Intel Comes Back Strong with Lunar Lake

Intel Comes Back Strong with Lunar Lake

Review Verdict: The 2024 ZenBook S 14 proves that Intel’s Lunar Lake chips are one of the most-awaited laptop processors in recent memory. Aside from having significantly better thermals and overall performance, they also offer a longer battery life–as long as you can stomach the price hike from a ZenBook that uses previous-generation Meteor Lake chips. 

Pros

  • Core Ultra Series 2 runs cooler than its predecessor
  • Better battery life
  • Great speakers

Cons

  • The keyboard is a bit on the stiff side
  • Hefty price hike from 2024 ZenBook S 13

With Intel formally unveiling its Lunar Lake line of laptop processors, ASUS is among the first brands to use the Core Ultra (Series 2) with the 2024 ZenBook S 14 (UX5406). Still carrying the same trademark ZenBook design language, its biggest change relies on what Intel has to offer under the hood. We’ve used the ZenBook S 14 for a few weeks, and here’s our verdict on Intel’s new chips:

ZenBook S 14 2024 Philippines Review: Design

The Zenbook S 14 2024 retails the same design language as recent ZenBooks, though you are getting a Zumaia Grey colorway for the Ceraliminum chassis. The whole body has a nice anodized finish that’s resistant to smudges, and the silver lines on the lid give it a nice aesthetic appeal that goes along with the current ZenBook design language.

Just like the ZenBook S 13 OLED, you get the same port selection on the 2024 ZenBook S 14 which includes two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, a USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 port, and a headphone jack. The main difference between the 2024 iterations of the ZenBook S 13 OLED and S 14 is that the former has ASUS’ ErgoLift hinge, while the latter has a more conventional hinge design.

Also different on the ZenBook S 14 is the grille above the keyboard, which serves as exhaust vents to manage thermals. This is the first time ASUS implemented such a design on the ZenBook line, and it does help in making the whole laptop run cooler. The area also has ASUS’ new logo , omitting the usual ZenBook branding at the bottom bezel.

 

ZenBook S 14 2024 Philippines Review: Display and Speakers

As part of ASUS’ premium offerings, the 2024 ZenBook S 14 has a 120hz OLED panel with a 3K resolution and touchscreen capabilities. They are the best OLED panels ASUS has to offer on their laptops, and you get those deep blacks and vibrant colors that are accurate. Aside from general productivity use, the 2024 ZenBook S 14’s display is a joy to use in watching Itzy’s Gold and Aespa’s Whiplash in pure 4K glory.

The speakers are one of the best we’ve tried on any ASUS laptop. Despite being a bottom-firing design, they can go loud and still give a great overall soundstage. The 50% volume setting is already loud, and we would keep the volume at around 30% most of the time save for those instances when we just want to blast Aespa’s Whiplash to appreciate how good the speakers of the 2024 ZenBook S 14 are.

 

ZenBook S 14 2024 Philippines Review: Keyboard and Trackpad

If there was one thing that ASUS took a step backward, it had to be with the keyboard. While the spacing of the keys is decent, we found the 2024 ZenBook S 14 to be a bit on the stiff side. It feels more like typing on a tablet keyboard, so key travel is lower than other ZenBooks we have tried in the past.

Being a Copilot+ PC, the 2024 ZenBook S 14 has a dedicated Copilot key that opens Microsoft’s AI-powered assistant quickly, which proves to be a handy tool if you need to ask a few questions like travel recommendations and planning your itinerary. While we’re not a fan of the 2024 ZenBook S 14’s keyboard, we like the responsiveness of its rather huge trackpad for general productivity use.

 

ZenBook S 14 2024 Philippines Review: Internals and Battery Life

The version that’s made available in the Philippines comes with a Core Ultra 7 258V processor that’s paired with 32GB RAM and 1TB NVMe storage. Its spec sheet meets Microsoft’s requirements for a Copilot+ laptop, so doing AI-related tasks should be a walk in the park.

Compared to previous Intel ZenBooks, one thing we noticed with the 2024 ZenBook S 14 is that it runs cooler even on heavy loads, with the fans spinning at a lower RPM. Editing and exporting photos in Lightroom Classic is snappier compared to our experience with previous Intel-powered ZenBook laptops, and boot-up times are also much faster. Copilot also booted up quickly once we pressed the dedicated key, and it processed our queries swiftly.

Despite doing multiple things at the same time with the 2024 ZenBook S 14, which include writing articles, editing photos in Lightroom Classic, and listening to songs in Apple Music, the fans barely spun at their maximum RPM and the laptop’s thermals are less warm compared to our experience with previous Intel ZenBook laptops.

The 2024 ZenBook S 14 comes with a 72wH battery, and we were able to get a battery life of close to 8 hours (7 hours 59 minutes to be specific) with our video loop test. That’s an incredible outing for an Intel laptop and is one of the longest battery life we’ve recorded in recent memory. Pair that with the performance efficiency of the Core Ultra 7 258V, and Intel has come a long way in balancing performance and battery life with its laptop processors. Real-life use is around 7 hours, which is a big upgrade compared to Intel laptops from the past. Like most ZenBooks, charging is done via 65w USB-PD.

 

ZenBook S 14 2024 Philippines Review: Wrap-up and Conclusions

Intel’s Lunar Lake processors are one of the best chips from Team Blue in a while, and the 2024 ZenBook S 14 proves that with significantly better battery life and better overall thermals even during heavy, sustained loads. The 2024 ZenBook S 14 may have fallen a bit short with its keyboard, but overall it is a good upgrade to previous ZenBook S models.

 

ZenBook S 14 2024 Philippines Review: Price

The ZenBook S 14 2024 is priced at Php 109,995 and comes with a laptop sleeve, Office Home 2024, a 1-year subscription to Microsoft 365 Basic, a 1-month subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud, and ASUS’ 4A Quality and Service Package with a 2-year international warranty.

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