrasts and the remarkable colors. So much so that it is difficult to switch to a traditional LCD screen afterwards. Same observation with this Zenbook S 13. The screen is simply magnificent. It seems perfectly calibrated straight out of the box. We take advantage of the same Oled panel as the one that fitted the Zenbook 13 last year. It therefore offers the same format (16:10) and the same definition of 2.8 K (i.e. 2880 X 1800 pixels). On the other hand, the maximum brightness reaches a peak of 570 nits. But if staying in front of the Zenbook S 13 screen indoors is a treat, use in direct sunlight becomes complicated. The panel does not benefit from a high-performance anti-reflective treatment and is particularly shiny. The somewhat weak luminosity does not manage to compensate for the phenomenon. Better to use it in a shady place.

Asus Zenbook S 13: lower-class sound

On either side of the keyboard, the words Sound by Harman Kardon and Dolby Vision Atmos suggest good audio performance. Alas, it is nothing. The sound is very mediocre, giving pride of place to the highs and mids and neglecting the bass too much. Result, we perceive a very metallic rendering and not always very pleasant to the ear unfortunately. The Dolby Atmos seems to be rather well managed, but again, the small speakers do not pay tribute to this technology. Better to equip yourself with a Bluetooth headset (the Zenbook offers a Bluetooth 5.2 connection) or wired since the device has a classic headphone jack.

Asus Zenbook S 13: top performance

Data sheet Asus Zenbook S 13 Oled 2023

To animate this Zenbook S 13 2023, Asus relies on an Intel Core i7 processor of 13^e latest generation of Raptor Lake architecture (i7-1355U). Integrating an Intel Iris Xe graphics section, it is supported by 16 GB of LPDDR5 RAM and a 1 TB NVMe SSD. A fairly solid configuration that Asus has managed to fit into a very thin chassis… which is not without some consequences. Thus, the Zenbook S 13 offers good performance as we have seen with the various benchmarks that we have subjected it to.

The speed is there. So that for office tasks as well as for entertainment (video playback for example), the Zenbook S 13 presents itself as an excellent student. But when you push it a little to its limits, it heats up. And when the fans start to cool the whole thing, you can hear it. The heat is evacuated through the vents placed just in front of the screen. But rest assured: in normal use, you will never hear the noise of the fans, which remain discreet.

Asus Zenbook S 13: exemplary endurance

An ultra portable is a PC that has to travel often and be tough enough to stay away from an electrical outlet without causing anxiety attacks. Rest assured: the Zenbook S 13 vintage 2023 provides on this ground. During our tests, it lasted a video streaming marathon for just over 10 hours. In other words, with a more basic use focused on office work, web browsing, and a bit of streaming, it has plenty to last thanks to its 63 Wh battery quite sufficient to use it for more than a day (provided the brightness is not pushed to its maximum). The MyAsus utility provided by the manufacturer also makes it possible to get the most out of the battery by offering various settings tailored to further reduce power consumption. On the charging side, Asus provides a 65 W charger of a quite reasonable size. Allow approximately 1.5 hours to refuel from 0 to 100%.

Asus Zenbook S 13: should you fall for Asus’ ultra portable?

The Zenbook S 13 plays the card of seduction to the full. We appreciated the very elegant design, quite atypical, and the really neat finishes of this ultra-portable. Asus has stood out from the competition with this cover that is both original and resistant. The fairly complete connectivity is also a strong asset when it comes to lugging this PC everywhere without worrying about taking on board adapters to deal with all situations. The manufacturer did not make fun of us either by equipping this little gem with a latest generation Intel Core i7 processor which delivers quite appreciable performance in such a size. The battery provides a comfortable autonomy so you don’t have to keep an eye on the gauge. Finally, the Oled panel offers very satisfactory readability for work or entertainment. We only regret that the Taiwanese did not apply a more efficient anti-reflection filter. Working outdoors only becomes more difficult if the sun shines, especially as the brightness of the screen, which is a little too low, struggles to compensate for this handicap. The audio score would also have deserved more attention even if it is always difficult to release a clear and deep sound while maintaining such a thin template.

Finally, there is the price. With an entry ticket of 1799 euros all the same, the Zenbook S 13 is certainly not the most affordable ultra-portable of the moment. Nevertheless, it falls into the category of premium computers, such as the recent GalaxyBook 3 Samsung (from 1199 euros), the MacBook Air M2 Apple (from 1299 euros) or the Dell XPS 13 Plus (from 1848 euros). A very good travel companion… in business class!