Asus Zenbook 14 (Q415) review: Best ultrabook under 1 lakh?

Macbooks have kinda been the go-to ultrabooks for anyone serious about snappy performance and long-lasting endurance not to mention their top-notch chassis and ridiculously optimized macOS. But despite the recent price drops and bang-for-buck offerings like the Macbook Air M4 (review coming soon), there's still something missing: a sub-700-dollar ultrabook. Sure, you can still get the M1 Air (2024 review) here in Nepal for around that 1 lakh mark, but that guy is almost 5 years old at this point. So, what are your options? Well, I found this guy when searching for a Macbook competitor under 1 lakh rupees (<750 USD). It's the Asus Zenbook 14 (Q415MA) with Intel's Core Ultra 5 Meteor Lake chipset for just NPR 86,999 (~630 USD)! Here's a quick overview:

Asus Zenbook 14 (Q415) review: Specifications

• Dimensions, Weight:  312.4mm x 220.1mm x 14.9mm (W x D x H), 1.28 kg
• Display: 14″ FHD+ OLED panel, 60Hz refresh rate, 100% DCI P3 color gamut, 500 nits HDR peak brightness
• Keyboard: Chiclet backlit keyboard with 1.4mm
• Security: Windows Hello with IR, TPM 2.0
• Processor: Intel "Meteor Lake" Core Ultra 5 125H
  • 14C/18T, 4.5 GHz max turbo frequency, 28W base power
• Graphics: Intel graphics (48 execution units)
• RAM: 8GB LPDDDR5-7467 memory (non-upgradeable)
• Storage: 512GB SSD (M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0)
• Audio: Down-firing stereo speaker system (Tuned by Harman Kardon)
• Battery: 75 Watt-hours with 65W charging
• Webcam: HD (720p) camera with a physical shutter
• I/O Ports: 1x USB-A (with one USB 3.2 Gen 1), 2x Thunderbolt 4, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x 3.5mm combo audio jack
• Price in Nepal: NPR 89,999 (8GB RAM, 512GB SSD)
• Check the full specifications of the Asus Zenbook Q415 here
• Buy Asus Zenbook 14 (Q415MA) here

Asus Zenbook 14 (Q415) review: 

Seeing the spec sheet for the first time had me thinking somewhere along the lines of:

The display looks wonderful, the chipset is an apt performer for the price, and the large 75Wh battery looks promising but ...

That RAM, that underwhelming 8GB of soldered LPDDR5 memory, might just be the one thing holding it back. And let's just say, I kinda called it even before my first stroke on the keyboard.

Display

• 14" WUXGA OLED 16:10 display (anti-glare finish)
• 60Hz refresh rate, 100% sRGB, 99% DCI-P3 color gamut
• 350 nits brightness, 550 nits HDR peak

Let's start this review off with one of the primary highlights of this Zenbook. The Zenbook 14 Q415 is one of the very few if not the only ultrabook (right now) to offer a gorgeous OLED screen for under 1 lakh rupees! The resolution and refresh rate aren't anything to write home about but the vibrancy and the brightness are what really sell it for me.

It looked stunning from the get-go with poppy colors and a slight spice of added saturation alongside a glossy finish. Watching the newest episode of Solo Levelling was such a treat that I began craving a movie or two, especially with those above-average pair of speakers. The tall 16:10 ratio with thin bezels gives it that hint of premium often missing in affordable ultrabooks, say the Swift Go (review) or similar.  Thanks to all that, the multimedia experience on the Zenbook is awesome and if you want to play around, there's touch support too. The screen goes all the way back (180°) when you want to share something with your colleagues or just use it flat on the table but I am not really an avid touch user (on laptops) so it doesn't feel like a big deal to me

Design and build

• 312.4mm x 220.1mm x 14.9mm (W x D x H)
• 1.28 kg

Housing that beauty of a screen is a premium-feeling metal body that's a rare find in the segment. The chassis is solid with no deck flex at all but that display seems to wobble at times. My unit also makes a very slight creaking noise when I try to use the touchscreen but this might be an isolated incident and your mileage may vary! Regardless, for the price the build quality is top-notch!

Oh, the Zenbook 14 is also super lightweight and easy to lug around. It's only a hair heavier than my Macbook Air but I'd give in those few extra grams for a larger screen any day of the week. It's also pretty sturdy with a MIL-STD-810H rating against extreme temperatures, drops, and vibrations, and has sustainability in mind too. The Zenbook uses 50% post-consumer recycled plastic (PCR) with fully recyclable packaging. The Zenbook also wins in the keyboard department for me.

Keyboard and Trackpad

• Full-size keys without Numpad, 1.4mm travel
• Multi-level white backlight
• Precision trackpad

Now, this is probably a controversial take but I prefer the Zenbook's keyboard over a Macbook Air's. The key travel in a modern Macbook Air is just so short (1mm) that you don't get the same punch as munching down on a Zenbook. Don't get me wrong, the Macbook still feels way more polished in terms of fit, feel, and finish but the feedback part is just better on my Zenbook Q415MA.

Well, I wish I could say the same thing about this trackpad though. It's still a league above most trackpads in Windows' ultrabooks with a smooth glass-like coating and decent clicks. But can't match Macbooks man, they are just that good when it comes to touchpads. Again, not exactly a fair comparison when you compare an 85k-ish Zenbook to something at least 40-50% more expensive. Under the 1 lakh segment, it's probably one of the best trackpads out there.

Performance

• Intel Core Ultra 5 125H (28W base power)
• 14 cores / 18 threads, 4.5 GHz max turbo frequency
• 8GB LPDDR5X RAM, 512GB PCIe 4.0 SSD

And that goes for the processor too! The Core Ultra 5 125H is a balanced fusion of power and efficiency with its mixed cores and newer fab process that you find in ultrabooks around the 1 to 1.25 lakh mark. There are a total of 14 cores, only 4 of which are heavy-lifting P cores (@ up to 4.5GHz) while the majority are efficiency cores (@ up to 3.6GHz).... There's also something new here: Low-Power Efficiency or LPE cores that kick in during lightweight tasks like video streaming, web browsing, and background processes.

I must say, I am impressed! The single-threaded performance is snappy and quick while I was also getting awesome battery life on the regular. The benchmark scores are also not too bad on short & bursty tests but there's a slight catch which I'll get to in a minute. Normal usage is totally a breeze and I'd say the Zenbook doesn't heat or make a ton of noise when jotting down scripts on the couch at all..but..there's one MAJOR problem.

The elephant in the room

The 8GB RAM is just not enough for any more-than-casual user in 2025! Don't get me wrong, the Zenbook is a piece of art when all I wanna do I watch a movie on its OLED screen, or type out a few quick articles in Microsoft Word but it falls apart QUICKLY once you start to do more.

And 'more' here isn't even that much by today's standards. Anything more than 15 chrome tabs will slow the entire system down and trying to multitask becomes a frustrating experience. Same thing with games.

Gaming 

An ultrabook without any discrete graphics is not exactly a gaming beast, but the new Intel Arc graphics do promise anywhere from 30-50% gains over Iris Xe. Unfortunately, that's not the case with our Zenbook over here. Due to its RAM limitation, the iGPU on the Zenbook 14 Q415MA loses the 'Arc' branding and has boring regular 'Intel Graphics'. The benchmark scores are praiseworthy but the real-world gaming experience leaves a lot to be desired.

I only wanted to play two FPS shooters on this thing: Valorant and CS2... and I am disappointed; partly due to the 8GB RAM but also because of the terrible thermals. On paper, the Zenbook pulled a respectable 170ish FPS average on 1080p Low on Valo but the chassis boiled up. I measured over 50 degrees on some parts of the chassis and HWMonitor reported OVER 100 degrees internally for the CPU. Those are crazzzy high numbers and it's clear that this Zenbook is not designed for any sustained heavy workload. With that message clearly conveyed to me, I decided not to push the Zenbook any harder in this regard.

Cooling and Fan Noise

But how's the heat doing normal people stuff like watching videos or college assignments? Quite Alright actually. The Zenbook gets warm if you use it while charging but besides that, I wouldn't worry about getting uncomfortable during typical usage. Fan noise is also not going to be a problem for casual users but it'll spin up quite a bit under load.

Battery

• 75 Watt-hour battery
• 65W power adapter (USB-C)

The battery life is awesome though and I was getting a full workday on a single charge consistently through the week. I also ran our typical endurance benchmark which runs a local 1080p video on a loop at 150 nits of brightness and the Zenbook 14 Q415 achieved an awesome 16 hours! This is where the new Low Power Efficiency cores shine because a similar ultrabook with an older 13th-generation processor would struggle to cross 11-12 hours.

Quite not MacBook level of endurance, for that you'd have to look for Intel's newer Lunar Lake architecture but more than a notable improvement from older generations.

Webcam

• HD (720p) camera
• Physical privacy shutter

Although I love the privacy shutter implementation here, the webcam itself is just a 720p sensor and struggles a bit with noise and clarity especially if you are not in a sufficiently lit setting. But the Windows Hello Facial Recognition is a nice addition that you'll surely appreciate. The Zenbook skips out on a fingerprint sensor which would be faster but having your device unlock just by looking at it feels just as sci-fi as it did back in 2017 when I used the iPhone X for the first time.

Asus Zenbook 14 2024 (Q415) review: Conclusion

Is the Zenbook Q415 jack of all trades that I'd recommend to anyone looking for a laptop under 1 lakh? Maybe not! But it's the perfect little machine for a student or office guy who's just there to Netflix and chill after a long day of work. It keeps cool and quiet during a typical office day and lasts surprisingly long too. Quite handy to carry around, and feels premium to use as well. That's a combo you just won't get under 1 lakh in too many cases!

Asus Zenbook 14 (Q415) review: Pros and Cons

Pros	Cons
• Absolutely stunning screen	• 8GB soldered memory
• Premium feeling chassis	• Heats up quickly
• Nice keyboard and trackPad	• 720p webcam
• Speakers deliver good audio
• Very long-lasting battery life