ASUS Vivobook S 14" S5406SA-DH76 2024, Core Ultra 7 258V, 32GB, 1TB SSD, Mist Blue

The Vivobook S 14 is a stunningly light OLED productivity machine with RAM for days. Just don't ask it to play games, because it'll politely decline.

The Intel Core Ultra 7 258V surprised us. It's not going to top any raw benchmark charts, but for everyday multitasking it chews through browser tabs, Office apps, and light photo editing without breaking a sweat. The 32GB of LPDDR5X is the real hero here, putting this machine in the 92nd percentile for RAM. That's more memory than most people will ever use, and it means this laptop will stay snappy for years. The integrated Arc Graphics are fine for casual stuff, but the gaming score of 23.2 tells the real story. This is not a gaming laptop, and that's okay.

Stack this against the Apple MacBook Pro M5 and the HP OMEN Transcend 14, and the picture gets clear fast. The MacBook Pro crushes it on raw performance and build quality, but you'll pay significantly more and lose the OLED screen unless you go top-tier. The OMEN Transcend 14 has a real GPU and a higher refresh rate display, making it the better pick for creators who game on the side. The Vivobook S 14 wins on pure portability and battery endurance, but it's not the most powerful option in this crowd.

At $1,250 to $1,300 USD, this sits in a weird spot. You're paying a premium for the OLED screen and portability, but the integrated GPU means you're not getting a do-everything machine. If you value battery life and screen quality over raw power, it's worth it. If you want to game or render video, save your money and look elsewhere.

The ASUS Vivobook S 14 is the laptop you buy when you're done pretending you need a gaming rig to check email and watch Netflix. This thing nails the basics: a gorgeous OLED screen, 32GB of RAM, and a battery that just won't quit. The one thing to know? It's a productivity beast that weighs less than three pounds, but don't expect it to run Cyberpunk at anything above a slideshow.

If you're looking for a gaming laptop or anything with real graphics muscle, this isn't it. Go get the HP OMEN Transcend 14 or a Lenovo Legion 5i instead. You'll trade some portability for a GPU that actually does something.

Buy this if you want a featherweight laptop with a beautiful screen and all-day battery for work, school, or travel. It's a focused machine that does its job extremely well. Skip it if you need any kind of serious graphics performance, because the integrated Arc GPU just can't keep up.