Anuj Bhatia
For the Fall 2017 collection, fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld took his audience to space with a 35-meter tall rocket that launched during the show’s finale at the Grand Palais. While reviewing the ZenBook 14X OLED Space Edition, I had a similar feeling of being sucked into the vision of creating a world that explored the idea of space travel, with Elton John’s “Rocket Man” playing in the background. I used the ZenBook 14X OLED Space Edition for a few days, and here’s what I think about this collector’s item.
Design and aesthetics
From its design to packaging, everything is inspired by the Asus P6300 laptop’s trip to space for use on the Mir space station in 1997. The ZenBook 14x OLED Space Edition is a true icon of laptop design and, thanks to its exceptional aesthetic and build quality, it has become even more special. It’s a very cool looking laptop—futuristic and classic at the same time. The notebook feels exceptionally well-built. It has a full aluminum body that feels sturdy, with no flex in the screen or the keyboard deck.
The ZenBook 14X Space Edition is a travel-friendly machine. The device is compact and smaller than I thought, weighing just 1.31kg. On the laptop’s right side is an HDMI port and two Thunderbolt 4 ports, and on the left is a USB 3.2 Gen 2 (Type-A) port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. There’s a 720p webcam as well, which is very average in nature. It’s grainy and not great. The laptop’s Harman Kardon speakers, on the other hand, are excellent.
Display and keyboard
The notebook has a 14-inch OLED touch screen (2880x 1800 resolution) that displays sharp images and text. The screen is both bright and offers excellent levels of contrast with much deeper blacks than any other laptop display I’ve seen. The laptop also supports a 90Hz refresh rate, meaning the display is ideal for viewing fast-moving movies or gaming.
The keyboard on this notebook is solid. The Touchpad is smooth and responsive, though sometimes it feels a bit off.
Performance and battery
This is a high-performance laptop, although not designed for gaming. The notebook is powerful enough for light productivity tasks, like word formatting or checking emails. It can even handle demanding tasks, like rendering videos. The battery is a mixed bag. You can get through a 6-hour workday on a full charge if you are only doing light productivity tasks, but it’ll be slightly shorter if you play a lot of videos and edit photos.
Should you buy or skip it?
Starting at Rs 1,14,990, the ZenBook 14X OLED Space Edition is best described in two words: timeless and classic. It has a captivating element that attracts enthusiasts and purists alike. And its price says it all.
