Intel Core Ultra 2 Shines

With a week of hands-on experience with the ASUS Zenbook S 14 powered by Intel's Core Ultra 7 258V, it's clear that Intel has created a chip that's a serious contender in the ultraportable space.

- AARON YIP

Intel has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons lately-internal restructuring, profit drops in its foundry business, and rumours of a possible acquisition have cast a shadow over the company. Intel's main challenge? Keeping up with ARM-based competitors like Qualcomm and Apple.

But before anyone sounds the alarm on Intel's future, let's take a look at its latest innovation: the Core Ultra 200V series processors, more affectionately known as Lunar Lake. With a week of hands-on experience with the ASUS Zenbook S 14 powered by Intel's Core Ultra 7 258V, it's clear that Intel has created a chip that's a serious contender in the ultraportable space.

The ASUS Zenbook S 14 is immediately impressive. Its ceraluminium exterior offers a tactile, greyish finish that resists fingerprints and gives the laptop a luxurious look and feel. The 14-inch 3K OLED screen boasts vibrant colours and Dolby Vision HDR support, offering a stunning visual experience that complements the laptop's aesthetics.

ASUS's decision to stick with a 1.2kg weight might seem conservative, but the decision likely balances the weight-to-durability ratio, as the ceraluminium shell feels sturdy without adding unnecessary bulk. In terms of connectivity, ASUS has equipped the Zenbook S 14 with two. Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, a full-sized HDMI 2.1, a USB-A port, and a headphone jack.