Asus' magnesium-alloy, Qualcomm-based Zenbook aims squarely at the MacBook Air, and I went hands on with it at CES 2025 to see how it might compare.

As Apple prepares to finally bring the M4-powered MacBook Air to market, what can Apple's community expect in the next macOS-powered laptop?

Asus’ new featherweight laptop is aiming to be the latest Windows rival to the Apple MacBook Air. The Asus Zenbook A14 is a new thin and light productivity machine announced at CES 2025 sporting a Qualcomm Snapdragon X processor for a claimed battery life of up to 32 hours and a weight of just 2.

Asus just revealed new Asus Zenbook A14, which looks like the best MacBook Air alternative for the Windows crowd we’ve seen in quite some time.

The odd little 13-inch MacBook Pro was refreshed with the M2 chip, but it became the only MacBook to retain the old design. In late 2023, Apple finally phased that out with its M3 MacBook Pro release in favor of a more affordable 14-inch MacBook Pro — the first in that design to feature a base M-series chip.

Apple has big plans for MacBooks in 2025, with the tech giant preparing to launch updated 13-inch and 15-inch MacBook Air models in early 2025. These new laptops will be powered by the latest M4 chip and are expected to maintain the current design while offering major performance boosts, longer battery life, and advanced camera technology.

The Asus Zenbook A14 is the lightest Copilot+ PC to date, with configurations set to launch in January and March starting at $899. But is it worth your time? Let’s find out.