I compared a new Intel laptop with the previous gen. The difference was stark

Intel’s Lunar Lake chipset is aimed at two objectives. First, it’s meant to leverage the popularity of generative AI with a fast neural processing unit (NPU) that meets Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC initiative. Second, Windows laptops need to be a lot more efficient to compete against Apple’s MacBooks that are both fast and get very good battery life.

The Asus Zenbook S 14 is one of the first Lunar Lake laptops, and it accomplishes both objectives while being a good laptop in its own right. The HP Envy x360 2-in-1 stands in as a previous generation laptop that shows exactly how close Intel has come. Is the Zenbook therefore a better fit on our list of the best laptops?

Specs and configurations

The Zenbook S 14 is a more premium laptop overall, costing around $1,500 for an Intel Core Ultra 7 258V chipset, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and a 14-inch 2.8K OLED display.

The Envy x360 2-in-1 is a more budget-class machine. The base model starts at $700 for an Intel Core Ultra 5 125U chipset, 16GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and a 14-inch FHD+ IPS display. Max out the configuration and you’ll spend $1,430 for a Core Ultra 7 155U, 32GB of RAM, a 2TB SSD, and a 14-inch 2.8K OLED display.

Design

The Zenbook S 14 is a very attractive laptop with a unique “ceraluminum” material that makes its chassis light while remaining quite rigid. There’s a coating on the lid, which is festooned with a modern geometric pattern, that makes for a comfortable feel in hand. The Envy x360 2-in-1 is also all-aluminum, and while it’s a more minimalist design, it’s still quite attractive with some streamlined angles. It, too, feels solid in hand. It has a slightly less modern look given a larger bottom display bezel to feature the more complicated convertible 360-degree hinge, but the difference isn’t egregious.

Really, both of these laptops are a joy to use. However, the Zenbook is quite a bit thinner and lighter, which is even more of an issue with the Envy given that it’s meant to be used as a tablet.

Both keyboards are very good, with plenty of key spacing, large keycaps, and light and snappy switches. I can’t imagine anyone finding either keyboard will slow them down. The Zenbook’s mechanical touchpad is a lot bigger than the Envy’s mechanical version, but it’s almost too large. Both laptops have touch displays, and the HP supports an active pen.

Connectivity is better on the Zenbook, with an additional Thunderbolt 4 port and an HDMI connection. And, the fastest Wi-Fi is standard on the Zenbook and just optional on the Envy.

In terms of webcams, the Envy x360 2-in-1 has a higher-res 5MP version, but its NPU is slower than the Zenbook’s, meaning that it only supports the standard version of Microsoft’s Studio Effects software, not the enhanced version as with the Zenbook. And, the Asus is part of Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC initiative that will eventually leverage fast NPUs for on-device AI capabilities that earlier laptops lack.

Performance

Intel’s Lunar Lake chipsets are the direct successor to Meteor Lake, offering up the promise of better performance with more efficiency. The first Lunar Lake chipset we’ve reviewed is the Core Ultra 7 258V, a 17-watt chipset with eight cores (four Performance and four Low Power Efficient) and eight threads running at up to 4.8GHz. The most relevant Meteor Lake comparison is the Core Ultra 7 155U, a 15-watt chipset with 12 cores (two Performance, eight Efficient, and two Low Power Efficient) and 14 threads running at up to 4.8GHz.

In all of our benchmarks, the Core Ultra 7 258V is significantly faster, even with fewer cores and threads. And the newest Intel Arc 140V integrated graphics are a lot faster than the previous generation.

The Zenbook S 14 isn’t fast compared to some other new chipsets, but it’s a significant step up from the previous generation. That shows up most strongly in the Geekbench 6 multi-core benchmark and our Handbrake test. And graphics, while still not fast compared to discrete GPUs, is also meaningfully improved.

Display

Both laptops have similar 14-inch 2.8K (2800 x 1800) OLED displays running at 120Hz. That means you’re unlikely to notice a difference when you boot them up.

Our colorimeters verified two displays with equally wide colors and near-perfect blacks, although the HP OLED display is brighter. And, our Zenbook review unit had weirdly inaccurate colors, which is unusual for an OLED panel.

Assuming that issue was a one-off, both of these displays will please productivity users, creators, and media consumers alike.

Portability

The primary goal of Intel’s Lunar Lake chipset is to offer up better efficiency than previous Windows laptops. As you can see above, the Core Ultra 7 258V is faster than the previous generation Core Ultra 7 155U, in some cases significantly. And, the Zenbook S 14 does have a larger battery than the Envy x360 2-in-1.

However, in both of our battery tests, the Zenbook lasted almost twice as long. That’s a significant jump with better performance, meaning that Lunar Lake achieved the goal of dramatically improving battery life.

Intel’s Lunar Lake is a breakthrough, at least against Intel itself

The Zenbook S 14 isn’t as fast as some other recent chipsets from the likes of AMD and Qualcomm, but it’s a lot faster than Intel’s previous generation. And it gets significantly better battery life, as in, twice as much. That makes it a real breakthrough.

Otherwise, the Zenbook S 14 is a more attractive laptop, but it’s not a night and day difference. If you don’t have a lot of money to spend, then you can save quite a bit by choosing a base model Envy x360 2-in-1. But the Zenbook is a lot easier to recommend.