Geek Review: ASUS Zenbook 15 OLED (UM3504)

There is something to be said about the power and performance of a machine, but for some reason, attention is also always placed on the thin dimensions and weight of the device. Aside from Apple though, few laptop makers have taken the time and effort to package it all into one machine and with the ASUS Zenbook 15 OLED, the Taiwanese manufacturer comes close in creating a machine that looks great, performs incredibly, and surprises with how thin and light it is.

Following the Zenbook S 13 OLED in April this year, which serves to rival Apple’s Macbook Air 13, the Zenbook 15 OLED is clearly targeting those who want a 15-inch screen in a lightweight frame. The ASUS Zenbook 15 OLED features a durable aluminium alloy chassis and the familiar katsugi-inspired monogram lid design that can be seen on the Zenbook S 13 OLED. 

When closed, the machine measures 354.8 x 226.6 x 15.8mm and weighs just 1.4kg, which makes it one of the most portable 15-inch laptops on the market today. Underneath its stylish exterior, the Zenbook 15 OLED UM3504 is powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 7735U processor (2.7GHz) with integrated Radeon graphics, and when paired with 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM, this laptop is capable of running most applications without hiccups. It also comes equipped with 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD storage that offers fast boot times and ample space for your files and projects. Our review unit comes in a standard box that contains the laptop sleeve, a USB-A to RJ45 dongle, power adapter and a backpack.

The Zenbook 15 OLED sports a 15.6-inch OLED display that supports 2880 x 1620 pixel resolution (16:9 aspect ratio) and the current industry-standard 120Hz refresh rate, 0.2 ms response time, 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio and 100% DCI-P3 color gamut. The screen looks vibrant with good clarity and detail, even when we viewed some PDF documents as well as played high definition videos on a bright day. However, if you find the display a bit too glaring, there are 10 levels of brightness adjustments available. Do note that this model does not have touchscreen functionality, but if you really need this option, you may want to consult ASUS about having a custom model with a touchscreen. On the top bezel of the screen is a full HD camera with IR function and array microphones for Windows Hello face recognition login and video conferencing.

Needless to say, connectivity options on an ultraportable laptop are fairly limited – a USB 3.2 Type-A port on the left, while the right holds a USB 4.0 Type-C, a USB 3.2 Type-C, HDMI out and audio combo connectors. A USB-A to RJ45 dongle included with the Zenbook 15 OLED allows you to have a stable wired Ethernet connection especially if the place you are in has no wireless network or the wireless signal is not very strong. Do take note the warm air expelling from the air vents at the base and especially on the left, next to the USB 3.2 Type-A port.

Beneath the OLED display is a full-sized keyboard and ASUS has also squeezed in the numeric pad on the right for the convenience of keying in numbers and navigation keys. The backlit keys are well-spaced to provide a comfortable typing experience, though the directional keys are half the size of a normal key, making them slightly tedious to use. The large touchpad below the keyboard supports multitouch gestures such as two-finger scrolling, zooming in and out, as well as three-finger tap to launch a pre-set function. 

Sadly, there is no fingerprint sensor on the Zenbook 15 OLED for fingerprint login. According to ASUS, the frequently touched areas of the laptop are treated with ASUS Antimicrobial Guard Plus to inhibit the growth of viruses and bacteria by 99% over a 24 hour period.

Two audio tweeters are underneath the palm rest of the Zenbook 15 OLED and supports Dolby Atmos stereo sound system and are certified by Harman Kardon audio engineers. The audio quality is good with good clarity, decent treble and mids, though the bass is a little lacking. However, that should not dampen your audio enjoyment too much. ASUS has also pre-installed its MyASUS software that provides a one-stop access to customer support, various system controls, backup and restore as well as customization for internal fan profile, visual and audio settings.

In the performance department, the Zenbook 15 OLED scored 6,721 on PCMark 10 Professional benchmark software that runs tests using modern office applications. This means that the laptop should have no issues running office software, digital content creation as well as graphics and video editing applications. While the Zenbook 15 OLED is not designed as a gaming laptop, it was able to register 6,402 points on 3DMark Fire Strike and 23,809 points on 3DMark Night Raid which translates to fairly good gaming performance.

However, on the built-in benchmark utility of Borderlands 3, an action role-playing first-person shooter game, the Zenbook 15 OLED was only able to achieve 23.13 frames per second at its native resolution and medium graphics settings. We noticed an improvement to 50.76 frames per second when the resolution was lowered to 1920×1080 and at the same medium graphics settings. If you plan to play the latest graphics-intensive 3D games, you may want to lower the visual settings in order to get a better, seamless gaming experience. The Zenbook 15 OLED lasted 9 hr 6 min in the PCMark Battery Life tests in the modern office scenario on a full charge. On typical usage, this proves it is sufficient to run your typical office applications for over half a day before the built-in battery requires charging.

Preinstalled with Windows 11 Home operating system, the ASUS Zenbook 15 OLED is currently retailing at S$2,098 on ASUS online store, and in Ponder Blue flavor. If you’re looking for an ultraportable laptop that has good overall performance, the Zenbook 15 OLED UM3504 is worth taking a look.