I get really excited when a new laptop or android comes to the market. Well sometimes this excitement doesn't last long after using the new device after launch but some devices just gets me even more excited after it first use. And Asus's Vivobook 14 X403 is one of them.


Asus Vivobook 14 X403 Specifications

Let's have a look into it's spec sheet:

Processor- 8th-gen Core i5-8265U
Display- 14-inch FullHD
Graphics- Intel HD Graphics 620
RAM- 8GB LPDDR3 2133MHz
Storage- 512GB PCIe SSD
Connectivity- 802.11ac dual band WiFi;
- Bluetooth 4.2
Ports and I/O- 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-CTM
- 1 x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A
- 1 x USB 2.0 Type-A
- 1 x Audio combo jack
- 1 x HDMI 1.4
- 1 x SD card reader
- 1 x DC jack
Battery- 72Wh
Price- Rs. 54,990

Design and Build


The Vivobook 14 X403 is a thin ann light laptop and looks just perfect in my opinion. It comes in Silver Blue colour. It’s not the sturdiest of laptops I’ve seen and used, but then again, at this price point, it’s one of the sturdiest ones I’ve experienced.Asus claims that the laptop comes with military grade durability and reliability standards (MIL-STD 810G) i.e. it should be able to handle a drop from 10cm above with ease. It’s definitely a good rating to have, but I didn’t test this out, so I can’t confirm whether it holds up to that claim or not. It comes with thin-bezels that look amazing,but the laptop looks smaller compared to other 14-inch laptops.

Display

 

The Vivobook 14 X403 comes with a 14-inch FullHD display which I really like. For me 14-inch is great, but it’s not massive, like 15-inch laptops. 14-inches sounds like a reasonable screen size to me. You can easily carry it with you and sit to work wherever you feel like. It’s not the brightest panel, but it’s not so dim that you wouldn’t like using it. Plus, it has a matte finish which I suspect makes the brightness levels worse. And honestly, colors on this screen looks a little dull. Apart from not being good with colors and contrast it does look good and have decent viewing angles and due to it being matte it reduces glare falling on it.

Performance

The Vivobook 14 X403 comes with an 8th-gen Intel Core i5-8265U processor paired with 8GB of LPDDR3 RAM, and a 512GB PCIe SSD.That provides great performance that doesn’t let you down. In my usage of the Vivobook 14, I didn’t experience any lags or freezes. The laptop handles Chrome and Photoshop with ease, and doesn’t let up if you try to push it.

Still, if you want to play some games, you can play games like CS:GO, at low to medium graphics settings if you want playable frame rates. Switch the graphics to low, and you easily get around 50FPS on CS:GO.Performance isn’t an issue on the Vivobook 14 X403, and the laptop will easily power through your workflow without lags, which is awesome.

Keyboard, Trackpad, and Fingerprint Scanner


It has a backlit keyboard, with a standard white LED backlight that’s bright enough. Using the keyboard is fun, the keys have good travel, the response is a little bouncy, just enough to make your typing experience comfortable.

The keys are laid out with a good amount of spacing in between, which is great because these keys aren’t even slightly curved to help guide your fingers.

My complaints arise with the trackpad. Asus has used a precision touchpad on the Vivobook 14, which is great. It brings handy gestures, it responds quickly and well, and it would be a great touchpad… but, it’s just tiny. It really is. It’s a small trackpad and that means I can’t use the gestures as naturally as I would like to on this. Add to that the fact that there’s a fingerprint scanner on the top right corner of the touchpad, and things get even worse. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not a terrible experience, or even something I’d call a deal-breaker, but it’s mildly frustrating at times.

The fingerprint scanner though, that’s amazing. It’s a perfect size, not too small or too big, and it’s fast! Unlocking the laptop is easy, and I don’t need to type in pesky passwords or PINs. Atleast those who have long and pesky passwords understand how important that is to me.

Ports and I/O

Asus sure packed alot of ports for such a thin laptop. There’s a USB-C port, two USB 3 ports, an SD card reader, and a headphone-mic combo port. That’s not too many ports, but it’s more than enough for what you will be doing on this laptop. Plus, the addition of a USB-C port is always a plus.

Battery

I don’t know how Asus did this, but it managed to put in a massive 72Wh battery inside this tiny chassis of the Vivobook 14, and that big battery brings along a great battery life. I’m not talking 9 to 12 hours of battery life here, I’m talking “this laptop will get you through your work day, and have juice left over for watching Netflix back home without charging” levels of battery.

Asus claims a whopping 24 hours of battery life on the laptop. I know what you’re thinking “That’s insane”.I wanted to test that out, obviously, so I left my charger at home and brought this laptop to work with a full 100% battery. I used it, all day, the way I use my personal daily driver, with varying levels of brightness depending on where I was sitting. It lasted through it. I got back home, watched Friends on Netflix (now for the umpteenth time), and it lasted! In total, I got around 15 to 16 hours of battery life from the laptop, and that’s amazing. I love it.
The Vivobook 14 has no trouble keeping up throughout the day, and that’s exactly what I would want in a laptop I intend on using every day for work.

Pros and Cons:

Pros:
  • Amazing battery life
  • Great performance
  • Fingerprint scanner
Cons:
  • Muted colours on the display are a tad annoying
  • Small trackpad

Asus Vivobook 14 X403: An Impressive Work Laptop

So that's it, the Vivobook 14 X403 is a really impressive laptop, especially for work, and even for students who want a laptop that will last them throughout their day without needing a recharge. It has a great design, solid build that meets military grade durability and reliability standards, a good display, great keyboard, a super fast fingerprint scanner, and a battery life that puts almost every other laptop to shame. Plus, it’s powerful enough to handle all your work needs. At Rs. 54,990, the Vivobook 14 X403 is a laptop I have no trouble recommending to people who need it to handle productivity tasks. However, it is priced at Rs. 58,990 on Amazon for some inexplicable reasons.
That said, there are other options you can consider, all of them bringing similar specs to the table. You can go for the MSI PS42 Prestige that comes with an 8th-gen Core i5, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD, and a fingerprint scanner as well, for Rs. 52,990. Or, if you want to play some games on your laptop, you can check out the Predator Helios 300 with an 8th-gen Core i5, 8GB RAM, 1TB HDD, 128GB SSD, and GTX 1050Ti for Rs. 59,990. Plus, unlike the Vivobook 14, both of these laptops offer extra memory slots that you can use to increase the RAM if you need to.


- Hitarth Langaliya