ASUS recently unveiled the ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED, a powerful and lightweight ultrabook with a stylish design and a thin chassis.
Despite the size, it’s quite the powerhouse featuring an AMD Ryzen 7 6800U chipset, an RDNA 2-based integrated graphics, up to 16GB of RAM, and a 512GB NVMe SSD. Is this the right laptop for you? Let’s find out.
ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED (UM5302) specs
| Display | 13-inch 2.8K OLED Display, 16:10 Aspect Ratio, HDR, Dolby Vision, PANTONE Validated, 100% DCI-P3, VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 Certified, Up to 550 nits, TÜV Rheinland |
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 5 6600U AMD Ryzen 7 6800U |
| GPU | AMD Radeon Graphics |
| RAM/Storage | 8GB / 16GB LPDDR5 RAM 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD |
| Front Camera | FHD/ HD Webcam with 3DNR |
| I/O Ports | 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C 1x 3.5 mm Audio Combo Jack |
| Connectivity | Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2 |
| Others | Backlit Chiclet Keyboard with 1.4mm Key-travel, NumberPad 2.0, Office Home and Student 2021, US MIL-STD 810H Military-grade Standard, Trusted Platform Module, Harman/Kardon Speakers, Dolby Atmos, ASUS Antibacterial Guard, Power Button/Fingerprint Scanner |
| OS | Windows 11 Home |
| Dimensions | 11.68 x 8.29 x 0.59 ~ 0.59 inches 1.0 kg / 2.2 lbs |
| Battery | 67Wh Li-ion, 65W AC Adapter |
Design & build
First off, the ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED uses ASUS’ new design language which features their new arrow-shaped monogram logo. It has a sleek and thin frame with a thickness of just 14.9 mm, and a 13.3-inch form factor with a very light weight of only 1.0 Kg.
The machine is quite the looker with its magnesium-aluminum alloy chassis. And while the finish feels a bit like plastic, the build is very good and really solid. Moreover, it has been tested to meet the US MIL-STD 810H Military-grade Standard for reliability and durability.
The Zenbook comes with the ErgoLift hinge, which tilts the display up to 180 degrees. It also lifts the main chassis a bit which improves air circulation.
Moving to the keyboard, it has a good layout. The keys are backlit with a subtle 0.2 mm dish-shaped indentation and 1.4 mm key travel. Key presses are on the soft side, but it’s very comfortable to use.
And just below the keyboard, we have the large trackpad with a soft and smooth feel, thanks to a glass surface with a hydrophobic and anti-fingerprint coating. You can also turn it into a number pad by tapping the icon in the top right corner. I have not used this feature, but I like that the option is there should I need it.
As for the speakers, they can get loud with good sound quality. The speakers are downward-firing, which means they sound better if you place the laptop on a flat surface, such as a table.
Display
One of the big stories of the Zenbook is its 13-inch 2.8K OLED display. It’s bright with vibrant colors, offering a wide color gamut with a 100% DCI-P3. It is also certified VESA DisplayHDR 500 True Black and is PANTONE Validated, ensuring high color accuracy. The refresh rate is locked at 60Hz, but it does support HDR and Dolby Vision with up to 550 nits of brightness.
The OLED display is one of the best I’ve seen. It is impressive, to say the least, and will serve creators well for multimedia projects and photo editing. While on downtime, the display makes watching movies and videos a very pleasurable experience.
I/O Ports
Because of the thin frame, the Zenbook S 13 OLED is limited to three USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C ports, one on the left and two on the right. That may seem lacking, but I actually found it enough for my needs. ASUS did include a USB-C to USB-A dongle for those who use accessories like wired keyboards, 2.4GHz mice, and USB-A thumb drives.
All three ports have DisplayPort and Power Delivery support, which means you can plug the power adapter or an extended monitor into any of the ports.
There’s also an audio combo jack on the right side and two LED indicator lights for activity and charging.
Performance & battery
Our review unit comes with an AMD Ryzen 7 6800U chipset with 16GB of RAM, 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD, and AMD Radeon 680M integrated graphics.
The chipset is another highlight feature of the Zenbook S 13 OLED. The AMD Ryzen 7 6800U is built using TSMC’s 6nm process technology. Meanwhile, the integrated Radeon graphics uses RDNA 2 architecture, which significantly boosts performance.
Compared to previous generations, you’re looking at improvements of up to 70% media and entertainment performance, 130% 3D rendering performance, and 100% gaming performance. While the integrated graphics deliver up to two times faster performance than the last generation.
See also ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED: 5 reasons why it’s the best laptop for creatives
As a daily driver, I found the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U to be more than enough for my needs. My use case mainly consists of writing and editing documents, surfing the web, a YouTube video or two, and some light photo editing. I never found the chipset lacking as I fire up Adobe Photoshop with over 20 tabs on the Edge Browser. And just for the review, I ran Premiere Pro, which quickly exported a video without issue.
As for the battery life, I comfortably get a day’s work out of it, typically around 8 to 9 hours of power with medium brightness, Bluetooth on for my mouse, and Power Mode set to Balanced.
Verdict
As ultrabooks come, the ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED is a strong contender to be one of the best laptops of the year. Its stylish and solid chassis, combined with a class-leading display and the AMD Ryzen 7 6800U chip, make it a great option for those looking for a small and powerful laptop that’s easy to carry around.
Price & availability
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED is now available in the Philippines. Prices are as follows:
- ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED (UM5302) – ₱63,995
13-inch 2.8K 16:10 OLED / AMD Ryzen 5 6600U / 8GB LPDDR5 / 512GB PCIE4 SSD / AMD Radeon Graphics / Windows 11 Home with Office Home & Student 2021 - ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED (UM5302) – ₱76,995
13-inch 2.8K 16:10 OLED / AMD Ryzen 7 6800U / 16GB LPDDR5 / 512GB PCIE4 SSD / AMD Radeon Graphics / Windows 11 Home with Office Home & Student 2021
For more details, you can visit its product page or here for information on where to get one.
