ASUS Laptop ZenBook 14 UM425QA 14.0″ Full HD Laptop (AMD
ASUS Laptop ZenBook 14 UM425QA 14.0″ Full HD Laptop (AMD Ryzen 5-5600H 6-Core processor, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD, Windows 11 Home)
Fast and easy charging, anywhereAmazing 22-hour battery life, traveling without a charger isn’t a big deal. When you do need to top up, its fast-charge feature can restore the battery to a 60% charge level in just 49 minutes.
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Fully connected!
ZenBook 14 redefines what’s possible in an ultrathin laptop. It gives you a full complement of I/O ports, including full-size HDMI, USB Type-A and USB-C. There’s also a microSD card reader for easy data transfers from your mobile device.
| Weight: | 1.3 kg |
| Dimensions: | 31.9 x 1.6 x 21 cm; 1.3 Kilograms |
| Brand: | ASUS |
| Model: | UM425QA-KI113W |
| Colour: | Black |
| Batteries Included: | Yes |
| Manufacture: | Asus |
| Dimensions: | 31.9 x 1.6 x 21 cm; 1.3 Kilograms |
Reviewing the Zenbook 14 OLED UX3402VA variant here with i5 Core 1340P, 16GB DDR5, 512GB SSD, Touch OLED. It only arrived yesterday but wanted to drop an early review for anyone looking to buy it in the current Black Friday deal at 750 quid. I’ll update again in a few weeks.
In the box you’ll find the Zenbook, USB-C power brick and some manuals (no carry case). It feels solid and well built apart from one thunderbird port that is mounted slightly wonky wrt the case. I ran diagnostics from BIOS (Power + F2) before setting up Windows 11 Home and everything passed ok. The OLED screen is the touch variant and has a very slight grainy effect to it when you look very close. Otherwise it is very pretty, blacks are obviously pure black etc. The default refresh is set to dynamic but you can change it to fixed 90Hz if you want. The touchpad feels really nice and mine has the built-in numpad that seems to be absent on some models. The keyboard is ANSI UK and feels ok to type on, decent feel and size. Some keys are half-size including Fn and arrow keys but this isn’t much of a problem. Keyboard backlight is inconsistent but not really distracting. Too early to talk about overall performance but in balanced mode with light web browsing, the fans did not come on at all and everything was as smooth as you’d expect.
I bought the wrong laptop but when i tried this one, it was great, this was the first time I was getting an OLED and it was great, i use this item for my university course, and it suits well, the CPU is great for running loads of chrome tabs and visual studio code at the same time, fast response and the fingerprint ID is great on the laptop, the touchscreen was something I didn’t read about but it brilliant to have when you want to slowly scroll down for reading purposes or drawing. I would recommend this cheap laptop for all people that want to code and have a cheap laptop which isn’t too expensive compared to the high end models or the new Apple m3 chips
The screen is stunning, I must say that watching films and tv on the 2880×1800 OLED display is a treat and the colour accuracy is fantastic. Additionally, the touchscreen is highly responsive and saves me a significant amount of time when compared to using the trackpad.
The battery can range from okay to good, depending on your day to day task. For basic tasks like web browsing and word processing, you can expect around 6 to 8 hours of usage, which is reasonable. However, if you’re tackling more demanding activities like video editing or gaming (on lower settings), you might see it drop to around to no more than 4 to 6 hours. It’s not the best however I STRONGLY RECOMMEND turning battery saver on when doing basic task you can get up to 8 hours. Honestly the battery life should be better for it’s price.
Design-wise, the ASUS VivoBook 14 OLED is a stunner. The laptop’s sleek and modern aesthetic with a hint of abstract design sets it apart from the competition. The slim profile and compact form factor make it easy to carry around for school, business meetings, or just personal use. Plus, the addition of the fingerprint scanner adds a layer of security and convenience that I really appreciate.
However, one gripe I have is that the laptop and screen seem to be a magnet for fingerprints. It can get frustrating constantly wiping them off for that pristine look. Additionally, the fan gets extremely noisy, especially when you’re not even pushing the laptop to its limits it can get noisy just by web browsing AT TIMES and the over heating is INSANE. However if you want there is an option when clicking “F12 which will take you to the myAsus software > customisation > power & performance > Fan profile then adjust it to either Performance, Standard or Whisper mode recommend whisper mode when in school or in some type of work related station “. The saving grace here is the fantastic speakers. They offer crisp, clear sound quality, which is great for multimedia and casual gaming. It also give you the option to adjust your sound quality to your desires.
Speaking of gaming, the ASUS VivoBook 14 OLED can handle light gaming to max setting, woulnd’t recommed play high demanding games at ultra high max settings but you can play pretty much most game this is not a gaming laptop.
One thing to mention it didn’t come with the number pad option on the touchpad, not sure why but It’s not necessary for me but a bit of false advertisment, the touchpad is also good. “Edit this is for the core i7 version and greater model etc..”
I got it on a discount deal getting it for 674 even without the discount it DEFINITY WORTH THE VALUE. This laptop offers a fantastic OLED display, a fingerprint scanner, and an overall great design for its price range. However, there’s a catch — the camera. Given the laptop’s price point, I expected better quality from the built-in camera, don’t expect high-end video quality here.
In conclusion, the ASUS VivoBook 14 OLED is a versatile laptop that’s well-suited for various tasks, from school and business to personal use and light gaming. Its gorgeous OLED display, sleek design, and thoughtful features like the fingerprint scanner and backlit keyboard make it a compelling choice. Just be prepared to deal with those pesky fingerprints and the occasional fan noise. For the price, it’s amazing all around, offering impressive value for those who prioritize a top-notch display and design and high quality specs.
One thing to note is that it can get a bit noisy and hot during intensive tasks, but for everyday use, it’s silent and efficient. The battery life, while not reaching the promised 10 hours, is still reasonable for home use. The Harman Kardon speakers are impressive, although perhaps not quite at MacBook levels. The keyboard and touchpad are decent, though not on par with Lenovo or MacBook standards.
As someone who has used Macs extensively, I find the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED to be a great value, especially when considering the specs and price. It performs well for non-gaming tasks, and with a bit of driver tweaking, any initial issues can be resolved. Overall, it’s a solid choice for those looking for a powerful Windows laptop with a beautiful OLED display.
1- The screen is beautiful. I can’t think of any other screen technology better than OLED.
2- It’s fast but not as snappy as a Macbook.
2- Even if it has an i9 processor, I can’t tell the difference with i7, even my wife’s Zenbook i5. Probably, it’s overkill for my needs.
3- It’s silent most of the time, but it becomes noisy when you install a program or play a game (and gets extremely hot)
4- The battery can last more than 5 hours, but I don’t think it can last 10 hours. It’s not a big deal since I mainly use it at home.
5- Harman Kardon speakers are pretty good. Maybe not better than Macbook speakers.
6- The keyboard is fine. It’s not as good as Lenovo or Macbook keyboards, but it’s OK.
7- The touchpad is large, and embedding the number pad functionality into the touchpad is very clever. But I wish to see Apple’s magic touchpad technology on Windows laptops.
As a long-time Mac user, I have compared the specs and prices. This laptop is cheap, considering the specs, and I can’t find any other laptop with the same specs at that price. If you are not a gamer (I’m not), then this laptop does the job pretty well.
Update 2 weeks after the purchase:
I’ve had issues with the Edge browser, especially with YouTube and Amazon websites. They were not responding quickly, and I almost considered returning the laptop. But then I noticed that the problem could be graphics drivers. When I turned off hardware acceleration in Edge settings, it slightly improved. Then, I updated Intel and Nvidia drivers through manufacturer websites, enabled hardware acceleration again, and all problems were solved. Now, both YouTube and Amazon are working quite fast.
I’m glad I did, I stumbled upon this ASUS Zenbook 14 K3402ZA. For less than 800 I am absolutely blown away by it. It’s well built, looks great and has a very good keyboard and trackpad, certainly no worse than Apple/Microsoft laptops I’ve used before. It’s got a really good spec for the price – Latest Intel 12th Gen Core i5 processor, 16GB RAM and an Intel 512GB SSD.
The inital attraction to this laptop was the large 16:10 OLED display and boy it delivers! It’s stunning, and it’s touchscreen as well. Blacks are so black and colours really pop. It’s an absolute joy to use. (Tip: The screen supports a lovely 90Hz refresh rate, oddly it ships with 60hz enabled so make sure to change it!)
The performance is excellent and it seems to have reasonable power efficiency. I don’t think it’s likely to win awards for insane battery life, but I would say it’s good enough to not be a concern.
The MyASUS utility pre-installed offers a lot of customisations and options (including being able to limit battery charging to 80% to aid battery longevity) as well as tons of options for the display, fan profiles etc.
It’s very quiet, even when given a lot of CPU intensive work it’s never distracting and largely silent during normal use.
The only minor niggles are that the webcam is only 720p but seems to produce a good enough image, and the speakers while loud and clear just aren’t as good as those in a MacBook/Surface but they’re not bad and Dolby Access is pre-installed which makes them sound much better.
I was able to compare this laptop to it’s ASUS Vivobook equivalent (see attached pictures) and they’re very similar laptops with some key differences:
1. Screen – Both have a 14in OLED display with the same resolution and look largely equivalent. However, the Vivobook is not glass-fronted and it’s ever-so-slightly bigger. On the flip side the Zenbook has a very slight ‘grain’ texture (the touchscreen digitiser) so the Vivobook looks slightly ‘cleaner’ on a bright white image. Not a deal breaker however as I think the Zenbook screen being touchscreen is a clear win despite the introduction of a very slight grainy texture.
2. The Vivobook uses a 12th Gen Intel Core i5 12500H vs the Zenbook’s Core i5 1240p. The former is a higher wattage part which results in a lot more heat and battery drain. Conversely it does perform better in purely CPU-oriented tasks. I ran identical tests and the Vivobook performed better but the battery drain was huge compared to the Zenbook, and was a lot louder due to the higher fan speed trying to get rid of the extra heat. For normal use however I think the Zenbook has the better balance of performance to battery life and low noise.
3. The screen hinges are slightly different. One’s not better than the other in my opinion but they are different. The Vivobook hinge is like a traditional laptop and just hinges back. The Zenbook hinges back and down which has the effect of lifting the back of the laptop up very slightly to aid cooling. As a result the screen sits visibly lower than the Vivobook (see attached images).
4. The enclosures are very similar but slightly different. The Zenbook feels higher quality and more metal-like, the Vivobook I think has a plastic bottom and the screen bezels are plastic rather than glass. Keyboard/Trackpad seem all but identical between the two.
Hope this helps anyone choosing between the two!
Overall, I am absolutely blown away by the high quality of the Zenbook (and Vivobook). For the price charged they are an absolute steal and provide a lot of laptop for the money at a surprisingly high quality.