The Apple MacBook Air 15 offers a larger, higher-resolution screen with superior color accuracy and a wider color gamut, making it exceptional for creative work and general use. Its fanless design ensures silent operation, contributing to its premium build quality and portability. The MacBook Air's performance is optimized for everyday tasks and light engineering work, with its M2 chip providing efficient processing power. However, it falls short for intensive gaming or 3D rendering due to its integrated GPU.
In contrast, the ASUS Vivobook S 14 OLED, while having a smaller and less pixel-dense display, features an OLED screen for vibrant colors and deep blacks, which is also great for general use and media consumption. It packs a dedicated Intel Arc GPU, offering better performance in gaming, 3D rendering, and machine learning tasks compared to the MacBook Air. The Vivobook S also provides more storage out of the box and has a more traditional laptop design with a variety of ports, including Thunderbolt 4. It's a solid choice for those who need a balance of performance and versatility at a slightly lower price point.
Ultimately, if your priority is a superior display, silent operation, and portability for everyday tasks, creative work, and light engineering, the MacBook Air 15 is the way to go. However, if you're looking for a more gaming and graphics-oriented machine with a vibrant OLED display and don't mind a smaller screen, the ASUS Vivobook S 14 OLED is a strong contender. 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 Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023)
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Best in class overall build quality
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the ASUS Vivobook S 14 OLED
Very good overall display quality
Excellent portability
Key differences
Screen Quality
7.8/10
8.1/10
15.3in
SIZE
14.0in
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
501.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
600.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Air 15 has a better screen than the ASUS Vivobook S 14 OLED for software development, and content creation, while the ASUS Vivobook S 14 OLED has a better screen for general use, gaming and AI, and engineering and design.
PerfectRec’s screen quality scores take into account various important factors that are relevant for different use cases.
Battery
15.0 Hours
9.0 Hours
The Apple MacBook Air 15 has 15 hours of battery life. The ASUS Vivobook S 14 OLED 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.
Build Quality
10.0/10
7.4/10
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) has best in class build quality, while the ASUS Vivobook S 14 OLED has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,299
$899
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) has a price of $1,299 and the ASUS Vivobook S 14 OLED costs $899.
The Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) and ASUS Vivobook S 14 OLED are both good for general use.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Gaming and AI
6.5/10
6.6/10
4.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
10.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The ASUS Vivobook S 14 OLED and Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) are both only fair for gaming and AI.
PerfectRec’s Gaming and AI Score strongly emphasizes graphics processing capability, while also taking into account other factors that impact suitability for gaming and AI work.
Engineering and Design
7.6/10
7.8/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.8/10
4.3/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.2/10
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
The ASUS Vivobook S 14 OLED and Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) are both good for engineering and design.
PerfectRec’s Engineering and Design Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for graphic design and 3D rendering work.
Content Creation
8.0/10
7.9/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.8/10
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) to be very good for content creation, while the ASUS Vivobook S 14 OLED is good.
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
8.1/10
7.7/10
6.7/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
8.8/10
8.0 GB
RAM
8.0 GB
2880 x 1864
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1200
10.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) to be very good for software development, while the ASUS Vivobook S 14 OLED 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.
Portability
Very Good
Excellent
15.3in
SIZE
14.0in
3.3 lbs
WEIGHT
2.8 lbs
0.4in
THICKNESS
0.5in
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers ASUS Vivobook S 14 OLED to have excellent portability, while the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) has very good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Give feedback
We’re constantly working to improve.
How the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) and the ASUS Vivobook S 14 OLED compare to other laptops
"The Apple MacBook Air 15 is boringly good. The new MacBook Air 15 is a very good, but also boring device, because apart from the larger screen and the higher price, there are no differences compared to the smaller MacBook Air M2 from last year. No new processor, no additional ports, just the usual basic hardware - but the overall package is extremely good and it simply works. Above all, the lack of fans is an aspect that should not be underestimated in everyday use. In our opinion, the Air could be a lot better, but Apple goes easy on itself here."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Air 15 (2023) or the ASUS Vivobook S 14 OLED
About Apple
Apple, an American technology company, is one of the world’s largest company in terms of market capitalization. Their MacBook laptops feature a slim, minimalistic design, class-leading battery life, and premium display and speaker quality. In 2020 Apple switched from using Intel processors to their own silicon chips which have excellent performance and efficiency. The macOS operating system is the second most widely used OS, after Windows.
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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About the laptop team
Joe Golden, Ph.D
CEO and Laptops Editor
Joe is an entrepreneur and lifelong electronics enthusiast with a Ph.D in Economics from the University of Michigan.
Jason Lew
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Jason is a staff expert and software engineer that has been making laptop recommendations for 7 years and moderates one of the largest laptop subreddits.
Chandradeep Chowdhury
Staff Expert & Software Engineer
Chandradeep is a staff expert and software engineer and expert in televisions and monitors. He’s been making monitor recommendations for ten years.
Craig Russell
Laptops Expert
Craig is a UK-based laptops expert. Craig works in IT, where he recommends and supports laptops and PCs for clients and has been recommending laptops on Reddit for five years.