Asus Zenbook S13 OLED (UX5304) review: our full review –

In 2022, the Asus Zenbook S 13 was already one of the easiest ultrabooks to recommend in its category. Under AMD platform, it surprised by its ability to provide great power while remaining very thin and light. For this 2023 version, the Taiwanese manufacturer is turning to Intel’s 13th generation platform, and is making a bet: drastically changing its design. A winning change?

Asus Zenbook S13 OLED (UX5304)Technical sheet

The copy tested here was lent to us by Asus for the duration of the test.

Asus Zenbook S13 OLED (UX5304)Design

This year, Asus decided to listen to public criticism of the high-tech industry. Its answer takes the form of a new upper shell that joins the traditional aluminum alloy chassis. It takes the marked lines of the Zenbook series for a few years now, but uses a process that transforms it into “ceramic aluminum”. To the touch, the slightly grainy rendering actually tends to recall the slight roughness of smooth stone, as the builder likes to boast. We will also notice that the lines hitherto discreet are now more than notable, since they no longer have the very slight mirror effect which only made them stand out under certain light conditions.

No matter, since at the end, we will note above all reducing the impact on the environment that this new process implements. Asus indeed promises that this new material uses only water in its creation, without acids or heavy metals to add, for a drastically reduced environmental impact. It is hoped that this movement towards reducing the carbon footprint of companies will continue to grow in the future, and this Zenbook S 13 of 2023 is already a respectful step forward.

Otherwise, the shackles of the previous model are still respected. We are facing a machine weighing only a small kilo for a thickness of 1.09 cm. The 13.3-inch format makes the Zenbook S 13 just as easy to slip into any bag to take with you, and the ErgoLift (which slightly raises the keyboard part when the machine is open) is still just as pleasant to to use. All in all, by dint of improvements, Asus is refining this leg which belongs only to him on the sector, for machines always more attractive and original.

Keyboard and touchpad

The keyboard has not necessarily received the same improvements, since it remains in what we have learned to expect from the manufacturer over the years. The rebound is there, the spacing of the keys is good and the comfort of use is respected, but there remains a small plastic effect which gives the keystroke a stronger impact than we would like. The fingerprint reader also says goodbye to make way for Windows Hello facial recognition. Nothing is really impactful in use beyond the Enter key, which is still cut in half in the American style.

The touchpad is also of good quality. If it is not made of glass, it glides well and the diagonal it occupies is impressive for such a small format. This is perhaps the most striking ergonomic change compared to the previous generation, and a welcome development.

connectors

To the left of the device, you’ll be able to find a full-frame HDMI 2.1 port as well as two Thunderbolt 4 compatible USB-C ports with 40Gbps bandwidth. On the left, there is a USB A 3.2 and a combo jack.

The Thunderbolt 4 is a more than welcome addition to this configuration, as a bonus to the return of USB A. As a bonus, Asus has this time blown up its hot air outlet on the left side to replace the connectors there, which will prevent right-handed people from getting tangled in the cables of their peripherals. Of course, a small extra port is never in denial, just like an SD card reader which can often be useful, but in such a thin and light chassis, we will not sulk our pleasure.

webcam and audio

The Windows Hello-compatible Full HD camera does not perform miracles, but has the merit of offering more polished colors and better dynamic management. This is appreciable for videoconferencing, even if the Zenbook S 13 of 2023 does not come out of the ordinary laptops either.

The same goes for the solution’s speakers, which are still as basic as ever. The limits of physics play, we find a fairly clear sound with helpful means, but the bass has absolutely no impact. Again, for this format, this will be enough to watch a movie on the go.

Asus Zenbook S13 OLED (UX5304)Screen

The 2023 Asus Zenbook S 13 is equipped with a 13.3-inch OLED panel supporting a definition of 2880 x 1800 pixels, i.e. a ratio of 16:10. This panel, which is not tactile, once again only supports a maximum refresh rate of 60 Hz, against 90 Hz on the brand’s 14-inch models. A small disappointment therefore, even if this choice is certainly important to preserve the autonomy of the small PC.

Under our probe and with the DisplayCal software, we can see that the panel natively covers 169.5% of the sRGB space and 120% of the DCI-P3 space. The maximum measured brightness is 384 cd/m². Still in native setting, we find an average color temperature of 6410K and an average Delta E00 of 2.34 which is quite good for such a device. In the DCI-P3 setting, the average Delta E00 drops a little further to 1.95, but the color temperature drops to 6332K. The Display-P3 mode offers the best settings with an average Delta E00 of 1.85, a color temperature of 6413K, but above all a maximum difference between the measured and the expected, much smaller than the others.

If it wasn’t obvious, the Asus Zenbook S 13 of 2023 simply has a very good OLED screen for its generation, which may be suitable for graphic work. However, we regret that 90 Hz is not an option, as is the case with the brand’s other ultrabooks.

Asus Zenbook S13 OLED (UX5304)Software

Windows 11, always. And always this dear McAfee who never ceases to make us cringe. Otherwise, the usual services from Asus are still there, like this GlideX whose real interest is still hard to find, but also a floating shortcut bar which few people will use.

Above all, the MyAsus software remains at the center of the fine adjustments of the device, always in numbers although a little messy in their presentation. Better to have everything than nothing at all, even if the presentation suffers a little.

Asus Zenbook S13 OLED (UX5304)Performance

In our test configuration, the Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED is equipped with the latest Intel Core i7-1355U. It is a 10-core SoC – 8 performance and 10 efficient – ​​and 12 threads that can reach a maximum turbo frequency of 5 GHz. Although announced with a base TDP of 15W, the performance mode of the Zenbook S 13 (used in these tests) gives it 20W of power. It is here coupled with 16 GB of LPDDR5 RAM and 1 TB of PCIe 4.0 storage.

Benchmarks and heating

It’s here that we can’t help but be a little disappointed with this 2023 Zenbook S 13. The return to Intel doesn’t come without some sacrifices, as our synthetic benchmarks show. If this generation 13 is able to reach more than 9000 points in multi-core on Cinebench R23, this device only holds 7132 points. In single-corewe reach 1665 points, slightly above the 12th generation whose classic scores are around 8000 and 1500. On PCMark 10, we also obtain a score of 5274.

All of this is lower than the same measurements we made on the 2022 version, which was supported by the Ryzen 7 6800U. If the Intel i7-1355U is capable of reaching 9000 in multi core or 1700 in single core, the thermal management of the Zenbook S 13 of 2023 prevents it. We can see in our measurements that the computer has been able to reduce the degrees, with a point below the chassis reaching a maximum of 48°C against 52°C on the previous generation, but this is done at the expense of the sustained performance of the laptop. ‘device. And this without counting on its very audible fans, whose high-pitched sound is not the most pleasant.

Anyway, the device remains exemplary in use, and the raw power gain on this new generation will allow it to manage sudden peaks in resource demands, despite the disappointment in performance. supported. Nevertheless, we would really like to see an AMD version arrive in the 7000 generation to compare its performance.

Asus Zenbook S13 OLED (UX5304)Autonomy

The Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED is equipped with a 63 Wh battery, and comes with a 65W USB-C charger. The device is compatible with the Power Delivery standard, and can therefore be adapted to any type of charger and charging power of this range to regain its energy in nature.

On professional use, including writing, a few YouTube videos and music on Spotify (because we’re not savages either), the computer lasts around 9 to 10 hours of use while maintaining a fairly high luminosity. It will therefore be possible to save 1 or 2 hours more by using the energy saving mode (which lowers the SoC to 12W) and by paying attention to its backlight.

Suffice to say that the 2023 Zenbook S 13 will follow you through a full day of work with disconcerting ease. Yet another advantage to add to its small size for anyone who has to travel regularly.

Asus Zenbook S13 OLED (UX5304)Price and availability

The 2023 Asus Zenbook S13 (UX5304) will be available in France by the end of April. Its advertised price is 1,799 euros.