Asus geo-restricts top-end Core Ultra X Zenbook S14 and certain Zenbook S16 SKUs
CES 2026After first launching at IFA 2024 with Intel Lunar Lake and at Computex 2024 with AMD Strix Point, Asus has announced refreshed Zenbook S14 and Zenbook S16 laptops at CES 2026.
The new Zenbook S14 (UX5406) comes with upgrades to the latest Intel Panther Lake processors, but the high-end Core Ultra X Series 3 chips seem to be reserved only for certain markets like the US.
According to Asus's press materials, the US version of the Zenbook S14 offers Core Ultra X7 and Core Ultra X9 options while the Canadian SKUs are limited to the Core Ultra 9 386H and the Core Ultra 7 355. Units sold in Europe are also expected to get the Core Ultra X Series 3 CPUs, which feature integrated Arc B390 graphics.
That being said, other specifications are common across all SKUs. The Zenbook S14 comes in an all-aluminum build that Asus refers to as Ceraluminum and is equipped with 32 GB LPDDR5x RAM, 1 TB PCIe NVMe SSD, a 14-inch 3K 120 Hz OLED panel with 1,100 nits peak HDR brightness, and a FHD webcam with Windows Hello support.
Port selection includes 1x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A, 2x Thunderbolt 4, 1x HDMI 2.1-out, and a 3.5 mm combo audio jack. Networking needs are handled by a Wi-Fi 7 WLAN card with Bluetooth 5.4.
Additionally, all models feature a 4-cell 77 Whr battery. However, the Core Ultra X models come with a 100 W power adapter while the rest of the lineup makes do with a 68 W mini AC brick.
Zenbook S16 skips Ryzen AI 5 and Ryzen AI 9 for the US
The Zenbook S16 (UM5606), on the other hand, features the new AMD Ryzen AI 400 Gorgon Point APUs. Configurations offered for the US market include ones based on the Ryzen AI 9 HX 470, Ryzen AI 9 465, and an odd Ryzen AI 5 445 (likely a typo) that isn't in AMD's roster yet.
For Canada, Asus is only offering the Zenbook S16 in Ryzen AI 7 445 and Ryzen AI 9 HX 470 options.
All Zenbook S16 models come with a 16-inch 3K 120 Hz OLED panel with similar characteristics as that of its 14-inch counterpart.
Other aspects remain largely identical. However, being an AMD platform, we see USB4 ports in lieu of Thunderbolt 4. Interestingly, Asus does indicate Thunderbolt 4 for the top spec variant based on the Ryzen AI 9 HX 470.
Both the Zenbook S14 and Zenbook S16 will be available from February 2026 across Asus.com and other official retailers. Pricing information is not yet available.
Source(s)
Asus Press Release
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