The first Copilot+ laptop we tested at Windows Central was the Vivobook S 15. It received a near-perfect score and a Best Award, with my colleague Zac Bowden saying that "Windows PCs finally have an answer to Apple Silicon in the form of Qualcomm's new Snapdragon X Elite, which elevates this laptop from a good one to a great one." ASUS followed up the launch of its first Copilot+ PC at IFA 2024, where it announced a bunch of new Intel-powered AI PCs.
As it turns out, the company was far from done with Qualcomm's ARM-based systems-on-chip (SoC); it revealed today at CES 2025 a host of new Zenbook and Vivobook laptops.
ASUS returns to ARM for its new Copilot+ PCs
The most notable new laptop from ASUS is, in the opinion of Windows Central Editor-in-Chief Daniel Rubino, the best laptop of CES. He gave the Zenbook A14 (UX3407) a lot more attention in a separate article, which I urge you to check out.
I'm focusing here on the other new ASUS Copilot+ PCs, including the Vivobook 14 and 16 models. Like their ultralight Zenbook A14 counterpart, the fresh Vivobooks are powered by Qualcomm's new Snapdragon X (X1-26-100) chip that promises long battery life and a Neural Processing Unit (NPU) with 45 TOPS of power for localized AI tasks. That, of course, includes Windows 11's Copilot+ features.
CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon X (X1-26-100)
Memory: 16GB LPDDR5x
Storage: 512GB M.2 PCIe 4.0 NVMe SSD
Graphics: Qualcomm Adreno
NPU: 45 TOPS
Display: 14 or 16 inches, IPS-level, 60Hz, 1920x1200
Battery: 50WH
Camera: 1080p, IR
Wireless: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3
Ports: 2x USB-A 3.2 (Gen 1), 2x USB4, HDMI 2.1, 3.5mm audio
ASUS says the new chip allows for up to a 44% performance boost compared to the previous generation, as well as up to 19.8 hours of battery runtime. Those are some massive improvements, and it'll be interesting to see how close these estimations come to actual real-world usage.
For those who prefer an x86 laptop, ASUS is also offering Vivobook 14 and 16 with AMD's Ryzen AI 7 350 or Ryzen AI 5 340 processors, also announced at CES. You won't have to make any screen sacrifices based on your preferred CPU, as all models come with either a 14- or 16-inch "IPS-level" display with a 60Hz refresh rate and 1920x1200 (FHD+) resolution.
Considering ASUS delivered us one of our favorite Copilot+ PCs in 2024, I'm excited to see what it's done with the new Vivobook models. They've traditionally been more affordable than the top Zenbook line, which aligns with the new Snapdragon X chip.
The ARM-based Vivobook 14 and 16 are priced at $699.99 and $749.99, respectively, and you can already preorder them at the official ASUS website. The new Vivobook models with AMD hardware inside are pricier, starting at $749.99 when they launch later in Q1 2025.
More new ASUS laptops were announced at CES 2025
The Zenbook A14 and the new Vivobook Copilot+ PCs are stealing all of my attention, but there's more on the way from ASUS.
Also announced at CES 2025 is a new Zenbook 14 with Intel's latest Core Ultra Series 2 and AMD Ryzen AI 300 CPUs. It's expected to launch on January 27 with a starting price of $1,299.99.
On the side of gaming and creation, the new ASUS Vivobook Pro 15 is a larger device featuring Intel's Core Ultra 9 285H CPU, NVIDIA RTX 4050 Laptop GPU, and a 15.6-inch OLED display with 2.8K resolution, 120Hz refresh rate, and 100% DCI-P3 color. ASUS says it will arrive in Q1 2025 starting at $1,399.99.
