The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is more expensive than the ASUS Zenbook 14X and offers better performance for 3D and engineering tasks. With a longer battery life and a high-quality display, the MacBook Pro is powerful enough for intensive tasks but heavier and less portable. The Zenbook 14X is less expensive, with good performance, an OLED display, and it's lighter, making it more portable, but it has shorter battery life. If budget is important and you need solid performance with portability, the ASUS could be good, whereas if you seek top performance and battery life for more demanding tasks, consider the MacBook Pro. 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 Pro 14 (2023)
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Excellent overall display quality
Best in class overall build quality
Excellent battery life
Best in class speakers
Best in class keyboard
Advantages of the ASUS Zenbook 14X
The ASUS Zenbook 14X has no clear advantages over the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023).
Key differences
General Use
8.5/10
7.6/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
489.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
339.0 nits
13.5 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
5.5 Hours
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
8.5/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
8.6/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is very good for general use, while the ASUS Zenbook 14X is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) excels in general use due to its high-quality CPU and RAM, superior screen quality including brightness and color accuracy, and longer battery life, combined with a highly portable design and efficient heat management. The ASUS Zenbook 14X, while also good for general use, offers comparable storage and RAM, a high-resolution OLED screen with good color coverage, but falls short with a shorter battery life and slightly lesser portability with heat management being less effective than the MacBook.
Gaming and AI
7.0/10
6.5/10
5.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.9/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
90Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.7/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is good for gaming and AI, while the ASUS Zenbook 14X is only fair.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) has a more powerful integrated GPU suitable for 3D tasks along with a high refresh rate Mini LED screen, enhancing visual fidelity and smoothness in applications. In contrast, the ASUS Zenbook 14X has a dedicated Nvidia GPU and an OLED screen with a lower refresh rate, which provides fair gaming performance; however, the larger gaming library compatibility of its Windows 11 operating system is a significant advantage for gamers, despite many popular games not running on macOS.
Engineering and Design
8.4/10
7.7/10
7.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.9/10
5.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
3.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is very good for engineering and design, while the ASUS Zenbook 14X is good.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) stands out for engineering and design due to its superior CPU and GPU (Apple M2 Pro), which translate to higher performance, complemented by an impressive Mini LED screen, offering excellent brightness and color reproduction.
Content Creation
8.5/10
7.6/10
7.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.9/10
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is very good for content creation, while the ASUS Zenbook 14X 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
8.4/10
7.4/10
7.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.9/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
9.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
8.0/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) is very good for software development, while the ASUS Zenbook 14X 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.
Screen Quality
9.2/10
8.3/10
14.2in
SIZE
14.0in
3024 x 1964
RESOLUTION
2880 x 1800
Mini LED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
120Hz
REFRESH RATE
90Hz
489.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
339.0 nits
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has a better screen than the ASUS Zenbook 14X for general use, AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 offers exceptional screen resolution, brightness, and accurate color representation, meeting professional standards in DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB, which accounts for its suitability for general use and visual-demanding engineering and design tasks. However, its refresh rate isn't optimal for 3D applications that benefit from smoother visuals. In contrast, the ASUS Zenbook 14X provides very good resolution and color accuracy contributing to a quality experience for both general and design-oriented usage, but similarly falls short for 3D and gaming where a higher refresh rate is crucial to ensure fluid motion.
Battery
13.5 Hours
5.5 Hours
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 has 13.5 hours of battery life. The ASUS Zenbook 14X has 5.5 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
7.8/10
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) has best in class build quality, while the ASUS Zenbook 14X has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,700
$777
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
$2,500
$3,000
The Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) has a price of $1,700 and the ASUS Zenbook 14X costs $777.
"In the Apple MacBook Pro 14 2023, the M2 Pro is slowed down. From the improved 5nm process, the new M2 Pro is a very solid upgrade. Graphics performance has increased by about 25% in tandem with a clear improvement in efficiency. The processor has also seen a performance leap of up to 20%, but this is accompanied by an increase in consumption of up to 25%. Fundamentally, Apple its maintaining its advantage over AMD and Intel, particularly in optimized applications where the results are very good in view of the comparatively low power consumption."
"With the Zenbook 14X, Asus has a 14-incher in its range that is - mostly - a joy to use. First, there is the colorful OLED panel with 3K resolution that displays the sRGB and DCI-P3 color spaces. The Zenbook is also at the forefront in terms of workmanship, input devices and connections with 2x Thunderbolt 4 ports and a generous keyboard layout. A pleasure to use, the Zenbook 14X is a solid, very well-built subnotebook that sits well on the table. A runtime of five hours, however, is below average for a high-end subnotebook nowadays. The OLED screensaver causes increased power consumption when in idle mode."
Get a great deal on the Apple MacBook Pro 14 (2023) or the ASUS Zenbook 14X
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.
By the numbers
380
Laptops evaluated
48,640
Laptops stats compiled
13
Proprietary Laptops ratings developed
103,095
Recommendations made
22,338
Consumer hours saved
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.