ASUS Vivobook S 14 OLED Slim Laptop, Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, 16GB, 1TB SSD, Fast Charging, RGB Keyboard, Thunderbolt 4, Neutral Black, S5406MA-AS96, Intel Evo Edition

I used Macs exclusively for 29 years until I felt Tim Cook wasn't innovating enough to warrant the big prices. So I switched to Windows 10 PCs and Android and -- have never looked back.Well... until 6 years later when Apple released their own silicon M series chips in 2021. I'm often asked to recommend equipment and I had to confess -- if you need an all day battery -- you have to get a Mac. No contest. Less expensive PCs managed 4 hours at best OR REALLY needed to plugged in a lot.So the PC world has been waiting for laptops that can do the same and they're phasing in now. They're not identical (yet?) but you get an all day battery -- which is all the matters to college students or people who travel A LOT. (One way these new PCs cheat is by simply making the battery bigger by a third, lol.)This Asus was a Black Friday steal at $765. It was a little more PC than I wanted but the cheaper versions of this unit aren't here yet. And with tariff fears I decided to nab it now.I didn't need an Ultra Core 9 series Intel Chip. An Ultra Core 5 would have been fine. I'd also have been fine with 500GBs of storage instead of twice that. But to get both for this price is a WOW.Also a WOW --1. The OLED screen is gorgeous. Bright enough for outside work too.2. The RGB keyboard is thrilling my daughter (on her way to college soon)3. The keyboard itself is silent clicking awesome4. Trackpad is fine5. Build quality is amazing. Very sturdy but very light. If you threw this hard at someone they'd need to go to an ER6. Super thin and small, feels like a 13 inch somehow7. It's so silent a laptop you'll be stunned to learn it has TWO fans when they rarely complain. WARNING: don't use this on blanket, or warm lap, because the bottom vents need to vent. Testing this unit I spread my legs a little to allow airflow and yet type on my lap. Desktop/table top is a better idea.8. Speakers are okay but I got my daughter a tiny Bluetooth speaker for better sound as well as inexpensive earbuds9. Everyone says it and its so true: fingerprint magnet. If you glance at this thing from behind a couch... it will leave fingerprints somehow. Wow. I know, that doesn't seem possible, but it's true. The one plus here is that the PC may end up looking 'dirty' and discourage thieves from thinking it's awesome.Drum roll please --10. Here's the best feature. If you desire a screen bigger than 13 inches and want a four year warranty, Amazon makes that happen for under $1000. The MacBook Air equivalent is a 15 inch non-OLED screen and costs twice that Applecare. SPOILER: and you only get 3 years.My Advice -- if you want to save money, wait for the Ultra Core 5s to show up on Amazon. (If they ever do.) Best Buy offered such a model but their warranty schemes are so pricey that -- this was cheaper. So if the current asking price doesn't bother you, get it. If you wanted to spend more like $600 before tax and warranty... wait.

I haven't used an Asus product in years and even then, it was not a full-blown laptop. I had purchased the tablet from a million years ago and, it ran like the beast that it was for that time frame. I have owned Acer Spin laptops for some years now and, still use my Acer Spin 5 i5 model and it works like a dream; fully converts into a tablet, etc. The main reason for my Asus purchase began with knowing that my Acer will not receive security patch updates in the near future, as expected and I did not want to be in a position that warranted these updates and be without them. In comes this Asus laptop.Pros:1 - It is very lightweight which in turn, makes it super portable.2 - The screen is beautiful and, very easy on the eyes as the blue light is greatly diminished through Asus technology of using their internal screen protector. I did order an additional screen protector that is suited for this OLED screen, from England as the Asian market screens are too strong and I did not want it to be difficult to remove. It just added a layer of protection that I have been accustomed to over the years.3 - Very snappy processor for my needs.4 - It is indeed a fast-charging unit.5 - Crisp imagery on the screen with no lag time.6 - Screen size is okay - I could have gone for the larger model but I am used to portability.Cons -1 - No touchscreen, it takes getting used to because both my Acer 14 inch are touchscreen and, it makes surfing the web, enlarging the screen so much easier. Asus does offer touchscreen in other models.2 - Battery life, if you do not set your battery to the battery saver mode and really adhere to those settings, the battery can run out much faster when doing a lot of application work or, just having a lot of tabs open and running. My Acer does the same thing so, I also set it to saver mode. it otherwise performs without a glitch.3 - Fingerprint magnet! I ordered personalized skins for both my Asus and, my Acer laptops (MY Acer didn't need it but I wanted to have a skin on the topside of it for esthetics). The Asus, you NEED something of a skin because if you have OCD, like me, you will be wiping your laptop down all the time. I appreciate that it is a metal finish but come one, the blue colored model doesn't have this issue. That said, it is just the underside now that has my fingerprints, and I don't care because I don't look at it.Overall, for the price, it is a good deal. The customer service is responsive. I would but it again but maybe a touchscreen or just a slightly larger size. I do use an external 18.5-inch monitor alongside my Asus and, Acer laptops to compensate the 14-inch size - works great!

Terrible Experience with ASUS and Amazon – Avoid at All CostsI bought a brand new ASUS laptop from Amazon (ASUS Vivobook S14), expecting a quality product. After just three months, I tried to use the built-in microphone for the first time, only to discover it didn’t even exist! A brand new laptop missing a basic hardware component is completely unacceptable.I contacted Amazon, which refused to take responsibility and simply pushed me to ASUS. ASUS agreed to repair it instead of replacing it — even though the product was clearly defective from the start.But it gets worse.During the first repair, ASUS damaged my laptop — it was returned with new issues that didn’t exist before. I had to send it back again. This time, they replaced some parts, but the problems still weren’t fixed. They then claimed they were ordering more parts, and now it’s been over a month without my laptop.I’ve had to deal with endless calls and emails (more than ten times!) with ASUS customer service, and not once have they offered any compensation or made a serious effort to make things right. It’s been nothing but a frustrating, time-consuming nightmare.Avoid ASUS at all costs. Their quality control is non-existent, their repair service is careless, and their customer service is completely useless.And shame on Amazon for washing their hands of the issue and refusing to stand behind a defective product sold on their platform.If you value your time, your money, and your sanity — do not buy ASUS products, and think twice before trusting Amazon when things go wrong.