Review Asus VivoBook S14 reasonable laptop for the average user

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When buying a laptop for everydayuse, most people are looking for a simple, but at the same time powerful laptop, able to cope with any tasks with minimal maintenance. In this regard, the new Asus VivoBook S14 is an almost perfect device.

Design and construction

Ports and connectors

Laptop display

Keyboard and trackpad

Iron features

Performance

Cooling and sound

Battery autonomy

Should I buy?

Design Asus VivoBook S14

There is nothing special to say about the design of the VivoBook S14. Externally, it looks like any other ASUS laptop and does not stand out among the crowd of competitors. The body is mostly plastic, but the lid and palmrest have a polished metal surface, making the device look more solid.

One of the most interesting things about this laptop isThis is a new design of loops from ASUS, which slightly raise the device when opening. The Ergo Lift design raises the laptop case by 3.5 ° from the surface, which allows the cooling system to work more efficiently and provides ease of typing.

Asus VivoBook S14 is a pretty portable laptop withweighing only 1.4 kg and 18 mm thick, so it can easily be placed in any bag and carry with you anywhere. The display frames are thin, fortunately, here the webcam is exactly where it should be - at the top. Light and thin body, will be in demand by many people who are looking for a practical laptop for work.

Overall, the device looks good, but rounded,Silver keyboard keys look a bit cheaper compared to competitive devices. In any case, the previous VivoBook S14 had a more practical design. Nevertheless, I like the rugged case of this laptop.

Ports and connectors

Despite its small size, the Asus VivoBook S14has all the necessary ports, including USB-C 3.1 Gen 1, USB-A 3.1, USB-A 2.0, HDMI, microSD and a combined audio jack. Thus, users can easily connect various devices without using adapters.

As for I / O, we get 3 portsUSB-A, 1 × USB-C 3.1 Gen 1, 1 × HDMI, microSD card slot and headphone jack. There are many more ports than other modern laptops, however, the lack of Thunderbolt 3 disappoints.

The charger included in the package is surprisingly small and a little more in size than a phone charger, which pleases.

Laptop display

Asus VivoBook S14 is one of the first in the lineup,which got the Nano Edge display with minimal frames. 14-inch FHD (1920 × 1080 pixels) screen is not bad, but it could be better. When testing, the color gamut was only 57% sRGB (MacBook - more than 130%). Nevertheless, the panel produces bright, clear and detailed colors that are comfortable for the eyes, even during long viewing. Colors are not distorted at any angle.

For work and movies this is an excellent display. But I do not recommend using a laptop on the street, since its contents are almost invisible in the bright sun.

Keyboard and trackpad

VivoBook S14 keyboard design that looksa bit cheaper, in general, destroys the overall aesthetics of a laptop. But despite this, typing on a laptop is very convenient. The keys are well separated from each other and respond quickly to pressing. After I got used to these keys, I was able to easily reach my standard print speed of about 70 beats per minute, without any typos or missed clicks. The keyboard also has a backlight that helps to work in the dark.

The touchpad of Asus VivoBook S14 is very responsive, andthe surface is smooth, thanks to which the fingers easily slide along the panel. The default sensitivity was too high, but I easily changed it in the settings. There is also a function that blocks the accidental pressing of the palm. There is also a built-in fingerprint scanner for unlocking the Windows system with a touch, using the Windows Hello function.

Iron features

As for specifications and components, the newThe VivoBook S14 runs on an Intel Core i5-8250U processor, has 8 GB of RAM, and offers 256 GB SSD paired with a 1 TB HDD. The display is a 14-inch FHD-module.

I like the solution with the SSD + HDD combination, and II want more manufacturers to offer the same. SSD for OS and mainstream applications means that the user interface will work without delay. HDD allows you to store all data, including photos, music, movies, etc.

Performance

For everyday useAsus VivoBook S14 performance is enough. The 8th generation processor is powerful enough to handle all the tasks, and the SSD ensures smooth system operation.

There is no dedicated video card on the VivoBook S14,therefore, games are out of the question here. I tried to play Fortnite, the system barely gave out 20 frames per second at the lowest settings. With PUBG, things are even worse. Even for medium games it is better to choose another device. When playing 2D platformers and the like, there are no problems.

Cooling and sound

This laptop from Asus is not very hot. Even under full load, the CPU temperature never exceeded 72 ° C, which is commendable. It is clear that temperature management in the VivoBook S14 works quite well. This became more obvious in the video conversion test, where the laptop got a very respectable result compared to its competitors.

My only complaint is the dynamics. Here they are very quiet. So quiet that their sound interrupts the work of the included ceiling fan. Some films had to spend more time reading subtitles than listening to audio.

Autonomy VivoBook S14

In addition to problems with sound, battery lifeAsus VivoBook S14 is also a problem. It's not bad, but not enough for my daily use, which includes working in Word, watching movies and editing multiple images in Photoshop. A full battery charge was enough for 4 hours.

The PCMark 8 Battery Time test showed even more disappointing results - 2 hours 30 minutes. This is less than 3 hours, which showed the majority of competitors S14 in the same test.

Total

Asus VivoBook S14 - not amazing, butit is a reasonably configured and quite powerful machine that should appeal to most users. If the dynamics and battery life were better, I boldly recommended it to anyone looking for a laptop up to $ 850 (p 59,000).

I am currently torn betweenVivoBook S14 and Lenovo IdeaPad 330S recommendations. Both have the same price, disappointing speakers and almost identical displays. But the 330S has an advantage in battery life (about 6 hours) when the S14 offers the best user experience. Therefore, the choice between these factors depends on you.

Asus VivoBook S14 Laptop Review - Video