Look Out, Apple MacBook Air: Hands On With the Asus Zenbook A14

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We've seen plenty of Copilot+ PCs this week at CES, but the featherweight Asus Zenbook A14 takes the cake with its long-claimed battery life and competitive price. The A14 grabbed my attention, and its lightweight design is just the first of many impressive features that make this ultraportable laptop stand out.

On the Outside: A Magnesium Alloy Meets Asus' Ceraluminum

The design is the biggest—or perhaps thinnest—draw about the A14. The system is made to compete directly with the Apple MacBook Air, and the ultra-slim design is thin enough to grab attention. It's also exceedingly light at just 2.18 pounds. And as for comparisons with the MacBook Air? Well, it feels just as premium and looks just as slick, and it's half a pound lighter than the 2.7-pound Air.

That low weight is thanks mainly to the laptop's magnesium alloy construction, which manages to be feather-light but also surprisingly sturdy and rigid. The A14 feels remarkably substantial in my hands but not heavy. It's one of those tactile experiences that only expert engineering can deliver.

The mag alloy chassis also receives one of Asus' coolest design touches: its Ceraluminum finish, which covers the metal chassis and lid with a tough but stylish layer of protection. The result of a complex physical and chemical treatment process, the finish gets its name for its ceramic-like feel and matte finish while resisting scratches and scuffs.

This is especially impressive on Asus' part because previously, the Ceraluminum process was only applied to aluminum on the lids of some laptops. But, for the Zenbook A14, this finish was used not only on the lid but also on the palm rest, keyboard deck, and underside of the chassis, giving the whole laptop protection and panache.

The finish comes in two colors: Iceland Gray and Zabriskie Beige; beige is exclusive to Best Buy.

On the Inside: Arming Up With Qualcomm Snapdragon X

Inside, the A14 is outfitted with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processor, running Windows 11 on Arm with a neural processing unit, or NPU, that drives 45 trillion AI operations per second (TOPS), giving you the whole Copilot+ PC experience.

It comes with the usual caveats around Qualcomm laptops: Many apps rely on emulation (which has improved but still impacts performance), and the odd specialized app just might not run at all yet. However, for basic, mainstream PC use, Snapdragon X drives the best Windows-on-Arm experience yet and enhances it with AI features.

The processor is paired with up to 32GB of memory, 1TB of solid-state storage, and an assortment of connectivity, like Wi-Fi 6E, dual USB4 ports, and HDMI 2.1. A gorgeous 14-inch OLED panel with 1,920-by-1,200-pixel (1200p) resolution delivers stunning clarity with deep contrast. (Notably, it's not nearly as sharp as the MacBook Air's 1600p display.)

The svelte Zenbook A14 is also powered by a 70Wh battery, which can last up to 32 hours for productivity or leisure, according to Asus, so you'll rarely need to carry the compact wall charger.

And, with one more flourish in Asus style, the Zenbook A14 has a touchpad with extra gesture controls: Slide a finger along the edge of the touchpad, and you can turn the volume up and down, adjust the screen brightness, and swipe right or left to jump from one music track to the next. This gives you media controls without leaving the touchpad or mousing away from your work.

The Asus Zenbook A14 will launch next week with a $1,099 price tag, but a cheaper model with Snapdragon X Plus will begin selling in March at the much more affordable price of $899. We look forward to reviewing either model with a whole gauntlet of benchmarks and seeing how it compares with the MacBook Air.