ASUS' New Zenbook 14 Laptops Put OLED To Good Use

Not content with the long line up of products it announced at CES 2022, ASUS has expanded its lineup of Zenbook-branded compact notebooks ever further with the addition of two new models to its range. The new devices include the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED and the Zenbook 14 Flip OLED. As evident from their names, both notebooks use OLED panels for their displays.

If you think you've heard of these two machines earlier, it is probably because ASUS had showcased both of them a few months ago via its social media channels and select journalists. However, it is only now that the Zenbook 14X OLED and the Zenbook 14 Flip OLED are on sale.

Apart from the OLED panel, which is not really common on laptops, both devices also feature a secondary display in place of a standard touchpad. Asus calls this the 'Screenpad' and, for a display of its size, the resolution of 2160 x 108 pixels is quite impressive.

This touchpad/display is located where you usually see laptop touchpads — only this time around, it doubles up as an additional tool that can also function as a number keypad. ASUS insists that they have ensured the notebook can distinguish between standard touchpad operations and number key operations.

Features common to both these notebooks include the aforementioned touchpad and the display — which happens to be a 14-inch. 16:10, OLED panel that sports 2.8K (2880 X 1800 pixels) resolution. This panel boasts a contrast ratio of 1,000,000 to 1 while also being Pantone rated for color accuracy. The only difference here seems to be the screen-to-body ratio, which is 92% on the Zenbook 14X OLED and 88% on the Flip 14 OLED. 

Both notebooks also claim a peak brightness value of 550 nits, and run Windows 11 Pro out of the box.

The Zenbook 14X OLED gets Intel's 11th generation Core i7 processors — with the one currently available on the ASUS website featuring the Intel Core i7-1165G7 chip. In addition, depending on the variant you buy, you will either get integrated Intel Iris XE graphics or the option of the NVIDIA GeForce MX450 graphics card.

The base variant of the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED features 8GB of LPDDR4X RAM, while there is another option that features 16GB of RAM. Internal storage is limited to 512GB on all variants of the notebook.

Connectivity on the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED includes a single USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, dual Thunderbolt 4 ports that support display output as well as power delivery, a single HDMI 2.0b port, a 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack, and an all-important Micro SD card reader. Wireless connectivity options include Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0

In case you were wondering, the keyboard is of the chiclet type, and yes, it's backlit as well. The battery used on the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED is rated at 63WHr, and it's charged using the supplied USB Type-C 100W AC adapter.

If not already evident, the Zenbook 14 Flip OLED's USP is the flip form factor that lets owners use it in multiple modes. Apart from the standard notebook mode, you could also use the Zenbook 14 Flip OLED in stand mode, a tablet mode, and even a tent mode, courtesy of a pair of 360-degree hinges.

ASUS has opted to use the AMD Ryzen 7 5800HX mobile processor on the Zenbook 14 Flip, rather than Intel CPUs, and the machine comes in configurations that offer up to 16GB RAM and AMD Radeon Graphics. Like its cousin, the storage capacity on the ASUS Zenbook 14 Flip OLED tops out at 512GB.

The notebook also supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.0. Wired connectivity options on this are identical to that of the Zenbook 14X OLED and include a single USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, twin USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports, an HDMI port, a microSD card slot, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Like the Zenbook 14X OLED, this notebook also comes with Windows 11 Pro pre-installed.

The pricing for the base variant of the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED starts at $1,399, while the Zenbook 14 Flip OLED is quite a bit cheaper at $1,099. While the Zenbook 14X OLED can be purchased via Amazon, ASUS shop, and Newegg, the Zenbook Flip OLED, as of writing this is only on sale via Newegg. We will update this article with more details in case ASUS announces a wider availability net for the Zenbook 14 Flip OLED.