The new Asus Zenbook 14X OLED (UX3404) is a notebook with a 14.5 inch, 2880 x 1800 pixel 120 Hz OLED display, a 45-watt Intel Raptor Lake-H processor, optional support for NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 graphics, and up to 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage.
It’s also a pretty compact notebook, measuring 16.9mm (0.67 inches) thick and weighing just about 1.5kg (3.3 pounds).
The display is probably the notebook’s stand-out feature. It’s a Pantone Validated screen with 100% DCI-P3 color gamut and a 0.2ms response time.
Asus offers touch and non-touch versions of the display, with the touchscreen version supporting up to 550 nits peak brightness and DisplayHDR 500 True Black certification, while the non-touch model can hit 600 nits peak brightness and is DisplayHDR 600 True Black certification.
But the display isn’t this notebook’s only distinctive feature. It also has a “ceramic-like coating” for the lid, using a process called plasma electrolytic oxidation, or PEO. It’s said to give the lid a finish that’s harder than aluminum alone, while offering resistance from fingerprint smudges, fading, and other signs of wear. There’s also also optional support for an Asus Numberpad, which basically lets you use the trackpad as a numeric keypad with the press of a button.
And as we’re seeing from a number of PC makers this year, Asus didn’t have to compromise on processing power to achieve a thin and light design. The new Zenbook 14X OLED supports Intel Core i5-13500H, Core i7-13700H, and Core i9-13900H processor options, LPDDR5-4800 memory and PCIe Gen 4 storage.
It also has two Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI 2.1 port, a USB 3.2 Type-A jack and headset jack,. support for WiFi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2, and a FHD IR camera with support for face recognition.
The Zenbook 14X OLED is powered by a 70 Wh battery and comes with a 90W or 100W USB-C power adapter, depending on the configuration. But Asus says it can be used with “a wide range of standard 5-20V USB-C chargers” or power banks for charging on the go.
Asus hasn’t announced pricing or availability details yet.
I like the idea of these thin “ultrabook” laptops with a discrete GPU, but when it comes to buying a laptop I realize that the thinness must really increase the price, and the compromises in battery and expansion slots are also obvious.
You’ll always get more RAM slots, more M.2 slots, and a bigger battery from a gaming laptop, and gaming laptops are also priced far cheaper.
If you look at Asus’s previous generation Zenbooks with discrete GPUs, a model with an i9 and a 3070ti cost about $2999 USD. Compare this to any gaming laptop with the same specs, and they’ll be priced around $1800-$2200 depending on sales.