Laptops

ASUS ZenBook S 14: Style and AI power combined

A top Windows laptop choice

Published

October 18, 2024

GadgetMatch

While AI PCs all tend to be reliable when it comes to processing power and AI features, they vary in appearance. And if you’re one looking one that’s highly fashionable while still providing what’s expected of an AI PC, look no further: the ASUS Zenbook S 14 is that laptop.

The latest iteration of the Zenbook S 14 comes in Scandinavian White and Zumaia Gray colorways. It is made of ASUS’ revolutionary new material for the Zenbook line: Ceraluminum.

Sleek design

Achieving the Zenbook S 14’s distinct look takes a bit of science. Aluminum alloy is submerged in an electrolyte solution. Then, a high voltage of electricity is passed through it, creating a ceramic layer which is bonded to aluminum.

The material is extremely light but highly durable. We cannot emphasize this ratio enough. Despite its thin frame, you certainly feel how firm and sturdy it is– almost like a sleeper build. We say this coming from another thin and light laptop that feels sufficiently sturdy on its own. But one touch and you’ll know the ASUS Zenbook S 14 is on another level, build-wise.

It’s also soft to the touch and resistant to fingerprints. And that’s what makes ASUS’ latest AI offering portable and distinctively stylish at the same time.

The Zenbook S 14 is a head turner. It measures just 1.1 centimeters thin. It’s also incredibly light at just 1.2 kilograms, which makes it perfect for remote work, travel, and more scenarios.

More importantly, if you’re the type who likes to dazzle people when dressing up, this laptop can more than keep up with you.

Serious power

Its appearance and portability are just half the story. The Zenbook S 14 is a power efficient high performer. It can provide you with everything you expect from a capable AI PC nowadays.

Under its hood, the laptop houses an AI-enabled Intel Core Ultra processors with Intel Arc graphics. These processors come with dedicated Neural Processing Units (NPU) that can deliver up to 47 TOPS of AI performance.

Okay, but what does that mean for you? It means breezing through your usual office productivity things. Emails, work documents, spreadsheets, and presentations — won’t even break a sweat. Even more impressive, it’s also more than capable of handling media-heavy tasks.

Par for the course of most AI-capable laptops today, this comes equipped with Copilot and its corresponding dedicated button. Many workplaces have incorporated AI to their workflow. Whether that’s by speeding up certain processes, generating ideas, and more. It’s a helpful when utilized with absolute intent.

If you happen to be in the business of content creation, the ASUS Zenbook S 14 will more than get you by the basic photo and video manipulation. And with ASUS’ own Story Cube app powered by AI, it’s easier than ever to comb through the thousands of files you’re likely working with.

Busy workdays need to be mitigated by visits to Hogwarts.

But it’s not all about work. The Zenbook S 14 is capable enough to handle games like Hogwarts Legacy. With it, you can destress through some interactive entertainment of your choice.

Hardware plus

Just below the display when you’re using it, the device also features an entire panel that looks like a speaker at first but is actually an exhaust system. Thanks to the incorporated CNC milling technology, an ultra-slim vapor chamber is integrated for even quiet cooling.

It’s not really something you’d pay attention too as you use the device more, but something that could be pretty cool to share if you happen to need an icebreaker out of the blue.

Moreover, the Zenbook S 14 comes with up to 32GB of RAM and 1TB of PCIe 4.0 SSD storage for fast performance and effortless multitasking. Connectivity isn’t a worry likewise, as the device supports Wi-Fi 7. It’s packing a lot, even in such a slim frame. And sure, we’ve had many of these slim notebooks before but to see them be as powerful as this, we’ve truly come a long way.

Power, portability

Furthermore, the Zenbook S 14 comes with a 72Wh battery. For light to moderate tasks, you are assured of having the laptop last an entire day. Its optimized processor allows for better efficiency and significantly longer battery life.

On a comparative 5-day work week, it lasted roughly shy of about an hour compared to an M1 or M2 MacBook Pro. And users of that laptop can tell you, with that power efficiency, you can rest easy that you’ll have more than enough juice for a few hours of leisure after a long day of work.

When there’s a need for more power, the laptop supports fast charging through its 65W adapter. You can get the notebook recharged to about 38% in just 30 minutes, 74% in an hour, and back to full in just about over two hours.

Some of us tend to scurry for a power up even at just 50% of battery life left. Know that even just a few minutes of being plugged into a power outlet will give you enough boost and peace of mind if you’re looking at a longer workday.

In spite of its thinness, the Zenbook S 14 has a complete suite of ports. There are two Thunderbolt 4 Type-C ports, a full-sized HDMI port, and even a 3.5mm audio jack. That’s aside from its power delivery port.

That means you can take the laptop with you anywhere to setup your mobile workstation. Should you need to connect it to more devices like external displays, hard drives, and more, it won’t be a problem.

Display, audio

Are you caught up with Emily in Paris?

Complementing all the AI capabilities is the topnotch audiovisual hardware on the ASUS Zenbook S 14.

The laptop boasts of a 3K 120Hz ASUS Lumina OLED display. Colors are vibrant. Details come with rich contrast.

Whether it’s Disney+’s Shogun or Netflix’s Emily in Paris, scenes and costumes are all more vibrant. Even Inside Out 2, one of this year’s top animated films, came out more immersive on the OLED screen.

On the audio department is a Harman Kardon-certified four-speaker system, comprised of two tweeters and two woofers. This system is also Dolby Atmos-supported. That way, users are assured of an immersive and multidimensional listening experience each time.

And true enough, the powerful sound system pulls you deeper into the stories you watch. Sound comes out crisp and full, capturing ever emotion or musical note with clarity.

Is this your GadgetMatch?

The ASUS Zenbook S 14 is a top choice Windows laptop. It has everything expected of a portable AI PC. It’s stylish but that appearance does not compromise its performance. And it has a long battery life for work, entertainment, and everything in between.

Plus, the intangibles all make the Zenbook S 14 worthy of the GadgetMatch Seal of Approval. That’s credit to the thoughtfulness that went into its creation.

Related Topics:ASUS ASUS Lumina OLED display ASUS Zenbook S 14 Ceraluminum featured Microsoft Copilot Windows Copilot

Deals

Get the MacBook Neo for as low as PhP 44 a day via Home Credit

Flexible installment payment plans available

Published

April 16, 2026

GadgetMatch

Home Credit is making the MacBook Neo accessible to more Filipinos with an exclusive pre-order installment offer for the new Apple laptop.

The latest offering can be brought home through flexible installments starting at as low as just PhP 44 a day. That’s not even a dollar a day.

This exclusive offer is available during the pre-order period from April 11 to 23. If you’re looking for a high-performance laptop at a great value, then now is the ideal time to upgrade or purchase your first higher tier notebook.

Here’s a quick breakdown of available Home Credit MacBook Neo installment plans:

256GB at 24 months: PhP 44/day
256GB at 12 months: PhP 82/day
512GB at 24 months: PhP 51/day
512GB at 12 months: PhP 97/day

Apple MacBook Neo

The Apple MacBook Neo is the company’s latest laptop, which is also its most affordable. It retails at just about US$ 499 to US$ 599 in the United States and SG$ 729 to SG$ 849 in Singapore.

It runs on an A18 Pro chip for 50% faster everyday performance compared to Intel Core Ultra 5-level PCs. This chip also has a 16-core Neural Engine for Apple Intelligence and 5-core GPU for graphics workloads.

The portable and lightweight laptop has a 13-inch 2408 x 1506 display, two USB-C ports, a headphone jack, and Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 6 connectivity.

The MacBook Neo ships with MacOS Tahoe, complete with apps like Safari, Photos, Messages, and FaceTime. Users are promised up to 16 hours of usage on a single charge.

In the Philippines, the device is available at Apple Authorized Resellers and Home Credit Philippines partner stores nationwide, including:

Abenson
Aerophone
Beyond the Box
Blue Box
Cell Boy
Digimap
Electroworld
Fone Style
Gadget Headz
Greentelcom
Inbox Stores PH
Laycom
Octagon
PC Express
Power Mac Center
Puerto Electronico
Silicon Valley
thinkingtools@mall
The Loop
Wiltelcom
8telcom

Laptops

MacBook Neo pre-orders now open through Beyond the Box

Exclusive freebies, more perks available

Published

April 12, 2026

GadgetMatch

Customers in the Philippines can now pre-order the MacBook Neo through Beyond the Box.

Those who avail of the device during the pre-order period can get up to PhP 10,000 worth in freebies. This is a curated bundle of essential accessories.

The MacBook Neo will also appear at these two cafes, inviting those who plan on upgrading to experience Apple’s new offering first-hand:

April 16: Scout’s Honor, Uptown Mall
April 17: The Matcha Tokyo, Opus Mall

Attendees who pre-order on the spot will also enjoy complimentary beverage, live DJ performances, and the opportunity to engage with social media personalities.

And to ensure the MacBook Neo is more accessible, Beyond the Box is offering 0% interest installment plans. This is both through major credit cards, Home Credit, and GCash’s GGives.

Reservations can be made through all Beyond the Box, Digital Walker, and open_sources branches nationwide.

Alternatively, the MacBook Neo is available through beyondthebox.ph, Lazada, and Shopee. It is priced at PhP 33,990 (education) and PhP 39,990 (retail).

Apple MacBook Neo

The Apple MacBook Neo is the company’s latest laptop, which is also its most affordable. It retails at just about US$ 499 to US$ 599 in the United States and SG$ 729 to SG$ 849 in Singapore.

The portable and lightweight laptop has a 13-inch 2408 x 1506 display, two USB-C ports, a headphone jack, and Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 6 connectivity.

The MacBook Neo ships with MacOS Tahoe, complete with apps like Safari, Photos, Messages, and FaceTime. Users are promised up to 16 hours of usage on a single charge.

Gaming

Razer Blade 16 (2026) packs more cores, faster memory

Razer’s thinnest gaming laptop yet

Published

March 26, 2026

Rodneil Quiteles

Razer has officially unveiled the 2026 version of its Blade 16, doubling down on what it does best: squeezing high-end performance into an ultra-slim chassis.

This year’s refresh focuses on meaningful internal upgrades. That includes a new Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, faster LPDDR5X memory, and NVIDIA’s latest RTX 50 Series laptop GPUs — all while keeping the Blade 16 as the thinnest gaming laptop in Razer’s lineup.

Performance gets a serious bump

At the core of the new Blade 16 is the Intel Core Ultra 9 386H, featuring 16 cores and up to 4.9GHz boost clock. Razer claims a 33% increase in core count versus the previous generation, translating to stronger performance across gaming, content creation, and AI workloads.

There’s also an integrated NPU capable of up to 50 TOPS, enabling faster on-device AI tasks like image generation and live translation.

Memory gets a notable upgrade too. The Blade 16 now supports up to 64GB of LPDDR5X-9600MHz RAM, which Razer positions as the fastest available in a laptop today. The result: quicker responsiveness for heavy multitasking, creative apps, and AI-assisted workflows.

On the graphics side, NVIDIA’s GeForce RTX 50 Series (Blackwell architecture) brings DLSS 4 and enhanced AI capabilities for both gaming and creator use cases.

Display and design stay premium

Razer isn’t fixing what isn’t broken. The Blade 16 retains its signature CNC-milled aluminum chassis, measuring just 14.9mm thick and weighing around 2.14kg.

The display remains a highlight. You get a 16-inch QHD+ OLED panel with a 240Hz refresh rate, now brighter and certified for VESA DisplayHDR TrueBlack 1000. It supports full DCI-P3 coverage, Calman calibration, and NVIDIA G-SYNC, making it just as suited for creators as it is for competitive gaming.

Battery life and efficiency improve

Despite the performance gains, Razer is also pushing efficiency. Thanks to Intel’s newer architecture and system-level optimizations, the Blade 16 can hit up to 13 hours of productivity use and up to 15 hours of video playback under ideal conditions.

That’s a notable improvement for a machine in this class, especially given its slim form factor.

Connectivity and audio step up

The 2026 Blade 16 gets a future-ready connectivity suite, including Thunderbolt 5, Wi-Fi 7, and Bluetooth 6.0. There’s also a full set of ports, from USB-A to HDMI 2.1 and an SD card reader.

Audio gets an upgrade too. The six-speaker system now supports THX Spatial Audio+ with virtual 7.1.4 surround, aiming to deliver more immersive sound both on speakers and headphones.

Price and availability

The Razer Blade 16 configured with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 (16GB VRAM) and 32GB LPDDR5X-9600MHz RAM is priced at US$3,499.99 / €3,599.99 MSRP.

It is available now, exclusively via Razer.com and select RazerStores worldwide.

Still the Blade, just sharper

At a glance, the 2026 Blade 16 doesn’t reinvent the formula. But under the hood, it pushes performance, memory speed, and efficiency forward in ways that matter.

It’s still the same idea: a no-compromise gaming laptop that looks like it belongs in a minimalist workspace — just faster, smarter, and a bit more future-proof this time around.