I switched my favourite gaming machine with an ‘ultra thin’ travel laptop: Do I regret it?

The laptop comes with a 13.3-inch 2.8K OLED display. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/Indian Express)

Backpack and back-friendly

My back and backpack were grateful to me when I made the switch. At 1000 grams, the Asus laptop is slightly heavier than most large-screen tablets in the market. What’s more surprising is that the laptop isn’t even using plastic to shed its weight. Instead, Asus has used a metal alloy that is both light and sturdy. Also, the absence of chassis flex is definitely a great way of ‘flexing’ its strength. Thanks to the metal construction, this is indeed a premium-looking machine when compared to the Asus TUF A15.

The thickest part of this laptop is as thin as a USB-A port. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/Indian Express)

No dongles needed

Most ultra-thin laptops compromise on the ports. However, that’s not the case with the Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED. On the contrary, it has a full-sized HDMI 2.1 port and a full-sized USB-A port, which allowed me to connect the wireless mouse adapter. Also, it is to be noted that the laptop is so so thin that its HDMI port protrudes a bit.

I enjoyed watching movies on the go. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/Indian Express)

The right kind of display

Asus has left no stone unturned to make this machine as thin as possible. The company is using a high-resolution OLED panel that is brighter and more vibrant than most laptops. With no backlight required, the laptop has one of the thinnest lids I have ever seen on a 13-inch laptop. Except for the refresh rate, the display on this machine is miles ahead of what my gaming laptop offers.

The 13.3-inch 2.8K (2880×1800) OLED panel with 550 nits of HDR peak brightness display comes to life when watching videos and movies. It’s also a colour-accurate panel, which is great for those who might want to use this machine for editing photos or videos.

The laptop definitely has the hardware to handle those tasks. The only downside I felt about this display was the refresh rate, which is locked at 60Hz. With Dolby Vision support, this is also a great machine even for content consumption, and the higher brightness ensures the display stays visible even outdoors.

The machine comes with a 10-core CPU with Iris Xe graphics. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/Indian Express)

No compromise on the performance front

Powered by the 13th Gen Intel Core U series processor, the laptop has enough power to glide through day-to-day tasks. I have been testing the Intel Core i7-1355U variant with 32GB of RAM and 1TB of storage. The CPU offers up to 5 GHz clock speed which consists of 10 cores (including two P and eight E cores).

I am mostly a light user, except when I am gaming. And, this laptop is more than capable of handling tasks like web browsing, content streaming, and even light gaming. While the integrated Iris Xe can handle games at 720p resolution, I definitely won’t be gaming on this machine anytime soon and I won’t even recommend this laptop for users with gaming requirements.

The laptop supports Dolby Atmos. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/Indian Express)

Impressive audio, camera, keyboard, and trackpad

Most lightweight and thin laptops, except MacBook Air, come with a keyboard, audio, and camera based on basic parameters. However, Asus has paid some extra attention to ensure that the Zenbook S 13 OLED delivers on all three fronts. The large trackpad and tactile keyboard and backlight are some of the best that I have used on a Windows laptop.

Similarly, I also enjoyed the audio output. Again, not as good as the MacBook Air, but it is definitely better than most Windows laptops and it also has Dolby Atmos support. Lastly, the machine has a 1080p web camera along with an IR blaster, which enables Windows Hello face recognition, and it works flawlessly and unlocks the laptop even in pitch-dark conditions.

The large-sized trackpad has gesture supports, (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/Indian Express)

Overuse and heating

Like any thin-and-light laptop, the Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED will get hot if you push it, and one can easily feel the same, given the entire chassis is made out of metal. Unlike the MacBook Air — the main competitor of this machine — this has a fan, which does help with heat dissipation.

Above average battery

The battery is another important aspect of a laptop, especially the one that has been marketed for travellers, and I must say that this machine delivers on that front too. It comes with a 64WHrs battery with support for 65W fast charging. And the company is including a USB Type-C fast charger in the box. In my usage, the laptop easily lasted for over 5 to 6 hours under a light workload.

Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED is a fantastic thin-and-light laptop. (Image credit: Vivek Umashankar/Indian Express)

Verdict: A travellers delight

The Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED was my primary laptop during my last work trip and I definitely feel that I made the right choice by choosing this over my gaming laptop. This was not only easy to carry, but it also did not compromise on any practical aspects. If you are a frequent traveller, then I believe this is one of the best laptops to carry around.