The market for thin and light laptops only grew more confusing for buyers in 2018. With the arrival of featherweight notebooks to business-savvy Ultrabooks as well as affordable gaming laptops, there are more notebooks on the thin-and-light aisle now than ever before. Many of these don’t come cheap, so if you don’t have deep pockets, then you are faced with even more questions, thanks to loads of affordable options from the likes of Dell, ASUS, HP, Acer and more.
Before we jump into the review, I’d like to talk about the specifications and get that out of the way. The ASUS VivoBook S14 packs in the 8th-gen Core i5 processor, coupled with 8GB DDR4 RAM. It also packs 256GB SSD and 1TB HDD storage. While this particular variant of the laptop only has Intel HD620 graphics, the higher-end variants also pack in an MX150 GPU for improved graphics performance. Here’s a quick look at the hardware that’s powering the ASUS VivoBook S14 –
ASUS VivoBook S14 S430UN: Design and Build
If you are familiar with ASUS’ VivoBook lineup, or if you’ve ever used one before, then you might already be aware of the superb build quality that these laptops bring to the table. I mean, even some of the more affordable VivoBooks like the budget VivoBook X505, which we really liked has an appealing design. VivoBook S14
The VivoBook S14 is available in a variety of different color options. As you can see, I’ve been using the Star Grey version that has red accents along the flanks. ‘Icicle Gold’ and ‘Gun Metal’ are also some of the best looking colors in my opinion, but I think you can’t go wrong with any of them. Just pick the one that suits your personality best.
ASUS VivoBook S14 S430UN: Display
The VivoBook S14’s display deserves a special mention too. It’s a 14-inch FullHD LED panel, and it looks absolutely gorgeous. It’s got a matte finish that eliminates glare and reflections, and makes it easier on your eyes. The bezels around the panel, as you can see, are very minimal, and it’s a joy to look at it. According to ASUS, it’s a three-sided NanoEdge display with an 84-percent screen-to-body ratio. Despite the slim bezels, I am glad that the webcam is placed exactly where it belongs. The VivoBook S14 has a beautiful display
The ASUS VivoBook S14 has a good port selection. It’s got three USB Type A ports (2 USB 2.0 and a USB 3.0), one Type C 3.1 port, an HDMI port, a 3.5 mm headphone jack, and a microSD card slot. Unlike some older VivoBook models, the ports on the VivoBook S14 S430UN are evenly distributed on both sides, so I have no complaints there.
If I have to nitpick, then I’ll say that it would have been nice to have a full-sized SD card slot instead of the microSD option here. It’s not a deal-breaker by any means, but it’s definitely worth making a note of, if you plan to use the laptop for editing photos from your DSLR. Ports array on the right side of the VivoBook S14
ASUS VivoBook S14 S430UN: Keyboard
The VivoBook S14 is fitted with an awesome keyboard. I am not too sure if it’s because of the ErgoLift design, but it’s undoubtedly one of my favorite keyboards to type on. As a professional writer, I’ve used a lot of keyboards throughout my career, and the one on the VivoBook S14 is certainly one of the best I’ve used. VivoBook S14 has an amazing keyboard
One of the major complaints that my colleague Anmol had with VivoBook X505 was the fact that there was no LED notification light on the Caps Lock key. Well, that truly is an absurd decision, and I am glad that I didn’t have to put with that, as the VivoBook S14 has one. However, I’d like to point out that you won’t be getting a full-sized keyboard, so you’ll still be reaching out for the number keys on the top.
ASUS VivoBook S14 S430UN: Touchpad
A touchpad, in my opinion, can make or break your experience with a laptop. That’s one thing that you’ll find yourself using the most to interact with the laptop after all. Fortunately, the ASUS VivoBook S14 has a really good touchpad. It makes use of the Precision drivers on Windows 10, which is always a positive sign. VivoBook S14 Touchpad
ASUS VivoBook S14 S430UN: Audio
I am not an audiophile by any means, but I believe that you don’t need to be one to figure out that the audio playback is one of the major let-downs of this particular laptop. I for one was really excited about the ‘SonicMaster’ branding on the deck. But after listening to a couple of songs on my playlist, I had heard enough to realize that it’s not up to the mark.
ASUS VivoBook S14 S430UN: Camera
I am yet to use a decent webcam on any laptop, and the one on the VivoBook S14 is no exception. ASUS says that it has bundled the laptop with an HD webcam, but it really is just a normal webcam that still has a sub-par picture quality. Here, check out the quality yourself –
For the price tag of Rs. 64,990, you’ll be buying yourself into a laptop that’s powered by an 8th generation Intel Core i5 8250U processor clocked at 1.6Ghz. It comes with Intel’s UHD Graphics 620, and also 8GB RAM. You’re also getting a dual-storage machine that comprises of a 256GB SSD and 1TB HDD. Of course, there’s always an option to spend more and get a variant with better internals.
ASUS VivoBook S14: Benchmarks
Before I talk about my day-to-day experience, let’s take a look at some numbers, shall we? Much like any other laptop that I’ve reviewed, I did run a few benchmarks on the VivoBook S14. Well, here’s how it performed –
ASUS VivoBook S14: Day-to-Day Performance
But does the benchmark results translate to real-world performance? Well, I’d say yes. This super-portable laptop was able to power through most of my day-to-day tasks without breaking a sweat. Thanks to the SSD, the laptop was very quick at booting Windows every single time. Needless to say, it also allows for a super-fast performance when it comes to system related tasks. VivoBook S14 is a solid performer
ASUS VivoBook S14 S430UN: Thermals
When it comes to thermals, the VivoBook S14 managed to keep things cool throughout my usage. I faced no throttling issues whatsoever, which is always a good sign. The laptop was constantly running at around 40 degrees Celsius, which is pretty normal.
As you can see, the VivoBook S14 has vents on top of the keyboard deck where the hot air is thrown out of the laptop. The fan only kicks-in when doing resource-intensive tasks such as gaming or running benchmarks. However, it doesn’t really get loud, so no complaints there as well. VivoBook S14 back
The VivoBook S14 has a 42Whr 3-cell lithium-prismatic battery. According to ASUS, the laptop should last you for about 7 hours of usage. However during my usage, I only managed to get around four and a half hours of on time while using the laptop in performance mode, and around six hours while using it in the power-saving mode. Given the VivoBook’s portable form-factor, I’d say that’s sweet, but other laptops such as the Asus Zenbook 13, which starts at the same price as our unit, offer you longer battery life. The VivoBook S14 has a 42Whr battery
Now that we’ve discussed almost everything about the VivoBook S14, let me give you a quick overview by pointing out the pros and cons –
Pros
- Beautiful design and amazing build quality
- Super-portable form factor
- The keyboard is a joy to use
- Really good display
Cons
- Speakers are disappointing
- No Ethernet port
- The battery is decent at best
SEE ALSO: Asus VivoBook X505 Review: Ryzen-Powered Versatile Machine
The ASUS VivoBook S14 is a really good laptop that offers a display, has an amazing design and build quality, and an excellent keyboard. It can also handle your day-to-day tasks with ease. The highlight of the laptop, however, is its portable form factor.
Buy ASUS VivoBook S14 s430UN from Flipkart (Rs. 64,990)
