The top 9 productivity, gaming and creator picks

The Asus Zenbook 14 OLED is our top recommendation for anyone who wants an Asus laptop that can do it all. Weighing in at just 1.29kg, it’s extremely portable and so ideal for the daily work commute, but it’s also blazing fast thanks to the cutting-edge Intel Core Ultra processor. 

According to our benchmark tests, the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED is one of the fastest productivity laptops we’ve ever tested, leapfrogging even the MacBook Air. The lack of a discrete GPU does mean that gamers and creators should look elsewhere, but otherwise, this laptop is comfortably powerful enough to breeze through spreadsheets, web browsing and video streaming. 

The 14-inch OLED screen is fantastic too, with deep inky blacks and vibrant colours making it the perfect option for watching Netflix and YouTube on the go. We were also impressed with the premium metal design, as well as the connectivity option with Thunderbolt 4, USB-A and HDMI 2.1 onboard, as well as support for Wi-Fi 6E. 

Best of all, the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED is relatively affordable with a starting price of £1099.99. This is the best Asus laptop you can find if you want a standard ultra-portable clamshell. Keep on scrolling down if you want a laptop designed for gamers or creators, or even one with a dual-screen design.

Reviewer: Stuart Andrews
Full Review: Asus Zenbook 14 OLED review

The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) isn’t just the best gaming laptop from Asus but, for those looking for a stylish, compact yet powerful option, it’s comfortably the best gaming laptop around. This is why it earned top marks in our review.

The G14 was already an excellent and roundly praised range of laptops from Asus but, with the 2024 edition, the brand has gone for a more luxury look. Its gaming aims may knock it out of alignment with being a true 14-inch MacBook Pro rival but, with its creator capabilities too, it is worthy of consideration for anyone who needs serious graphical power and a diminutive form factor.

The performance of the ROG Zephyrus G14 is largely wondrous, defying its small size and competing with much larger rivals. We did find it to struggle a tad in Cyberpunk 2077 at QHD and Ultra settings but, elsewhere, it was regularly capable of achieving around 60fps in several titles at QHD if you toned the settings down a tad. For titles that demand high frames-per-second, the G14 comfortably fills out this 120Hz panel at FHD Ultra settings.

Aside from the stunning performance, the 2024 model is just a remarkable all-rounder, offering some of the best laptop speakers we’ve ever tested on a gaming laptop along with an adaptable keyboard and large trackpad.

Reviewer: Adam Speight
Full Review: Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 (2024) review

Asus has a great selection of fantastic gaming laptops, including the ultra-portable ROG Zephyrus G14 and the big-screen Asus ROG Strix Scar 18. But if you’re craving the absolute best performance from a gaming laptop, then you should consider the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D.

Thanks to its eye-catching pairing of the Ryzen 9 7945HX3D CPU and Nvidia RTX 4090 GPU, it boasts one of the best performance we’ve ever seen from a portable. It achieved outstanding benchmark results in our tests to cement itself at the top of the pecking order.

At a 1440p resolution, it was capable of playing Returnal at 90fps, Cyberpunk 2077 at 104fps and Rainbow Extraction at 192fps. Those are incredible results, allowing you to benefit from both high-fidelity visuals and a speedy performance simultaneously, especially thanks to the 240Hz refresh rate. 

For so much power, you’ll need to cough up as much as £3799. If you want a cheaper alternative, then we suggest having a look at the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 instead, which is another great gaming laptop for Asus. But if you want the fastest speeds possible, look no further than the Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D.

Reviewer: Alun Taylor
Full Review: Asus ROG Strix Scar 17 X3D review

The Asus Zenbook Duo is an unusual laptop in that it has two 14-inch screens rather than one. Bundled with a Bluetooth keyboard, this means you’re able to use this laptop in a variety of forms, including a classic clamshell laptop and a dual-screen setup. 

This makes the Zenbook Duo the most versatile laptop in this list, if not, the entire laptop market. It’s not the very first dual-screen laptop we’ve tested, but the Zenbook Duo offers multiple advantages over the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i including a built-in kickstand, improved keyboard, faster performance and a more affordable price. 

There are a couple of drawbacks with going for the Zenbook Duo instead of the conventional Zenbook 14, as we found the battery life to be reduced by comparison, while GPU performance was somewhat constrained. That said, these are minor trade-offs when you factor in the convenience and versatility of the dual-screen design. 

So if you like the idea of a dual-screen laptop, then the Asus Zenbook Duo (2024) is well worth a punt. And if you want an even more extraordinary laptop, check out the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold OLED which has a bendy 17-inch screen – although there are far more drawbacks with this expensive and extravagant alternative. 

Reviewer: Stuart Andrews
Full Review: Asus Zenbook Duo review

Laptops are incredibly expensive these days, generally costing well above the £/$1000 mark. This is why Chromebooks such as the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 are so appealing, available for as little as £429/$429. 

Despite its bargain-friendly price, the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 is capable of competent performance. It dealt with multiple Chrome tabs very well during our testing, and completed day-to-day tasks without issue. The keyboard felt great to type on too, and the 14-inch Full HD screen was surprisingly good for streaming video. 

You will of course need to make some compromises when going this cheap, as the laptop is made up of plastic instead of metal. It’s also important to remember that ChromeOS is more limited to Windows, so it’s best to check whether your required apps and software are actually supported. 

But if you’re happy to save some money by opting for a Chromebook, then the Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 is the best you can get from Asus. Otherwise, check out our Best Chromebook list for more options. 

Reviewer: Reece Bithrey
Full Review: Asus Chromebook Plus CX34 review

The Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) is our top pick for an Asus luxury laptop. In recent years, the M16 device has picked up this accolade but, in 2024, the G16 has become the luxe option for gaming from the brand, and it’s excellent.

Like the remarkable G14 (2024), the new G16 has gotten a luxury facelift, with an all-aluminium body and a more muted Slash Lighting lid, rather than the more aggressive AniMe Matrix from previous models. The result is a large screen device that manages to be surprisingly thin and light.

Under the hood, it comes packed with Intel’s latest Core Ultra 7 or Core Ultra 9 chips alongside a range of Nvidia RTX options. With our high-spec RTX 4090 review model, performance was absolutely stunning, especially for such a trim device. It comfortably topped 90fps at Ultra settings across most titles at Full HD, while you can even get around 40fps with ray tracing turned on too. It doesn’t keep up with some similar specced rivals but those are far less luxe and svelte than this device.

The luxury display can’t be ignore here either, coming in at a stunning 16-inch 240Hz QHD+ OLED panel. It’s crisp and accurate, ideal for gaming, movie-watching, content creation and so much more.

Reviewer: Stuart Andrews
Full Review: Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 (2024) review

In need of a huge desktop replacement of a laptop? The Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2024) is the best 18-inch Asus laptop you can buy.

Starting with the showstopper of a display that requires the humongous size of this laptop, its a 18-inch Mini-LED QHD+ 240Hz screen. Those specs, along with its massive surface area, make for a breathtakingly immersive experience whatever you are doing. AAA games look lush and awe-inspiring, while creatives will enjoy the strong accuracy of this huge panel.

There’s an immense amount of power inside this big device too, with the option to equip it with a 14th Gen Intel Core i9 chip as well as Nvidia’s flagship RTX 4090 graphics chip. It adds up to a beastly performance where you can strive for beyond 120fps in AAA games and hit over 170fps at FHD Ultra settings in competitive titles, meaning you can venture even higher to hit that sweet 240Hz max point if you lower the settings.

The large size affords an excellent user interface too, with an impressive gaming-friendly keyboard, responsive trackpad and plenty of ports.

Reviewer: Stuart Andrews
Full Review: Asus ROG Strix Scar 18 (2024) review

It feels like 2-in-1 laptops may soon go the way of the dodo but the Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023) makes the argument for keeping them around. It offers up a sparkling OLED panel and speedy productivity performance.

It’s the 13th Gen Intel chips that power this convertible machine from Asus, and you’ll have no trouble drowning this laptop in upwards of 20 browser tabs. A speedy SSD only helps in that department too, and will make for rapid file transfer if needed.

Despite being a wonderfully thin machine, at 1.6cm thick overall, you get a ton of battery life for getting you beyond a full day of work. Productivity users should see upwards of eight-hours, meaning you should be able to go all day and have some in the tank for the next day at the office or your local coffee shop.

You can’t ignore the display on the Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023). The 14-inch 2880 x 1800 panel brings stellar colour accuracy to the party and there’s a 90Hz refresh rate for smooth scrolling. The OLED tech means brightness is abundant, at 550nits in HDR mode. Being a 2-in-1, this device is perfect for watching your favourite movies or latest Netflix binge.

Reviewer: Stuart Andrews
Full Review: Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023) review

If you’re pining for a cheap-tastic laptop, but don’t fancy a Chromebook, then the Asus Vivobook Go 15 OLED is a superb choice that runs on Windows 11 instead. 

Shockingly, this laptop flaunts a 15-inch OLED display, which you usually need to pay a lot more for. This inclusion makes the Asus laptop one of the best value portables for watching video on the go, with the OLED screen ensuring eye-popping colour and stunning contrast. 

Battery life is solid, coming in at 8 hours in our benchmark tests, and there’s a healthy selection of ports that includes HDMI, USB-A and USB-C. Asus has opted for a plastic design to keep the cost down, while performance lags behind the competition such as Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Go 3. 

Such flaws should be easy to look past when you acknowledge how absurdly cheap this laptop is. The Asus Vivobook Go 15 OLED is a great choice for anyone who only needs a basic performance, but would prefer opting for Windows instead of ChromeOS.

Reviewer: Stuart Andrews
Full Review: Asus Vivobook Go 15 OLED review