Asus Zenbook 14 OLED review - The AMD variant of the Zenbook has received the weaker 1080p OLED screen

The two Zenbook 14 models' case design is practically identical, but the AMD version is only available in black (Jade Black). On its lid, you will find a very discreet Pro Art logo as well as small Zenbook lettering, which has also been placed under the laptop's display. However, the manufacturer has forgone any other design elements (apart from some colorful advertizing stickers) and in total, the new Zenbook's design is very stripped-back. As with the dark blue Intel model, fingerprints are a big problem on its black surfaces and we had problems keeping the case clean during our test. The screen's bezels are very narrow, but the bottom edge in particular is pretty wide.

One thing that's immediately noticeable when handling the device is how lightweight it is (1.21 kg). Due to its metal construction, however, it still boasts great stability and we couldn't elicit any creaking noises from it. The middle section of the keyboard does give a little with a lot of pressure, but this shouldn't be a problem in everyday use. The display lid is also stable and we liked how its hinges have been set. The lid can be opened easily with one hand, and it doesn't rock at all. Its maximum opening angle is 180 degrees.

Together with the Galaxy Book4 Pro, the Zenbook is the lightest model within our comparison group, but Samsung still has a clear advantage when it comes to case thickness. Nevertheless, the Zenbook can be easily stowed in any backpack and doesn't take up too much space. The 65-watt plug-in power supply weighs an additional 226 grams.

Its connections are practically the same as on the Intel model, but you will have to do without Thunderbolt support. Asus seems to have cut corners in this aspect, as only one of its two USB-C ports supports the 4.0 standard. In practice, however, this shouldn't be a problem and thanks to its regular USB-A port and HDMI output, adapters won't often be required in everyday use. An additional USB-C port on the left-hand side would be handy so that the device can be charged from both sides.

The AMD model of the Zenbook 14 OLED uses a Wi-Fi module from MediaTek, which supports the Wi-Fi 6E standard and Bluetooth 5.3. In our test using a reference router from Asus, its transfer rates were very stable and, at 1.7-1.8 GBit/s, even slightly faster than the Intel model—although this difference won't be noticeable in practice. It doesn't have a Wi-Fi 7 module.

Asus has installed a 1080p webcam into the laptop's upper display frame, which offers decent image quality. As with the Intel model, studio effects (soft focus, eye contact, tracking) are integrated directly into its operating system, as the AMD chip also has an NPU. In addition, it has a mechanical shutter and an IR camera for facial recognition via Windows Hello.

Asus offers various energy profiles within its MyAsus app, with a whisper mode and a performance mode in addition to the preset standard mode. We have listed the corresponding TDP values in the table below. However, the performance mode is only available when connected to the mains and the resulting increase in performance does not justify the significantly increased fan noise in our eyes, which is why we carried out the following benchmarks and measurements in standard mode. In everyday use, however, you can without a doubt use the whisper mode and benefit from a quieter fan.

The AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS features 8 fast Zen 4 cores and achieves a maximum clock rate of 5.1 GHz. With a maximum consumption of 32 watts, the AMD processor consumes significantly less power than the AMD model (maximum 64 watts), but the Intel model can only maintain this value for a short time. In short benchmarks, the two models are not much different from one another, but a big advantage of the AMD Zenbook is that its performance remains stable even under prolonged load. Compared to the Tuxedo Pulse 14 (Ryzen 7 8840HS) and the Lenovo IdeaPad Pro 5 14 (Ryzen 7 8845HS), its maximum multi-core performance is slightly lower, but this is due to its lower power limits. Using the optional performance mode, however, the Zenbook is on the same level—and also significantly faster—than the Zenbook fitted with the Core Ultra 7 155H.

In battery mode, its maximum power consumption isn't as high at 28 watts, which is why its multi-core performance is around 8% lower. Further CPU benchmarks can be found in our tech section.

Unsurprisingly, the AMD Zenbook's system performance is subjectively great and we noted no problems whatsoever during our test. During the synthetic benchmarks, the AMD model continuously managed to place ahead of the Intel variant, whereby you honestly won't notice this difference in everyday use. It's just annoying that it is limited to 16 GB RAM.