Fight hard to not roll your eyes when you hear “special edition.” Many products bearing that badge only have gimmicky features and aesthetic upgrades. Plus, it’s a way for manufacturers to justify racking up the prices.
But that is not the case with the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition—for the most part.
This laptop sports an OLED touchscreen display with 2.8K resolution, a 12th-generation Intel Core i5/i7 H processor, 16GB RAM, and 512GB/1TB SSD storage, among others.
As expected, it comes with a lot of premium design touches that celebrate its forebear: the very first ASUS laptop sent to space, the P6300.
Design & construction
If you love space or anything futuristic-looking, then the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition will be right up your alley. But even if not, this laptop is gorgeous in its own right.
The aluminum finish gives it a premium look and sturdy feel. The 3.5-inch OLED display on the lid looks cool with its space-themed pixel animations. Meanwhile, the markings—on the lid and inside—allow the laptop to stand out from the crowd of metallic machines. Various ports are also available for multiple connectivity options.
Carrying the Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition around is also not a bother. ASUS was able to cram in a 14-inch screen, full-size keyboard, and huge NumberPad in a sleek body that weighs only 1.4kg.
Display & multimedia
The OLED screen on this laptop boasts a 2800 x 1800 pixel-resolution. Details come out crisp, and the colors appear vibrant all throughout—no surprise there. The screen also has a 90Hz refresh rate and 0.2ms response time.
The touch display has been Pantone-validated for color accuracy. This means you can enjoy vivid, true-to-life images and videos when you watch or create content. The TUV Rheinland certification for low blue light and flicker-free technology ensures minimal eye strain when using the laptop for longer periods of time.
Screen brightness is also good for the most part, especially indoors. Under extreme lighting conditions, I struggled a bit with viewing what was on the screen. Meanwhile, the touch capability of the display is accurate and responsive.
The other screen on this machine—the ZenVision display—is a quirky and functional addition. It can show time, battery life, and other notifications when the lid is closed. Plus, watching the astronaut fly around is fun!
Meanwhile, the built-in Harman Kardon speakers offer clear sound during calls. There’s also a bit of bass, which is good for listening to music or watching videos. A slight nitpick: the 720p camera leaves a lot to be desired.
Power & performance
Under the hood, the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition is powered by a 12th-generation Intel Core i5 H-Series processor, 16GB LPDDR5 RAM, and 512GB (an i7/1TB option is also available) PCIe4 SSD storage. It has the latest Windows Home operating system out of the box.
Running multiple tasks is a breeze for this laptop. Editing pictures on Photoshop, playing 2160p videos on YouTube, and doing other demanding tasks are not a problem for this machine. The touch responsiveness of the display remains quick and accurate, and the system does not experience any lags.
If there’s one thing I wish could be improved on this device, it’s the battery. It lasted around six hours on normal usage, including creating/editing documents and Web browsing. When power-intensive programs are on, battery life goes down to about four hours.
Pricing & availability
The ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition is available at ASUS concept stores, ROG concept stores, official online stores, and ASUS-authorized shop-in-shop and authorized reseller stores nationwide. See the complete list here.
It can be had in the following configurations:
- UX5401ZAS-KN072WS (Zero-G Titanium) – Reviewed
14″ 2.8K 90hz 16:10 550nits touch OLED / I5-12500H / 16GB LPDDR5 / 512GB PCIe4 SSD / Iris Xe Graphics- P84,995
- UX5401ZAS-KN016W
14″ 2.8K 90hz 16:10 550nits touch OLED / i7-12700H / 16GB LPDDR5 / 1TB PCIe4 SSD / Iris Xe Graphics- P99,995
A complimentary three-month or one-month subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud comes with every purchase. It includes 100GB of cloud storage, Adobe Portfolio, Adobe Fonts, and more. Know more about the special edition laptop on the ASUS Philippines website.
Speed says
Average battery and so-so webcam quality aside, the ASUS Zenbook 14X OLED Space Edition makes a compelling case as a worthy investment with its great screen, powerful internals, and other premium features. While the space-themed design may not be for everyone, it’s definitely a head-turner.
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