The Nicest Piece of Laptop Hardware You Can Buy: Asus Zenbook S Review

Hey guys, this is Austin. This might be the nicest piece of laptop hardware that you can buy. Oh, what? Oh, that's cool.

As you open the box, it's like a presentation to you. I mean, no one ever needs to do that; you're only going to open the box once, but that's pretty dope. What's cool about this is Asus' new Ergolift hinge. So, when I open it from the bottom, it actually elevates the entire laptop up.

That's something kinda different. Now, this means there are some interesting quirks with the design. If you take a look at the right side, in addition to having 2 full Thunderbolt 3 ports, you're going to find a headphone jack. Pretty standard, except that when you actually open up the laptop, the headphone jack is attached to the screen, as opposed to the body of the laptop.

Kinda trippy but it totally works. As you would expect for a premium laptop, it's going to be entirely made out of aluminum. So, I feel like this blue looks pretty nice, especially with the copper accents. What I really like is the red model of the Zenbook S. I mean, it's a little flashy, but yeah.

Before we get too far into it though, I actually wanna see what else comes in the box. So, we have a power adaptor. This guy is going to be using USB-C, although I assume they will probably work with other generic adapters. You also get a USB-C to USB-A adapter, as well as a USB-C to HDMI, which is a nice touch to include in the box.

You can also put the laptop inside the carrying case that it comes with. So, it might not be super premium or anything, but it's definitely a nice feature. My big takeaway from the packaging is that Asus has clearly thought about the user experience and wants to make sure everything feels nice and premium.

Now, let's talk about performance. Inside you can choose between either a Core i5 or Core i7, both of them are going to be 8th Gen. I've got the i7-8550U. The actual benchmarks are well, not exactly surprising considering it's exactly the same performance as basically every other ultrabook we've taken a look at over the past year.

Totally solid and a big step up over the last generation. If you opt for the 256 Gig SSD, which is the base model, it's going to be a SATA based drive. However, if you go for the 512 gig version, which is what I have here, not only is it going to be a much faster M2 drive but you also get the option of going all the way up to a full one terabyte of capacity.

This guy has a choice of either 8 or 16 GB of DDR4 memory. My 16 gig RAM option does have dual channel memory, which is helpful for graphics performance. What isn't helpful for the graphics performance are the thermals. Now, it's not going to be that bad, but considering that you do have this Ergolift design, which in theory should help with airflow and kinda cool things down, it does run a little bit on the warmer side.

Inside this guy is rocking a 50 Wh battery. So, it's not going to be that big; it's a little bit smaller than something like the LG gram and with the 4K panel, which means you're only going to be getting around six to seven hours of regular battery life. But the screen is so nice that I'm actually kind of willing to give up a little bit of battery in exchange for a nice, sharp, crisp panel.

My big takeaway is that it's hard to beat this design. Seriously, props to Asus for actually doing something different. There are so many great ultrabooks out there at the 1000-ish dollar price point, and the Zenbook S with its Ergolift genuinely does stand out.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- Hey guys, this is Austin.This might be the nicest pieceof laptop hardware that you can buy.Oh, what?Oh that's cool.As you open the box it likepresents the laptop to you.I mean, no one ever needs to do that,you're only gonna open the boxonce, but that's pretty dope.What's cool about this, ishas Asus' new Ergolift hinge.So when I open it from the bottom,it actually elevates the entire laptop up.That's, that's actuallysomething kinda different.Now this means that there aresome interesting quirks with the design.So if you take a look at the right side,in addition to having 2full Thunderbolt 3 portsyou're going to find a headphone jack.Pretty standard, except thatwhen you actually open up the laptop,the headphone jack isattached to the screen,as opposed to the body of the laptop.Kinda trippy but it totally works.As you would expect for a premium laptop,it is going to be entirelymade out of aluminum.So I feel like thisblue looks pretty nice,especially with the copper accents.What I really like is thered model of the Zenbook S.I mean it's a little flashy, but, yeah.Before we get too far into it though,I actually wanna see whatelse comes in the box.So we have a power adaptor.This guy is going to be using USB-C,although I assume it they willprobably work with other generic adapters.You also get a USB-C to USB-A adapter.As well as USB-C to HDMI a nicetouch to include in the box.You can also put the laptop insidethe carrying case that it comes with.So it might not be superpremium or anythingbut it should help to keep thisfrom getting all scratched up in your bag.So after spending sometime with the Zenbook Sone of the things that isstill jumping out to meis just how solidly it is constructed.So it is going to be about 13mm thick,which is on the very very thin side.However there's basicallyno flex to it at all.I mean even something like the screen,I mean you can really torque itand it's not going to go anywhere.And the same thing goes for the body.I mean, this is not somethingwe do with most laptops,but I'm putting some serious torque on it,it is staying very very solid.It's nice to see insomething that's going to bejust this thin, or thick,depending on yourmarketing term of choice.The keyboard is also terrific.Not only are the key caps nice and large,and it actually kinda looks a littlelike a MacBook from the outside.But you're going to be gettinga decent amount of travel,and importantly, because youdo have that Ergolift hinge,the entire keyboard is goingto be slightly tilted up.This is not somethingthat's very common in well,pretty much any other laptop.But I really appreciate how itjust gives a little bitless strain to your wrists.The trackpad is a littlebit on the small side,but it's going to be totally fine.And you're also going tofind a fingerprint sensor,for Windows Hello support.What's nice is thatyou're going to be gettingtwo full Thunderbolt 3ports on the right side,which are of course goingto be able to support,not only an external GPU,but all of the differentadaptors that can go off of that.But there is going tobe another USB-C porton the left side of the laptop.All of which can be usedto charge, USB, video out,it's a nice set up, even thoughit would definitely benice to have a USB-A port.The main issue here isthat while the laptopis literally just too thin tofit any kind of bigger ports.So.- There's really a lot to likewith a form factor like this.- What there's not a lot to likeis with the speakers of the Zenbook S.And that is a terrible transitionbut I'm gonna roll with it.On the bottom of the laptopyou're going to find two speakers.They sound okay.But first of all, they're notgoing to be all that loud,and second of all, any timethat they're going to be facingon the bottom of thelaptop, it just means thatit's just sort of hitting the underside,and kinda echoing out.They're just not that great.Thankfully Asus did opt to put the webcamon the top of the display,you know like where it actually belongs.Now it's only going to be 720p,but it looks and sounds alrightmost importantly though,you're not lookingup my nose right now,so thumbs up for that.The Zenbook S is rockinga 13.3 inch display,with either a 1080p ora full 4K resolution.Both are going to be touch enabled,and the main differenceis, that while the 4K panelis going to hurt your batterylife, as well as performance,I have it here and itlooks really really nice.Not only is it going tobe very color accurate,but it also gets pretty brightwith a full 350 Nits of brightness.Something that is very helpfulwhen you take this outsideand can still see the screen.Performance is not only solid,but it's exactly what you'd expectfor an Ultrabook of this generation.So inside you can choose betweeneither a Core i5 or Core i7both of them are going to be 8th Gen.In this case, I've got the i7-8550U.Now the actual benchmarks are,well, not exactly surprisingconsidering it's exactlythe same performanceas basically every other ultrabookwe've taken a look at over the past year.Totally solid and a big stepup over the last generation.If you opt for the 256 GigSSD, which is the base model,it is going to be a SATA based drive.However if you go for the 512 gig version,which is what I have here,not only is it going tobe a much faster M2 drive,but you also get the optionof going all the way upto a full one terabyte of capacity.This guy has a choice of either 8or 16GB of DDR4 memory.My 16 gig RAM option, doeshave dual channel memory,which is helpful for thegraphics performance.What isn't helpful forthe graphics performanceare the thermals.Now it's not going to be that bad,but considering that you dohave this Ergolift designwhich in theory, should help the airflowand kinda cool things down,it does run a littlebit on the warmer side.Inside this guy is rockinga 50 Wh battery.Now it's not going to be thatbig, it's a little bit smallerthan something like the LG gramand with the 4K panel, it means thatyou're only going to be gettingaround six to seven hours offairly regular battery life.But the screen is sonice, that I'm actuallykind of willing to giveup a little bit of batteryin exchange for a nice, sharp, crisp panel.If you stack the base modelup to similarly spec'dcompetitors, which is the XPS 13it is going to be alittle bit more expensive,however once you start addingoptions such as the 4k display,extra RAM, as well as a 512GB SSD,it actually tops out at around $1500,still a little bit on the pricey side,but it's actually not a bad value.My big takeaway is that it'shard to beat this design.Seriously, props to Asusfor actually doing something different.There are so many greatultrabooks out thereat that 1000-ish dollar price point,that the Zenbook S with it's Ergoliftactually does legimately stand out.