Head-to-head · Best Thin and Light Laptops

ASUS Zenbook S14 (UX5406) vs Dell XPS 14 (9440)

Which is the better buy? Side-by-side on rating, price, strengths, and watch-outs — with the published ratings we averaged to get there.

The short answer

ASUS Zenbook S14 (UX5406) and Dell XPS 14 (9440) score essentially the same (4.4 vs 4.4). Pick the one whose trade-offs match your priorities — the strengths and watch-outs below are where they actually differ.

Ranked #4 in Best Thin and Light Laptops

ASUS Zenbook S14 (UX5406)

4.4

$1,499as of Jun 7

The ASUS Zenbook S14 (UX5406) is the value OLED ultraportable, pairing a stunning 3K 120Hz OLED with a 2.6 lb Ceraluminum body and nearly 14 hours of battery for less than the ThinkPad. Notebookcheck scored it 88.1% and Laptop Mag called it near-perfect. Weak multi-core performance, a mediocre webcam and soldered components are the trade-offs.

Strengths

— Gorgeous 14-inch 3K (2880x1800) OLED at 120Hz
— Very light and thin at about 2.6 lbs in a premium Ceraluminum chassis
— Strong real-world battery life of nearly 14 hours

Watch-outs

— Multi-core CPU performance lags AMD Zen 5 and Snapdragon rivals
— Display brightness (around 380 nits SDR) trails some competitors
— Lackluster webcam and a so-so keyboard

$1,499 · Buy at shop.asus.com Full review →

Ranked #3 in Best Thin and Light Laptops

Dell XPS 14 (9440)

4.4

$2,049as of Jun 7

The Dell XPS 14 (9440) is the most powerful and feature-rich pick here, offering an optional OLED panel, RTX graphics and a striking aluminum design. TechRadar called it a stunning real MacBook competitor and Windows Central praised its display and quad speakers (Ausdroid 88%, 91mobiles 85%). Battery life and weight are the trade-offs for that extra power.

Strengths

— Stunning optional OLED display with excellent quad speakers
— Discrete NVIDIA RTX graphics option for light gaming and content creation
— Premium minimalist machined-aluminum design

Watch-outs

— Battery life is the weakest of this group at around 6-9 hours
— Heavier at about 3.7 lbs than the ThinkPad and MacBook Air
— Polarizing capacitive function row and seamless haptic touchpad

$2,049 · Check Price on Amazon Full review →

How they stack up

ASUS Zenbook S14 (UX5406)

The value OLED pick: it matches the OLED panel and roughly the weight of the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 for less money, but its keyboard and webcam trail the ThinkPad, and it lacks the discrete-graphics option of the Dell XPS 14; battery life sits between the MacBook Air M4 and the XPS 14.

Dell XPS 14 (9440)

The performance and creator pick: it offers discrete RTX graphics the Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13, MacBook Air M4 and ASUS Zenbook S14 lack, but it's the heaviest here and its battery life trails all three.

Specs side-by-side

Spec	ASUS Zenbook S14 (UX5406)	Dell XPS 14 (9440)
CPU	Intel Core Ultra 7 258V (Lunar Lake)	Intel Core Ultra 7 155H
RAM	16-32GB LPDDR5X	16-32GB LPDDR5X
Storage	512GB-1TB SSD	512GB-1TB SSD
Display	14-inch 3K OLED, 120Hz	14.5-inch FHD+ or 3.2K OLED
Weight	2.6 lbs (1.18 kg)	3.7 lbs (1.68 kg)
Battery	~14 hours real-world	6-9 hours real-world
Chassis	Ceraluminum	—
Wireless	Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4	—
Graphics	—	Intel Arc or NVIDIA RTX option
Ports	—	3x Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C)

← See the full ranking of best thin and light laptops