I’ve spent a lot of time around the ASUS range of laptops, in particular, the ZenBook range and it’s great to see that the evolution of this mainstream line-up is continuing to break ground.

The 2022 release of the ZenBook 14 UX4302ZA is a great example of this, as it’s light, thin and still packs a punch especially as a travel device with its extended battery life and amazing visual quality.

The review hardware was the Intel EVO I7 model and was really happy with the overall design of the device.

The matte finish is professional without being dull and boring, particularly when combined with the blue tint they call “Ponder Blue”. Not sure if I agree with the name of the colour, but I guess they had to think carefully before making a decision on “Blue”.

The screen is a stunning glossy OLED 2.8K 90Hz, so a resolution of 2880 x 1800, 14 inches 16:10 ratio. It’s actually brilliant to watch your streaming service’s TV shows and Movies while on a trip away or in bed. The blacks are excellent and the colour is vibrant and just pops out of the screen. This screen also performs well if you are using the machine to play some games. 

As I mentioned above the processor is a solid Intel I7-1260P/BGA and the model I tested had 16 Gb of RAM but performed admirably on all tasks, this isn’t a hardcore gaming machine, it’s for work and lets you perform multiple tasks at any one time with ease. If you are looking to play games on it, it handles the streaming options really well, so a Game Pass subscription using the cloud gaming option is solid enough.

Apart from the screen, the next feature that stands out the most for me is the keyboard and trackpad combination and layout. The keys are nice and light to the touch with perfect spacing and the trackpad doubles as a number pad with that unique ASUS technology and style. It’s an important part of the device that probably doesn’t get enough respect considering it’s the part you have the most interaction with during your day-to-day use. 

Battery life for the hotdesk worker is really good, getting around 7 hours of pretty consistent use. So you’ll power through an average workday as long as you aren’t opening anything too powerful that demands more power.

The Asus Zenbook OLED 14 includes the panel in the name for a reason, it’s the stand-out feature of a machine that is a really solid laptop. When deciding on if it’s right for you, it’s a question you’ll need to ask, is OLED worth it? I would answer absolutely yes unless you are plugging into external monitors and having the machine docked 90% of the time. Having a powerful panel like this lets the machine be your all-in-one solution for watching videos, writing for extended periods or doing your day-to-day work.