Today’s laptop is something special that I think more people need to pay attention to. This is the ASUS ZenBook S 13 OLED UM5302 that is equipped with the latest AMD Ryzen 6000 series chip. Some of you might see this and think hey – this looks awfully familiar with another laptop that we reviewed recently and call it “near perfect” – the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED UX5402.
And you’re right. In essence, this is an AMD version of that laptop. In this video, let’s take a look at what’s the difference and why I think this laptop is also near perfect, but not necessarily better. Let’s go through the reasons why.
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Starting off, I’ll need to address the elephant in the room – the specs and performance of this laptop. Our unit comes with a list of specs that is nothing to scoff at – Ryzen 7 6800U that is based on the latest Zen3+ architecture, 16GB of DDR5 RAM at 6400MHz, and of course – the AMD Radeon 680M integrated GPU that is based on RDNA 2.
I immediately tested a few games on this laptop and I gotta say – I was very amazed by the performance. AMD knows what’s better for customers and instead of purely improving the CPU performance, AMD drastically improved the integrated GPU’s performance.
I’m talking about consistent 30fps and above while playing Halo Infinite at the lowest graphical settings. There was no stuttering and I had a fantastic time enjoying the game. And here’s a secret – I was playing on battery the entire time.
Yes, I discovered this by accident while I was testing the AMD Ryzen 5000 series of mobile chips last year. For some reason, AMD doesn’t throttle the performance at all when we’re playing games on battery. Best of all, the battery life of this laptop can last for at least 1.5 to 2 hours on Halo Infinite.
You might have realized the absurdly high ping in the Halo Infinite gameplay – we’ll get more into that later.
We’ll go in-depth about its performance in another video – so watch here.
And also – keep in mind that this laptop uses a high-resolution display of 2880×1800 pixels. It’s 2.5 times more pixels than the standard 1080p FHD resolution and that Ryzen 7 6800U with the Radeon 680M iGPU can still churn out that many frames. I’m just very impressed by what this chip can do with just 28W of power.
Now, let’s talk about all the other parts of this laptop. What sets it apart from its close relative, the Zenbook 14 OLED UX5402 which is an Intel machine? Well, I highly recommend you watch that review first to know more because I’ll just speedrun through this video.
Firstly, we’ll go back to the screen. This is an OLED screen with the aforementioned 2880×1800 pixel in resolution, but it is locked at 60Hz maximum. Our unit is also a touchscreen too, giving the 180º hinge a purpose.
The color accuracy on this laptop’s screen is also fantastic as it covers 99.55% of sRGB and 98.73% of DCI-P3 color gamuts with an okay level of Delta E. The maximum brightness is also capped at around 320 nits of brightness – which is definitely not enough under direct sunlight but good enough for indoor usage.
Secondly, the design. The Intel version is made with a metal body and has the new ASUS logo polished to a reflective sheen on the lid. For this AMD version, we have a magnesium-aluminium (ASUS claims) body – and the logo is tiny. It’s a more minimalist design and much lighter in weight – but doesn’t have the level of durability that metal has. Personally, I’m fine with this laptop build just because it’s lighter.
Both the keyboard and the trackpad – they both remain exactly the same so I’ll skip that.
The ports are different though. We have a total of 3 USB Type-C ports that go up to 10Gb/s each. However, the review guide that was provided also states that the ASUS ZenBook S 13 OLED is ready for the latest USB 4 standard, but it’s a feature that will require a BIOS update.
With that said, I think that having USB-C ports on either side is good since I can plug my charger into any side to charge it – but that also means I need to bring a dongle if I want to use any devices that are still using USB-A cable. At least ASUS included a dongle for this laptop, though.
It’s also the exact same steps if we want to open up the laptop to service. A few Torx screws around the side at the bottom and two hidden screws underneath the rubber feet – though our unit here has missing screws – and the whole back panel can easily be popped off.
The layout is exactly the same too. We can only swap the SSD and WiFi card if we want to – and this is where the aforementioned high ping issue. So far, every time I’ve seen WiFi-related issues on laptops, it’s because they are using a MediaTek WiFi card. And now that I’ve encountered it first-hand, I know what they mean.
Lastly, the battery life. I think it’s pretty much comparable to the Intel version of this laptop. At the silent power profile at 55% brightness, it can reach somewhere around 6-7 hours of battery life but depends on what I’m viewing at that time.
It also comes with a 65W charger in the box, but once again – I’ve never used it. I just use my own Ugreen 100W GaN charger.
Should you buy the ASUS ZenBook 13 OLED UM5302?
So in conclusion. Previously, I called the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED UX5402 with the Intel Core i7-1260P a “near-perfect” laptop. Then, is the ASUS Zenbook S 13 OLED UM5302 the perfect laptop? Well, not exactly.
As an ultrabook, the performance is absolutely magnificent. I’d say it’s at the top of its class, especially for an x86 chip that only consumes 28W. The build quality is something that you may or may not prefer since it’s lighter in weight, and it also has a 60Hz touchscreen OLED.
Honestly, for me, I’ll pick this Zenbook S 13 OLED UM5302 over the other laptop. This suits my usage behavior more.
For the local availability, the Zenbook S 13 OLED UM5302 is priced at RM5,999 for the exact same configuration that we are reviewing, and there are no other configurations available. I think the price is just too hefty.
And that’s all we have to share with you. This is a magnificent laptop.
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