You may also notice that I seem to review more laptops from ASUS than any other brands. There are a few reasons: first, only ASUS has been consistently offering to loan their products for review. Second, I really like to review their laptops as the performance is good, the keyboard feel is excellent. Admittedly, it can get a bit boring reviewing laptops because, you know, it’s mostly identical in features. But therein lies the true user experience. It is only after using the laptop as your own for a while that you uncover quirks on the device, how the hardware and software performs hand-in-hand. You may be surprised that some laptop brands did not get the whole experience quite right.
Apart from the Windows UI and and the processor performance, a few physical factors make up the initial laptop experience. First is the materials, how it feels when you put your hands over the chassis, how the materials withstand daily usages, dirt and abrasions. Second is the battery life, the ability to sustain frequent sleep cycles or idle time without draining the power.
Third comes the ports design and placement. For me, I prefer full-size ports, with the charging and display ports located on the left side of the laptop. Fourth is the keyboard layout and key travel, which is a matter of personal preference. Since laptop keyboards cannot be changed, you probably have to choose a brand based on its keyboard experience above other things. Finally, weight of the laptop will determine the desirability of lugging the laptop wherever you go. I simply love a sub-kg laptop which I bring with me for holidays.
Where does the Vivobook S14 stand? Well, it has all the ticks above, except for the weight. No wonder ASUS says this is a top-selling model. The S3407CA is well-built all-aluminium body with clean subtle logo, its keyboard has good size and spacing, the trackpad is also large with useful shortcut gestures along the sides of the trackpad. The laptop can be unlocked using facial recognition with average unlock speed, aided by the FHD camera and IR proximity sensor.
The display is serviceable, not that outstanding as premium laptops, but I love the matt finishing which prevents glare. The panel can also fold flat which prevents accidental hinge breakages.
Most branded laptops now come with a branded dashboard allowing user to manage the device settings, perform system update, and run system diagnostics. The device settings is where you can configure power and performance, audio and visual, connectivity options, and input device. This is a more user-friendly UI compared to going into the Windows settings.
With a retail price of S$1599 and a street price of just S$1399, the Vivobook S14 is an easy recommendation from me as a laptop that gets things done efficiently with little worries about battery life. Designed to fit all walks of life, from student to the professional executive, the Intel Ultra 7 255H gets things done swiftly with no drag, the 70WHr battery capacity and adjustible battery management setting can push the laptop to 20-hour duration.
It would have been perfect if the weight can be reduced further, but that would fall under the Zenbook product line with a different price point, rightfully so. To save my wallet, I guess I would have to train up my shoulder muscles to carry a bit more weight.
Visit the ASUS Singapore website for more product information.
