Top Ultraportable Laptop of the Year Boasts All-Day Battery Life

The world of processor technology has seen some incredible leaps this year, and things are only getting more exciting. Intel recently unveiled its latest high-efficiency, AI-powered chips, the Core Ultra Series 2, and one of the first devices to sport these new chips is the Asus Zenbook S 14.

Last month, ZDNET's Cesar Cadenas got his hands on the Zenbook S 14 with the Intel Core Ultra 5 processor, and he was pretty impressed. He praised the laptop for its performance, battery efficiency, and stunning OLED display. With 8GB of RAM and 512GB of storage, it comes in at a wallet-friendly $800, thanks to the processor's NPU doing the heavy lifting. The only downside? It can get pretty warm, but we'll dive into that more later.

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Now, just a month later, we're looking at another version of the Zenbook S 14, this time equipped with the newly announced Intel Core Ultra 7 200V (Series 2) processor and a beefier 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. Intel's latest chip boasts an enhanced NPU 4.0 AI Engine, delivering 47 TOPs of power. It's designed to narrow the gap with other AI processors while improving x86 efficiency and enabling thinner, lighter devices that run cooler.

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Fast, sleek, and with a stunning display, the Zenbook S 14 powered by Intel's new Core Ultra 7 Series 2 processor elevates Asus' popular laptop line to new heights.

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The Zenbook S 14 was already known for being thin and battery-efficient. This new processor aims to enhance its performance in ways that matter most to consumers, especially in today's competitive market. Intel is clearly targeting other AI processors like Qualcomm's Snapdragon X series and AMD's Ryzen AI chips, which power Windows' Copilot+ PCs.

I spent a week testing the Zenbook S 14 with the Core Ultra 7 Series 2, and it felt remarkably similar to devices running Snapdragon X and Ryzen chips. It's incredibly responsive, with quick app load times and seamless multitasking. The OLED display, with its variable 120Hz refresh rate, is not just smooth but also feels incredibly premium.

When I ran it through a battery of benchmarking tests, the results aligned well with Intel's claims:

In terms of battery life, the Zenbook S 14 is truly impressive. During a livestream test, it lasted over 17 hours streaming full-screen video over Wi-Fi. In everyday use, I got between eight to ten hours, depending on the workload.

This is where the AI magic happens: Intel's "Intelligent Display" and dynamic tuning use machine learning to adjust brightness, refresh rate, and contrast based on what you're doing and what's on your screen. This helps the device play media for hours with minimal battery drain.

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The laptop's ceraluminum body has a matte finish with a slightly rough, speckled texture that feels organic and unique. The Zenbook's design is bold and fresh, with thin bezels and crisp lines. The keyboard offers a soft yet tactile feel, and the trackpad is functional and well-positioned, extending right to the edge of the device.

Intel promised thin-and-light devices with its new processors, and the Zenbook S 14 delivers. At just 0.47 inches thick and weighing only 2.65 pounds, it's easy to grip and resistant to fingerprints. It also comes with a generous selection of ports: two USB-Cs, an HDMI, USB-A, and a headphone jack.

The Intel Arc GPU also offers a surprisingly robust gaming experience. I streamed some cloud games, and the combination of Intel's Core Ultra 7 and the OLED screen made for a great gaming setup, free from the emulation headaches you might encounter on Copilot+ PCs.

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There's one thing to keep in mind: heat dispersion. While it's not the hottest laptop out there, it does run warmer than some might expect. It's similar to the previous Zenbook S 14 with the Intel Core Ultra 5, which we noted was on the warmer side.

To put this in perspective, a year ago, this would have been considered average. But with the introduction of ARM architecture, expectations for Windows PCs have shifted. Now that we've seen fanless machines, the bar is set higher. This laptop runs hotter than any of the Copilot+ PCs I've tested, but it's also incredibly thin.

The thinness does come with trade-offs, like the whole device vibrating when the speakers are at full blast. This might not be a dealbreaker for everyone, but it does affect the user experience and is a physical consequence of such a slim design.

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To wrap it up, the path to an AI-powered future is diverse, and manufacturers like Asus and Lenovo are showing us that with devices in various configurations as technology evolves rapidly. For consumers, this means more choices but also trade-offs.

The Zenbook S 14 comes in several flavors:

• A Copilot+ PC with an AMD Ryzen AI 300 series chip for $1,400
• An affordable OLED device with a mid-grade Intel Core Ultra 5 for $800
• And now, with Intel's latest Core Ultra Series 2 processor for $1,500, showcasing the latest in x86 architecture

Intel aims to offer all the benefits of Windows-on-ARM chips without the compatibility or emulation issues. It succeeds in many ways (battery life, performance, thin and light design), but falls short in others (heat dispersion).

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Despite these issues, the Zenbook S 14 is a boldly designed device and one of my top picks for 2024. I highly recommend it for anyone looking for a stunning display, high-performing processor, and an ultraportable form factor at a competitive price.

The Asus Zenbook S 14 is available for preorder now, with shipping expected to start on September 24, 2024.