Oh… Generative AI.
The forefront of today’s technology is artificial intelligence, AI for short. In fact, tech companies are so invested in it that it has taken over so many roles, from internet searches, to art, and to customer service-related tasks.
Microsoft introduced its AI chatbot known as CoPilot, which was built on top of ChatGPT-4. You could say it is like a free version of ChatGPT-4. On some versions of Windows 10 and 11, CoPilot is pre-installed and you could access it at anytime given that you have a Microsoft account.
May last year saw Microsoft introduce “CoPilot Plus” which sounds like a subscription service but no. Instead, it is an improved version of CoPilot intended to be used for AI-powered laptops. It first launched on the Surface tablets then followed by the computer manufacturers like ASUS, Lenovo, Acer, and Dell. CoPilot PCs offer a more powerful AI than the one you’re used to, with 40TOPS of power. In layman’s terms, this means CoPilot Plus PCs are more accurate, able to learn better from its mistakes, and less likely to be manipulated than the web version of CoPilot.
ASUS has introduced a series of CoPilot Plus PCs just recently, as recent as CES 2025. The laptops are marketed under the “Always Incredible” strategy. Which, you guessed it, is also an acronym of “AI”. Pretty smart marketing right there.
Three of these notebooks are available for pre-ordering now in some countries, and the Philippines is not included yet. The notebooks include the ZenBook A14, VivoBook 14, and VivoBook 16. For all intents and purposes, these three are only to be the ones discussed throughout this article.
ZenBook A14
The ASUS ZenBook A14 is a lightweight premium laptop with a 14″ display. If you have been following ASUS for a while now, the “Zen” series refers to the brands premium ultra light notebooks that do not compromise on performance. The same goes here. Now, it is powered by a 45TOPS CoPilot+ AI. The ZenBook 14 weighs just shy of 1kg, making it quite suitable who frequently works on the go.
There are two variants, both with a Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. Yes, you read that right. Qualcomm is now making chipsets for PCs too, well for notebooks at least. The model UX3407QA features a Snapdragon X1 processor while the UX3407RA uses a flagship-tier Snapdragon X Elite instead. Neither laptops have a dedicated GPU, instead relying on the integrated Adreno GPU.
Since the laptop is all about AI, it is important to discuss what NPU it uses. In this case, both models use the Qualcomm Hexagon NPU with up to 45TOPS performance. What that means for you is that the AI should be more accurate than the typical ones you use online.
As for the display, the ZenBook A14 features a FHD+ (1920x1200px) display, either IPS or OLED. Of course, RA model is the only one of the two that uses OLED. Both models though, have a 16:10 aspect ratio, 400nits brightness, and 60Hz refresh rate. Do you expect gaming-level of refresh rates here? Probably not.
On board, the QA model has 16GB LPDDR5X RAM available while the RA has 32GB. Both of these have either 512GB or 1TB M.2 NVMe SSD storage, which allows for faster or even instantaneous loading times. Both models are expandable through the use of another SSD.
Windows Hello is available for both models as well. Both keyboards have a white backlit keyboard. Pretty nifty, huh? The QA model charges using a USB-C 65W power adapter but the RA model charges even faster at 90W. However, both models have different battery capacities. The QA model features a 48Whr 3-cell Li-Ion while the RA model features a larger 70Whr cell
The laptops, as slim and lightweight as it is, surprisingly, has multiple ports. These include two USB-4 ports, one USB-3.2 Gen 2 port, an HDMI 2.1 port, and a headphone jack.
The Zenbook 14 is yet to be available in the Philippines. It comes in Zabriskie Beige and Iceland Grey.
VIVOBOOK 14 and 16
The VivoBook series is ASUS’ mainstream line and comes with all sorts of sizes, colours, processors, and types. The only major difference is the display size. The other is 14 while the latter is 16.
Both of these laptops come with the new Qualcomm Snapdragon X1 chipset with 45TOPS AI performance. That means it uses Qualcomm’s Hexagon NPU and its integrated Adreno GPU. Both of the laptops have an expandable M.2 SSD storage of up to 1TB. The laptops come with 16GB LPDDR5X RAM. The RAM stick can be replaced, up to 16GB.
Speaking of the display. it is a FHD+ (1920x1200px) IPS panel with 60Hz refresh rate and 300 nits of peak brightness. It comes with 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, two USB-4.0 Type C ports with PD support (up to 40GB transfer speeds), an HDMI port, and an audio jack.
In terms of battery and charging. It’s more or less the same. a 3-cell 50Whr battery charged on a standard 65W USB-C cable. The laptops are also a tad heavier, at 1.5kg. Windows Hello, including face recognition through an IR scanner, is available.
The laptops are yet to be brought in the Philippines. For colour options, they are Quiet Blue, Cool Silver, and the 14″-exclusive Platinum Gold.
These laptops can be viewed at ASUS (US) website.
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