Asus
For the last few year , MacBooks have had a serious advantage over its Windows rivals . No one else has been able-bodied to combine power and portability in the way Apple’s14 - inch MacBook Prodoes , especially with the arrival of the M3 Max . But that may not be the caseful for much longer .
Unveiled at CES 2024 , the updatedAsus ROG Zephyrus G14seems to have serious ambitions on choose Apple ’s crown . It ’s a gambling laptop , yes , but it ’s been redesign from the ground up to provide to a crossover bunch . It ’s aerodynamic and slight , yet does n’t skimp on the output .
Asus
There are still some way Apple ’s MacBook remains ahead , and I ’ll get to those later . But the latest feat from Asus is a compelling choice for anyone who hump the MacBook look , but is n’t quite ready to give up on Windows – or who want a effective play ecosystem than Apple can offer .
The Apple playbook
There are plenty ofgreat larger laptopsout there , and when you have plenty of room to play with , it ’s not difficult for manufacturer to squeeze incredible tier of powerfulness into their devices . But now that it ’s pack with the superb M3 Max chip , the smaller 14 - inch MacBook Pro stands pretty much alone in its size of it range .
That status might not last long , however . The ROG Zephyrus G14 has features that sound aright out of Apple ’s playbook : it ’s just 0.63 inches thick , swash an incredible 120Hz OLED exhibit , has increased the size of its trackpad to rival those in Apple ’s MacBooks , and has swop out its previous formative shell for an all - aluminum anatomy . And it ’s done all that while still include a Ryzen 9 CPU and an RTX 4070 GPU for exceptional operation .
Sure , the MacBook Pro has it beat in some respects . No one can match Apple silicon for its power to keep cool and quiet while still output tremendous amount of power , and I do n’t expect the ROG Zephyrus G14 will be an exception . component that powerful in a case that thin are bound to sweat .
The MacBook Pro also manages to do all that it does while offer some of thebest battery lifein any laptop computer you’re able to buy . It ’s an incredible compounding , and when the G14 ’s components run as live as we have it off they do , it ’s unlikely Asus ’ laptop will be able to come closely .
Yet that does n’t mean it ’s not an intriguing proposition . Even thebest Windows laptopshave long had to live in the MacBook Pro ’s phantasm , at least when it come to marrying king and portability . Now , Asus is showing that you do n’t have to get an Apple product to at least come close to what it can achieve .
Better for everyone
At the end of the day , Asus is n’t aim incisively for Apple with the ROG Zephyrus G14 . It ’s agaming laptopfirst and foremost , so raw graphical output is the main concern , with heat , temperature , and battery life all being lower-ranking thoughtfulness . So lining it up against the MacBook Pro is a little bit of an apples - to - orangeness comparison .
But it ’s not as much of one as you ’d think . Apple isincreasingly prompt into the earth of gamingthanks to the M3 Max ’s impressive functioning in this field , and now it seems that Asus is shifting slightly in the other direction and attempt to emulate Apple ’s signature laptop sense of touch . The two are moving closer together , if only a little .
Still , not everyone want to switch to a Mac . I ’m sure there are plenty of citizenry who get laid Apple ’s design sensation , but have no intent of give way up on Windows just yet . For them , Asus ’ decision to redesign its top - death gambling laptop is great intelligence .
And it ’s good news for the wider laptop world too . If computer maker embark on taking Apple ’s scheme a little more seriously , we could at last start see more laptops that do n’t replicate up as thunderous quad heaters as presently as you startle gaming .
Apple is appealing more to gamers , and gaming laptop computer manufacturers are learning from Apple . It ’s a virtuous bicycle that I desire to see continue . If it does , there could be a lot to look forward to for laptop lovers .
