Content

1. Contents of delivery
2. TECH SPECS
3. Positioning
4. Appearance, ergonomics
5. Display, multimedia
6. Keyboard, touch pad
7. Performance, autonomy, cooling
8. Competitors, results, impressions

Contents of delivery

• A laptop
• Wall charger 65 W
• Documentation, stickers
• Mouse (optional)

Positioning

The ASUS VivoBook S series of laptops is already familiar to readers of our resource, it includes lightweight, visually bright and at the same time with acceptable performance laptops. We are very close to the appearance on our market of laptops based on the very promising 11th generation of Intel processors, you can find your opinion on the products presented in the editorial material.

But one should not write off models with a nominally past, but still vigorous tenth generation of processors. Moreover, there is a possibility that the cost of such laptops will soon drop slightly. As you already understood, the tested laptop fits into this canvas, while in terms of its characteristics and a set of options it has a reserve for the future. In the VivoBook S line, the model takes the place of the younger one, inferior to the top version only in the diagonal of the screen.

Appearance, ergonomics

On the other hand, the transition from 15.6 to 14 inches made the VivoBook S14 even more compact, and the body immediately lost 400 grams, even if it did not become slimmer. The color scheme of the versions of the model is quite universal: there are both bright colors (green and red), and calmer versions in white and black. So a potential buyer can immediately assess their preferences and work scenarios and choose a color in accordance with them.

A black version arrived for the test, in this shade the design of the laptop is perceived even more concise and even strict. The brushed aluminum of the cover has been diamond-cut, it is slightly rough and does not get so much dirty and collects prints, although it cannot be said that there is no such effect at all. The lid is durable, there is a small stroke when pressed from the outside when closed. But there is a weight balance with the base, there are no problems with opening the lid with one hand. Of the visual elements on the lid, there is still only the logo of the series.

The inside of the laptop case is made in matte silver color, the metal case, as in the older model, received smoothed edges. From the entire strict and solid exterior, the joyfully yellow edging of the Enter key is clearly knocked out, as if hinting that not everything is as obvious as it seems from the outside. After all, the model is positioned as a youth, image model, so the manufacturer thought about the self-expression of the owner of the device in advance. To personalize the appearance of ASUS VivoBook S14, a set of stickers for the case and keys is available in the kit, I am sure that there will be those who will like this idea.

In terms of ergonomics, everything is worthy: a light and durable case combined with small dimensions makes such a laptop a confident candidate for the role of a laptop for everyday trips to the office or work from home, where, sometimes, you also want to work not at a computer desk, but, for example, lying on sofa or soft pouf. There is still the same question about the connectors: everything seems to be in place, but still I would like to see Type-C charging. Well, USB 2.0 ports are clearly not the fastest on the market.

Display, multimedia

The screen in the laptop is somewhat reminiscent of that in the older model: not the highest brightness, good non-toxic colors, wide viewing angles and a matte finish. For those who want to change the color temperature, several modes are available in the MyAsus utility in the section with hardware settings. For example, there were a couple of sunny days, and to make it comfortable to work at home, I turned on the “Vivid” mode, it slightly increases the saturation and contrast of the image. The NanoEdge technology allows you to achieve a relatively small thickness of the frames, perhaps, except for the top one, but this was required by the location of the webcam.

The sound system in the laptop is Harman / Kardon certified. The speakers are located on the beveled ends of the bottom of the base, so the sound resonates from the surface on which the laptop stands. At the same time, there is also a certain volume created inside the laptop, so it’s not scary if one or both speakers are covered by something. The volume margin is confident, at least at home it is enough for the eyes. In the office, you may need to plug in headphones or external speakers if it fits into your workflow. I listened to different genres, mainly through streaming services, there were no complaints about the frequency spectrum. On the other hand, no claims were made for premium sound.

Keyboard, touch pad

The reduction in dimensions could not but affect the keyboard: there is no numeric block here, its functionality was taken over by NumberPad, a touch-sensitive block of numbers available by clicking on the icon of the touch panel. Even after activating this element, the trackpad can be used for its intended purpose, except that sometimes there is an accidental input of numbers. Optionally, a fingerprint scanner for biometric authentication can be built into the trackpad, it is not available in the test sample, the camera does not have Windows Hello support.

The keyboard in ASUS VivoBook S14 is island-style, it is slightly recessed into the body, there is a three-level white backlight. The switches have a travel of 1.4 mm, they are pleasant to work with, they are quiet and comfortable. The row of F keys, the Enter key, the arrows, as well as the left vertical row were also reduced in size, otherwise the size of the keys is close to a full-size keyboard.

Performance, autonomy, cooling

According to its technical characteristics, the hero of the review is almost identical to the older model, except that there is no Intel Optane memory. Let me quote from a previous review:

“The test modification of ASUS VivoBook is powered by the maximum processor Intel Core i7-10510U. The letter at the end of the model name indicates that the chip belongs to energy-efficient solutions; in the series of quad-core processors, it is slightly inferior to the maximum frequency of the i7-10610U model. Multithreading support allows you to simultaneously use all 8 threads, a typical heat package is fixed at 15 W, however, depending on the manufacturer, this figure can grow to 25 W. Of course, in such a configuration it is not so easy to achieve adequate heat transfer; you need to carefully adjust the cooling, especially in conditions of acceleration up to 4,9 GHz.

Nevertheless, in the benchmarks, adequate indicators are given, a big role, of course, is played by the discrete NVIDIA GeForce MX250, if not the most advanced, but still discrete video card. If you wish, you can play a simple arcade or puzzle, as an option – an undemanding shooter, the diagonal of the display allows it. As I have already noted, the cooling system works quietly and efficiently, heating under load is felt in some places, but does not burn your hands. The performance is excellent, the laptop wakes up instantly, it takes about 30 seconds to turn on … You can set up the system in the MyASUS application, there is also an option for pairing a smartphone with a laptop (Link to MyASUS), which works with all phone models. “

As for synthetic tests, there is a slight difference not in favor of ASUS VivoBook S14, apparently, this effect is given by a slower SSD. The memory is soldered on the board, so if you want to achieve higher performance, then you should pay attention to the version with 16 GB of RAM, this is a completely different story.

Benchmarks:

• PC Mark 10: 3839 (7932 total, 6822 productivity, 2838 digital content creation)
• Cinebench R20: 447 cb / 1630 cb
• Geekbench 5: 1164 single-sore / 3618 multi-core
• CrystalDisk Mark: 1637 Read / 954 MB / s Write

Fully charging the laptop battery will take a little less than two hours. At the same time, fast charging can replenish 60% of the charge in 50 minutes, which is useful for those who have a habit of forgetting to charge a laptop. In the mode of a typewriter with periodic walks on the Internet, the laptop runs for a little less than seven hours with the keyboard backlight turned off and the brightness of 50%. Of course, there are also energy saving modes, in case there are no sockets nearby and are not expected. The complete power supply unit is very compact and looks more like that of a smartphone.

Competitors, results, impressions

Speaking of competitors, it is worth noting that there are a lot of options in the Intel camp: here both the Acer Swift 3 and the good HP ProBook 440 G7. The cost will vary in about the same range as that of the ASUS VivoBook S14. AMD is not far behind, which is the Honor MagicBook Pro alone, a very nice 16-inch laptop. On the side of the hero of the review, there is a pleasant exterior with well-developed ergonomics and adequate autonomy.

A laptop from ASUS fits into the workflow quite harmoniously, all programs work adequately, if you wish, you can while away the time with a simple toy. If you want to play with might and main, then it is better to wait for models with the 11th generation of Intel. A highlight can be called a touch-sensitive digital block, optional improvements, such as a fingerprint scanner and fast memory from the same Intel, are also useful. The model seems to be more balanced compared to the older version, the question is whether a particular user is suitable for work with a diagonal of 14 inches.

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