The ASUS Zenbook S 13 offers excellent portability and high screen quality with its OLED display, making it suitable for general use, especially where color accuracy and brightness are important. It has a longer battery life compared to the Zenbook Pro 17, making it better for on-the-go use. However, the ASUS Zenbook Pro 17, with its larger screen and dedicated Nvidia RTX 3050 GPU, provides stronger performance for 3D rendering, machine learning and engineering tasks; but with added weight and a lower battery life, it's less portable. If portability and battery life are top priorities, opt for the Zenbook S 13, while if performance in demanding applications and a larger screen size trump other factors, the Zenbook Pro 17 would be the better choice. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the ASUS Zenbook S 13
Very good for software development
Very good overall display quality
Best in class portability
Very good battery life
Very good keyboard
Advantages of the ASUS Zenbook Pro 17
The ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 has no clear advantages over the ASUS Zenbook S 13.
Key differences
Screen Quality
8.1/10
7.2/10
13.3in
SIZE
17.3in
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
365.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
400.0 nits
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 has a better screen than the ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The ASUS Zenbook S 13's display boasts high resolution and brightness, leading to crisp and vibrant visuals that enhance everyday tasks and detailed engineering work, but the lower refresh rate could hinder the smoothness required for 3D applications and gaming. The Zenbook Pro 17 offers similar benefits for general use and engineering due to its good resolution and adequate color representation, but similarly falls short for gaming due to a less adequate refresh rate. Both laptops may not deliver the fluid gaming experience typically associated with high-refresh-rate displays, but excel in providing clarity and color accuracy for productivity and professional design tasks.
Battery
11.0 Hours
9.0 Hours
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 has 11 hours of battery life. The ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 has 9 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Portability
Best in Class
Good
13.3in
SIZE
17.3in
2.2 lbs
WEIGHT
5.1 lbs
0.4in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 has best in class portability, while the ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Cost
$1,400
$1,500
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 has a price of $1,400 and the ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 costs $1,500.
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 and ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 are both very good for general use.
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 stands out for general use due to its highly portable design, long battery life, high-resolution OLED screen, and powerful CPU with ample RAM, making it ideal for daily tasks and mobility. The ASUS Zenbook Pro 17, although less portable due to its larger size and weight, compensates with a robust CPU, ample RAM, and dedicated Nvidia GPU, better suited for more demanding applications and content creation while still offering good battery life and screen quality.
Gaming and AI
6.5/10
6.9/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
5.1/10
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.5/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
7.5/10
The ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 and ASUS Zenbook S 13 are both only fair for gaming and AI.
The ASUS Zenbook S 13, with an integrated Intel Iris Xe GPU and a 60Hz OLED display, provides decent graphics capabilities for gaming and 3D applications in a highly portable form factor. In contrast, the ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 features a more powerful Nvidia RTX 3050 GPU and also sports a 60Hz display, but with a larger screen and higher weight, offering enhanced gaming and 3D performance at the expense of portability.
Engineering and Design
8.2/10
8.1/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
3.7/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
5.1/10
32.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 and ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 are both very good for engineering and design.
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 is favored for engineering and design due to its OLED screen offering higher resolution and color accuracy, whereas the ASUS Zenbook Pro 17's strengths lie in its powerful AMD CPU and dedicated Nvidia GPU, which are beneficial for more demanding tasks that require better graphics processing. However, the S 13's lighter weight and more compact size enhance portability and its lower operating noise may be preferred in quieter environments, while the Pro 17 provides a larger screen, potentially more suitable for multitasking or detailed work but is less portable due to its larger size and weight.
Content Creation
8.5/10
8.2/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
32.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
IPS
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 and ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 are both very good for content creation.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
8.3/10
7.9/10
7.4/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.5/10
32.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
2880 x 1800
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
6.7/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers ASUS Zenbook S 13 to be very good for software development, while the ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 is good.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Build Quality
7.6/10
7.2/10
The ASUS Zenbook S 13 and ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 both have good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
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How the ASUS Zenbook S 13 and the ASUS Zenbook Pro 17 compare to other laptops
"The Asus Zenbook S 13 is the slimmest OLED ultrabook worldwide struggles with annoying fans. The new Zenbook S 13 leaves us with mixed feelings, particularly since last year's model was so good. Asus has completely reworked the device, making the laptop noticeably slimmer. The result also looks good and the case makes a great impression, particularly also in terms of the stability. The new plasma ceramic surface feels great, and there are no problems with fingerprints. In addition, it now includes some of the known connections such as an HDMI port and a regular USB-A connection, which is a good achievement in such a slim device."
Get a great deal on the ASUS Zenbook S 13 or the ASUS Zenbook Pro 17
About ASUS
ASUS, a Taiwanese electronics brand, is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. The majority of their laptops are targeted towards personal use or gaming. Their most popular product lines include the budget-friendly VivoBook, more premium ZenBook, and their TUF and ROG gaming laptops, the latter of which has a reputation for excellent gaming performance.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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