ASUS Vivobook S 14 OLED (S5406) Review: A portable laptop with near-zero flaws
As a working millennial lucky enough to have remote working privileges, I have to say, I do love reviewing the occasional portable laptops that fall into my hands. Since I have the benefit of working at any place of my choosing, I do feel I’m in good stead to test portable machinery driven especially for work.
Now, there are PLENTY of great options out there beyond my reach, but what I’ve been lucky enough to test out recently is the ASUS Vivobook S 14 OLED (S5406). FYI, this is the 14-inch variant under the Vivobook S Series, with the other model in the series being the 16-inch Vivobook S 16 OLED.
For something I’d be hauling around everywhere, the sleek and lightweight model is ideal; so I was more than happy to be granted the 14-inch unit. After a good month or so of using the Vivobook S 14 OLED as my main working laptop, it pretty much won me over.
Long story short, this is a stellar portable option to consider, not just ’cause it’s easy to carry around, but because it packs substance in performance and usability. If you’re keen to know more, here are my thoughts on the Vivobook S 14 OLED.
Lightweight, but not flimsy
Coming in at 1.3kg, the Vivobook S 14 OLED undoubtedly sits in the ultraportable range. It isn’t the absolute lightest as there are ultraportable options below 1kg itself, but it will without a doubt lighten the burden off your back. It is also incredibly sleek with a 1.39cm side profile with the lids closed, making it easy to slide into any sleeve or tote bag.
Comparatively, my current Lenovo ThinkBook is 14-inch too but easily feels twice as heavy. As such, the temporary switch to the Vivobook was a pleasant reprieve on my shoulders.
The great part about all this is that the Vivobook doesn’t seem to have cut corners either. It has a hardy metal exterior, and the chassis doesn’t feel hollow when you knuckle-tap it. If it matters, you can lift the lid open with a single hand without needing the other to anchor the body down, which indicates even weight distribution.
All in all, the Vivobook impresses with build quality alone. Aside from just being a lightweight PC, the 14-inch Vivobook is equally as rugged, quashing any worries of it being too flimsy a device.
ASUS Lumina OLED displays never disappoints
If you were to ask us, “how are the displays?”, we’ll reply with, “pretty standard.”
But don’t get us wrong, the standards are high with ASUS’ OLED displays. They have been for the past few years or so, and they still are. It’s no different on the Vivobook S 14 OLED.
Apart from high-quality OLED displays, the 14-inch model offers WUXGA (1920×1200) resolution with 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut. What you’ll get are gorgeous robust colours perfect for content viewing and designing work. With 600nits HDR peak brightness, the display is bright in most indoor environments, but it does get dim under the hot afternoon sun (we don’t recommend you do that anyway).
The Vivobook also keeps to lovely slim bezels all round. Even the bottom ‘chin’ and top ‘forehead’ of the displays are kept to a minimum, shaping itself up to be a quintessential modern-day laptop with high screen-to-body ratio.
Unfortunately, refresh rates only reach up to 60Hz, which won’t matter for the most part if you’re primarily using it for work. If you are looking for higher refresh rates, the 16-inch Vivobook S 16 OLED offers up to 120Hz, along with 3.2K (3200×2000) resolution.
Steady, reliable performance
Before I start yapping about my experience with the Vivobook, let’s get the nitty-gritty out of the way first. The Vivobook S 14 OLED offers two variants, one utilizing the Intel Core Ultra 5 125H processor, and the other with the Core Ultra 7 155H; either options will get you 16GB RAM and 512GB storage.
We were lucky enough to be granted the Core Ultra 7 variant as our review unit.
All in all, the Vivobook proves to be a more than capable performer whose flagship processor you can rely on to keep tasks flowing smoothly. From my experience, it didn’t flinch even with multiple productivity apps loaded, truckloads of Chrome tabs open, and Spotify in the background – all running simultaneously. Admittedly, I didn’t test it on heavier graphic design or video editing apps, but hopefully it will reassure you to a certain extent if your day-to-day looks something like mine.
Despite having a slim form factor, ASUS has managed to fit a great selection of ports into the Vivobook. There’s two Thunderbolt 4 ports (one of which will be used for charging), two USB-A ports, one HDMI 2.0 port, and one micro SD card reader. There’s also a 3.5mm audio jack for wired headphones.
Taking these into consideration and looking beyond just the working professional demographic, the Vivobook S 14 OLED looks like it will power a student through the whole length of a college term, taking on tasks such as long-form essays, dissertations, extensive research, and PowerPoint presentations with ease. So if you’re in that stage of life, take note of this option too.
An added bonus is the 180° lay-flat hinge which allows you to tilt the screen back until the laptop lays vertically on the surface.
Now, all variants in the Vivobook S series runs on Intel Arc Graphics, which makes it pretty decent for gaming. We didn’t have any triple-A games on our hands, but I did test it on Counter Strike 2 with the highest graphical setting and was quite pleased with the overall smoothness of the gameplay. Anything more than that though, and you might need to take a rain check.
Keyboard and trackpad
Personally, keyboards aren’t usually the deciding factor if ever I’m scouting for a laptop as oftentimes it’s just a matter of adapting to the new layout. However, I must say I do like the keyboard backlighting feature on ASUS laptops.
You’ll find them on this Vivobook S 14 OLED too, with customizable colours and three levels of brightness to adapt to dim environments. I find this a severely underrated feature which I feel more laptops should adopt as it does give assurances that you won’t be left playing guesswork if ever you find yourself working in the dark (say, in a dimly lit corner of Starbucks). You can even set the effects of the backlight to pulsate, but I usually just leave it on a constant solid white for practicality’s sake.
On that note, the keyboard is surprisingly silent, which makes it great for working in quiet spaces where tactile click-clacking is just not conducive. Key caps are nice and wide for stubby fingers, and the trackpad is probably the biggest it’s ever been, allowing plenty of room to navigate.
There’s also the dedicated Copilot Key to access Microsoft AI tools, making it one of the first few brands in the world to do so.
Impressive battery life
The Vivobook S 14 OLED runs on a 75Wh battery. Referring back to my typical usage involving tons of Chrome tabs and productivity apps, I managed to get 7 hours out of the laptop before it reached the 20% warning notification. I reckon you’ll be able to squeeze out another hour or so with Power Saving mode before it depletes completely. That’s about a full day’s worth of work and a whole lot of peace of mind knowing you can get a good deal done without being attached to a plug.
As for the ‘substantial 16-hour battery life’ that’s promoted on the website, we wouldn’t get too carried away with that. As per the fine print, you’ll have to put your laptop under stringent conditions to achieve that battery span – including disabling Wi-Fi – which is simply not practical.
Don’t let the overpromising take the sting out of reality though, the 7 hours I’ve gotten out of it are impressive and certainly worth a shout.
Verdict: An option well worth the money
For the record, the Vivobook S 14 OLED (S5406) starts at RM4,399 for the Core Ultra 5 variant. Ours, being the upscaled model with the Core Ultra 7, clips a higher RM4,999 price tag. It’s expensive, no doubt, and it certainly warrants some deep contemplation before you fork out that kind of money.
However, if you do decide to, we’re confident enough to say you won’t be left disappointed. This is one of the rare portable options that doesn’t compromise on power, with a lengthy battery life that won’t keep you bounded to power plugs. Oh, and the displays are pretty great too.
Read more of our review below!
