Asus releases new 14-inch laptop before global launch
Asus has started selling the Panther Lake version of the Zenbook S14 in the UK. To recap, the company announced Lunar Lake variants in September 2024 (curr. $1,399 on Amazon) before introducing Panther Lake successors at CES 2026 in January 2026.
Initially, Asus indicated that Core Ultra X Series 3 variants would reach Europe to match US SKUs. However, it seems that the UK will match Canadian SKUs by featuring lesser non X variants instead. Specifically, both Asus and Currys have listed the new Zenbook S14 with the Core Ultra 9 386H rather than the more powerful Core Ultra X7 368H or Core Ultra X9 388H.
Currently, both have priced the new 14-inch laptop at £1,599, which converts to roughly $1,799 excluding the 20% VAT charged in the UK. Also, the SKU features 32 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage but is limited to just a grey colourway. A 2.8K and 120 Hz OLED display returns, although this now peaks at 500 nits in SDR mode and 1,100 nits in small areas when HDR mode is activated.
Battery capacity has grown by 6.9% from 72 Wh to 77 Wh between generations, too. As a result, battery life should remain a strong suit of the Zenbook S14. The adoption of the Core Ultra 9 386H rather than X variants may result in poorer graphics performance than on its Arc 140V-based predecessors, though.
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