Asus VivoBook S 14 OLED laptop review: Successful performance of the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370

Competitors to the VivoBook include other 14-inch laptops from 2024 such as the Lenovo Yoga Pro 7 14IMH9 (Core Ultra 7 155H) and the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5 14AHP9 (Ryzen 7 8845HS), as well as the Asus Zenbook 14 UM3406HA (Ryzen 7 8840HS). All of these candidates can be found in the tables below as comparison devices.

Please note: We have recently updated our rating system and the results of version 8 are not comparable with the results of version 7. More information is available here.

As with most Asus laptops, the VivoBook S 14 looks pretty sleek overall. Its silver surfaces attract comparatively less dirt than devices with a black finish. While its lid is made from metal, the base unit has been constructed using plastic. Its build quality gives us no reason to complain. 

Similar to many other (slim) laptops, only its stability could do with being a little better—be it the torsional rigidity of the lid or how the base unit behaves when pressure is applied (especially in the touchpad area). It gains plus points for its generous opening angle of 180°. The hinge does a fine job (you can open the laptop with one hand), although vibrations are only absorbed to a limited extent and result in the screen wobbling a little.

Weighing in at 1.3 kg, the 14-inch device is nice and lightweight and can be transported easily. Among the comparison devices, only the Zenbook 14 weighs even less (1.2 kg). At 1.59 cm, its build height is average.

Ports

The laptop's connectivity options are generally good. Although it doesn't feature an RJ45 port, everything else is on board that you would expect to see on a current all-round laptop. This includes an HDMI 2.1 port, two USB-C ports with DisplayPort support and Power Delivery (1x 4.0, 1x 3.2 Gen 1), a microSD card reader, and a 3.5-mm jack on the left-hand side. On the right, there are only two USB-A ports that comply with the 3.2 Gen 1 standard.

As most of the connections are situated on the back half of the case, you can use a mouse with no problems or limitations.

The installed card reader is unfortunately on the slower side. Its 40 MB/s are considerably surpassed by the IdeaPad Pro 5 and the Zenbook S16 from the same manufacturer.

The integrated MediaTek chip's (Wi-Fi 6E MT7922) WLAN performance was a mixed bag during our test. While its receiving performance was on par with the competition, its sending performance was rather disappointing in our test (1-meter distance to the reference router).

The device is fitted with a pretty standard 2-MP webcam, meaning its picture sharpness and color accuracy aren't the best. A positive, on the other hand, is that it comes with a mechanical privacy shutter.

The laptop comes with a compact 90-watt power supply and a few information leaflets.

Asus could do with making it a little easier to perform maintenance on this device. One of the 11 case screws (Torx) is hidden beneath a cover that is rather difficult to remove. Apart from this, the bottom case cover can be removed quite easily from its anchoring. We have a few negatives to note about the inside of the case: Firstly, the RAM and WLAN module are soldered on and secondly, there is only a single M.2 slot.

Asus primarily relies on cardboard when it comes to the laptop's packaging. It is protected by a fabric insert and a fabric bag (each labeled). A plastic film is only used for the power supply unit. We were unable to find any information on the device's CO₂ footprint and the case's recycling status.

In the United States, the laptop is covered by a standard 12-month warranty.

The manufacturer has come up with some nice features for the laptop's touchpad. For example, you can conveniently adjust the volume with a swipe gesture on the left-hand side, while the right-hand side is used to control the display brightness. The surprisingly large clickpad for a 14-inch laptop (approx. 13 x 8.5 cm) also feels nice and smooth during use. The click areas provide decent feedback but also sound a little rattly when triggered.

OLED fans who aren't annoyed by reflective surfaces will be completely happy with the VivoBook S 14. The HDR-ready 14-inch panel achieves great contrasts thanks to its OLED-typical low black value.

The version of the VivoBook S 14 we are testing can be classed as a mid-range device. Alternative models fitted with the Core Ultra 5, for example, can be found for a slightly lower price. In addition, there is a completely foldable version on offer called the S 14 Flip.

Compared to the Zenbook S16, which we also tested using the standard profile, the VivoBook S 14 did a lot better in the benchmarks despite its identical processor. No wonder, as this model's CPU has access to a more generous TDP (54 watts instead of 28 watts PL1). The CPU rating certifies a 10 % higher performance for the VivoBook. This also became clearly visible in the Cinebench loop, although its performance unfortunately couldn't be kept completely constant in the long run.

Nevertheless, the HX 370 beat the CPUs of all other competing laptops—be it the Core Ultra 7 155H or the Ryzen 7 8840HS or 8845HS. Technically, the Zen 5 offshoot, which is manufactured using the 4 nm process, features 12 cores and can process up to 24 threads in parallel via SMT.

The VivoBook also took the top spot among the comparison devices when it came to its system performance. Its RAM performance wasn't bad either, as the AIDA64 table shows.