Asus announced that their next generation of laptops will be released in 2020. The company is focusing on performance and battery life, but the new laptop line may not fully replace its older model until after 2025.
The “asus expertbook vs vivobook” is a comparison of the Asus Zenbook and Vivobook laptops. The two devices are similar in size, but differ in price and performance.
We compared and tested the Asus ZenBook 14 and the Asus VivoBook 14 in terms of display quality, performance, keyboard/touchpad, and battery life in this post. The ranking of the two laptops, as well as the hardware data, may be seen below. We provide an in-depth examination of each laptop below the ranking.
Result of the Test
April 2020 Result of the Test 9.6/10 Excellent
April 2020 Result of the Test 9.3/10 Very Good
Pros
- Performance of the Year
- Excellent Presentation
- For a laptop, the sound quality is fantastic.
- Battery that works well
- Lightweight
- Work at a rapid pace
Winner
Test Result
April 2020 Test Result 9.6/10 Excellent
Pros
- Performance of the Year
- Excellent Presentation
- For a laptop, the sound quality is fantastic.
Best Deal
Test Result
April 2020 Test Result 9.3/10 Very Good
Pros
- Battery that works well
- Lightweight
- Work at a rapid pace
The Asus ZenBook 14 comes in first place.
- Performance of the Year
- Excellent Presentation
- For a laptop, the sound quality is fantastic.
On my desk, I already had numerous Ultrabooks from the ZenBook 14 series. So far, they’ve delivered on time, and I was interested to see how the model would perform with the Intel Core i5 of the 10th generation, and I was pleasantly pleased at how much it had improved.
The cheapest ZenBook 14 comes with a Ryzen 5-3500U processor, 8 GB of RAM, and a 256 GB SSD. The more costly model has an Intel Core i5-10210U processor, 16 GB of RAM, and a 512 GB SSD. In terms of features, this places it in the upper midrange, making it a good bargain. A Ryzen 7 3700U with 16 GB RAM and a 1 TB SSD may be found at the top of the range.
Design
There are no flaws in the processing. There are no irritating burrs or loose components, and the few gaps are well spaced and thin. This is the only way it can be. That was also my expectation, since ASUS has consistently produced excellent ZenBooks in the past.
The ZenBook is entirely constructed of dark blue aluminum. That it seems to be really appealing. Because the display cover is gleaming and polished, fingerprints will show up immediately. For this Ultrabook, a cleaning cloth is also a wise buy. The bottom has a matt finish. Fingerprints may also be seen on it, although this is significantly less terrible.
The top side of the notebook can only be forced in with a lot of force. That appeals to me as well. By the way, opening the ZenBook raises it somewhat. This provides for improved cooling as well as a more comfortable typing posture.
The huge touchpad is in the center of the screen. However, I’ll come back to its performance later. Above the keyboard is a five-millimeter broad bronze-colored strip with a fine grid. In the centre, there is a ZenBook lettering. By the way, this is the only ornamental piece on the front. That appeals to me as well. Simple design appeals to me.
The display boasts a screen-to-body ratio of 92 percent and features delightfully small frames. The top and bottom frames are somewhat narrower than the two side frames. Their breadth is due to the fact that the top one has an infrared camera, allowing you to use facial recognition to log in. The bottom frame is the same width as the top one for symmetry. Overall, you’ve packed a lot of display into a compact laptop.
Ports
ASUS maintains loyal to its ZenBook idea by including all of the necessary connectors on this page. You’ll find an HDMI connector here, which will allow you to connect an external monitor. A USB-A 3.1 Gen2 and a USB-C 3.1 Gen2 port are also available. On the left side, there are three connections.
The microSD card reader, a USB-A 2.0 mouse port, and a 3.5mm socket are all located on the right side. You can cover the majority of your daily circumstances with this configuration. Personally, I would have preferred a card reader with more features. However, this is excessive complaining.
If you want to utilize both ports at the same time, you simply need to pay attention to the width of your USB sticks on the left side. They sit extremely close to one another, which might cause space issues.
Display
The brightness of many laptops is limited to 250 cd/m2. In an office setting, this is acceptable. But you’ll need more if you wish to work in brighter conditions. That’s exactly what the ZenBook 14 provides.
The maximum brightness is 366 cd/m2, with an average of 331 cd/m2. With slightly over 300 cd/m2, the right side is darker than the center and left. In ordinary life, however, this is not apparent. As a result, the display is brighter than prior generations’ screens, which were limited to 250 cd/m2. In the following image, you can see the display’s precise lighting.
With this ZenBook generation, color space coverage is also excellent. For most users, the 93 percent sRGB color space and 72 percent AdobeRGB color space leave nothing to be desired. You can effortlessly modify your photos and movies using these settings. These figures are very typical when compared to other notebooks in our database.
This is a matte presentation. As a result, you not only receive crisp, clear video, but you also get a broad viewing angle, allowing you to collaborate on content with several people at the same time.
Performance
The ZenBook 14 does exactly what it’s designed to do: it gives excellent performance in all areas where it’s supposed to. Everything is in good working order. Because the built-in 512 GB NVMe-SSD is fixed, you won’t have any issues in daily use. Good read and write speeds are 2.2 GB/s and 1.1 GB/s, respectively.
Image manipulation is possible with this display. On the hardware side, the Core i5 and 16 GB RAM ensure that it does not fail. The ZenBook 14 rendered the 20 almost 50 MB RAW files in 1:28 minutes in our Lightroom test, which is an anticipated time.
Battery
I set the display to 200 cd/m2 for the battery test. That’s a 60% brightness level. The “balanced” energy profile had previously been provided.
In my daily job, I alternate between Office, the web, Photoshop, and Lightroom in a colorful pattern. With it, I was able to go almost six hours without using a power outlet. That was an excellent performance.
Even if you set the default brightness of 40% and turn off power hogs like the Adobe suite, the system will still take longer to boot. In most situations, the 40 percent brightness is more than enough to view all of the material on the display clearly. Only in the presence of sunshine may problems arise.
Heating / Noise
The ZenBook 14 is hardly audible in normal life, which is a significant improvement over prior versions. The fans just turn on every now and then and then become quiet.
The supporters, on the other hand, only know one pace. As a result, they don’t rustle in the background and instead begin immediately away. This takes some getting used to, but it’s not a big deal in the end. In comparison to other small laptops, I find it quite pleasing that they do not generate any high-frequency whistling. As a result, everyday workplace sounds might easily drown them out.
During the stress test, the Ultrabook remains comfortably cool and silent. Normal workplace sounds still drowned out the fans. Regardless, they did an excellent job. The CPU reached a maximum temperature of 82° Celsius, with an average temperature of 62° Celsius. On the other hand, the ZenBook 14 didn’t become much hotter than a handwarmer on the top side and was still usable.
Touchpad and Keyboard
The number pad is absent from this keyboard, as it is in all tiny notebooks. The keys have a very short stroke and a spongy feel to them, which I dislike. Personally, I’d welcome a little more resistance. However, it can still be typed correctly on a keyboard. You may choose a three-level backlight if you have to operate in dimly lit areas.
The touchpad responds to your input swiftly and accurately. In the test, all motions were detected and performed quickly. It’s simple to get to and has a fair size. The two bronze-colored emblems in the top corners are very eye-catching. To add the touchpad numblock, use the one on the right. The numblock’s appearance may be changed by tapping the left symbol. It may be presented bright or matte, depending on your desire.
You may still utilize the standard touchpad motions after turning on the Numpad. In normal life, I utilized the touchpad as a number pad after connecting a mouse. As a result, I had access to a whole keyboard.
Upgrading
To open the ZenBook 14, just unscrew the seven Torx screws on the bottom and then lift the jammed base plate. The best option is to use a durable plastic card for this. The base plate will be lifted out of its anchoring as a result of this. In theory, at least.
My test model’s base plate was so tight at the hinges in the back that I couldn’t open it. However, since it is built in the same way as the device we reviewed in December, you can swap out the SSD for a bigger one and replace the battery if required.
You are unable to access the RAM. But, with 16 GB already installed, I don’t see the point in becoming involved.
Sound
The sound quality of the two versions I’ve tried so far was good, but it deteriorated at greater levels and turned tinny. The ZenBook 14, on the other hand, has improved once further.
The bass, midrange, and treble are in an excellent connection with each other at half volume. Surprisingly, the ZenBook 14 has very little resonance space, and the lows are really noticeable. It is, at the very least, a big increase over earlier models.
When you raise the sound up to maximum level, the sound picture barely minimally changes. The trebles become more prominent, but the overall sound balance stays intact. That appeals to me. Because the ZenBook 14 may be pretty loud, you won’t require the maximum volume very frequently.
Conclusion
You spend a lot of time on the road and need a durable laptop with a lot of power? Then have a look at the ZenBook 14 in more detail. In terms of hardware, there are no plans to update in the near future. Because the SSD has been repaired, the Ultrabook runs quite smoothly. With a weight of little over 2.2 pounds, the notebook is very portable.
The display is bright and colorful, particularly when compared to earlier versions. This means you won’t have any trouble viewing your material in bright conditions. I also enjoy how well the fans are managed. Whereas the predecessors started very often, this model is extremely quiet, and you won’t hear it in most circumstances.
Even film and series sessions are no issue because to the excellent sound.
I couldn’t find anything in the test that truly spoke against the ZenBook 14. Only minor details were noted, yet this is serious dissatisfaction on a grand scale.
Asus VivoBook 14 is ranked second.
- Battery that works well
- Lightweight
- Work at a rapid pace
Until recently, most of what you’ll discover in the VivoBook 14 (F412FA) was only available in premium smartphones with four-digit price tags. The matt, viewing angle-independent Full HD screen, for example, has just slim borders, which makes the display look optically bigger.
Furthermore, the thin case’s base is more compact than prior 14-inch devices, allowing the laptop to fit inside cases built for 13.3-inch notebooks.
Touchpad and Keyboard
While typing, the lighted keyboard provides exact feedback to the fingertips. The arrangement, however, needs some practice: the enter key is just one line long, and the cursor keys are similarly on one line. The F keys have specific functions assigned to them, such as ex works; by pressing Fn-Esc, you may permanently switch to the conventional F functions, which are required for frequent combinations such as Alt-F4.
The touchpad detects up to four-finger motions and has a fingerprint sensor in the back right corner for convenient biometric login with Windows Hello. However, the fingerprint reader occupies a portion of the sensor area that cannot be utilized to operate the mouse cursor, which is inconvenient.
Hardware
Both the USB C and A ports on the notebook’s left side can handle data transfer speeds of up to 10 GBit/s (aka SuperSpeedPlus aka USB 3.1 Gen 2). On the other hand, the USB A connector on the right only supports USB 2.0, and the MicroSD card reader next to it is likewise sluggish to connect, slowing down fast memory cards.
As Asus only intends to use the USB-C port for data transfers and does not want to use it to output DisplayPort signals or charge the battery, USB-C docking is not required.
Only the Intel GPU UHD 620 included in the CPU handles graphics output in the examined model. The decent Nvidia GeForce MX230 graphics chip is also soldered to the motherboard in the test unit.
The two USB connectors on display support 10 GBit/s USB. External displays and the power supply unit must be connected through separate connectors; the USB C port is solely appropriate for data transfers. The laptop may be updated to the faster Wi-Fi 6 by replacing the WLAN module since Realtek’s Wi-Fi 5 module operates in a full PCIe slot and is not a slimmed-down CNVi card, as has been popular in other notebooks recently.
Fortunately, additional stumbling difficulties, such as a firmware roadblock, did not derail the plan: Sadly, so-called BIOS white lists with permitted components are popular in business laptops from major manufacturers.
They are supposedly not meant to be harmful upgrade obstacles, but rather to guarantee that the mobile computer will function in conformity with all applicable legislation in all countries where it is intended for sale.
Because any type of modification runs the danger of voiding the manufacturer’s warranty, it’s best to save tinkering until the second half of the notebook’s life. Wait a bit longer with Wi-Fi 6: the new WLAN technology can only display its full potential if all other clients in the same wireless network, apart from the access point, also radio according to this standard.
Noise / Heating
Under low computing load, the VivoBook 14’s fan is almost silent, increasing to only 0.7 sone under continuous strain. The battery may last up to nine hours on a single charge and can be completely charged in less than two hours. Weight and case thickness are standard for this class; premium notebooks that are substantially thinner and lighter are only noticeably more costly.
Conclusion
Quiet fan, matte screen, lighted keyboard, SSD – all of these features can now be found in laptops under $1000, but not to the same level of excellence as the Asus VivoBook. The Asus VivoBook 14 is one such representation, and upgrading the WLAN module will not cause you any problems in the future.
However, Asus does not provide a current USB-C docking station; otherwise, the VivoBook is a nice companion, putting the Asus VivoBook 14 in second place after the ZenBook 14, albeit at a far lower price. So, in our view, if you’re on a budget, this laptop is a better option than the Zenbook 14.
The “asus vivobook 14 vs zenbook 14” is a comparison of the Asus Zenbook and the Vivobook from 2020. The two computers are similar in price, but have different features.
Related Tags
- asus vivobook
- asus expertbook vs zenbook
- asus vivobook 2020
- asus zenbook 14
- asus vivobook review 2020
