First and foremost, I want to be clear about my intentions for this blog post. Unlike the usual tech hardware posts that you might come across online (i.e. most bloggers tend to talk about the hardware specs and so on), I want to follow a different approach. Instead of talking about the same usual stuff, I wanted to focus more on my own personal experience of using the ASUS Vivobook S 16 OLED laptop. I will do my best to share what it has been like from the perspective of a digital nomad. Not only that, it is also my belief that when it comes to paying something like a laptop, it is important to think of it as an investment. Frankly, these days, any item that costs more than S$500.00 would begin to fall under the “personal investments” category.

A Bit of Background First

If I’m being totally honest, the last time that I paid for a piece of hardware on my own dime was the MacBook Pro that I bought back in 2017. Ever since that laptop died on me in 2018, I haven’t had the chance or means to afford a laptop of my own. I count myself blessed though, because in between 2018 and now, I have met a few different benefactors that have helped to support my hardware needs along the way. So I didn’t have to pay for something out of my own pocket.

In order for you to understand my thought-process when it comes to making my recent investment, you need to also understand part of my journey in getting to this point in my life. The last couple of years have been some of the hardest and most challenging periods of my life. Through my own struggles and hardships, I had to learn to appreciate the little that I had, and to find ways to make the most of what was available to me. As a result, it has made me more aware of what my real needs are, versus what might be considered, “nice to have” stuff.

At the beginning of 2024, I already had my eyes set on owning my own personal laptop. As someone that is normally on-the-go, I felt that having a portable laptop was something that I needed, more than anything else. In my past, I would often prefer having a gaming laptop because of the higher-end specs. But most importantly, back then, most portable laptops didn’t have the kind of performance-to-portability ratio. Let’s just say that there aren’t many options for something that is considered “best of both worlds”.

Now, I’m certainly not after the perfect portable laptop here, but realistically speaking, it’s nice to be able to find something that has a good balance of both performance and form factor. Due to the current nature of my work, as well as my needs, another crucial factor I had to consider was the screen size/resolution. It’s part of the reason why I had been eying this 16″ model for nearly a year before getting my hands on it.

Finally, when it comes to considering my options, I did keep an open mind while I was doing my own extensive research into potential alternatives. Frankly, I feel really good about myself for taking the time to research because I know that my final decision to invest in this laptop wasn’t made out of impulse. After all, how can you know something is right for you until you have considered other choices, right?

My Product Experience so far…

Having used this laptop for the past two months, I will share a few things that I appreciate about it, as well as things that I hope can be improved in future models (or even for competing brands).

Awesome Battery Life 🔋

One of my favourite things about the ASUS Vivobook S 16 OLED has to be its super-duper long battery life. Now, I never follow the usual battery life benchmark tests that you might have seen in certain YouTube videos and blogs. But instead, I’m coming from a consumer usage perspective. On most days, I would keep the brightness level to 50~60%. At full charge, the laptop can last for about 2.5 days (roughly 6~7 hours of use per day). It’s nice that I only have to plug in my charger twice a week. Using my 100W charging plug, I can super charge my laptop from 10% to 80% in under one hour.

Lightweight 🪶

Coming from a history of enjoying gaming laptops (yeah, those super heavy ones), having a lightweight, portable laptop certainly feels different. Without my portable monitor and stand in my backpack, it feels almost like I’m not carrying anything at all. Because I also have a second tote bag for putting all my other stuff, having a lightweight laptop is something that I’ve come to appreciate so much more now!

Built-in HDMI Port 🖥️

If you are a Mac user, then you will understand the importance of carrying a dongle with you wherever you go, especially during times when you might need to present something, perhaps at an event. I remember times in the past when I thought the USB-C port was sufficient for projecting my display, only to realize that it didn’t work. And then it’s the mad scramble to ask around to see who has a spare dongle to share. So, from a portable laptop’s perspective, it’s usually quite common for smaller sized laptops to not have a built-in HDMI port. I believe that applies to many 14″ laptops still. Correct me if I’m wrong.

Anyway, I find having the port here super helpful.

That said, I feel that the direction of the port isn’t the most ideal. As someone that spends my time being on-the-go whenever I can, I would also bring along my portable monitor which requires a HDMI-to-mini-HDMI port. The cable that’s been provided by UPERFECT isn’t very long, so unfortunately, I can’t position the portable display on the right side. For now, annoyingly, I’ve been able to put up with using the display on the left of the laptop. For me, it’s just a strange position.

To help ease the situation, my hopes is that I will be able to invest in a good portable keyboard in the near future. That way, it won’t matter if the portable monitor is on the left or right of the laptop. Out of the box though, I really wished that the HDMI port was on the right side. It just makes better sense as a consumer.

Cool as a Cucumber 🥒

The other thing that I appreciate a lot about my current laptop is just how cool it runs. Even though I’ve been using it for 6~7 hours straight, the keyboard area never gets warm, or uncomfortable. I remember those days when I was still carrying around a gaming laptop. Every time that I spent hours on it, the keyboard and palm resting areas would get really warm and my hands would start sweating.

But not the Vivobook S 16 OLED. It’s been over two months since I’ve gotten this laptop and it still runs really cool every single time. No more sweaty fingers.

Sucker for Fingerprints 👈

I have OCD. And yes, I hate having fingerprints all over my phone, tablet and laptop. So, as a personal habit, I would usually do a wipe down at the end of the day. The one thing that isn’t a plus point for this laptop (in my personal opinion) is that it’s a sucker for fingerprints. I can imagine that 6 months or even a year from now, this laptop is going to have some unavoidable stains despite my best efforts to wipe it down after my daily use.

Final Thoughts?

For a laptop that retails at S$2,099 (the shop that I bought it from had an offer when I paid via PayNow, so I ended up paying just S$1,868), I will say that it is one of my best personal investments made in recent years. For a laptop that is still in the S$2,000 range, I must admit that it is the King of Budget Portable Laptops right now. It has a large screen, great colours, awesome battery life, super lightweight and still offers one of the best balances between performance and portability. As someone that still prefers owning a MacBook Pro someday, I think the ASUS Vivobook S 16 OLED is the most suitable alternative for potential users that can’t afford a Mac but still want a good product experience on-the-go.