Asus VivoBook S14 (M433)
Asus has just launched its new VivoBook series with Ryzen processors. We got a chance to check out the VivoBook S14 (M433) laptop with the latest Ryzen 5 processor and a thin and light design. The new laptop concentrates on both design as well as performance. At a starting price of Rs. 59,990, the laptop does manage to offer a mouthful. But should you go out and buy one? Let’s find out in this review.
Asus VivoBook S14 Review: Display and Design
The VivoBook S14 is a thin and light laptop and manages to weigh in at around 1.4kgs. The outer shell of the VivoBook is constructed out of plastic, which does bring a question mark on the durability but allows the laptop to be lighter than most of its competition. The outer shell does get a smooth finish helping the laptop feel a bit premium.As for the ports, the VivoBook S14 features two USB 2.0 ports and a microSD card reader on the right side. On the left side of the laptop, there is the power input port, an HDMI port, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port and a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type C port. There is also a 3.5mm headphone jack on the left side.
Asus VivoBook S14 (M433)
Coming to the display, the Asus VivoBook S15 (M433) features a 14-inch Full-HD LED-backlit IPS LCD display panel. The display comes with the company’s nano-edge technology due to which the laptop is able to offer a 85% screen to body ratio. The panel offers plenty of brightness even for outdoor use and offers decent viewing angles. However, the overall panel quality could have been a bit better to offer a better movie-watching experience.
Asus VivoBook S14 Review: Audio
Asus flaunts Harman Kardon speakers on the new VivoBook S14. They offer a decent sound quality. During my review period, I enjoyed watching movies as well as listening to songs when I was in a quiet room. As the speakers are downwards firing, keeping the laptop on an uneven surface like a bed or a sofa completely blocked the audio.
Asus VivoBook S14 Review: Keyboard and trackpad
When it comes to keyboards and trackpads, Asus manages to offer a great keyboard and trackpad experience even on its budget-oriented laptops. The Asus Vivobook 15 also comes with a nice tactile keyboard and I had no issues writing articles using the keyboard. The keyboard is also backlit with three levels of brightness making it easier to type in dark environments.
Asus VivoBook S14 (M433)
The trackpad on the VivoBook S14 felt smooth. The company took advantage of the Windows Precision drivers making gesture controls on Windows 10 seamless. Also, there is a fingerprint sensor on the trackpad, which makes logging in much easier and quicker.
Asus VivoBook S14 Review: Performance
Our review unit came equipped with the AMD Ryzen 5 5500U processor paired with Radeon Graphics, The laptop had 8GB of RAM and 1TB of PCIe M.2 SSD. This combination makes day to day tasks like browsing or working on an excel sheet quite smooth.
Asus VivoBook S14 (M433)
During my usage, I had 7-8 tabs open on Google Chrome with Spotify, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Outlook, WhatsApp running on the background at all times. Even with such usage, I did not notice any type of lag.
I even tried playing games like Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, but as expected the game did not run quite well on high settings. However, one can play a few casual matches keeping the settings down to medium or low.
Asus VivoBook S14 Review: Battery
Asus VivoBook S14 offers a great battery life. With my usage, the thin and light laptop was able to last for well over 7-8 hours, which is quite impressive. Also, when needed to charge, the laptop was able to charge from 0-60 per cent in less than 50 mins.
Asus VivoBook S14 Review: Verdict
Asus VivoBook S14 (M433)
In a nutshell, the Asus VivoBook S14 (M433) is a worthy contender if you are looking to buy a new laptop priced under Rs. 70,000 for your web browsing and Zoom meetings. It offers great value and a good looking design. However, it would not be the best option for those looking to edit pictures or playing a lot of games.
