ASUS Zenbook A14 Overview – UX3407QA with Qualcomm Snapdragon X1P-26-100 Processor

Home windows on ARM has been accessible for a number of years now. My first Home windows on Arm overview was the HP Envy X2 again in 2018, however the total expertise was not nice as a result of poor efficiency, and lots of apps had been barely usable. My expertise wasn’t significantly better with the Samsung Guide Go, however no less than that was solely a £400 laptop computer, so the mediocre efficiency was simpler to forgive.

Extra just lately, I reviewed the Acer Swift 14 AI, which used the Qualcomm Snapdragon X1P-64100 10-core chipset, and my expertise was way more optimistic. It was ok that I may fortunately use it as my predominant work laptop computer and the light-weight design nd excellent battery life made it thought for travelling.

The ASUS Zenbook A14 UX3407QA is a part of ASUS’s premium ultraportable lineup, that includes the Qualcomm Snapdragon X1P-26-100 processor. This 8-core chip is designed to ship a steadiness of efficiency and effectivity, making it appropriate for productiveness duties whereas providing prolonged battery life.

ASUS presents two variants on this collection: the UX3407QA (my overview unit) with the Snapdragon X1P-26-100, and the higher-end UX3407RA with the extra highly effective Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100 processor. Each fashions share the identical smooth chassis and lots of core options, however differ in processing energy, reminiscence configurations, and some different specs.

The Zenbook A14 enters a aggressive market the place Home windows on Arm units try to ascertain themselves as viable options to conventional Intel and AMD-powered laptops. With Microsoft’s improved Arm compatibility and Qualcomm’s enhanced processing capabilities, this era of Arm laptops goals to beat the restrictions that hampered earlier makes an attempt.

Associated Opinions

ASUS Zenbook A14 UX3407QA vs UX3407RA Specification

Qualcomm Snapdragon X1P-26-100 vs  Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100

The Snapdragon X1P-26-100 in my overview unit is an 8-core processor designed for mainstream productiveness duties. It’s positioned as a extra reasonably priced possibility in comparison with the X Elite collection, however nonetheless presents cheap efficiency for on a regular basis computing wants.

The Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100 discovered within the higher-end UX3407RA mannequin options 12 cores with a 3.4 GHz base clock velocity. This offers noticeably higher multi-threaded efficiency, making it extra appropriate for content material creation and different CPU-intensive duties.

Each processors function Qualcomm’s Adreno GPU and Hexagon NPU (Neural Processing Unit), with the latter able to as much as 45 TOPS (Trillion Operations Per Second) for AI workloads. This NPU is especially related for Home windows’ Copilot+ options and different AI-accelerated functions.

The X1P-26-100 is designed to strike a steadiness between efficiency and battery effectivity, making it well-suited for customers who prioritise portability and battery life over uncooked processing energy. For these needing extra computational muscle, the X Elite variant can be the higher selection, albeit at the next worth level.

Unboxing / Design

The Zenbook A14 arrives in ASUS’s typical minimalist packaging. Contained in the field, you’ll discover the laptop computer itself, a 65W USB-C energy adapter, and a few fundamental documentation. There aren’t any extra equipment included, which is commonplace for ultraportable laptops on this class.

The design of the Zenbook A14 follows ASUS’s established aesthetic, with clear traces and a premium really feel. Our overview unit got here within the Iceland Grey color, which has a delicate, skilled look appropriate for each work and private use. The aluminium chassis feels stable and well-constructed, with no flex or creaking when dealt with.

At simply 0.98 kg and measuring 31.13 × 21.39 × 1.49 cm, it is a genuinely ultraportable laptop computer that’s straightforward to hold in a bag or backpack. The slim profile doesn’t compromise on construct high quality, and the laptop computer meets the US MIL-STD 810H military-grade commonplace for sturdiness, suggesting it ought to stand up to the rigours of each day use and journey.

The lid options ASUS’s concentric circle design, which provides visible curiosity with out being overly flashy. Opening the laptop computer reveals a clear inside with a full-sized keyboard, generously sized touchpad, and minimal bezels across the show. The ability button is built-in into the keyboard structure, positioned within the top-right nook.

Show

The ASUS Zenbook A14 UX3407QA may be configured with both a 14-inch WUXGA (1920 x 1200) OLED show or a higher-resolution 3K (2880 x 1800) OLED panel. My overview unit featured the WUXGA OLED show, which presents a 16:10 facet ratio that gives extra vertical display screen house in comparison with conventional 16:9 shows.

The OLED know-how delivers distinctive distinction with true blacks and vibrant colors. Brightness reaches 400 nits, which is ample for indoor use however may wrestle in very brilliant outside situations. The show helps 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, making it appropriate for artistic work that requires color accuracy.

Textual content seems crisp and readable on the WUXGA panel, although the 3K possibility would provide even sharper visuals for individuals who prioritise show high quality. The 16:10 facet ratio is especially useful for productiveness duties, offering extra vertical house for paperwork, spreadsheets, and internet looking.

ASUS has included its OLED Care know-how to scale back the chance of burn-in, which is usually a concern with OLED shows. The display screen additionally options TÜV Rheinland certification for decreased blue mild emissions, which can assist scale back eye pressure throughout prolonged use.

Contact performance is just not accessible on our overview unit, which is value noting if that’s a function you worth. The show hinges enable the display screen to put flat at 180 levels, offering flexibility in the way you place the laptop computer.

For multimedia consumption, the OLED show actually shines, with wonderful color copy and distinction that makes movies and pictures pop. The 16:10 facet ratio does imply you’ll see small black bars when watching 16:9 content material, however it is a minor trade-off for the extra vertical house in different functions.

Keyboard

The keyboard on the Zenbook A14 follows ASUS’s typical laptop computer keyboard design, with a chiclet-style structure and white backlighting. The keys have 1.3mm of journey, which offers an honest typing expertise regardless of the laptop computer’s slim profile.

The important thing spacing is comfy, and the full-sized structure means you received’t want to regulate your typing model. The arrow keys are barely compressed, as is frequent on laptops of this dimension, however stay usable. Operate keys present entry to varied system controls, together with brightness, quantity, and keyboard backlight adjustment.

The keyboard backlighting has three ranges of brightness, which may be cycled via utilizing the operate key mixture. The lighting is even throughout all keys, making typing in dim environments easy.

Throughout prolonged typing periods, the keyboard proves comfy, with good tactile suggestions and minimal flex. It’s not fairly as premium-feeling as some high-end enterprise laptops, nevertheless it’s greater than ample for many customers’ wants.

The touchpad is generously sized for a 14-inch laptop computer, providing loads of house for multi-finger gestures. It makes use of Microsoft’s Precision drivers, making certain clean monitoring and responsive gesture recognition. The floor is clean and comfy to make use of, with a satisfying click on mechanism that isn’t too loud or stiff.

Ports & Exterior Show Help

Regardless of its slim profile, the Zenbook A14 presents an affordable number of ports:

• 2x USB 4.0 Gen 3 Sort-C ports with help for show output and energy supply (information speeds as much as 40Gbps)
• 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sort-A port (information speeds as much as 10Gbps)
• 1x HDMI 2.1 TMDS port
• 1x 3.5mm combo audio jack

This choice ought to cowl most customers’ wants with out requiring dongles for frequent peripherals. The inclusion of a USB-A port is especially welcome, as many ultraportable laptops have moved fully to USB-C.

For exterior show help, the USB-C ports and HDMI output present versatile choices. The HDMI 2.1 port helps 4K output at 60Hz, whereas the USB-C ports can drive shows by way of DisplayPort Alt Mode. This permits for multi-monitor setups if wanted for productiveness work.

The USB 4.0 ports additionally help energy supply, which means you possibly can cost the laptop computer from both port. This provides comfort when organising your workspace, as you’re not restricted to a selected aspect for the facility connection.

Storage

The ASUS Zenbook A14 UX3407QA comes with a 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD. Using PCIe 4.0 ensures good storage efficiency, with sequential learn speeds approaching 5000MB/s and write speeds over 3500MB/s in our testing.

These speeds translate to fast boot instances, quick software launches, and clean file transfers. The 1TB capability must be ample for many customers, offering ample house for the working system, functions, and private information.

The storage is user-upgradeable, with entry to the M.2 slot after eradicating the underside panel. This offers future flexibility in case your storage wants develop. The laptop computer features a single M.2 2280 PCIe 4.0 x4 enlargement slot, so there’s no possibility for twin drives.

For many who want extra storage, exterior options by way of the USB ports can be crucial. The USB 4.0 ports present wonderful bandwidth for exterior storage units, together with high-speed exterior SSDs.

Benchmarks and Efficiency

The Qualcomm Snapdragon X1P-26-100 processor within the Zenbook A14 UX3407QA represents a center floor in Qualcomm’s new laptop computer processor lineup. With 8 cores, it presents cheap multi-threaded efficiency whereas sustaining effectivity for higher battery life.

In artificial benchmarks, the X1P-26-100 performs admirably for its class. In Geekbench 6, it achieves single-core scores round 1,800 and multi-core scores round 8,500. This places it forward of many Intel Core i5 processors within the ultraportable class, although it falls behind the 12-core X Elite variant and high-end Intel or AMD choices.

For productiveness duties like internet looking, doc enhancing, and video conferencing, the Zenbook A14 performs easily with no noticeable lag. The 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM in our overview unit offers ample reminiscence for multitasking with quite a few browser tabs and functions open concurrently.

The built-in Adreno GPU handles fundamental graphics duties properly, together with informal gaming and video playback. Nevertheless, this isn’t a gaming laptop computer or a workstation for intensive 3D rendering. Video games like Minecraft and different much less demanding titles run acceptably, however fashionable AAA video games would wrestle with out vital compromises to decision and element settings.

One space the place the Snapdragon processor excels is in thermal administration. The Zenbook A14 stays cool beneath load, with minimal fan noise even throughout prolonged work periods. This contributes to a pleasing person expertise, particularly in quiet environments.

The Hexagon NPU offers devoted {hardware} for AI duties, which turns into more and more related as extra functions leverage AI capabilities. Home windows’ Copilot+ options profit from this {hardware} acceleration, as do suitable artistic functions that use AI for picture or video processing.

Home windows on Arm and Compatibility – Day-to-day efficiency

Home windows on Arm has come a great distance since its early days, and the expertise on the Zenbook A14 displays this progress. Microsoft’s emulation layer for x86 functions has improved considerably, permitting most traditional Home windows software program to run with out apparent points.

Native Arm functions, together with Microsoft’s Workplace suite, Edge browser, and numerous Home windows system parts, run easily and effectively. These functions profit totally from the Snapdragon processor’s capabilities and contribute to the laptop computer’s wonderful battery life.

For emulated x86 functions, efficiency is mostly good however can range relying on the particular software program. Widespread productiveness functions like Chrome, Slack, and Zoom work properly, with solely occasional minor hiccups. Extra intensive functions, notably those who rely closely on x86-specific optimisations, might present decreased efficiency in comparison with native Arm variations.

Throughout each day use, the excellence between native and emulated functions isn’t noticeable for many duties. The system feels responsive and succesful, with fast software launches and clean multitasking. The 16GB of RAM helps keep efficiency when operating a number of functions concurrently.

One space that also presents occasional challenges is software program compatibility with specialised or older functions. Whereas the overwhelming majority of mainstream software program works with out points, some area of interest functions or utilities might not operate accurately beneath emulation. Earlier than committing to a Home windows on Arm machine just like the Zenbook A14, it’s value checking compatibility for any crucial software program you depend on.

Gaming stays a limitation for Home windows on Arm units, together with the Zenbook A14. Whereas informal video games and older titles might run acceptably, critical avid gamers can be higher served by a standard x86-based gaming laptop computer with devoted graphics.

Battery Life and Charging

Battery life is without doubt one of the standout options of the Zenbook A14, because of the effectivity of the Snapdragon processor. The laptop computer is supplied with a 70Wh 3-cell lithium-ion battery, which offers spectacular endurance for an ultraportable machine.

In typical mixed-use scenarios-including internet looking, doc enhancing, video playback, and occasional video calls-the Zenbook A14 persistently delivers 12-14 hours of battery life. This is sufficient to get via a full workday with battery to spare, making it a superb selection for customers who must work away from energy shops.

For extra intensive duties, battery life naturally decreases, however even beneath heavier hundreds, the laptop computer usually manages 8-10 hours. Video playback is especially environment friendly, with the laptop computer able to enjoying again native video content material for as much as 15 hours at reasonable brightness.

The included 65W USB-C charger replenishes the battery shortly, reaching about 60% cost in 45 minutes and a full cost in beneath 2 hours. The laptop computer may be charged via both of its USB-C ports, including flexibility when organising your workspace.

ASUS contains battery well being options within the MyASUS software program, permitting you to restrict most charging to increase the battery’s lifespan. That is notably helpful should you ceaselessly use the laptop computer whereas plugged in, as it will probably assist stop battery degradation over time.

Value and Various Choices

The ASUS Zenbook A14 is out there within the UK direct from ASUS with two configuration choices:

• UX3407RA-QD005W with Snapdragon X Elite X1E 78 100 12 Core-Processor, 32GB Ram, 1 TB NVME for £1200
• UX3407QA-QD244W with Qualcomm Snapdragon X X1 26 100 8-Core Processor, 16GB RAM, 1TB NVME for £1100 – overview pattern

For competing ARM laptops, you’ve:

• HP EliteBook Extremely 14” G1q8 with Qualcomm Snapdragon Plus X1P-42-100, 16GB RAM, 512GB storage for £1025
• Dell XPS 13 with Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100, 16GB RAM, 512GB storage for £1179
• Microsoft Floor Laptop computer 7 with Snapdragon X Plus (10 Core), 16GB of RAM, 512GB storage for £1249
• Samsung Galaxy Book4 Edge with Snapdragon X Elite X1E-80-100, 16GB and 512GB of storage for £1399

The Acer Swift 14 AI, which I beforehand reviewed, continues to be accessible for less than £900. Nevertheless, it weighs extra and has an LCD show. The chipset ought to present superior efficiency.

The ASUS Zenbook S14 (UX5406) can be an interesting different, it runs an Intel Core Extremely 7 Processor 256v 8 Core-Processor, has 16GB of RAM, 1TB storage, an analogous 14″ OLED show and makes use of Thunderbolt 4 as a substitute of USB4, all for £1200. This weighs extra, and the battery life in all probability received’t be pretty much as good, however you received’t have to fret about any compatibility points, although the Snapdragon chipset is technically sooner in lots of benchmarks.

Total

The ASUS Zenbook A14 UX3407QA with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X1P-26-100 processor is a superb Home windows on Arm laptop computer. It efficiently balances efficiency, battery life, and portability in a premium package deal that ought to attraction to a variety of customers.

For customers whose computing wants centre round productiveness duties, internet looking, media consumption, and basic workplace work, the Zenbook A14 presents a compelling package deal. The mixture of lengthy battery life, premium design, and succesful efficiency makes it well-suited for professionals, college students, and anybody who values portability.

The enhancements in Home windows on Arm compatibility imply that the majority customers received’t discover they’re utilizing an Arm-based system in day-to-day use. Native Arm functions run easily, and the emulation layer handles most x86 software program with out apparent points, however chances are you’ll expertise points legacy functions and lots of video games,

The £1,100 worth level positions the UX3407QA as a premium machine, however the construct high quality, show, and battery life justify the associated fee. For many who can stretch their finances by £100, the UX3407RA mannequin with its extra highly effective processor and extra RAM represents even higher worth.

I’m James, a UK-based tech fanatic and the Editor and Proprietor of Mighty Gadget, which I’ve proudly run since 2007. Keen about all issues know-how, my experience spans from computer systems and networking to cellular, wearables, and sensible house units.

As a health fanatic who loves operating and biking, I even have a eager curiosity in fitness-related know-how, and I take each alternative to cowl this area of interest on my weblog. My various pursuits enable me to deliver a singular perspective to tech running a blog, merging life-style, health, and the newest tech tendencies.

In my tutorial pursuits, I earned a BSc in Info Programs Design from UCLAN, earlier than advancing my studying with a Grasp’s Diploma in Computing. This superior research additionally included Cisco CCNA accreditation, additional demonstrating my dedication to understanding and staying forward of the know-how curve.

I’m proud to share that Vuelio has persistently ranked Mighty Gadget as one of many high know-how blogs within the UK. With my dedication to know-how and drive to share my insights, I goal to proceed offering my readers with partaking and informative content material.

Final replace on 2025-06-07 / Affiliate hyperlinks / Photographs from Amazon Product Promoting API