Asus Vivobook S15 OLED: A Stylish Performer with Impressive Display and Battery Life for Work

Asus was among the pioneers in the laptop industry to adopt the Snapdragon X Elite platform. Following Qualcomm’s unveiling of this innovative chip along with its features, Asus swiftly announced the Vivobook S15 OLED (S5507). This model marks the initial entry of the Vivobook series featuring the new chipset, and Asus promises remarkable performance housed in a stylish design. I dedicated a few days to exploring the laptop to verify these assertions, and here are my findings.

The review unit I tested, equipped with 16GB RAM and 1TB storage, is priced at Rs. 1,24,990 in India, available in a Cool Silver finish.

Asus Vivobook S15 OLED Design: Elegant and Slim

• Dimensions — 352.6mm (width) x 226.9mm (depth) x 14.7-15.9mm (height)
• Weight — 1.42kg
• Colors — Cool Silver

The latest Vivobook S15 OLED resembles the Intel Core Ultra version, yet there are noticeable differences. It maintains a minimalist aesthetic that I found appealing. The updated Vivobook logo adorns the lid, while another logo is located on the lower bezel of the screen. The device measures a mere 14.7mm at its thinnest point, features gently rounded edges, and has a weight of approximately 1.42kg. Asus opts for an all-metal build, although some flex is noticeable in the lid and keyboard area.

The laptop lid can be opened with a single hand

 

The hinges exhibit durability, allow for a 180-degree opening, and can be easily operated with one hand. The laptop provides a variety of ports, including two USB Type-A ports on the right side, an HDMI 2.1, dual USB Type-C ports, a microSD card slot, and a 3.5mm audio jack on the left side. The rear encompasses exhaust vents, and there are ample intake cutouts beneath, complemented by dual speaker grilles.

Asus Vivobook S15 OLED Display: Vivid and Bright Indoors

• Size — 15.6-inch OLED
• Resolution — 3K (2880 x 1620 pixels)
• Refresh rate — 120Hz

Upon opening the lid, you are greeted by a vibrant OLED display that provides 3K resolution, supports HDR, and boasts a refresh rate of 120Hz with a brightness of up to 600 nits. While the glossy finish enhances content viewing and photo editing with rich blacks and brilliant colors, I found the brightness suitable indoors but lacking outdoors, largely due to its reflective quality.

The hinge allows for the laptop to lay flat

 

The display is framed by ultra-slim bezels on the sides, with the top and bottom bezels also relatively narrow. Asus further claims that the panel holds TÜV Rheinland and SGS Eye Case Display certification. The rapid refresh rate enhances the viewing experience.

Asus Vivobook S15 OLED Keyboard, Touchpad, Speakers, and Webcam

• Keyboard — Full-size ErgoSense featuring RGB backlighting
• Audio — Dual speakers with Dolby Atmos
• Webcam — FHD IR camera with privacy shutter

The Vivobook S15 OLED is equipped with a full-size chiclet keyboard that features one-zone RGB backlighting. There is a slight spacing between the keys, providing 1.7mm of travel, which contributes to a comfortable typing experience. However, I found the backlight to be dim, despite having three brightness settings. The silver keys offer limited visibility in daylight. You can adjust the backlight color via the MyAsus app. Additionally, the arrow keys are somewhat compact, and with the Copilot+ functionality, there is a dedicated Copilot key available.

The keys provide decent travel but are not very visible due to their silver color

 

Below the keyboard lies a spacious, slightly off-centre touchpad that supports multi-touch gestures, is smooth in operation, and offers good tactile feedback. I found the touchpad to be satisfactory, with no complaints during use.

Concerning audio, the laptop features dual downward-facing speakers on either side that are certified by Harmon Kardon. While they provide ample sound volume, bass response is somewhat lacking. Vocals come through clearly without distortion at maximum volume, and the inclusion of Dolby Atmos provides an immersive experience for videos and movies.

The privacy shutter for the webcam is a nice addition

 

The webcam is a full-HD model featuring a physical privacy shutter, which is a valuable addition. It also includes an IR sensor for Windows Hello and a microphone. The quality is satisfactory in well-lit environments for both video and photos; however, it tends to produce noticeable noise in low-light scenarios.

Asus Vivobook S15 OLED Software: Simple with Some AI

• OS — Windows 11 Home
• AI Features — Copilot, Live Captions, Cocreator, Recall
• Additional Apps — MyAsus

The Vivobook S15 OLED S5507 operates as a Copilot+ PC, granting access to various AI features like Live Captions, Cocreator, and Windows Studio Effects. Certain functions, such as the debated Recall, have yet to be activated, which prevented me from testing them. It also offers AI super-resolution intended to better the gaming experience; however, I did not run any games on the device.

Cocreator is an innovative tool in Microsoft Paint that can complete unfinished art using AI in real-time. While it functions as promised, the results weren’t as impressive as I anticipated, likely due to my artistic skills. The Live Captions feature proves useful by providing real-time captions across various audio content. Finally, Windows Studio Effects are crafted to enhance your video-calling performance.

The laptop comes with Windows 11 Home pre-installed

 

There are limited native Asus applications. The MyAsus app is your go-to for managing system settings, installing firmware updates, selecting fan profiles, and adjusting keyboard backlighting.

Regarding the overall software experience, the ARM architecture still has a way to go in terms of application compatibility. While essential browsers, media players, social apps, editing software, office applications, and development tools support ARM, several less common apps are in beta testing.

Asus Vivobook S15 OLED Performance: Reliable

• Processor — Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78-100
• RAM — 16GB LPDDR5X
• Storage — Up to 1TB PCIe 4.0
• Graphics — Qualcomm Adreno GPU

Shifting to performance, the laptop handles most productivity applications effectively, even when operating under a balanced power setting. Nonetheless, opening more than a dozen tabs on Google Chrome caused some lag. I attribute this more to the available RAM being insufficient rather than the capabilities of the Snapdragon X Elite processor. In a full performance mode, the chipset can utilize up to 50W, which is enough for handling various productivity applications, editing software, and streaming services.

The laptop is equipped with 16GB RAM, but it falls short for demanding tasks

 

The device did become slightly warm during benchmark tests, but this did not affect usability. The warmth was primarily concentrated around the function row of the keyboard.

The performance scores in Geekbench and CrossMark are commendable. There are a few games that can be run on the ARM chipset, but don’t expect high-end performance. The fans didn’t activate during regular tasks like work, streaming YouTube, or light photo editing. However, they did engage during heavy usage, yet remained quiet enough not to be distracting. Full fan speed activation occurred only with intensive applications. The built-in 1TB storage unit performed efficiently in my assessments.

Asus Vivobook S15 OLED Battery: Quite Impressive

• Capacity — 70 Wh
• Charger — 90W Adapter

One of the advantages of the ARM chipset is its impressive battery life, which holds true although it doesn’t entirely meet Asus’s claims. Under typical usage, the laptop comfortably navigates through a full day of tasks. This is achieved with the brightness set around 50% and the power profile in balanced mode. Adding some streaming from YouTube or Netflix slightly reduces battery life, yet it remains commendable for all-day use. Remarkably, the power consumption in sleep mode is minimal—this efficiency of the Snapdragon X Elite ensures you won’t face considerable power drain when the lid is closed.

The MyAsus app offers four performance profiles

 

The 90W charger facilitates quick battery replenishment. A charge of one hour can achieve up to 80% battery, with a full charge taking approximately 1 hour and 20 minutes.

Asus Vivobook S15 OLED Verdict

The Vivobook S15 OLED S5507 from Asus comes with a price tag of Rs. 1,24,990, placing it in a competitive range alongside models like the Apple Macbook Air 15. While it offers a compelling battery life and appealing design, it does not quite match the performance metrics due to the limitation of 16GB RAM available in India.

Nonetheless, if peak performance is not a priority and your usage mainly revolves around tasks that don’t involve intensive video editing, this laptop serves as an excellent option. It successfully handles everyday tasks, features a stunning OLED display ideal for media consumption, showcases an attractive design, and provides stellar battery longevity. Overall, it is a commendable 15-inch laptop.