ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition (UX5401ZA)
RM6,499
Pros | Cons |
+ Slim and lightweight | - Stylus not included |
+ Unique and premium design | - More expensive than the standard version |
+ Beautiful OLED touchscreen display | |
Word has been going around that the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition is the best packaged laptop, curious as ever, I just had to review this incredibly premium Zenbook laptop.
Unboxing
The box of the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition is incredibly unique and is not similar with other packaging. The box is black, and there is a MIR design on the right which is ASUS’s artistic take on it. There are also some glossy wordings on the box that have coordinates and a few other stuff.
The strap of the box also now comes with a thicker velcro material compared to the usual hard plastic it comes with.
Upon opening the box, you will be greeted by the following items:
A holographic pentagon box with morse code and logos
A holographic box on the right side
Within the holographic pentagon box, you will find:
ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition
Laptop casing
A silver pouch that contains:
ASUS Space Edition Collector Stickers
Welcome card
User guide
In the other holographic box, you will find:
100W Charger
RJ 45 Ethernet to USB A adapter
I find this box really cool as it doubles as a laptop stand to lift the laptop at 23°. Aside from lifting it for further cooling, the box is incredibly sturdy and does not lose form easily.
Design
The ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition comes in a Zero-G Titanium colour, which is actually based on spacecraft constructions, making it very different from other ASUS laptops I’ve reviewed.
The lid also has morse codes that translates to ‘Ad Astra Per Aspera’, which means Through Hardships to the Stars.
The LED screen on the lid makes the Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition truly stand out against other laptops in the market. The 3.5’ OLED ZenVision display gives you the option to choose your preferred display via the MYASUS software.
There is also an ergonomic hinge for improved airflow and to provide a more comfortable typing experience which certainly helped me.
Weight-wise, it comes in at 1.4kg and is 15.9mm slim - which I personally find very compact, making it easy to bring out or to slide inside my bag.
Display
The Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition comes with a 14” 2.8K OLED display coupled with a 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut support. It also has a 16:10 aspect ratio and a 90Hz refresh rate. The display is also touchscreen, allowing creators to use it for their creative works.
I personally find the 90Hz display smooth as I scrolled through social media and typed out this article. It didn’t glitch nor lag behind. I do think it’s worth mentioning that the lack of stylus is rather disappointing as other regions got it bundled in the box.
On the top, there is a webcam located in the middle with the camera shutter option which allows us to keep our utmost privacy.
The speakers on this slim bad boy are actually very loud too as they are curated by the audio experts at Harman Kardon and are Dolby Atmos certified. The speakers can be located on the edge of the laptop. When I first tried listening to songs, I was taken aback at how loud the audio is for such a slim form factor.
Keyboard & Touchpad
The colour and the design does not stop at the lid but rather the entire laptop has the same Zero-G titanium colour and morse code all around the laptop making it extra unique.
The morse codes are as follows (left to right): MIR Station, 1998 MIR, Cockpit and 2011 ASUS Zenbook. This laptop comes with an ASUS ErgoSense keyboard and touchpad that are comfortable and easy to use.
The spacebar and power button comes in a Rose Gold-like colour with a cockpit logo on the space bar resulting in a lovely pop of colour.
I find the keyboard fairly easy and comfortable to use with minimal typo output from me (my typo game is quite strong), the actuation is also great easing my work as I type out scripts.
The touchpad also has a hydrophobic coating to provide smoother feedback and it doubles as a numpad.
On the other hand, the touchpad was sensitive enough to my liking and didn’t have any palm rejection which made finishing tasks a breeze. The numpad is also very convenient when typing out numbers as it is sensitive and senses the slightest touch.
Ports
For connectivity, the ports are rather limited but I find that it offers the most being a slim form factor.
The right side has 1x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 port, 1x 3.5mm audio jack, and 1x MicroSD card reader.
Whereas, the left side has 1x HDMI 2.0 and 2x Thunderbolt 4 USB-C that doubles as a charging port.
Performance
In terms of specs, the Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition features an Intel i7-12700H processor and Iris XE integrated graphics, along with 16GB of DDR5 RAM and 1TB of PCIe Gen 4 SSD storage.
Personally, I find the performance of the laptop to be great for such a slim form factor, with the laptop putting up with my multi-tasking as I finish up work to reach my deadlines all the way to the SSD benchmark result which is as follow:
For cooling, it comes with a dual-fan Ice Cool thermal technology to allow optimal cooling, which I personally find useful as the laptop does not insanely heat up.
Battery-wise, it comes with a 63Wh battery and a 100W USB-C charger with quick charging. The battery lasted me roughly 5 hours as I typed out scripts and listened to songs.
Buy or no buy?
All-in-all, the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition is super pretty from the packaging of the laptop all the way to the design of the laptop. The specs and features do not slack despite being packed in such a slim form factor. As I’ve mentioned, this laptop is definitely ranking in the best packaged laptops for me.
If you are someone who needs a high end working laptop, I’m afraid that this laptop isn’t the one for you. However, if you have extra money to splurge on a gorgeous design and if you are a fan of collector’s editions then you should definitely consider this.
