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Asus Zenbook 14 Q425
MSRP $1,050.00
“The Asus Zenbook 14 Q425 is the primary Meteor Lake laptop computer that is each quick and environment friendly.”
Execs
- Glorious construct high quality
- Robust productiveness efficiency
- Strong battery life
- Good keyboard and touchpad
- OLED’s ordinary colours and distinction
Cons
- Show is barely FHD+
- Keyboard switches could possibly be tighter
Asus makes the finest laptops beneath $1,000. Somewhat than compromise in key areas like design, efficiency, and construct high quality, Asus’ Zenbooks are inclined to stability these attributes remarkably properly.
The brand new Zenbook 14 Q425 is a superb instance of such a laptop computer. It checks all of the containers, providing Intel Meteor Lake chipsets and a terrific OLED show at an inexpensive $800 beginning worth. On the similar time, it’s a step down from the carefully aligned Zenbook 14 OLED (UX3405) I reviewed earlier this 12 months, which has a higher-resolution panel. Even so, the Zenbook 14 Q425, with its glorious battery life, stays a simple laptop computer to advocate at its lower cost.
Specs and configurations
Asus Zenbook 14 Q425 | |
Dimensions | 12.30 inches x 8.67 inches x 0.59 inches |
Weight | 2.82 kilos |
Processor | Intel Core Extremely 5 125H Intel Core Extremely 7 155H |
Graphics | Intel Arc graphics |
RAM | 8GB 16GB |
Show | 14.0-inch 16:10 FHD+ (1920 x 1200) OLED contact, 60Hz |
Storage | 512GB SSD 1TB SSD |
Contact | Sure |
Ports | 2 x USB-C with Thunderbolt 4 1 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 1 x HDMI 2.1 1 x 3.5mm audio jack |
Wi-fi | Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.3 |
Webcam | 1080p with infrared digital camera for Home windows 11 Whats up |
Working system | Home windows 11 |
Battery | 75 watt-hours |
Value |
$800+ |
Asus affords two configurations of the Zenbook 14 Q. The Q415 mannequin prices $800 with an Intel Core Extremely 5 125H chipset, 8GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and a 14-inch FHD+ OLED show. I reviewed the Q425 mannequin, which prices $1,050 for a Core Extremely 7 155H, 16GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. The bottom mannequin is $100 greater than the 2023 Zenbook 14 OLED, which began at $700 with an AMD processor, however lower than the $1,300 2024 Zenbook 14 OLED.
The entry-level mannequin is a major worth for a quick 14-inch laptop computer with an OLED show. Solely the 8GB of RAM offers me pause, though that’s sufficient for fundamental productiveness duties. The high-end mannequin is a beautiful possibility for anybody who wants extra RAM and storage for his or her workflow.
You’ll spend $1,o99 for a base MacBook Air M3 that matches the Zenbook’s base configuration and $1,699 on a comparable MacBook Air on the Zenbook’s excessive finish. The Dell XPS 14 is $1,799 for a similar chipset, RAM, and storage, however with an IPS show. Improve to the higher-resolution OLED possibility, and also you’ll spend a further $300.
Design
![The Zenbook 14Q open on a table.](http://techpion.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/1710691955_172_Asus-Zenbook-14-Q425-review-an-800-laptop-thats-worth.jpg)
The whole lot else apart, I’ve all the time been impressed with Asus’ construct high quality. Like most Asus laptops I’ve reviewed, the Zenbook 14 Q425’s aluminum chassis and lid resist all bending, flexing, or twisting. I don’t know how Asus manages to make a lid that’s as skinny because the MacBook Air’s however doesn’t exhibit that laptop computer’s slight bendiness. The remainder of the Zenbook feels simply as stable. Even the hinge is equally properly performed, permitting the lid to be opened easily with one hand and retaining it in place.
The Zenbook 14 Q425 can also be skinny and lightweight at 0.59 inches and a pair of.82 kilos. The MacBook Air is likely one of the thinnest laptops at simply 0.44 inches, but it surely feels denser than the Zenbook at 2.7 kilos. Asus included moderately skinny show bezels, significantly alongside the perimeters, so the Zenbook 14 Q425 can also be a small laptop computer, even with its 14-inch show. The MacBook Air is barely much less extensive and deep, but it surely has a smaller 13.6-inch show. The Dell XPS 14 has the smallest show bezels round, and it’s nonetheless barely thicker at 0.71 inches and heavier at 2.7 kilos.
Aesthetically, the Zenbook 14 Q425 affords an easier design than another latest choices. The Asus geometric sample on the lid is absent right here, with a easy darkish grey colour scheme and a subdued Asus brand. The remainder of the laptop computer shares the identical colour, with a beautiful minimalist design that doesn’t stand out. The MacBook Air and XPS 14 are arguably extra enticing laptops, with the Dell boasting a very ultramodern design when the lid is open. Nonetheless, you received’t spend extra on these laptops primarily based on their aesthetics alone.
![The keyboard of the Zenbook 14Q.](http://techpion.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/1710691955_149_Asus-Zenbook-14-Q425-review-an-800-laptop-thats-worth.jpg)
The Zenbook 14 Q425’s keyboard has massive, snug keycaps, plenty of key spacing, and lightweight and snappy switches. I appreciated it fairly a bit, though it falls behind the shallower Apple Magic Keyboard on the MacBook Air due primarily to the Zenbook’s switches seeming looser than I like. That’s a quibble, although. Typing this overview on the Zenbook was fast and never in the least fatiguing.
The mechanical touchpad is properly sized and has button clicks that I discovered simply the slightest bit noisy when pressed. I can’t wait till haptic touchpads make their manner all the way down to midrange laptops just like the Zenbook 14 Q425. That’s one factor that costlier choices just like the MacBook Air and XPS 14 supply.
Ports
Not each 14-inch laptop computer has nice connectivity. The Dell XPS 14 is one instance, providing solely USB-C with Thunderbolt port and requiring dongles for legacy units. The Zenbook 14 Q425 is completely different, with a mixture of Thunderbolt 4 and legacy connections. It lacks an SD card reader, which is an unlucky omission, however I’ve seen a number of latest laptops that do the identical.
Wi-fi connectivity isn’t the most recent Wi-Fi 7, however Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth 5.3 will meet mainstream wants for a number of extra years.
![The webcam on the Zenbook 14Q.](http://techpion.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/1710691956_629_Asus-Zenbook-14-Q425-review-an-800-laptop-thats-worth.jpg)
The Zenbook 14 Q425 has a 1080p webcam with an infrared digital camera for Home windows 11 Whats up facial recognition and a bodily privateness shutter. Asus builds in a number of applied sciences to boost videoconferencing high quality, comparable to its AiSense ambient gentle sensor and 3D noise discount.
As with all laptops utilizing the Meteor Lake chipset with its Neural Processing Unit (NPU), the Zenbook can velocity up numerous duties utilizing Microsoft Studio Results, comparable to background blue, eye contact, and computerized framing. Theoretically, the NPU performs these duties extra effectively.
Efficiency and battery life
![Asus Zenbook 14 Q425 rear view showing lid and logo.](http://techpion.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/1710691956_167_Asus-Zenbook-14-Q425-review-an-800-laptop-thats-worth.jpg)
The Zenbook 14 Q collection will be bought with both an Intel Core Extremely 5 125H or Core Extremely 7 155H chipset. Each are members of the 14th-gen Meteor Lake collection, they usually supply the aforementioned NPUs for on-device AI to go together with new Low Energy Environment friendly cores that promise higher effectivity. Each are 28-watt chipsets, with the Core Extremely 5 125H providing 14 cores (4 Efficiency, eight Environment friendly, and two Low Energy Environment friendly) and 18 threads operating at as much as 4.5GHz and the Core Extremely 7 155H with 16 cores (six Efficiency, eight Environment friendly, and two Low Energy Environment friendly) and 22 threads operating at as much as 4.8GHz.
I reviewed the latter, and it offered the identical quick CPU efficiency as each different laptop computer sporting the identical chipset. It’s as quick because the earlier era of 45-watt chips and may meet probably the most demanding productiveness wants. Whereas the followers spun up in efficiency mode, they had been by no means too loud and the chassis and keyboard deck by no means acquired greater than heat. We haven’t examined a Core Extremely 5 125H, but it surely ought to present loads of efficiency for productiveness customers.
The built-in Intel Arc graphics are about twice as quick as the sooner Intel Iris Xe, however that’s nonetheless about half as quick as entry-level discrete GPUs. So, the Zenbook 14 Q425 isn’t as spectacular as a gaming laptop computer or creator’s workstation.
Geekbench 5 (single/multi) |
Handbrake (seconds) |
Cinebench R23 (single/multi) |
PCMark 10 Full | |
Asus Zenbook 14 Q425 (Core Extremely 7 155H) |
Bal: 1,693 / 10,983 Perf: 1,728 / 11,473 |
Bal: 97 Perf: 85 |
Bal: 1,706 / 8,684 Perf: 1,758 / 10,899 |
6,086 |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12 (Core Extremely 7 155H) |
Bal: 1,658 / 8,569 Perf: 1,698 / 9,726 |
Bal: 159 Perf: 108 |
Bal: 1,570 / 6,867 Perf: 1,625 / 10,365 |
6,082 |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED 2024 (Core Extremely 7 155H) |
Bal: 1,696 / 9,502 Perf: 1,703 / 12,246 |
Bal: 145 Perf: 88 |
Bal: 1,653 / 9,156 Perf: 1,635 / 12,130 |
6,316 |
HP Spectre x360 14 (Core Extremely 7 155H) |
Bal: 1,696 / 9,502 Perf: 1,703 / 12,256 |
Bal: 111 Perf: N/A |
Bal: 1,750 / 9,832 Perf: N/A |
6,316 |
Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8 (Core i7-1360P) | Bal: 1,843 / 8,814 Perf: 1,835 / 10,008 |
Bal: 122 Perf: 101 |
Bal: 1,846 / 8,779 Perf: 1,906 / 9,849 | 6,102 |
Asus Zenbook 14X OLED (Core i7-13700H) | Bal: 1,848 / 11,157 Perf: 1,852 / 11,160 |
Bal: 84 Perf: 82 |
Bal: 1,819 / 11,066 Perf: 1,826 / 12,795 | 6,020 |
HP Pavilion Plus 14 2023 (Ryzen 7 7840U) |
Bal: 1,819 / 9,655 Perf: N/A |
Bal: 84 Perf: N/A |
Bal: 1,721 / 12,234 Perf: N/A |
6,804 |
Apple MacBook Air (M2) |
Bal: 1,925 / 8,973 Perf: N/A |
Bal: 151 Perf: N/A |
Bal: 1,600 / 7,938 Perf: N/A |
N/A |
One factor I hoped to see from Meteor Lake was improved effectivity. To this point, that hasn’t been the case with many laptops I’ve reviewed — however the Zenbook 14 Q425 is a step in the best path.
The Zenbook advantages from a really massive 75-watt-hour battery, which is a wholesome capability for a 14-inch laptop computer. Whereas it has an OLED show, it’s additionally “simply” FHD+ decision, whereas a few of its different midrange laptops have higher-res 2.8K panels. In our web-browsing check, which performs by an inventory of advanced web sites, it carried out very properly at roughly 12.5 hours. That’s properly above the category common and competes strongly in opposition to AMD’s extra environment friendly chips. And when looping our check video, the Zenbook 14 Q425 lasted for a formidable 18 hours.
That’s a lot better than the opposite Meteor Lake machines within the comparability group, together with different Zenbooks, and it’s solely considerably behind the industry-leading MacBook Air. You’ll get a full day’s work in productiveness workflows and the same old net looking, media consumption, and e mail duties. That’s extra prefer it.
Net looking | Video | |
Asus Zenbook 14 Q425 (Core Extremely 7 155H) |
12 hours, 25 minutes | 18 hours, 1 minute |
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 12 (Core Extremely 7 155H) |
7 hours, 4 minutes | 10 hours half-hour |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED 2024 (Core Extremely 7 155H) |
7 hours, 9 minutes | 14 hours, 22 minutes |
Asus Zenbook 14X OLED (Core i7-13700H) |
8 hours, 2 minutes | 10 hours, 49 minutes |
HP Spectre x360 14 (Core Extremely 7 155H) |
8 hours, 6 minutes | 13 hours, 3 minutes |
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED 2023 (Ryzen 5 7530U) |
12 hours, 13 minutes | 17 hours, 19 minutes |
Lenovo Yoga 9i Gen 8 (Core i7-1360P) |
7 hours, 41 minutes | 13 hours, 25 minutes |
Apple MacBook Air (Apple M2) |
17 hours, 59 minutes | 21 hours, 9 minutes |
Show
Asus has been a frontrunner in pushing OLED shows to lower-priced laptops, and that’s what we see right here. Nonetheless, another 14-inch Zenbooks have had 2.8K (2880 x 1800) shows which are sharper than the Zenbook 14 Q425’s FHD+ (1920 x 1200) panel. And this one is proscribed to 60Hz, when the {industry} is shifting to 120Hz and quicker.
Nonetheless, I discovered the Zenbook 14 Q425 to sport a really good show. I seen some pixels whereas gazing textual content, however most individuals wouldn’t. In accordance with my colorimeter, its colours had been glorious at 100% of sRGB, 97% of AdobeRGB, and 100% of DCI-P3, with accuracy at a Delta-E of 0.90 (lower than 1.0 is great). The distinction was additionally glorious, as ordinary, with inky blacks, and there’s sufficient brightness at 361 nits for something however the very best excessive dynamic vary (HDR) efficiency.
I’d have most popular a 120Hz refresh fee, however in any other case, this is a wonderful show that can please productiveness customers and creators. The decrease decision and slower refresh fee probably contribute to the Zenbook 14 Q425’s nice battery life, making them web advantages for most individuals.
The audio is offered by a pair of downward-firing “Tremendous-linear” audio system that Asus says improve the diaphragm’s amplitude by 50% and quantity by 2.25 occasions. They positively get loud, however at full quantity, there was appreciable distortion and highs had been manner too vivid. It sounded rather a lot higher at round 50% quantity, the place distortion disappeared, whereas nonetheless being loud sufficient. The bass was even capable of make an look, and dialogue sounded snappy. Now, the audio didn’t match the wonderful system within the MacBook Professional, but it surely was definitely pleasing for streaming YouTube and Netflix, which shocked me.
Not the very best Asus possibility, however nonetheless superb
The Zenbook 14 Q425 is just like another Asus 14-inch laptops, but it surely’s not an identical. It’s cheaper than the corporate’s different latest fashions and cuts a nook in show decision.
Nevertheless it shares the standard Asus construct high quality, has an excellent keyboard and touchpad, and its battery life matches its glorious efficiency. For those who’re on the lookout for a 14-inch laptop computer that received’t break the financial institution, the Zenbook 14 Q425 comes advisable.
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