Asus Vivobook S15 OLED (K5504) Review: Everyday mate for Work & Play

Asus has refreshed its Vivobook line-up for 2023 and the S15 OLED model has also received the refresh. The Vivobook S15 OLED 2023 has been made lighter, sleeker, and upgraded in terms of features. Asus claims it comes with an antimicrobial guard, weighs under 2kg, and is powered by the latest 13th-generation Intel processor. It has an OLED display, a large battery and fast charging as well. Well, all this is on paper, but let’s find out how the laptop fares in real-world usage. Read on to know more.

Vivobook S15 OLED: Unboxing

The Vivobook S15 OLED comes in a cardboard box that can be used to make a stand for the notebook. The box contains-

• Vivobook S15 OLED laptop
• Adapter
• Charging cable
• User Guide

Fun Stickers

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Vivobook S15 OLED Review: Design

With the Asus Vivobook S15 OLED, Asus has made an attempt to go even more fashionable. The laptop has a thin and light design that makes it easy to carry on the go. It is just 17.9mm thick and weighs 1.7kg with design elements like raised logo tab on the lid, stripes on the Enter Key, and the Orange colored ESC key on the keyboard.

Screen sharing and working on the laptop while lying down have been made more convenient as the hinge can lay 180 degrees flat. It is a metallic lid that looks and feels premium. Asus has also provided Antimicrobial Guard that protects from all viruses and bacteria for at least 3 years. So, now you don’t have to worry about any kind of bacteria/virus infecting you while working on the notebook. I received the black color model of the Vivobook S15 OLED and though the notebook is compact and portable it catches fingerprints a lot. And mind you these fingerprints don’t go away easily. This is one area which surely needs some change, otherwise, the design leaves no qualms for complaint.

Moreover, the Vivobook S15 OLED comes with US MIL-STD 810H military-grade standard as it has undergone 12 rigorous test methods and 26 punishing test procedures, so you don’t have to worry about the laptop in case of shock, high or low temperature, sand, and dust, altitude, solar radiation, humidity and more.

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Vivobook S15 OLED Review: Display

The Asus Vivobook S15 OLED sports a 15.6-inch Full HD OLED panel that gives an immersive viewing experience. The display comes with 1920×1080 pixel resolution and 3-sided NanoEdge 86% screen-to-body ratio and a 0.2ms response time. It supports 100% DCI-P3 color gamut and is Pantone Validated as well. The visuals on the screen are bright, rich, and full of life. It can support up to 600 nits brightness which is fine when working indoors but does cause inconvenience when the laptop is used outdoors where there is sunlight. The display comes with an Adaptive Color light sensor that works well as it detects the brightness level needed according to one’s surroundings. All in all, the display is good, apart from the fact that brightness levels could have been boosted a little.

Vivobook S15 OLED Review: I/O Ports & Connectivity

The Asus Vivobook S15 OLED 2023 comes with a variety of ports for wholesome connectivity. The right side houses an HDMI 1.4 port, a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port, a Thunderbolt 4 USB-C port, and a 3.5mm audio jack. There is a DC in port as well.

The left side has a USB 2.0 port. All these ports are enough to allow a good amount of connectivity.

Vivobook S15 OLED Review: Keyboard, & Trackpad

The Vivobook S15 OLED has an ErgoSense keyboard that comes with full-sized keys, so you won’t feel any difference if you are switching from desktop to laptop. The shape of the 0.2mm dished keys has made it comfortable for long hours of typing and a long key travel distance of 1.4mm allowed me to type fluently without much force. The number key layout has been enhanced to make calculations faster and simpler. The keyboard is backlit, that too with 3 different levels of backlighting to allow you to choose the level of brightness you need for the keys. This feature comes in quite handy when one has to work in a dark or low-light room. A backlit keyboard makes sure one’s eyes don’t receive excessive strain. There is a fingerprint sensor in the power button that allows a secure one-touch login for faster operations.

Talking about the trackpad, the notebook has a large-sized trackpad that allows a decent finger traveling area and is smooth and responsive while used. There are two buttons on the bottom side of the trackpad, that work similarly to the two buttons found on the mouse.

Vivobook 15 OLED Review: Performance & Gaming

The Asus Vivobook S15 OLED is powered by the latest Intel Core i5-13500H 13^th generation CPU that makes sure the notebook is fast and powerful. It comes with 16GB RAM which makes multitasking and gaming smoother. I ran 22-25 tabs simultaneously and yet the notebook never stuttered or showed any lags. 512GB onboard storage provides ample space for storing whatever you need, be it apps, programs, videos, audio, images, and more. Video editing and gaming experience are also decent. Here are the results of some benchmark tests that were performed.

For efficient thermal performance, Vivobook comes with 8mm and 6mm heat pipes and an IceBlade fan for faster heat transfer. Despite all this, the laptop did heat up when used for a long duration. Having said that, the internals remained cool ensuring no throttle effect in performance. For good audio, the laptop comes with a stereo sound system certified by Harman Kardon and supported by Dolby Atmos. The audio quality is decent but it isn’t perfect for listening to music. The sound is loud and clear but lacks depth and character. There is a 3DNR FHD webcam that provides good video quality while video calls, plus there is a privacy shutter as well to help keep you safe. The laptop runs Windows 11 OS which provides a user-friendly interface and options for customizations and personalization.

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Vivobook S15 OLED Review: Battery

The Asus Vivobook S15 OLED packs a 70Wh battery that makes life easier when one is traveling. I had to travel while I was using this laptop and it easily lasted for 3 hours of my journey without any issues. Asus 90W Fast Charging technology charged the laptop from 0 to 60% in around 53 minutes, so even if you don’t have much time laptop will be ready for you in under an hour’s duration. 

Vivobook S15 OLED Review Verdict: Should you buy it?

All in all, Asus Vivobook S15 OLED can be a good companion for day-to-day usage. The laptop is sturdy, lightweight, and comes with anti-microbial protection. It has an OLED panel, runs an i5 processor, and comes with a strong battery as well. Although the brightness levels are disappointing and the laptop catches fingerprints a lot, that can be ignored if you need a good laptop for work and play, that too priced under 90k.