Asus Vivobook, ExpertBook B3: Two compelling laptops for home and office

Let's dive into their strengths and weaknesses:

Asus Vivobook S15 (Snapdragon X Plus variant)

In July 2024, Asus launched the Vivobook S 15 OLED with Qualcomm’s flagship Snapdragon X Elite processor. The laptop featured fantastic battery life and a great OLED screen, but the limitations of ARM architecture were there to be seen. A bit about ARM: a range of laptops with Snapdragon processors powered by ARM architecture were unveiled earlier in the year by Microsoft. These laptops feature a modified version of Microsoft Windows (Windows on ARM) and differ from the current x86-based laptops that use regular Microsoft Windows. The limitation stems from the fact that a lot of the apps that one uses on a day-to-day basis aren’t natively built for ARM chips. These 32-bit and 64-bit x86 applications therefore can only be run through emulation, but at slower speeds. The number of native apps is growing monthly, but the limitations exist for now.

At IFA Berlin, Qualcomm came to town with the Snapdragon X Plus processor and Asus was one of the first to the market with new laptops using this, including the Vivobook S 15 OLED that I’ve been testing, which is almost identical to the one that the company released a few months prior with Snapdragon X Elite processors.

It has a 120Hz OLED screen (my favourite part of any commercial Asus laptop), 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM, up to 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, and the ErgoSense keyboard design for a comfortable typing experience. Having a 120Hz OLED screen means that the animations will be much smoother (making scrolling a more pleasurable experience) and being an OLED means that you get those deeper blacks when consuming content. More RAM means you can run more apps simultaneously, and a larger SSD means more space and faster write speeds. The laptop weighs just 1.42 kg and measures 14.7mm thick.

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At ₹1,04,990, this is the cheapest of the Vivobook S 15 models. Can it be your everyday companion? Let's look at the competiton: There’s the Dell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441 (with Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus), priced at ₹ ₹1,09,990. Microsoft Surface Pro 11th Edition (with both X Plus and X Elite chips) are in the market with a starting price of ₹1,16,990. In case you don’t want an ARM-based laptop, then there are plenty of options with Intel and AMD processors to choose from.

One of the first things I do when setting up a laptop is to install all the updates, and download Google Chrome. While it is not my favourite, it’s a memory hog. It’s a good app to stress-test a laptop. Without installing anything else and only opening 10-12 browser tabs, the browser started to lag and even shut down on me a few times. I checked the power plan mode in the settings app and found it was set to ‘balanced’ mode. Immediately, I changed it to ‘best performance’ which made a whirlwind of a difference. After that change, Google Chrome was flying, without any lags or stutters.

Where the Snapdragon X Plus chipset works best is for productivity tasks (editing photos, typing articles, reviewing and editing videos shot from a mobile phone), while it suffers in the gaming department (more so because it lacks a dedicated graphics card). Using Adobe Photoshop, even though it isn’t a native app on ARM as of now, was a breeze. It worked flawlessly, and I was able to edit photos without compromising my editing speed. Casual games like Limbo and TrackMania Nations Forever were fun to play. I tried my luck with F1 2024 but was frustrated with the low FPS and occasional freezes.

Battery life is another area where the Qualcomm chip shines. These chips are more efficient and therefore offer better battery life. With a 70Wh battery and a promise of 18 hours on a single charge, I was able to use it for a full day and then some before having to look around for the charger. It didn’t quite hit the 18-hour mark, but a good 12-13 hours, was the norm with a heavy workload.

While the OLED display was fantastic, I’m disappointed because it comes with a 16:9 aspect ratio (as opposed to 16:10, which is currently the norm). It’s an old-school display that is wider (and more rectangular) than we’ve become accustomed to.

One of my favourite things about the Vivobook S 15 was when I got down to writing my articles and reviews. Thanks to a wider chassis, Asus was able to fit in a numeric keyboard and large keycaps. It was a pleasure typing on the laptop with good feedback and snappy keys. The touchpad is large, and the click feedback was good.

Overall, I’d recommend splurging on the X Elite variant of the Vivobook S 15. The price gap isn’t much, but the performance gains are huge, especially in video editing and other creative tasks.

Asus ExpertBook B3 (B3404)

When you need a laptop (or multiple for your employees), finding one with a good combination of performance, durability and portability, is quite hard. That’s where the ExpertBook series steps in. The laptop is thoroughly customisable and that’s one of its USPs.

What’s immediately noticeable with the ExpertBook B3 is its build quality. The laptop is made with matte black plastic and features a smooth surface. The build quality is solid (It is MIL-STD-810H military-grade certified), and the lid exhibits almost no flex. The strong hinge allows the laptop to open up to 180 degrees. Further adding to the ‘customisable’ USP is the fact that the base plate can be easily removed, with access to internal components available at your fingertips.

Being a business laptop, one expected a variety of ports and connectivity options. Asus delivers on its mandate here. There are two USB-A ports (USB 3.2 Gen 2), and two USB-C ports (one Thunderbolt 4, one USB 3.2 Gen 2, and both supporting Power Delivery). The Thunderbolt 4 port can output a DisplayPort signal. There’s an HDMI port and an ethernet port as well. Furthermore, three is a Kensington Nano Security Slot and a 3.5mm audio port. The laptop features a 0.9MP webcam with a mechanical cover (for privacy).

Since it is targeted at businesses, this laptop’s display is neither OLED nor does it have touch capabilities (though you get the option to upgrade to a touchscreen variant). It’s a WQXGA display (with a 16:10 aspect ratio and 60Hz refresh rate). It’s not the brightest display out there but it will more than suffice for office usage. But watch out, in case you plan to take it outdoors, as the brightness levels may not suffice.

The chiclet keyboard (with concave keys and backlighting) comes with splash protection. It’s a solid keyboard though somewhat cramped. The touchpad, on the other hand, is spacious and has good click feedback.

You may be asking why Asus launched a laptop with an Intel 13th Gen i7-1355U chip. It may be an old and standard chip, but since the system is designed mainly for office tasks, this one gives a good balance of performance and battery life. The laptop executes office tasks with aplomb without ever getting too hot to handle and comes with quieter-than-usual fans.

Where Asus makes a misstep

The ExpertBook, like all products we review, isn’t perfect. The camera and speaker departments are letdowns for this otherwise commendable laptop. As this laptop is designed for office usage, and with the prevalence of work-from-home and Zoom/Teams calls, a 720p camera is utterly disappointing. Video conferencing is still high despite the return to office, and the camera quality is lacklustre. One didn’t expect Asus to cut corners here.

Furthermore, the speakers, don’t get loud and aren’t good for media consumption. They may suffice for basic office calls, but if you’re on a long and drawn-out meeting, you’re better off with some headphones.

One more area where there is a slight disappointment is the battery life. Sure, as an office laptop, you’re probably plugged in more than not. But, in case you’re out and about, and need to use the laptop without access to a charger/wall socket, then the ExpertBook B3 will only last you a full workday. I got about 8 hours on a single charge, and that was with very minimal media consumption.

Should you buy the ExpertBook B3 (B3404)?

Being a business laptop, the competition is slim. Yet, some other compelling options on the market, such as the HP EliteBook, Lenovo ThinkPad and Dell Latitude series, are there for the taking.

When the ExpertBook B3 shines, it shines bright. The build quality is top-notch (and military-grade certified), plenty of connectivity options are available, the performance is satisfactory, and battery life is just about adequate.

As this is a business laptop, the 720p webcam is somewhat concerning. Nonetheless, the ExpertBook B3 is a well-rounded package. Since there are a variety of customisations available, and this being a business laptop, Asus hasn’t provided a price range. One must enquire to get a quote. For offices, the ExpertBook B3 is a compelling option.

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