Asus Zenbook S 13 OLED is the definition of an ultraportable laptop

Portability is already a big selling point for most laptops, but Asus wants to take it to the next level.

The company’s new Zenbook S 13 OLED weighs just 1kg and has a chassis that’s just 10mm thick. Asus says it’s the world’s thinnest laptop with a 13.3-inch OLED display.

Crucially, many of the trade-offs associated with ultraportable devices aren’t an issue here. The ports are the most obvious example, where you get two USB-C, one USB-A, HDMI 2.1 and a 3.5mm audio jack.

Both USB-C ports support Intel’s Thunderbolt 4 technology for fast data transfer. That’s because the S 13 OLED is powered by Intel 13^e-gen processors – you can choose between Core i5-1335U and Core i7-1355U.

The U-series aren’t the most powerful processors by any means, but with an integrated Iris Xe GPU and up to 32GB of DDR5 RAM, performance should be excellent. If you’re looking for an AMD version, the 2022 model uses Ryzen chips instead.

As you might have guessed, the Zenbook has an OLED display. It’s a 13.3-inch panel with a resolution of 2880×1800 pixels and a refresh rate of 120Hz. You get full DCI-P3 color gamut coverage, but it’s not a touch screen.

There’s also a 63 Wh battery, which Asus claims will last up to 14 hours of use. Using the 65W charger in the box, it’s said to charge from 0-50% in just 30 minutes.

Durability is another potential issue for very thin and light laptops, but the magnesium-aluminum alloy chassis meets military-grade MIL-STD-810. There’s no convertible functionality, which generally puts more stress on the device, again because this laptop doesn’t have a touchscreen.

Perhaps the only real compromise is the keyboard, which offers significantly less travel than many rivals, which is unavoidable when you’re this thin. But the trackpad is now bigger and there’s still room for a stereo speaker system.

The device runs Windows 11 Home or Pro, but its price reflects the premium features. Once the Zenbook S 13 OLED becomes available sometime in Q2 (April-June), you can expect to pay at least £1,499.99 (about $1,870). Pricing and availability in other countries are yet to be confirmed.

Elsewhere, the new Zenbook 14X OLED has the exact same starting price and UK release window. It goes up to 13^eGen 1 Intel H-series processors, which combine with a 70Wh battery to power a 14.5-inch OLED display at 120Hz.

You’ll have to wait until Q3 (July-September) for the Zenbook 15 OLED, although it starts at a more affordable £1,199.99 (around $1,500).

It uses Ryzen 7000-series processors instead and has a larger 15.6-inch 120Hz display.

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