ASUS VivoBook S410UA-BV133T 14-inch Nano-Edge Laptop - (Grey) (Intel i5-8250U Processor, 8 GB RAM, 256 GB SSD, Wide-Angle, Slim Bezel Display, Bluetooth 4.2, Windows 10)

I’m starting typing the review on the same day I got my VivoBook S14 (i5-8250U, 8GB RAM, 256GB SSD), so I could share my first impressions, as well as final thoughts. The review will cover the first week of using the laptop for general web browsing, media consumption, as well as productivity work.After reading multiple complaints about the build quality of the laptop I was worried that the device will fail to impress on that part, yet after using it for multiple days I could not confirm a single issue people mentioned in the reviews. The frame around the keyboard is rock solid, keys don’t wobble much, and while you can flex the monitor, to do so you’d have to use far more force than you normally would.TYPING EXPERIENCE. It’s good. I enjoy the 1.4mm key travel distance, the keys feel solid enough and on my model the keyboard is backlit, having 4 stages of brightness. Originally I’ve struggled to type fast on the keyboard with such a wide spacing between the keys, but after some time I can confirm that the experience gets better and I like it a lot more than expected.For some reason my model has an i5 8th gen sticker, even though i5-8250U is 8th generation Intel processor. It also runs integrated graphics, Intel UHD 620.THE SCREEN is ok. I don’t see the issues with text sharpness some other people were reporting about and am able to comfortably read articles and blogs. Colours are not really accurate and lack saturation and contrast. Viewing angles are quite bad as well, especially if you try to tilt the screen vertically.There is NO FINGERPRINT SENSOR on this laptop.The SOUND QUALITY is higher than expected and provides a decent music listening experience. The sound system does have the well known down firing speaker issue when the sound gets muffled if not on a stand, and the volume, while loud enough for using in an ambient environment, still feels limited.I do video editing as a part-time professional. While I didn’t expect to use the laptop for any type of editing but very basic HD projects, it surprised me by being not only able to run my software of choice, but also handle 4K video editing workflow. I will admit I had to use a couple of tricks and drop the playback quality to the lowest available. Overall, it is safe to say that the laptop will be able to handle most of video & photo editing needs, with workarounds needed on occasion.The laptop handles RAW image files quite well, I am sure it’s going to be able to manage light Photoshop work, yet considering the quality of the screen can’t really recommend using the device for photo editing if you’re not planning to export the image to an external monitor.It is a shame that some companies still use USB 2.0 ports, as nowadays 3.0 became a standard, with Type-C rapidly closing in to take the lead. I have to say, though, that the port selection is not that bad after all.Quick notes:It takes about 1.30 hrs to charge the laptop from 5-10% to full charge. It does reach 60% charge in first half an hour. From personal experience, I would say battery lasts about 3-7 hours depending on the type of use.Drive read and write speeds sit around 500 MB/s.Even under load the laptop stays relatively silent.The webcam is atrocious. It can record 480p video, but the quality is comparable to entry-level webcams from 2008.You can’t open the laptop with one finger.To me, a laptop is not a fashion accessory. I come from the time when people were buying their machines to get the job done and not to show how much money or wealth they have. There definitely is a clear difference between a device like Asus VivoBook S14 and top of the line DELL XPS 15 laptop. The latter one is built better, it has better connectivity, better keyboard, far better screen and can easily execute tasks that will crush S14 in no time. However, people that can afford XPS 15 will never buy this device. Students, bloggers, light productivity workers will. And to any of these people I can recommend S14 as a great value alternative. It gets the job done, no matter if you’re simply browsing the web or editing your newest travel video. It’s thin and light enough for you to be able to comfortably carry it wherever you’d like to go. If the issues that I’ve mentioned in the review don’t bother you, definitely give it a try.

I bought this laptop in Amazon's black Friday offer at £530 and at that price I think it's pretty decent.I hadn't seen it at all before Black Friday so took a bit of a punt and bought it based on its specs.It's my 1st laptop with an SSD drive and it's much faster than my old laptop - but it was 5 years old so that's not difficult.It's quick to start up and I'm generally pleased with its performance.I was specifically looking for a 14 inch screen (to replace what I had before). I hadn't really considered that although this has a 14 inch screen it has the overall size of a notebook with a 13 inch screen. Although you may think this is an advantage, it means you lose a column of keys off the keyboard. This means they've squeezed the power button where the delete key should be which is annoying when you hit it when you are looking for the delete key. The HOME END PAGE UP & PAGE DOWN keys are also function keys on the arrow buttons. I've discovered that I use these keys a lot and having to select FN 1st is a pain.I suppose I'll get used to it and if you're used to the keyboard on a 13 inch notebook then I guess you'd be used to it, but at the moment the down sides are enough to make me wish I'd put a bit more thought in this before purchase.

I bought this laptop very quickly after seeing the Black Friday deal, the spec and price was far better than most I’d seen and I jumped on. While waiting on delivery I started to get nervous after reading the reviews of people who’d done the same as me. I’ve only had the chance to play around with it for an hour or so hence I can’t give a detailed review. However, although the sticker shows a 7th Gen i5 processor, when you check the system properties it shows as 8th Gen. The laptop starts and can be logged in in less than 10 seconds and feels nice to hold. It’s very light and the keyboard (will take some getting used to due to the size) feels nice to use. The camera is a disappointment, but for someone who doesn’t really use it, I can look past it given the other positives. I am annoyed that the screen resolution wasn’t full HD as advertised but again as a non-gamer and for what I’m using the laptop for, the fact that it’s a small screen, the pixel density is more than sufficient at 1366x767. You’d really have to go looking for issues. Lastly, it doesn’t have the fingerprint scanner shown in the photos.Overall I’m more than happy with the performance and aesthetics of the laptop, a higher quality screen and camera and this laptop would be outstanding.

Is the laptop worth £800? No! Am I happy with what I got for my hard earned £529? Yes!Simply put this laptop meets my expectations. I wanted surface pro but the Black Friday deal at £600 was 4GB ram and only 128GB SSD. I also missed out on DELL’s doorbuster deal on a similar spec to the ASUS at £550 so went ahead and purchased this.I don’t use the camera on my laptop as all video calls are done on my phone, this is not a gaming laptop so the screen quality is fine for me. The plastic around the keyboard does move a little bit even when pressed lightly but not enough to bother me. The finger print reader is not there but I probably would never use it anyway. Most annoying for me is the track pad does tend to be non responsive every now and then.I wanted a fast, lightweight, thin laptop with an all round metal built and that is exactly what I got for my money.If you want to discuss Cost vs Price vs Worth vs Value, at the current £800 price tag I would be expecting a Full HD screen, at least a 2MP camera and a GTX 1060 graphics card but then I can always dream right!