The first laptop to earn our Editor's Choice award is $200 off at Best Buy

When I first picked up the Asus Zenbook A14, I thought I was holding an empty prototype. Then it turned on, and the brilliant OLED display proved me wrong. At 2.1 pounds, it’s not just one of the lightest laptops I’ve used, it’s also well-balanced — both physically and in terms of hardware — and epitomizers the thin, battery-efficient category that’s exploded over the last year. 

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It’s also the first laptop to earn the Editor’s Choice award here at ZDNET, and on sale right now — $200 off the normal price for $799 at Best Buy, a highly competitive price for a device that is light enough to commute with you to the office and last all day and then some, with a snappy and responsive Snapdragon X processor. 

The Zenbook A14 comes in two configurations: one with 16GB of RAM and one with 32GB. It’s the 16GB version that’s on sale for $799 right now, and the version I recommend most, since it best aligns with the laptop’s use case: an ultrathin laptop for work or everyday use with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Plus processor. 

The Zenbook A14 is not necessarily designed to tackle intensive workloads or demanding computing tasks, it’s more for the everyday tasks of the modern professional who lives in the cloud, works remotely, and values a nice display. 

That being said, the performance is solid. It’s a fast laptop: it boots quickly, loads apps swiftly, and navigates the web without lag. It runs silent and cool, generating almost no heat — even with the slim form factor. 

It also has an enjoyable physical form factor. The keyboard is one of the most comfortable I’ve used, and I say that without exaggeration. It’s not due to anything particularly expensive or high-end, Asus just hit the mark when balancing design and cost. 

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But hands down, the best part of this laptop is the outstanding battery life. Asus advertises up to 32 hours on a single charge. Although that’s the top end of the estimation, it’s not far off from what you can expect with everyday use. During my testing, a day’s work in the office didn’t take me down past 50%.