First Impressions: Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024)
We go hands-on with the new gaming laptop
First Impressions
There may be no graphics upgrade this year, but the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) is even more portable than its lightweight predecessor while seeing exciting upgrades such as an OLED screen and new AMD Ryzen processors. It’s a shame that the AniMe Matrix feature has been scrapped, but this is otherwise a very promising gaming laptop.
Key Features
- New lightweight designWeighing just 1.5kg, this is one of the most portable gaming laptops you can buy.
- AMD Ryzen 8000 processorsPowered by the very latest processors from AMD, with up to 8 cores and 16 threads.
- OLED screen:The upgrade to an OLED display will boost the contrast of the screen, making colours look more vivid.
Introduction
The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 has been one of my favourite gaming laptop ranges in the past few years, striking an almost perfect balance between performance and portability.
For the new Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) model, there’s sadly no GPU upgrade, but Asus has instead given the laptop a complete redesign to make it even more portable than before.
Additional upgrades such as the new Ryzen 8000 processors, vivid OLED panel and louder speakers make the package even more tempting. But does the new ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) live up to its spec sheet? I went hands-on with the upcoming laptop ahead of CES 2024, so here are my early thoughts.
Design
- Weighs around 200g less than previous model
- AniMe Matrix has been scrapped for a new lightbar
- Nows sports an OLED panel
The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) has seen a design refresh, with the key goal being to make the laptop more portable.
Asus says it has made the new laptop 2mm thinner than its predecessor, resulting in a weight loss of around 200 grams. That may not sound like much, but it is noticeable. When picking up the Zephyrus G14, it’s hard to believe this gaming laptop is so light.
However, Asus has been forced to make a couple of compromises to achieve such a compact form. The AniMe Matrix lid has been ditched, which means you can no longer create your own light-up pixel art to personalise the rear of the Zephyrus G14. It has been replaced with a light bar instead, and will be available with every configuration.
I have to admit, I’m disappointed to see the disappearance of the AniMe Matrix feature, especially when the light bar looks so basic and is limited to a white glow, but I also appreciate that it’s a justified sacrifice when you’re getting a more streamlined design in return.
Despite the thinner chassis, the Zephyrus G14 still has an abundance of ports. There’s both USB-A and USB-C connections, as well as those for HDMI 2.1 and microSD. The laptop uses a dedicated power jack instead of USB-C for power delivery.
Asus has somehow managed to make the keycaps 12% larger too, reducing the chance of a typo or a mishit during a game. The key travel remains the same at 1.7mm though.
The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) is the very first ROG series laptop to feature an OLED panel, which will make on-screen colours appear more vivid and blacks more deep. After working closely with Nvidia, Asus says it’s now able to deliver a 120Hz refresh rate on an OLED panel, along with support for HDR, G-Sync and VRR.
Other exciting screen specs for the ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) include a 3K resolution, 100% DCI-P3 colour coverage and 0.2ms response time. On paper, this looks like a laptop screen that can excel in both gaming and creative workloads. In practice, it certainly looks fantastic, but it is hard to judge until I’m able to boot up a few games and movies.
The speakers have also seen a big upgrade, with Asus claiming they’re now louder and better. Unfortunately, I was unable to test the speakers during my hands-on session to verify these claims – you’ll have to wait until my full review instead.
Specs and performance
- No graphics upgrade
- New AMD Ryzen 8000 processor
- Up to 32GB RAM and 1TB storage
With Nvidia refraining from releasing new graphics chips in early 2024, there won’t be any GPU upgrades for imminent gaming laptops such as the Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024). That’s a shame, although you’re still getting the power of the Nvidia RTX 4000 Series (up to the RTX 4070) which offers plenty of power for modern games.
Asus is still providing a performance boost with refreshed processors, with the new AMD Ryzen 8000 Series powering the Zephyrus G14 along with 32GB of RAM.
Given this was a hands-on demo, I was unable to run any benchmark tests to evaluate the performance, so I’m reserving judgement until the full review. Nevertheless, the specs look promising, especially with up to 1TB of storage leaving plenty of room for your PC game collection.
Asus has reduced the battery capacity ever so slightly, falling from 76Wh to 73Wh for the new 2024 model. That doesn’t necessarily mean battery life will drop below last year’s model though, with the improved efficiency of the new AMD chips hopefully making a difference.
Early Verdict
The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) is a promising revision on an already successful formula, enhancing its portability further to make it a realistic option for both work and play.
Asus has been forced to make a few sacrifices to achieve this form, with the AniMe Matrix feature getting the chop and the battery seeing a minor downsize. But plenty of extra upgrades, such as the new OLED screen and Ryzen 8000 processor, have been added to soften the blow.
With such tweaks, the Zephyrus G14 looks an even more complete package than before and a great contender as one of the best gaming laptops of 2024 – we’ll just need to wait for the full review to see whether it lives up to those high expectations.
Full specs
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Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
Editorial independence
Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
