I tested every ASUS Zenbook this year and there is one you should buy

• Best Large-Screen Laptop: ASUS Zenbook S16 OLED
• Best for Multi-tasking: ASUS Zenbook DUO
• Best Budget Option: ASUS Zenbook A14
• Best Overall: ASUS Zenbook S 14 OLED

I’ve had the opportunity to test a lot of laptops over the years, and ASUS’ Zenbook line has consistently ranked as one of my favorite series on the Windows side. Having tested all six models released this year, I’ve put together this guide to help you figure out which Zenbook makes the most sense for your needs.

Best Large-Screen Laptop: ASUS Zenbook S16 OLED

If you need a larger display without sacrificing portability, the Zenbook S16 OLED remains my favorite 16-inch Windows laptop from this year. The 16-inch 3.2K OLED display with a 16:10 aspect ratio is undeniably its crown jewel, and offers unparalleled vibrancy thanks to its ability to cover 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut.

Whether I was editing photos, watching movies, coding, or simply browsing the web, it was difficult to find a suitable alternative to the S16’s display quality. The panel also sports a 120Hz refresh rate, which enhances the overall fluidity of animations and navigation.

At under four pounds and less than 0.7 inches thick, the Zenbook S16 is remarkably lightweight and portable for a 16-inch laptop. Under the hood, the laptop packs up to AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor, paired with up to 32GB of LPDDR5X-7500 memory.

In my testing, the performance was snappy and reliable for most everyday tasks, including multitasking, web browsing, programming, and light creative work like photo editing, but where this processor really excelled at was with AI-oriented tasks.

Best for Multi-tasking: ASUS Zenbook DUO

If I’m being honest, I would say that the Zenbook DUO is my favorite laptop across the entire Zenbook lineup, even if it isn’t the most practical. The DUO features two identical 14-inch 3K OLED displays with 120Hz refresh rates, which effectively doubles your screen real estate in a relatively portable package.

When you first open up the device, you’re greeted with what is seemingly a very normal laptop setup with a single 14-inch screen and a full-sized keyboard and trackpad. However, once you detach the keyboard and prop up the kickstand at the base of the laptop, you’ll see the second identical display underneath.

The kickstand is my favorite aspect of this design, because it brings the main display to eye-level and works great for alleviating neck strain during long work sessions. I mainly used the secondary screen as my reference display, with the top screen being my main; for coding, having a preview of my project on the top screen with my IDE at the bottom was excellent for making quick changes compared to hopping back and forth between two windows. The same practicality goes for having a Word document on the bottom with a Chrome window on the top display for note-taking.

The main compromise is battery life. The laptop is rated for around 10 hours of battery life, but in my usage with a typical day of web-browsing, content streaming, coding, and photo-editing, with both displays, I got around six to seven hours before needing to plug in, which is quite less compared to ASUS’ other laptops in the lineup.

If you want to get the full utility of having this type of laptop, you’ll likely want to carry the charging brick with you. The Zenbook S16 OLED serves as a runner-up for multitaskers who prefer a more traditional form factor but still want a large, high-quality display for productivity work.

Best Budget Option: ASUS Zenbook A14

If you’re looking for an entry point into the Zenbook lineup, the Zenbook A14 is the one that makes the most sense on paper. ASUS has been positioning this as a more direct competitor to Apple’s MacBook Air, and the appeal is pretty straightforward; it’s an ARM-based Windows laptop with a 14-inch OLED display.

In my usage, I think my biggest takeaway was just getting over how small and light it was; this laptop weighs just 2.16 lbs, and it feels much smaller than any of the other 14-inch laptops I’ve used this year. It uses the same Ceraluminum material the other Zenbooks use, but this iteration has a soft-touch feel to it that I think looks great, and does a much better job at managing fingerprints.

That said, the thing you really need to be honest about here is what your workflow looks like, because with the A14, this is where Windows’ ARM transition still isn’t as frictionless as Apple’s. Equipped with the Snapdragon X X1 processor, the A14 excels in a browser, Office apps, streaming, and general productivity, and does so while delivering excellent battery life. However, if you rely on specific x86 apps, and want to game on this laptop, you’re better off going with something else, because a lot of apps and games still don’t fully support ARM on Windows.

Best Overall: ASUS Zenbook S 14 OLED

If you’re looking for the best laptop for most people, the Zenbook S14 is the one to get. Much like the larger S16, the 14-inch features a 3K OLED display with a 120Hz refresh rate and 100% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage, and is one of the best displays on a Windows laptop today, though it peaks at around 500 nits, which is fine for indoor use but not outside, especially in direct sunlight.

Battery life is surprisingly good thanks to the efficiency of the new Intel processor; the 72Wh battery consistently delivered around 10 hours of real-world use in my testing, with mixed workloads including browsing, document editing, and media consumption. Thermal performance is another area where the Zenbook S 14 has significantly improved upon over its predecessor, where it no longer gets excessively warm during casual usage.

More importantly, fan noise is much better managed than before. ASUS’ Whisper Mode keeps noise levels below 25dB in light workloads, which might not be as quiet as a fanless MacBook Air, but it makes S 14 one of the quieter thin-and-light Windows laptops I’ve used.

Another great aspect of the S 14 is that ASUS still provides a decent number of ports on this smaller laptop, getting two Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI 2.1, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, and an audio combo jack, compared to the MacBook Air which only gives you two Thunderbolt 4 ports and an audio jack.

It’s worth mentioning that the standard Zenbook 14 OLED comes close as a runner-up, and offers similar features at a lower price point at around $1,100, though I think the S 14’s premium materials, refined design, and better thermals make it worth the extra investment.

Final Thoughts

Overall, I think the 2025 ASUS Zenbook lineup offers excellent options across the board, and the right choice depends on your specific needs. The Zenbook S 14 remains the best overall for most users, offering the best balance of performance, portability, and battery life with premium build quality, while the larger S16 OLED is the go-to for anyone who needs a larger display without sacrificing too much portability. The Zenbook DUO is a genuinely intriguing option if you want an alternative form-factor of a dual-screen setup, and the Zenbook A14 delivers incredible value for budget-conscious buyers.

I think out of most of the other laptops you might consider, ASUS has proven that Windows laptops can finally compete with Apple’s MacBooks on performance, battery life, and build quality, and in many cases, they’ve done it with some of the best displays and build quality you’ll find on any laptop today.