Let’s be real — PC makers might not say it out loud, but when it comes to thin and light laptops, there’s one name that inevitably “enters the chat”: the MacBook Air. Buyers know it. Sellers know it. Even that one guy still clinging to his chunky old laptop knows it.

Apple has turned the art of balancing portability and performance into something of a flex, leaving competitors both inspired and slightly envious.

It’s hard not to get swayed by the appeal of thin laptops. There have been laptops by the dime and dozen that prioritise portability at the expense of performance. As a reviewer, I’ve seen powerful machines that weigh you down — physically, financially, and metaphorically. The Asus Vivobook S 14 is a bit different in that sense. It seems to strike a fine balance between the two.

At first glance, the Vivobook S 14 OLED doesn’t scream “premium” the way some higher-end Asus Zenbooks or Dell XPS models do, but once I picked it up and started using it, I realized this is a machine is more suited for real-world usability rather than just looking good on a spec sheet. It’s light enough to carry around all day without a second thought, yet it packs Intel’s latest Core Ultra processor and a gorgeous OLED display. But how does that translate to real-world performance? Let’s dive in.