Lengthy battery life and a slim design make it the perfect on-the-go companion.
Plus, that OLED touchscreen shows off colors to their best advantage.
ASUS has done a fantastic job lately of creating extremely thin laptops with fantastic battery life and solid performance.
ASUS Zenbook 14 (UM3406HA) has a very slim build.
Here’s what I’ve discovered.
It also has extremely long battery life to keep up with over a full day’s use.
Thanks to the AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS, this laptop is ready to handle local AI tasks.
ASUS Zenbook 14 (UM3406HA) has a very slim build.
This review was made possible thanks to a review unit provided by ASUS.
The company did not see the contents of this review before publishing.
Even so, it sells for only $799.00 at Walmart, making it a true value buy.
There are two USB-C ports, a headphone jack, and an HDMI port on the laptop’s left side.(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)
As such, the only option is to get 16GB of RAM with 512GB SSD storage.
These are fair capacities for average work, school, or personal laptop needs.
Still, I didn’t feel limited when it came to plugging in accessories or a monitor.
A USB-A port is found on the right side.(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)
It’s very easy to navigate this app and find the specific tools I’m looking for.
The Customer Support tab also allows me to get help and information for my specific model of laptop.
I found it can be very useful for brainstorming ideas for work or personal projects.
The material used to cover the laptop gathers fingerprint smudges far too easily.(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)
As is typical with OLED panels, the Zenbook 14 OLED screen displays a beautiful color range.
Contrast is amazing thanks to the pixels producing true black rather than grey.
This, in turn, makes colors stand out that much brighter and more distinctly.
(Image credit: Windows Central)
However, as is typical with OLED screens, this one doesn’t get as bright as some others.
It’s all very responsive and does what I’d expect.
It’s more than capable of handling everyday office and school tasks.
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It’s not a huge difference, but shows that the two are similar with different tradeoffs.
Both results are good, by the way, and show that these are powerful processors.
It’s more than capable of handling everyday office and school tasks.
(Image credit: Windows Central)
I used Cinebench R23 to evaluate CPU graphics rendering performance.
Still, it is reliable enough for average computer use.
Now, as for the AI-boosting NPU itself.
It might be that AMD firmware needs to be updated before the Polycon will work with this NPU.
I’ll check again later and will add this info if I can.
Overall, this really isn’t that warm.
The ASUS Zenbook 14 (UM3406HA) display produced 100% of sRGB, 95% of AdobeRGB, and 100% of P3 in our colorimeter test.
I never had to worry about it scalding my lap while I sat working on my couch, either.
That might be overkill for some, but incredibly useful for others.
Either way, this makes it the longest-lasting battery of any laptop we’ve tested thus far.
(Image credit: Windows Central)
It always had enough juice for me to use it for two or three days in a row.
Everything presses down nicely and works as it should.
It is worth noting that all four arrow keys are half the height of other keys on this keyboard.
(Image credit: Windows Central)
Another unique thing is that pressing F10 toggles Directional Recording mode on and off.
As previously mentioned, there’s a Microsoft Copilot key to initiate the software quickly.
Meanwhile, the touchpad is a good size and always responds accurately to my movements.
(Image credit: Windows Central)
I never had any issues while navigating around programs or web browsers.
Thanks to the built-in shutter, I can feel more confident about my privacy with a simple slide.
Additionally,Windows Hellois available thanks to the ASUS AISense camera.
(Image credit: Windows Central)
The microphone always carries my voice clearly without any distracting artifacts or buzzing.
However, anyone wanting better sound quality should consider investing in one of thebest computer microphones.
Now for the speakers.
(Image credit: Windows Central)
They are designed so that anyone sitting right in front of the laptop gets the best sound experience.
Sounds do seem a bit more distant when sitting to the side of the laptop, though.
It currently sells for$1,299.99 at Best Buyand comes with 32GB RAM and a 1TB SSD.
(Image credit: Windows Central)
The Zenbook 14 (Q425) has an MSRP of$1,049.99 at Best Buy.
They especially appreciated this laptop’s amazing battery life, solid performance, and portability.
It does cost a bit more, though, with an MSRP of$1,499.99 at Best Buy.
The OLED screen peaked at 84 degrees Fahrenheit.(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)
Outside of ASUS, the HP Envy 2-in-1 is a pretty similar 14-inch touchscreen AI PC laptop.
However, it has an IPS touchscreen rather than an OLED one.
At the time of writing, the HP Envy 2-in-1 is on sale for$749.99 at Best Buy.
The center of the keyboard area reached up to 85 degrees Fahrenheit.(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)
You should buy this if…
You should not buy this if…
It’s extremely convenient and nice to look at.
There are a couple of things missing from this laptop an SD card slot and a fingerprint reader.
The area above the keyboard peaked at 93 degrees Fahrenheit.(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)
However, as long as you don’t need those things, it should serve you well.
If you tend to work away from outlets for long stretches then you should definitely consider this laptop.
The vents were the hottest part of the laptop measuring in at a peak of 106 degrees Fahrenheit.(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)
The ASUS Zenbook 14 (UM3406HA) lasted 17 hours and 17 minutes in my battery testing.
The included charging adapter has a USB-C connection.
There is a Microsoft Copilot button the right of the Space bar.
ASUS Zenbook 14 (UM3406HA) features an FHD 3DNR IR camera.(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)
You can protect your privacy by using the shutter.(Image credit: Rebecca Spear / Windows Central)
ASUS produces several different 14-inch Zenbook models, like this Zenbook 14X OLED (UX3404).
The Copilot key quickly brings up Microsoft’s AI program for you to use.
