Reading an article about the Asus Zenbook A14 is doing a disservice to all parties involved. You really have to carry this thing yourself.
The new 14-inch ultraportable laptop made waves at CES 2025 in Las Vegas this week as “the world’s lightest Copilot+ computer,” winning an Innovation Award in the tech show’s Sustainability and Energy/Power category and multiple “more good ones” (including one of us at CNET Group). Made from an innovative material called “Ceraluminum” that’s stylish and eco-friendly, Zenbook A14 combines a lightweight frame with Qualcomm’s next-level power efficiency, a bright OLED display and a gesture-controlled keyboard – all for $899.99.
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable
I’m old enough to remember when Steve Jobs pulled Apple’s first MacBook Air out of a brown envelope. And after spending some time with the Zenbook A14 at Asus’ private CES show, I’m tempted to make a bold claim that it feels like the new standard bearer of ultraportable laptops — barring any Windows for ARM compatibility issues. (I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that the numbers in its name look a lot like the word “Air.”) It’s a competitively priced, full-featured AI computer that also happens to be an absolute beauty.
Spoon for Ceralumin
Ceralumin is Asus’ trademarked name for “plasma ceramic aluminum,” a tough magnesium-aluminum alloy that’s scratch-resistant, impact-resistant, and 100 percent recyclable. A company representative told me that it is often used to make luxury watches and aviation technology, and that Asus was the first to use it in consumer electronics. It premiered on the covers of several previous Zenbooks, but the Zenbook A14 takes things a step further with an all-ceraluminum chassis. It has a matte smooth texture in person.
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable
According to the Asus representative, the Zenbook A14’s chassis finish includes a unique aluminum anodizing process, where its two halves are immersed in a water bath and blasted with high-voltage electricity. The color of the chassis depends on the amount of time it spends in water – the longer it marinates, the darker it becomes. Asus says its method is better for the environment than traditional aluminum anodizing, which requires an acid bath. It also eliminates the need for paint.
Mashable’s Speed of Light
The best of CES 2025: Everything that stole the show, according to our experts
Asus will sell the Zenbook A14 in two light shades called Zabriskie Beige and Icelandic Grey, which are modern, minimalist neutrals that are ever so slightly grainy up close. (Both have a metallic Asus Zenbook logo on the back of their lids for a nice contrast.) According to an Asus representative, no two Zenbook A14s look exactly alike due to the nature of its finishing process.
I can’t wait to fully test this thing out
The biggest takeaway from my limited time with the Zenbook A14 is also the most obvious, which is that it’s extremely light and sleek. Everyone walking up to the counter where it sat at the front of the Asus showroom spent a good minute just looking it up and down in amazement (myself included). For reference, it’s up to half a pound lighter and just under a tenth of an inch thicker than the current 13-inch MacBook Air lineup.
Credit: Haley Henschel / Mashable
The Zenbook A14’s build quality and portability alone should make it a finalist among students and on-the-go workers shopping for a new PC, but its battery life will be one of the things that seals the deal (the other being its price). . Asus has rated it at over 32 hours of video playback per charge, which beats the longest-lasting laptop Mashable has ever tested by nine hours: “If you leave the house for the day, you can’t take a charger with you.” the company representative told me. I look forward to testing this claim in an upcoming in-depth review.
Other highlights of the Zenbook A14 include a vibrant FHD, non-touch OLED display with an entertainment-friendly 16:10 aspect ratio and 600 nits of peak HDR brightness. (That’s 100 nits brighter than the M2 and M3 MacBook Airs, FYI.) Its keyboard is comfortable and nice, and its touchpad supports Asus’ Smart Gestures—you can swipe your fingers to adjust the brightness of laptop screen, change its speaker volume, and fast-forward or rewind video. It is equipped with two USB4 ports, a USB-A port, an HDMI 2.1 port for connecting an external monitor and a headphone jack.
Lenovo’s ‘swivel’ screen laptop can be extended with a simple hand gesture
Asus offers two different configurations powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X-series processors. The Iceland gray model is the lighter of the two at 2.18 pounds. It features a Snapdragon X CPU with 32GB of RAM, 1TB of storage, and a price tag of $1,099.99 via Best Buy and Asus’ online storefront. It is set for release at the earliest on Monday, January 13th.
Weighing in at 2.4 pounds (or exactly the same as a modern MacBook Air), the beige Zabriskie model will be a Best Buy exclusive with a Snapdragon X Plus chipset, 16GB of memory, and 512GB of storage. It will retail for $899.99 when it launches sometime in March.
