MANILA, Philippines — Mac or Windows? AMD or Intel? 15.6” or 13.3” inches?
The laptop market today is aplenty, with options that can either be exciting or overwhelming. But, take it from me, who experienced switching from one device to another: the ideal laptop, most of the time, really all boils down to your lifestyle.
I, personally, had ASUS X556 as my companion for all my acad-related activities during my university years, because it was the most capable device our budget could afford at that time. Years later, I switched to Apple MacBook Air (MBA M1) for my new daily driver due to considerations such as portability for work-from-anywhere, battery life, and at the same time, its casual editing capabilities.
Fans say that once you go Mac, you will never look back. But with new promising laptops in today’s market, could there be a device that can make a Mac user consider switching back? It seems there is with the new ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED.
Style meets substance
The new ZenBook S 13, is the latest disruptor in the ultrathin laptop category, where recent MBAs have claimed their fame.
An ultra-sleek laptop with AMD CPU, matched with an immersive OLED screen, the ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED ticks off the boxes that make up a good laptop in this day and age: performance, portability and looks.
But first things first. Let’s talk about the style of this device, it is too pretty not to talk about.
You’ll get your first wow moment from the ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED at the very moment you unbox it.
True to the Zenbook identity, the device serves an understated design in its four available colorways, namely “Ponder Blue,” “Refined White,” “Aqua Celadon and “Vestige Beige.” It also bears an engravement of the new ASUS Glyph logo for an even more sophisticated finish.
The unit we tested is in Ponder Blue, a very professional-looking hue, featuring a darker shade that’s almost in between dark denim blue and black.
Complementing its beautiful finish is its light and thin build. Measuring only 296.7 x 210.5mm, the ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED is smaller than the M1 MBA (304.1 x 212.4mm).
Not only is it smaller, but also lighter with a weight of just over 1kg—ideal for digital nomads, as well as frequent travelers looking for portability in their devices.
Just when you think the device is elegant enough, the ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED adds something that I believe elevated its looks even further: the zen-capped 180-degree ErgoLift hinge.
It is a beautiful hinge attached to a circular bar at the back of the device, making it possible to tilt the device to an almost flat level. Plus, it also compliments the ErgoLift function of ASUS, which raises the keyboard slightly for a more optimized viewing and better typing experience.
Impressive display, audio
Need we say more, the ASUS Zenbook S 13’s 13.3-inch 2880 x 1800 OLED screen is a sight to behold.
The device has gone for the 16:10 aspect ratio, which I feel is thoughtful enough to provide a bigger workspace and more immersive viewing experience, especially for creatives like designers and editors.
Not to mention, the four-sided NanoEdge design along with the almost inexistent, ultraslim bezels are lovely touches that can make a user feel more up close with their device's screen.
Entertainment buffs will also appreciate this device’s super-bright PANTONE® Validated screen and 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, which is color-accurate and delivers deep blacks and high contrast pop of colors. Plus, it delivers good audio, bass and percussion even at high volume—thanks to its Dolby Atmos audio system.
And because we’re talking ASUS OLED here, these great visuals come with great comfort to the eyes even with long viewing sessions, as backed by the device’s TÜV Rheinland-certified for eye care.
Heavy on performance
Many great things come in small packages, and the ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED proves that.
Considering this device’s ultraportable build, it’s beyond surprising that under its hood are powerful AMD Ryzen 6000-Series processor, up to 16GB of fast RAM, 512GB PCIE 4.0 SSD and AMD Radeon mobile graphics.
This much power allowed me to enjoy fast boot times and instant multiple app loads. Even my experience with editing software (which, by the way, was free from ASUS’ complementary three-month Adobe Creative Cloud membership) was just as smooth as my experience in my MBA, giving me confidence that this device can tackle any work or leisure activity.
Plus, my experience with the devices show showed not much of a compromise when it comes to the battery, giving me almost seven hours of writing, simple video editing, Netflix and some light games.
Charging also doesn’t take that long as I was able to juice up its battery from 12% to 90% in an hour, 33 minutes.
ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED: A serious challenger to MBA
Take it from an MBA user like me, the ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED is indeed a worthy competition to what the MBA can deliver.
Without a doubt, ASUS guns for ultra-portability in this device with its powerful AMD Ryzen 6000 processor and a 13.3-inch 2880 x 1800 OLED screen, all housed in an elegant, ultralight magnesium-aluminum alloy chassis. You would never think that you would get this much from a laptop that feels so light.
From its look, display and performance, down to thoughtful touches like its fingerprint-enabled power button, ErgoLift Hinge and ASUS Number Pad 2.0, the ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED is the closest thing Windows has to a true MBA competitor.
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 was recently unveiled in the Philippines and is now available for purchase. Buy this device until October 31 and get the chance to win a Zarah Juan “Zen Tote” Bag worth P8,500 by registering your purchase at www.ph.asus.click/ASUSZenbookS13OLEDxZarahJuan
For more information, visit www.asus.com/ph.