The Asus Zenbook Pro 14 OLED is a top contender for the title of the best all-around compact laptop in the world. Packed with powerful features like an Intel Core i9 processor, Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, 2,880 x 1,800 16:10 OLED touchscreen, and a 2TB SSD, this laptop offers excellent portability and is suitable for productivity, creativity, modeling, and gaming.
Asus has established itself as a leading provider of high-quality business-grade OLED laptops. The Zenbook 14 Flip, Zenbook 14X, and ProArt Studio 16 have all received praise for their impressive display quality.
While there are other OLED laptops available, the Zenbook Pro’s strongest competition comes from Apple’s MacBook Pro 14. Both laptops are similarly priced and offer outstanding displays, with the MacBook Pro featuring a non-touch Liquid Retina XDR display.
Design: The Zenbook Pro 14 features a solid and angular design in an all-black color. It may not be as stylish as the Zenbook 14X, but its aluminum construction ensures durability and rigidity. However, the excessive number of stickers on the keyboard deck detracts from its overall appearance.
Despite its 14.5-inch size, the Zenbook Pro 14 is impressively compact and lightweight. It meets the US MIL-STD-810H military-grade standard for durability and offers a good selection of I/O ports for connectivity. The base panel can be easily removed for RAM and SSD upgrades.
Keyboard, Touchpad, and Webcam: The keyboard is solid, although the key travel is on the shallow side. The full-sized arrow keys are an advantage, and the three-stage white backlight ensures visibility in low light conditions. The touchpad is expansive and responsive, but the click-action feels heavy and leaden. The Asus DialPad, a virtual scroll wheel, provides additional control options, particularly useful for Adobe Photoshop users.
The webcam offers a crisp and colorful picture but lacks a physical shutter. It supports Windows Hello facial recognition and features image filters and enhancements. The noise-canceling microphone array and Target Speaker Tracking system deliver excellent audio quality, making the Zenbook Pro ideal for multi-user conference calls.
Display: The 14.5-inch OLED touchscreen display is vibrant and offers excellent color accuracy. With a wide color gamut and Pantone validation, it satisfies even the most demanding users. The display’s brightness and contrast ratio are impressive, and it supports HDR content with a Display HDR True Black 500 rating. The fully-laminated screen with Gorilla Glass provides a glossy finish for a visually pleasing experience.
Performance: Equipped with an Intel Core i9 processor, 32GB of RAM, and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU, the Zenbook Pro 14 delivers exceptional performance for its class. It performs well in various benchmarks and can handle demanding games with ease. The laptop’s battery life is reasonable, lasting up to six hours and 40 minutes in normal use.
Purchasing: The Zenbook Pro 14 is available in two models, with the RTX 4070 variant offering slightly higher performance. It competes with the MacBook Pro 14, which offers better battery life and a brighter Mini LED display. The choice between the two ultimately depends on personal preference and software requirements.