In today’s fast-paced world, laptops have become an indispensable tool. They are indeed tailored to diverse our needs- from entertainment to office work, managing businesses, bank accounts, presentations and every possible thing you could give a thought to. And, understanding what the consumer wants, there are so many brands who have come up with a variety of laptops as per the need of the consumers- from students to working professionals- we have a diverse range of these compact wireless machines which could work anywhere and by anyone flawlessly.
Whether you need a powerhouse for heavy lifting, a portable companion for travel or a versatile device for a blend of activities, today's laptops are designed to meet a wide array of user requirements. To ease the confusion, here we are with yet another review from ASUS, a known brand in the laptop segment.
I recently got my hands on the ASUS Vivobook S 15/16 OLED laptop which was launched at a starting price of Rs 96,990 in the Indian market. Here is my detailed review to let you know if this machine is worth buying or not.
Look and feel: Everything premium
I strongly believe in first impressions, and this laptop had it all. I loved the colour, sleek design and smooth metallic body. Indeed, a beautifully designed machine with an upgraded keypad as well as a trackpad. Here are the details:
Packaging
The device was boxed in eco-friendly packaging which could be easily carried anywhere without worrying about the safety of the device.
ASUS Lumina OLED display:
- The laptop comes with a 16-inch 3.2K (3200 x 2000) 120Hz ASUS Lumina OLED display along with very thin bezels.
- With a 3.9-mm thin display, the laptop is sturdy enough.
- With this compact design, the machine weighs 1.5 kg, making it easy to carry in one without any stress.
Camera: Great clarity during video calls
The laptop features an FHD IR camera, with ASUS AiSense and an FHD 3DNR with ambient light and colour sensor. Another highlight is the camera shutter which helps you to enhance protection while the device is not in use.
Connectivity
It comes with enough ports to work and connect your machine on the go. Here are the details:
- Ports: 2 x Thunderbolt 4 (Type-C)
- 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A
- HDMI 2.1 (TMDS)
- 3.5mm audio jack
- microSD card reader
Overall, this Vivobook made a good first impression with the very slim and smart look. Some colleagues have even said that the device looks a little like a MacBook (design-wise)- hence, premium, compact and smart-looking laptop. The bigger touchpad and keyboard are a plus- along with slimmer number keys (talking lesser space of the machine).
Performance: Smooth and powerful
This laptop runs on Windows 11 Home with support for the Copilot app and is powered by Intel ARC Graphics. Talking about the processor, Vivobook is available in two variants supporting different variants of Intel processors:
ASUS Vivobook S 15 OLED
- Intel Core Ultra 9 processor-185H with NPU, along with a dedicated AI Engine
- Intel Core Ultra 7 processor-155H with NPU, along with a dedicated AI Engine
- Intel Core Ultra 5 processor-125H with NPU, along with a dedicated AI Engine
ASUS Vivobook S 16 OLED
- Intel Core Ultra 9 processor-185H with NPU, along with a dedicated AI Engine
- Intel Core Ultra 7 processor-155H with NPU, along with a dedicated AI Engine
- Intel Core Ultra 5 processor-125H with NPU, along with a dedicated AI Engine
RAM and storage
The machine comes with onboard up to 16GB 7467 MHz LPDDR5x RAM and you can store up to 1 TB of data on the machine without any difficulty.
For wireless connectivity, the laptop comes with Dual-band Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax) as well as Bluetooth 5.3v. It got paired with my phone, Wi-Fi, other tablets, speakers and hotspots very easily without any lag or delay. Transferring data via Bluetooth was also smooth and easy.
Audio
This laptop comes with Harman Kardon-certified, Dolby Atmos sound system with 2 built-in speakers along with a built-in array microphone. Certainly watching series or movies on Netflix, Prime, and other OTT was great as the sound was crystal clear during my review period.
It was not that loud for a party or dance, but if you are on a video call, or waiting or listening to the music- then the device delivers that perfect beat and clear audio.
Battery
This Vivobook comes with a 75 Wh battery which further supports 49 mins fast-charge to 60 per cent and ASUS USB-C Easy Charge (charger). I was impressed with almost a day battery life on this device. It certainly did the justice and lasted for 8 hours easily during my hands-on (while binge-watching, social media, writing, YouTube browsing and more).
Configuring the laptop is easy: Email and lock screen password is a must
This device was easy to configure as you need to log in with your email ID, also you need to put on a laptop password during the time of configuration- for security reasons. It indeed is mandatory for good reasons!
Once you configure your machine, the device will start to operate smoothly. I have used it for writing. This review was partially written on the vivobook itself. Here are the things I liked about this laptop:
- The keypad is smooth and easy, and literally with the lowest tapping sound.
- The finger trackpad of the laptop is big enough which makes it easy to navigate and work on.
- The display is bright and vivid. The colour quality is great and you can easily play FHD videos on the laptop. It did not lag at all during the HD videos.
- No heating issue was experienced during my continuous 8 straight hours of browsing, typing, listening to music and binge-watching.
- On a single charge, the battery could last for a day easily (Around 8-9 hours)
- The laptop supports a Type-C charging port which supports fast charging to the device.
Here are the things I feel, were missing in the machine:
- The touch display was a miss and it could have added more value to those who prefer a lot of online presentations.
- It comes with a 180-degree straight-angle mode. This means it could be open straight, but if 360-degree was then it could have been considered more flexible for some avid laptop users who could use the machine for designing.
Verdict
At a starting price of Rs 96,990 (by the time of writing), the new Vivobook S 15 OLED certainly stands under the premium segment. It looks and feels premium, works flawlessly and lasts for a day on a single charge. It has no heating issue and performs multitasking effortlessly.
It is indeed a good machine with up-to-date specs and worth getting a hands-on if you are looking for a smart premium device. The only drawback in my experience is the missing feature like the touch display and the battery could have been stronger and longer than this. But, rest assured, it is a strong performer with great looks. Of course, not missing to mention that the laptop is going to give some competition to the existing premium laptops which are already available in the Indian market (like MacBook, Lenovo ThinkPad, Acer Swift Go, Dell Vostro, and more).
But this Vivobook S 15/16 OLED series is smart and smooth enough to handle everyday tasks easily.
ALSO READ: Asus Zenbook 14 OLED Review: A user's perspective on style, performance, and portability
