Asus OLED Laptops: Zenbook 13 vs. Zenbook 14X

There’s lots to love about the Zenbook 14X – one of Asus’s latest super-thin, extra-light laptops. But what about the Zenbook 13? There’s just an inch between these Asus OLED laptops. But when it comes to price, the fractionally larger of the two is much, much more expensive. So, is the Asus Zenbook 14X worth the extra money?

What’s arguably crucial here is the implementation of OLED technology – something that both the Asus Zenbook 13 and Zenbook 14X have. Let’s start there.

OLED screens rely on what’s known as flat light emitting technology. With that, OLEDs require no backlighting. As so-called emissive displays, they’re the result of placing a series of thin organic films between two conductors. It’s all quite complicated, but it means that OLED screens are thinner and more efficient than LCDs.

It’s by no means unique to Asus, and many other brands, including Dell, HP, and Lenovo, all now employ OLED tech in their latest laptops.

Both the Asus Zenbook 13 and 14X boast OLED screens. That means that this tech isn’t the reason why the 14-inch model is costlier than its slightly more compact stablemate. In fact, on closer inspection, there’s plenty more to it than that, starting with the smaller details surrounding their respective and differing OLEDs.

The latest Asus Zenbook 13 arrived last year as one of only a few laptops with an OLED screen priced under $1,000. Prices, in fact, start at just $799. However, this price can begin to rise sharply depending on other aspects of a Zenbook 13’s specification.

Either way, it’s the Asus Zenbook 13’s display that’s its standout feature. Boasting a 13-inch 1080p OLED screen surrounded by a thin bezel, it’s impressive, especially at below $800.

Vivid and bright under most conditions, it offers an entry-level OLED experience at a price that would’ve been largely unimaginable just a couple of years ago. Only recently, a 13-inch laptop with an OLED screen would’ve been a $2,000 proposition, at least.

Meanwhile, the 14-inch Zenbook 14X gets a choice of two OLED screens. This choice means picking between a 2.8K OLED 90Hz or 4K OLED HDR display. Both offer a significant improvement in picture quality over the already excellent Zenbook 13, which is impressive in itself.

An extra inch of real estate further adds to the experience. Elsewhere, Asus also promises that the Zenbook 14X and its OLED screen will cover 100 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut while simultaneously delivering a 0.2ms response time.

Of course, all of this comes at a cost. Prices for the Asus Zenbook 14X start at $1,399.99, meaning a premium of upwards of $600 over the OLED-equipped Zenbook 13.

For the money, it’s hard to argue with the value on offer from the OLED-equipped Asus Zenbook 13. However, for those seeking a more premium product with an even better display, the Zenbook 14X will be the laptop of choice in most cases. Although it comes at a significant premium, this additional cost is quickly apparent, and not just in terms of its screen.

The Asus Zenbook 13 is, from the outset, designed to be a budget-friendly proposition, albeit with an OLED screen. It’s something that’s immediately noticeable in the 13-inch device’s plastic-heavy construction, for example.

The Asus Zenbook 14X, on the other hand, gets a robust spun-metal finish in either Pine Gray or Lilac Mist. Although not an obvious color choice for a laptop, Lilac Mist is a surprisingly modern, elegant, and subtle option that further helps to convey the Zenbook 14X’s sense of high-end luxury.

With prices exceeding $1,400, Asus’s best OLED laptops aren’t an inexpensive purchase. Accordingly, it’s important to take good care of them. With that, it’s also advisable to ensure that there’s a degree of protection in place for them and their displays in the event that something goes wrong.

With Upsie, a range of laptop warranties are available for all Asus models, including the Zenbook 13 and 14X. Upsie’s laptop warranty solutions offer comprehensive protection against manufacturer defects, mechanical faults, and all manner of other issues. Asus Zenbook owners are also protected against screen failures in the event of dead pixels, screen burn-in, and more.

All Upsie laptop plans further offer protection in the event of cracked screens resulting from accidents, too. The same coverage then extends to damage caused by liquid spills and similar mishaps, providing complete peace of mind for laptop owners across the board.