Zenbook A14 Unveiled As A Great Rival For The MacBook Air
Asus introduced Zenbook A14 at CES 2025lightweight Windows laptop positioned as Apple MacBook Air competitor. Weight only 2.18 lbs— lighter than the Apple M3 MacBook Air — and featuring a magnesium alloy body with a “Ceraluminum” ceramic finish, the A14 prioritizes portability and style. This based on Qualcomm Snapdragon X processorpromising up up to 32 hours of battery life from a 70 Wh battery, which is significantly larger than the MacBook Air’s 52.6 Wh battery.
Launch in mid-January US$1099.99basic model includes 32 GB RAM, 1 TB SSD.And 14 inch OLED display with a resolution of 1920×1200 resolution, 600 nits brightness and refresh rate 60 Hz. In March there is a more affordable price. $899.99 variant with Snapdragon X Plus processor, 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD. will be available exclusively at Best Buy and weighs a little more at 2.4 pounds.
The A14 offers a wider array of ports than the MacBook Air, including two USB 4 Type-C, one USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, full-size HDMI 2.1, and a 3.5mm audio jack. It supports up to three external monitors, although one of them must supply power via USB-C.
While the Zenbook A14 stands out for its design, OLED display, and competitive price, questions remain about its performance and compatibility. Snapdragon X processors have shown progress in balancing efficiency and performance, but Windows on ARM may still encounter application compatibility issues. Benchmarks show that while the Snapdragon X Plus and X Elite processors compete with Apple’s M3 chip, the entry-level A14 Snapdragon X may struggle, especially with Apple’s expected M4 models on the horizon.
Characteristics
| Peculiarity | Details |
|---|---|
| CPU | Qualcomm Snapdragon X (base) / Snapdragon X Plus (cheaper option) |
| Display | 14″ OLED, 1920 x 1200, 60Hz, 600 nits |
| RAM | 32 GB (basic version) / 16 GB (cheaper version) |
| Storage | 1TB SSD (base) / 512GB SSD (cheaper option) |
| Battery | 70 Wh, claimed battery life up to 32 hours |
| Weight | 2.18 lbs (base) / 2.4 lbs (cheaper option) |
| Construction material | Magnesium alloy with Ceraluminum ceramic coating. |
| Ports | 2 USB 4 Type-C, 1 USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, 1 HDMI 2.1, 3.5mm audio jack |
| External display support | Up to 3 monitors (1 of them must be powered via USB-C) |
| Starting price | $1,099.99 (Base) / $899.99 (Cheaper, Best Buy Exclusive) |
| Release dates | January 2025 (base) / March 2025 (cheaper option) |
2025-01-07 19:10:51