ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED laptop review (UX3405)

ASUS has made a scheduled update to its line of image-conscious ultraportable Zenbook laptops. As always, these are lightweight, stylish metal models with great screens. But now they have new Intel Core Ultra processors inside. Today we’re going to tell you about the 14-inch ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (UX3405) with Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor, its capabilities and features.

ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (UX3405) specifications

Package contents

Only the most affordable ASUS models have minimal equipment. More expensive laptops come with some useful accessories. In the box with ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (UX3405), in addition to a 65W Type-C power supply and documentation, there is a USB-A to Ethernet adapter in case of a wired connection, as well as a case.

Design and construction

ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (UX3405) is a compact and lightweight 14-inch laptop with a body made entirely of aluminum alloy. The thickness is only 14.9 mm. We are looking at an image ultrabook that looks quite restrained, but stylish and expensive. Just as a portable work tool should look.

All surfaces of the laptop are matte and pleasant to the touch. The top lid has an anodized finish and is decorated with a large ASUS logo made of straight lines and a small Zenbook inscription in the corner of the lid. A similar design was used in last year’s Zenbooks. The dark blue version is a restrained version. But there is also a more original light silver one.

The display unit is hinged almost the entire width of the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED. Of course, the laptop can be easily opened with one hand, with a maximum opening angle of 180°. It uses a rather familiar design that slightly raises the back of the main unit in the open position, thus slightly tilting the keyboard towards the user and providing more space under the laptop for better air circulation.

As with all modern ultraportable laptops, the bezels around the perimeter of the screen are thin, especially the side ones. There are a lot of interesting things above the display. In addition to a webcam and microphones with a work indicator, there is also a physical curtain, an infrared camera, as well as a light sensor and an adaptive color sensor.

The underside of the laptop is quite standard. There is a large perforated area for the cooling system to draw in cold air, massive rubber feet that prevent the laptop from slipping, and stereo speakers. They have holes that point downward and at an angle to the horizontal plane. The bottom lid can be removed, but you shouldn’t expect extensive upgrade options. You can only replace the SSD and the network adapter.

With its compact dimensions and light weight, the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (UX3405) is a great companion for every day. It’s beautifully crafted, with panels that hardly bend. The laptop has passed all tests for compliance with the military-industrial standard MIL-STD 810H. This does not make it invulnerable, but you can count on a long service life.

Connectors

All the connectors of the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED are located on the side, as in all ultrabooks. On the right are HDMI 2.1 TMDS, a combined 3.5 mm audio jack, two Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C with Power Delivery, and LED indicators.

On the left is one full-size USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A and additional ventilation holes.

The set of ports is quite good for an ultra-compact model. There is everything you need: video outputs, full-size USB for an external drive or peripherals, and RJ-45, albeit via an adapter. The only thing missing is a MicroSD slot, which was in many Zenbook models.

Display

The display is one of the strongest points of the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (UX3405). This is a 14-inch OLED that ASUS calls Lumina. In fact, this is a marketing name for screens with a set of technologies and features developed by ASUS. The screen has a WQXGA+ resolution (2880 x 1800) and an aspect ratio of 16:10. The maximum brightness is 400 nits, and the peak brightness is 600. The refresh rate is 120 Hz and the pixel response time is 0.2 ms. The screen is claimed to have 100% coverage of the sRGB color space, has VESA Display HDR True Black 600 certification, and can filter out up to 70% of harmful blue light.

The display is of excellent quality, with extremely rich colors, maximum viewing angles, and a good level of brightness. But the coating is glossy, so it glares a little. Although not as much as the protective glass in touchscreen models. The maximum brightness is 387,336 cd/m², which is almost the declared 400. The color gamut is a little wider than sRGB, and the color reproduction is a little warmer than is considered optimal. The color temperature is about 6000K, while 6500K is considered ideal.

The laptop is equipped with a light sensor and an adaptive color sensor, which allows you to enable automatic brightness and color temperature adjustment. The proprietary MyAsus application has Splendid color modes and tools to extend the life of the OLED matrix. These include pixel shifting, hiding the taskbar, and launching a screen saver. This should prevent burn-in. There is a choice between 60 and 120 Hz, as well as an adaptive mode.

Platform and performance

The laptop received new Intel Core Ultra Meteor Lake processors. In our case, it’s the top-of-the-line Intel Core Ultra 9 185H. As before, the last letter of the H or U marking indicates the processor series: more powerful or more energy efficient. The processors are quite different from the previous line. Now the configuration uses three types of cores: productive, energy-efficient, and ultra-efficient. There is a new integrated graphics based on the Arc architecture, as well as a separate Intel AI Boost NPU neuroprocessor for working with neural networks and machine learning. Theoretically, it will speed up the operation of the corresponding software and can positively affect the laptop’s battery life.

The processor has 6 productive cores with a frequency of 2.3-5.1 GHz, 8 energy-efficient 1.8-3.8 GHz, and 2 ultra-efficient cores with a frequency of 1-2.5 GHz. The maximum frequency of the graphics accelerator is 2.35 GHz, and the neuroprocessor is 1.4 GHz. Up to 22 computing threads are supported. The standard TDP level is 45 W, the maximum is 65 W, and it can be increased to 115 W for a short time. There is 32 GB of LPDDR5 RAM, and the drive is a Micron 1400 model with a 1 TB PCIe 4.0 x4 interface.

To connect to the network, you can use a high-speed module with support for the Wi-Fi 6E standard, as well as a network connector via the included adapter. Bluetooth 5.2 is used to connect peripherals.

Of course, we ran all the standard performance tests on the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (UX3405). But it is worth noting that not all benchmarks support and work correctly with the new Intel processors. This includes AIDA64 and Blender Benchmark. For example, the latter saw Intel Arc graphics, but the test itself hung, so we had to run it on the CPU. But in general, the laptop’s performance level is quite high, especially when it comes to CPU tests. So the laptop copes with all work tasks without any problems. Except for 3D graphics or video editing. Although if Blender receives Arc support with the updates, it may be quite possible to render.

In maximum performance mode, the laptop scores 7017 points in the PCMark office benchmark. This is a really high score for an ultraportable model.

With battery power, the PCMark score dropped significantly to 4465 points. But when working with documents or a browser, this is quite enough.

The Micron 2400 1TB SSD isn’t the fastest PCIe 4.0 x4 drive available. But the speed is high: approximately 5000 MB/s when reading and up to 3600 MB/s when writing information.

The Intel Arc graphics accelerator is indeed more powerful than previous integrated solutions. Of course, this is not the level of powerful discrete graphics cards, but the results are significantly higher than other ultraportable models:

For the sake of experimentation, we launched two rather demanding games. The updated version of Witcher 3 Wild Hunt and Baldur’s Gate 3. The laptop graphics turned out to be quite powerful. With the use of scaling technologies (XeSS and FSR 2), you can get acceptable 30+ FPS at low graphics settings in native resolution.

Heating and stability of performance

ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (UX3405) components are cooled by an active single-fan cooling system. The laptop is completely quiet when working with documents or browsing, and the fan is only audible under high loads.

The results in the AIDA64 stress test were quite surprising. In productive mode, the processor temperature initially rose to 105°, with short-term throttling of up to 21%. Then, after the cooling system adapted, the temperature dropped to 75°. The average processor frequency is about 2.4 GHz, the maximum is about 4.8 GHz.

The case hardly heats up, and the noise level remains at a comfortable level.

Security

ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED has an infrared camera for quick logon. This solution has been used in Zenbook laptops for years. It works quickly and accurately.

The webcam has a mechanical shutter, so those who are afraid of surveillance don’t have to cover it with tape. In addition, there is a hardware encryption module Trusted Platform Module (TPM) 2.0.

Web camera

The laptop has a webcam with FullHD resolution, which is enough for video conferencing and calls.

There are additional features for video calls. Noise reduction for microphones, speakers, camera image enhancement, background blur, lighting correction, and motion tracking.

Keyboard and touchpad

ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (UX3405) has a full-size island keyboard typical of the lineup without an additional number pad. The buttons have a full travel of 1.4 mm, a pitch of 19.05 mm and a concavity of 0.3 mm. The layout is quite familiar, without surprises: long Shift and Enter. The arrows and function row are reduced. The power button is the second from the right edge of the function row, which should prevent accidental pressing. There is a white backlight and an automatic brightness adjustment function. The keyboard is comfortable and does not require time to get used to.

The touchpad is glass and large. It has a nice coating with good slip. The sensitivity and positioning accuracy are excellent. For the vast majority of work or everyday tasks, you won’t need to connect a mouse.

Speakers

The laptop has Harman|Kardon branded speakers that support Dolby Atmos virtual surround sound. The settings have separate presets for music from games, movies, and more.

The volume margin is quite good, but you should not expect excellent sound quality. There are not enough low frequencies. This is especially noticeable at high volume. Although it is quite enough for watching movies.

Battery life

A large four-cell 75 Wh battery is responsible for the battery life. ASUS claims that the laptop can run for up to 15.5 hours in a balanced productivity mode with the display brightness at 150 nits and the Wi-Fi module activated but not connected to the network. When working with documents, a browser, email with a comfortable brightness of 50% and a Wi-Fi connection, the laptop lasts just over 9 hours, so it’s more than enough for a working day.

A 65 W power supply is used for charging. It takes a little over two hours to fully charge. There is support for USB-C Easy Charge: the laptop can be charged from power banks and third-party chargers.