Apple MacBook Air Vs Asus Zenbook: A Detailed Laptop Comparison (November 2025)

This Apple MacBook Air laptop remains the gold standard for portable computing. Encased in 100% recycled aluminum, the 13-inch Air is impossibly thin and light, making it the quintessential travel companion. The powerful Apple M4 chip, featuring a 10-core CPU and an 8-core GPU, delivers exceptional performance for everyday productivity, photo editing, and light video work, all while operating silently due to its fanless design. The Liquid Retina display is bright and colour-accurate, and the up to 18-hour battery life is a massive selling point. The base 256GB SSD is the main caveat, often requiring cloud or external storage for media-heavy users.

Comparative analysis with ASUS Zenbook 14, Intel Core Ultra 5

For pure efficiency, portability, and battery endurance, the Apple 2025 MacBook Air 13-inch (M4 chip) is the superior choice, maintaining its lead as the best all-day laptop. It is better than the ASUS Zenbook 14 (Intel Core Ultra 5) because the M4 chip offers significantly longer real-world battery life (often 15+ hours vs. the Zenbook's 8-10 hours, especially with the 3K OLED screen) and silent, fanless operation under most loads. 

User Reviews On Amazon

• Users found it perfect for the average user, prioritizing efficiency, endurance, and quiet operation.
• They also appreciated the battery life and portable design

A powerhouse in a slim form factor, the ASUS Zenbook 14 is a direct competitor in the ultrabook space. The Intel Core Ultra 5 Series 2 processor, featuring a dedicated NPU, marks it as a modern AI PC, ready for next-gen Windows features. Its standout feature is the 14-inch, 3K (2880 x 1800) OLED touchscreen display with a high refresh rate, delivering inky blacks and vibrant colours far exceeding the MacBook Air's LCD screen for HDR content. The 1TB SSD base storage and more comprehensive port selection (including HDMI and USB-A) add significant versatility. For better multitasking, it comes with 14 cores and 16 threads that allow you to work on multiple windows and tabs simultaneously. 

Comparative analysis with Apple 2025 MacBook Air 13-inch, Apple M4 chip

The Zenbook 14, however, is better than the Apple 2025 MacBook Air 13-inch if you prioritize an unmatched visual experience due to its 3K 120Hz OLED touchscreen, and offers better value with its 1TB of base storage and diverse port selection

User Review On Amazon

• The top choice for users who prioritize display quality, touch input, and versatile connectivity.
• There are mixed reviews regarding the battery life 

Offering the same thin and light design of its 13-inch model but with a substantially larger 15.3-inch Liquid Retina screen, this Apple MacBook Air model is the perfect blend of screen real estate and portability. The M4 chip is boosted with a 10-core GPU, providing a slight graphical edge. It caters directly to users who need more screen space for multitasking or media viewing without stepping up to the higher cost and bulk of the MacBook Pro. It retains the phenomenal efficiency and battery longevity characteristic of the M-series platform. This laptop offers an impeccable battery life of up to 18 hours for outstanding productivity. 

Comparative analysis with ASUS Zenbook S 14, Intel Core Ultra 7

The Apple 2025 MacBook Air 15-inch is arguably the best blend of screen size and portability for the mainstream, offering nearly the same industry-leading endurance as the 13-inch model in a larger format. It is better than the premium ASUS Zenbook S 14 (Intel Core Ultra 7) for users whose primary concern is battery life and the macOS ecosystem

User Reviews on Amazon

• Great for media consumers and those who need more desktop space on the go.
• The only drawback found by a few users is the charge they have to pay for upgrading the storage to 2TB

The Zenbook S 14 is ASUS's flagship ultralight offering, competing directly with the MacBook Air's premium build. Featuring the higher-end Intel Core Ultra 7 (Series 2) chip, this model is built to maximize the performance potential of the Copilot+ AI PC platform, excelling in demanding tasks that leverage the NPU. It retains the superior OLED display technology and thin profile, positioning itself as the go-to Windows ultrabook for professionals who demand maximum power in an extremely portable and aesthetically refined chassis. Designed with a backlit chiclet keyboard, it allows you to work in any light situation. This laptop has a refresh rate of 120 Hz. 

Comparative analysis with Apple 2025 MacBook Air 15-inch

Conversely, the Zenbook S 14 is better for the Windows power-user, featuring the faster Core Ultra 7 chip for slightly better peak performance in CPU-intensive tasks, an equally premium chassis, and a superior 3K OLED screen and Copilot+ AI PC NPU capabilities that the MacBook Air lacks.

User Reviews on Amazon

• Excellent for professionals who need the latest Windows AI features combined with a premium design and great power efficiency.
• A positive review for the phenomenal battery life and no compatibility issues.

This Apple 2024 MacBook is designed for the high-end consumer or prosumer who wants performance and ample storage without the M4 price tag. Featuring the powerful 8-core Apple M3 chip (with an up-to 10-core GPU option) built on 3nm architecture, it offers a notable step-up in graphics and Neural Engine performance over the M2 model, while retaining the sleek, fanless design. The generous 16GB of Unified Memory and 512GB SSD address the main shortcomings of the base models, making it a true power-portable machine. It also introduced the ability to support two external displays (with the lid closed), a long-requested feature.

Comparative analysis with ASUS Zenbook S16

The Apple 2024 MacBook Air 13″ Laptop with M3 chip offers the best value proposition in the Apple lineup. While the M4 is technically faster, the M3 model is better than its M4 successor for budget-conscious users as it offers 95% of the performance and identical battery life for a lower cost, proving it's still an excellent choice. This M3 model is also better than the massive ASUS Zenbook S16 (AMD Ryzen AI 7) if your priority is ultimate portability and silence.

User Reviews on Amazon

• Users appreciated how smoothly it handles high-end applications without any lag.
• They applauded the clear Liquid Retina display

The ASUS Zenbook S16 represents a push into the large-format ultralight and advanced AI space. It features a massive 16-inch, 3K (2880x1800), 120Hz OLED touchscreen, giving it an unmatched visual advantage for creative and media-focused users. Powering this Copilot+ AI PC is the latest AMD Ryzen AI 7 processor, which includes a dedicated XDNA 2 NPU capable of high TOPS performance, making on-device AI tasks fast and efficient. The chassis is crafted from Ceraluminum, a unique ceramic-aluminum alloy praised for its lightness, durability, and fingerprint resistance, all while packing a large 78Wh battery. This laptop has a 500-nit HDR peak brightness to deliver better clarity even in daylight. For a better video calling experience, the laptop comes with an FHD camera. 

Comparative analysis with ASUS Zenbook S16

The Zenbook S16, however, is the better option for creators and media consumers who need a large, gorgeous 16-inch 3K OLED display, offering a more desktop-like experience and advanced AMD AI processing power within a surprisingly thin body.

User Reviews on Amazon

• Customers liked the thin and lightweight design, which makes it travel-friendly
• It does not have a full-size keyboard