ASUS has recently introduced its premium Zenbook S 14 portable laptops with Intel Lunar Lake processors. This time, we reviewed the ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406 with a special combined Ceraluminium coating and fast Intel Arc Graphics 140V integrated graphics. In the premium model ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406, the manufacturer has managed to combine three key characteristics that are important to connoisseurs of such devices — performance, compactness, and design.
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| Screen | 14″, 3K (2880 x 1800) OLED 16:10, 120 Hz |
| Processor | Intel Core Ultra 7 258V (12 MB cache, up to 4.8 GHz, 8 cores, 8 threads); Intel AI Boost NPU up to 47 TOPS |
| RAM | 32 GB LPDDR5X |
| Drive | 1 TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD WD PC SN560 SDDPNQE-1T00-110 |
| Video card | Intel Arc Graphics 140V |
| Wireless interfaces | Wi-Fi 7(802.11be) (Triple band) 2*2 + Bluetooth® 5.4 Wireless Card |
| Wired interfaces | 1x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A 2x Thunderbolt 4 with display/power support 1x HDMI 2.1 TMDS 1x 3.5 mm combined audio jack |
| Power supply | 65 W; TYPE-C; 20 V, 3.25 A |
| Battery | 72 W*h, 2S2P, 4 cells, lithium-ion |
| Weight | 1.20 kg |
| Dimensions | 31.03 x 21.47 x 1.19 ~ 1.29 cm |
When you unpack it for the first time, there are no unnecessary difficulties. The general conciseness and convenience immediately strikes the eye. The laptop comes in a classic cardboard box with basic information and specifications. Inside we find two smaller boxes: one of them contains a 65W branded power supply, and the other, a designer box, contains the ultrabook itself.
ASUS has additionally included a convenient envelope-shaped case. It’s nice when a manufacturer doesn’t forget about the basic amenities for its audience, but given the price of the device — this is a must-have. Of course, we would have liked at least a small docking station, but this is more of a dream than a complaint.
Nowadays, it is increasingly difficult to impress demanding users, especially in the premium segment. Many manufacturers rely on uniformity, and it is often difficult to determine which brand of laptop is in front of you. However, this is not the case with ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406 because the design of this model is top-notch.
The sample came for review in Zumaia Gray color, which is a reference to the famous Spanish rocks. In my opinion — this is a great combination of aesthetic appearance and practicality in use. It shows no signs of use and dust, which stands out, especially in dark colors. On the back surface of the laptop you can see shiny design lines and inserts.
The main feature of the laptop is the proprietary Ceraluminum coating, which combines ceramic and aluminum. It’s a lightweight, pleasant to the touch, yet durable material that came to us from the aerospace industry. When you pick it up, you realize that this is not some cheap plastic made from recycled bottles.
Despite its light weight, the laptop stands confidently on a hard surface. This is possible thanks to special inserts on the bottom of the case. They also raise it slightly above the surface. Air is drawn into the cooling system through the bottom mesh, so you shouldn’t put the laptop on a sofa.
The build quality also does not raise any questions — it is at a high level. However, the keyboard unit can bend slightly, depending on the effort applied. The hinges are adjusted no worse than those of Apple competitors. We can open ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406 with one finger without any problems.
The maximum opening angle is 135 degrees, although I sometimes use laptops in 180-degree format. The weight of the ultrabook is about 1.2 kg. Considering that in most cases we will be working with the laptop on a stable surface, not holding it in our hands, I don’t see a big problem with the extra 200 grams.
ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406 — is the most compact 14» device. Its thickness is about 12.9 mm. Given the modest dimensions of 31.03×21.47×1.19, we get a truly ultraportable device that will not cause any unnecessary difficulties during transportation. In addition, the proprietary power supply is quite light — only 190 grams.
So you can easily carry it with you if you want to work in a coworking space or coffee shop. You also don’t have to worry about the laptop taking up too much space when traveling. In general, the modular design of the power supply is a big plus. We can use a high-quality branded USB Type-C cable separately, connecting the laptop to the charging station.
ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406 is tested according to the military standard MIL-STD 810H. That is, we have a potentially good solution for those who like to work in difficult conditions. However, I do not recommend that you rely too much on luck and expose the ultrabook to unnecessary tests because anything can break. I would add that in terms of tactile and aesthetic characteristics, this is one of the most impressive laptops in this class.
ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406 has two USB-C ports (Thunderbolt 4–40 Gbps, Power Delivery) located on the left side. HDMI is used to connect an additional monitor. On the right side we have one conventional USB-A 3.2 Gen2 — 10 Gbps. Zenbook supports the new Wi-Fi 7 standard, as well as Bluetooth 5.4. When using the ASUS RT-AX1800U router, the speed for Wi-Fi 6 reached 1800 Mbps. There were no problems with the signal during use. Of course, if you use a more modern router, the bandwidth will be much higher.
Before drawing any conclusions, I tried to use the laptop for a week in my usual workflows. Here we have a full-size keyboard, which does not contain an additional number pad because the dimensions do not allow it. The key travel is about 1.1 millimeters, so if you’re used to vowels «clicks» with a longer travel, you won’t find it quite comfortable. The sound of the keys is quiet, except for the space bar.
I spend most of my working time at a laptop, so I’ve developed some special requirements for input tools. The first test for my habits was the right Copilot key, which replaced CTRL.
So if you’re a fan of switching languages with right ctrl+shift, you’re in for an unpleasant surprise. In Windows 11, we can assign many functions to the Copilot key, but for some reason, we are not allowed to return CTRL. This is a common trend for modern Windows laptops to popularize Microsoft’s proprietary AI. It would be cool if ASUS could place the option to return the familiar function in the settings.
The keyboard boasts a bright step backlight that stands out even in broad daylight. The next nuance for those who work with texts a lot is the absence of separate PgUp/PgDn keys. In our case, their function is combined with the cursor keys. If we put aside the above comments, we have a comfortable keyboard.
The trackpad in ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406 is very convenient and will appeal to even demanding users. In many cases, there is no need to connect an additional manipulator with it. Its size is 127×79 millimeters, which is more than enough for daily use in most typical tasks.
It has a pleasant tactile feel thanks to its glass coating. The trackpad has excellent responsiveness and additional gesture controls. Using the side panels, we can increase the volume, brightness of the screen, and scroll through the timeline when watching a video.
Nowadays, not only a keyboard, touchpad, or trackpad are considered input devices, but also a touchscreen. Unfortunately, this ultrabook does not have one. In some usage scenarios, we may miss this feature very much. And this, in my opinion, is the main criticism of the user experience of the ASUS ultrabook. The category of users who do not like to stain their glossy display with fingerprints will disagree with me.
One of the strongest points of the ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406 ultrabook is its high-quality screen. It is based on a Samsung OLED matrix with a diagonal of 14 inches and a resolution of 2,880×1,800 pixels. At the same time, we have a not very common 16:10 aspect ratio. For workflows, this can only be considered a plus, as it is more convenient to work with texts or in a browser. The pixel density is about 243 PPI.
The display refresh rate is 120 Hz, making animations and movements look much smoother than classic 60Hz monitors. Response time is also excellent at —0.2 ms. The display is covered with a special glossy glass, which will be appreciated by those who like rich images. If the sun shines through the window, the screen starts to glare, which can be compensated for by the good brightness of 400 cd/m² and 500 cd/m² in HDR mode. There’s also a light sensor that adjusts the brightness level depending on the situation.
It is worth remembering that we are not looking at a specialized gaming laptop, where a high frequency is only needed for high-speed online battles. In our case, the emphasis is on comfortable work and true color reproduction. ASUS points out that the display has passed the VESA HDR True Black 500 and PANTONE Validated certifications.
The first standard was adopted by the authors considering the capabilities of thin ultra-light laptops.
It includes requirements for local dimming, color space, black level, and color depth. It is equivalent to levels 600 and 1000, but allows for a slight reduction in brightness to reduce the risk of overheating of ultra-thin laptop displays.
PANTONE Validated — is a well-known standard in the design community and among professional filmmakers. In the settings, we can choose the color space according to our needs. Here we have both DCI-P3 and sRGB available.
ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406 is equipped with an infrared camera with support for Windows Hello. This feature will be useful for those who like to unlock their devices with their faces. However, it is worth noting a certain delay when using this method of digital identification. I’ll add that I miss the classic fingerprint scanner.
By default, the camera monitors if the owner has moved away from the laptop. In this case, the backlit screen can be turned off or dimmed to save power. I almost immediately disabled this feature because I don’t always sit right in front of my laptop and the constant changes in brightness are starting to get annoying.
The main 2-megapixel webcam simply performs its basic functions. During conferences, you can notice its tendency to sharpen. In low light conditions, it loses detail, which is not surprising for such optics.
The microphone will be quite enough for work conferences or regular communication. To avoid additional sounds, we can turn on noise cancellation using the built-in functions «artificial intelligence».
Considering the compact size, the rich and clear sound deserves special respect.
The sound subsystem consists of four modules — 2 tweeters and 2 subwoofers. Overall, the ultrabook has a solid volume of about 80 dBA. The bass test track revealed that the low range is somewhat lacking. Given the limitations imposed by the size of the device — this is not surprising.
The laptop has a proprietary software that combines the most necessary settings. Here we can choose the color scheme we need, customize the trackpad, turn on the battery care mode, diagnose and update the system, select the fan mode, artificial intelligence functions, and much more.
In general, the proprietary software is intuitive and should not cause any difficulties even for unprepared users. In addition, we always have access to detailed explanations and a separate introductory guide.
There are no perfect devices, but considering the price of the ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406, you instinctively expect something out of the ordinary, and looking ahead, it did not disappoint. Before we start our standard measurements, it’s worth noting that Windows 11 Home 24h2 (build 26100.2161) is installed here.
ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406 is equipped with an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V processor, which includes 4 P-core cores capable of up to 4.8 GHz and 4 LPE cores with a maximum frequency of up to 3.7 GHz. All of them share a 12 MB L3 cache. As you can see, the practice of hypertrading is slowly becoming a thing of the past.
The processor is made on a 3-nanometer process, TDP is declared at 17 W, short-term Power Limit at «Turbo Boost» can reach 40 W. Intel Core Ultra 7 258V clearly lacks power, so if there is a simultaneous maximum load of the graphics subsystem and the CPU itself, its performance drops.
When running on battery power, we get better performance from the graphics subsystem because it then gets more power from the limited CPU. The CPU clearly lacks an extended power package. There are reasons for this because in this case, you will have to change everything from the cell base and cooling system to the power supply.
If you try to run the tests in optimal and power-saving modes, you will notice that the performance is not much different. Then the laptop drops to about 2.4 GHz.
Standard browser tests such as WebXPRT, Speedometer, and Google Octane show good results. The single-core performance of the Intel Core Ultra 7 258V is only 10% weaker than the Intel Core i7 14700k! Of course, in the multi-core test, the difference will reach two times, but the Core i7 14700k is a hot and voracious desktop processor.
In GeekBench, the Core Ultra 7 demonstrates a good result for its power package. In single-core mode we have 2661 points, and in multi-core mode — 10954. The performance situation fully confirms the previous results in Google Octane.
The Realistic Interior Lightning program loads all the power of the CPU and iGPU. This indicates a high-quality optimization of the software product. It took the laptop 6.5 minutes to render the scene in 2K resolution. The power consumption was about 62 watts. We can confidently say that a fast and energy-efficient processor awaits the user in such a compact ultrabook.
Paired with the CPU, the Intel AI Boost NPU with 47 TOPS performance works under one hood. So far, it does not act as an additional accelerator for offline AI computing. The NPU comes into play only when overlaying real-time camera visual effects, as well as for processing sound from the built-in microphone of the ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406.
The AI image generator from Amuse and the LM Studio program do not yet know how to work with the neuroprocessor. Therefore, in both cases, it is not loaded, which can be seen from the indicators in the Task Manager. Another offline image generator, Fooocus, refused to run on a laptop because it only supports nVidia graphics cards.
However, this is not so much an NPU problem as a problem for software developers. I am sure that in the near future they will learn to use the power of the neural processor. Then it will be interesting to see if it makes sense in real-world tasks or if it is just a marketing ploy.
The standard test of RAM and cache performance in AIDA64 turned out to be ambiguous because the read speed is abnormally low — 85610 MB/s. At the same time, the write and copy speeds are fantastic. Our DDR5x RAM operates in dual-channel mode at 7200 MHz and demonstrates too high latency — as much as 102.9 nanoseconds. You can also notice that AIDA64 incorrectly indicated the memory timings, confusing DDR5x with DDR4. We hope that this situation will be fixed with the latest updates.
The ultrabook is equipped with a high-speed WD PC SN560 SDDPNQE-1T00-1102 drive. It operates via the NVMe interface and supports PCI Express 4.0×4, demonstrating good results in Crystal Mark.
The ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406 is equipped with built-in Intel Arc Graphics 140V graphics. It is positioned as a productive solution among laptops with low-power consumption.
| Intel ARC 140V, Core Ultra 7 268V | |
| The Game | Average FPS |
| Forza Horizon 5 (1080p High) | 70 |
| CyberPunk 2077 (1080p, Low/Medium, IntelXE SuperSampling 1.3 Quality) | 39 |
| The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (1080p, Low) | 54 |
| Alan Wake (1080p, Low) | 15 |
| Silent Hill 2 Remake (1080p, Low, FSR Balance) | 34 |
| Elder Ring (1080p, Low) | 50 |
| Hogward: Legacy (1080p, Low, IntelXE SuperSampling 1.3 Perf.) | 60 |
| Counter-Strike 2 (1080p, Low, FSR Balanced) | 110 |
The Ultrabook is not a specialized gaming solution, but an undemanding player can easily play most computer games without the need to connect a charger.
Most APUs of the past years did not allow us to play The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in FullHD. Even now, the project from CD Project RED puts a solid load on the Intel ARC 140V, despite its 10-year age. At medium settings without supersampling, the ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406 delivers about 54 frames per second and a rather unstable frame rate. Silent Hill 2 Remake is only available in low-resolution. In this mode, the game looks like its ancestor from 2001. But in Counter-Strike 2, we can play at high frame rates like real eSports players.
In the long-term comprehensive stress test AIDA64, short-term peaks of up to 75 degrees Celsius can be observed. In most cases, the temperature did not exceed 70 degrees. At the same time, with a simultaneous load on the CPU and iGPU, the processor significantly drops frequencies, as you can see in the screenshot.
The cooling system of the ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406 is presented in the form of two fans and an evaporation chamber. This is quite enough because the TDP of the processor is only 17 W with short peaks of up to 40.
Under prolonged load, we record no more than 37 degrees on the keyboard and output deflectors. In other areas, this figure barely reaches thirty. The declared power consumption of the ultrabook at full load is about 60 W, and in standby mode with the screen on it is — 8 W.
When watching YouTube in 1080p at medium screen brightness and in balanced mode, we achieved 12 hours of continuous operation. If you turn down the brightness and switch to the economy mode, you get an even better result. It takes 2 hours and 10 minutes to fully recharge the ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406 battery.
In normal use, ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406 is almost inaudible. At maximum load, the sound level meter shows about 46 decibels, so you don’t have to worry, the ultrabook won’t annoy you with its fans.
To give you a more objective view of my experience with the ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406, I used it for seven days in my classic work scenarios.
Laptops with a diagonal of 14» have always been a golden mean for me. However, thanks to the dimensions of the ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406, it felt like I had a 12.5-inch device.
Most of the time I work with texts, Photoshop, and video editing. Therefore, ease of use is more important to me than extreme performance. Besides, I don’t play demanding games on laptops, so iGPU performance is not as important as ergonomics.
I really missed the touch screen and the classic right CTRL key to switch layouts. Of course, it’s a matter of habit and not a problem for some people at all, besides, what would happen to the glossy display if it had fingerprints on it? In general, I liked the large and comfortable trackpad and the very bright backlighting of the keys, which is clearly visible even in broad daylight.
The OLED display showed its best side, and the glossy surface provided additional color saturation when watching video content. However, the downside of gloss is glare, which is partially offset by good brightness.
Many users are looking for the best battery life in ARM laptops. However, ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406 is able to work without recharging for a full working day. Therefore, I did not limit myself in anything and did not look for «life hacks» that would replace the usual software or emulate the operation of software under Windows.
ASUS Zenbook S 14 UX5406 can be purchased for UAH 81999. If we look at the offerings of ultrabooks in the high price range in general, we don’t really have many competitors. In addition, I will not name among them Apple MacBook Pro 16 2023 M3 because in most cases, Windows users prefer a platform that is tied to software.
Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14ASP9 can offer a more efficient Ryzen AI 9 365 processor, a less efficient graphics subsystem, and worse battery life. In addition, it lacks Wi-Fi 7 support and has an older version of Bluetooth 5.3.
ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED UX3405MA are equipped with the Core Ultra 9 185H processor, which belongs to last year’s Meteor Lake architecture. It boasts better performance in computing tasks, but loses out in gaming and energy efficiency. Like the previous Lenovo laptop, it has no new wireless interfaces and lacks Pantone certification.
I decided to add to the list Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12although it is almost 50% more expensive. It is equipped with a 12-core processor of the previous generation Core Ultra 7 155U, which loses to our ultrabook from ASUS in both CPU performance and graphics subsystem. It already has a 4K touchscreen display and a fingerprint scanner, which I missed so much. As a bonus, we get the same situation with wireless interfaces of previous versions.