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Asus Zenbook 14 OLED laptop review
Published
1 month agoon
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED laptop review
Asus ZenBook 14 is one of the most important laptops of recent years; Not because it’s a Zenbook or because of its 120Hz OLED screen and 1.2kg weight, but because it gives us the same feeling we experienced when we reviewed the MacBook Pro M1 more than 3 years ago; So, join me to review the performance of the first laptop in the Iranian market with the 14th generation Meteor Lake processor by reviewing the Zenbook 14 OLED.
If you haven’t been away from the world of technology for the past few years, you probably know that in 2020, Apple took its first step to become independent from Intel and launched the 13-inch MacBook Pro and MacBook Air with the exclusive M1 chip. Laptops that made a lot of noise from the beginning with their very good performance, excellent charging, stunning productivity, and also caused Intel a big problem.
Intel struggled for three years to be able to reach the productivity level of its processors of Apple’s M series; From the end of 2020 until just a month or two ago, the 11th, 12th, and 13th generations were launched one after the other; But none of them could even compete with M1 in terms of performance to power consumption ratio, let alone the next generations of this chip; But it seems that finally, after three years, it is going to go down the throat of Windows users!
Intel’s 14th generation Core Ultra processors are the beginning of a trend in the world of Windows laptops that Apple launched for the first time more than three years ago with its own chips in Mac laptops. Intel says Meteorlake processors are the biggest change in the company’s 40-year history of processor architecture.
Earlier in the article ” All about Meteor Lake; Intel’s revolution in laptop processors with tiles! » We talked in detail about the architecture of Mythurelik processors; But in summary, I must mention that things like island design with separate CPU and GPU tiles, the addition of neural processing unit for AI processes, focus on improving the performance of integrated graphics, improving productivity and of course, the new naming format are among the most important changes of Mythorlik compared to Reptorlik.
Fast performance and great charging with Mitorelic
Asus offers the Zenbook 14 OLED laptop with three models of Mitolake processors including Core Ultra 5 125H, Core Ultra 155H, and Core Ultra 185H. These processors differ in terms of the number of powerful CPU cores, the number of GPU cores, and the base and maximum frequencies of the cores. We had the Core Ultra 7 model on hand for review, which rivals Apple’s entry-level M1, M2, and even M3 chips.
Zenbook 2024; Windows laptop curse breaker!
The new Asus Ultrabook can be purchased with 8, 16, or 32 GB of onboard RAM (soldered to the motherboard) and a 512 GB or 1 TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD. Note that the 16GB and 32GB models use LPDDR5X RAM; While the RAM model is 8 GB of LPDDR5 type; The difference between these two types of RAM is due to their difference in the maximum data exchange rate.
We had the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED laptop with 32GB of high-speed LPDDR5X-7467 RAM from SK Hynix and a 1TB SSD with a 4-lane PCIe Gen 4.0 interface from SanDisk available for review. We obtained the reading and writing speed of the device’s SSD as 4964.69 and 3292.99 MB, respectively, which is not a very favorable speed compared to the price tag of the product and the PCIe Gen 4.0 interface of the SSD itself.
Let’s talk a little about the technical specifications of the processor that powers the Asus Zenbook 14 OLED. The Core Ultra 7 155H processor can be seen as a weakened version of the Core Ultra 9 185H, the highest member of the 14th generation of the Metierlik family; Because all the technical specifications are the same from the number of cores to their graphics processing unit, only Core Ultra 7 cores work at a much lower frequency; A difference that also leads to a reduction in chip consumption.
Mythurelic chips consist of Compute and Graphics tiles and SoC along with IO; The Compute tile hosts high-power cores (P Core) and optimized cores (E Core), the Graphics tile plays the role of the graphics processing unit, the IO tile hosts the communication paths of the chip including Thunderbolt, and the SoC tile houses very low-power cores for background processing. (LP E Cores), neural processing unit (NPU) and communication units with the display and media encoding and decoding blocks; Therefore, the CPU is placed in two tiles and is a combination of three types of cores.
Meteorlake processors are the best Windows tools so far to compete with MacBooks
The Core Ultra 7 155H chip consists of 6 P-Core cores, 8 E-Core cores, and 2 LP E-Core cores, with base frequencies of 1.4 GHz, 900 and 700 MHz and turbo frequencies of 4.8, 3.8, and 2.5, respectively. It uses GHz as a CPU, and in total, 22 processing threads are processed at the same time; Therefore, only high-power P-Core cores benefit from multithreading. Compute tile is produced with Intel 4 7nm lithography.
The Graphics tile in the Core Ultra 7 155H chip is powered by 8 ray tracing units and 8 Xe cores including 128 Vector engines with a maximum frequency of 2.25 GHz. Intel allows companies to name the integrated Core Ultra 7 155H graphics in laptops with at least 16 GB of RAM, reminiscent of the Arc series desktop graphics cards. Graphics tile is produced with TSMC’s N5 5nm lithography.
Manufacturing companies can use the Core Ultra 7 155H chip, depending on the cooling capacity of their laptops, with a thermal design power of 28 to 115 watts; So on paper, this chip will be a good choice for both light and thin ultrabooks like Zenbook and powerful gaming laptops.
Asus has developed software called MyASUS for Zenbook family laptops, which is considered a device management hub. With MyASUS, you can get firmware and software updates and change performance profiles or display profiles. A number of AI-based features such as removing microphone noise are also available in this software.
Asus provides performance profiles in a part of the MyASUS software called Fan Profile and in three modes: Whisper mode (lowest possible mode), Standard mode (default mode and suitable for daily use), and Performance mode (suitable for heavy use). Asus says Performance mode is only suitable for when the device is plugged in.
In the upcoming review, we put the performance of the laptop under the microscope in different scenarios, including the state connected to the power and disconnected from the power outlet, with Performance and Standard modes, so that you can have a good view of the capabilities of the 14th generation and expensive Asus ultrabook.
It is not surprising that Asus used the Core Ultra 7 155H chip with a TDP of about 28 watts in its thin and slim Ultrabook; But with this TDP range, what performance can we expect from the ZenBook 14 OLED?
Asus ZenBook 14 OLED performance in benchmarks when plugged in |
||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laptop/benchmark |
Technical Specifications |
Web browsing |
Performance in graphics |
CPU performance in rendering |
CPU computing power |
GPU computing power |
3 Dark |
CineBench R23 |
GeekBench 6 |
GeekBench 6 |
|||
Speedometer 2.1 |
TimeSpy |
Single Multi |
Single Multi |
OpenCL |
||
DirectX 12 |
iGPU dGPU |
|||||
Zenbook 14 |
Core Ultra 7 155H Intel Arc GPU |
396 |
3453 |
1637 13367 |
2290 12256 |
34889 — |
Galaxy Book 3 Ultra |
Core i7-13700H RTX4050 |
396 |
7052 |
1830 14800 |
2591 13261 |
17416 74549 |
MacBook Pro 2022 |
Apple M2 10-core GPU |
407 |
— |
1579 8730 |
2556 9540 |
28852 — |
MacBook Air 2022 |
Apple M2 8 core GPU |
405 |
— |
1577 8476 |
2551 9552 |
27846 — |
MacBook Pro 2020 |
Apple M1 8 core GPU |
209 |
— |
1512 7778 |
2291 8188 |
21646 — |
Zenbook 14 |
Core i7-1360P Intel GPU |
— |
— |
1823 10512 |
— |
16359 — |
MacBook Pro 14-inch 2021 |
M1 Max 24Core GPU |
300 |
— |
1549 12508 |
2378 12239 |
65432 — |
By looking at these basic benchmarks, we can notice some interesting points. Asus ZenBook 14 with the Core Ultra 7 155H chip is about 10% weaker in single-core processing than the previous generation with the Core i7-1360P chip; But in comparison with the M1 and M2 chips, sometimes the Intel chip leads with a difference of 5 to 10% [rendering benchmark] and sometimes it remains with a 10% difference from Apple’s competitor [computing power benchmark].
In some scenarios, the Core Ultra 7 is even faster than the Apple M2
When all the cores are involved in rendering or calculations, the Intel chip shows a brighter performance compared to the Apple chips; In this situation, thanks to the number of more cores and its more updated architecture, Core Ultra 7 takes the M1 and M2 chips ahead with a difference of 50-60% [rendering benchmark] or 30-50% [computing power benchmark]; Of course, in comparison with the previous generation, we see a smaller improvement of 25%.
It seems that this year Intel has focused most of its focus on improving the integrated graphics performance of its chips; In our tests, the Core Ultra 7 155H integrated graphics outperformed its previous generation by a stunning 100% in both computing power tests and game simulator tests.
AAA gaming experience on Ultrabook thanks to Mytorlake
Intel’s integrated graphics are now ahead of the M1 integrated graphics in terms of the computing power of the graphics with an impressive difference of 60%, and compared to the M2 chip, it wins the field with a difference of 20%; But in the game simulator tests, the superiority of Core Ultra 155H over M1 is limited to about 15%, and we see 15% weaker performance of the Intel chip against M2; However, there are still not many games available for MacBook.
If you think that the excellent performance of the integrated graphics of the Core Ultra 7 is limited to benchmarks, I must say that you are wrong. Intel’s integrated graphics processor now handles AAA games at Full HD resolution and medium graphics settings. The idea that one day with a thin and light ultrabook like the Zenbook and integrated Intel graphics, it would be possible to play games like Forza Horizon 5 or Cyberpunk 2077, seemed very unlikely until just last year.
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED performance in games with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels |
||
---|---|---|
Game/Performance |
Graphics settings |
Average frame rate |
Cyberpunk 2077 |
Medium Graphics RT Off Intel XeSS Auto |
29.56 fps |
Forza Horizon 5 |
Medium Graphics |
40 frames per second |
Red Dead Redemption |
Balanced Preset Medium Quality |
37.6 fps |
Returnal |
Medium Graphics |
24 frames per second |
Fortunately, the performance improvement of the new Intel chips is not only limited to games and benchmarks but even in professional applications, we see an improvement in the performance of the Core Ultra 7 in the Zenbook 14 OLED laptop.
Related Article: Best laptops for engineering students in 2023, buying guide
Thanks to the Core Ultra 7 155H chip, the Zenbook 14 performs up to 10% better than the MacBook Pro M1 and M2 in Photoshop and beats the previous generation by 35%.
The performance of the new Zenbook in the Premier Pro software is more than 40% better than the previous generation and even beats the MacBook Pro M1 by more than 10%, But it is left behind the MacBook Pro M2 with a difference of 20%. Note that this laptop, just like its Apple competitors, can at best be a starting option for editing 1080p videos, nothing more.
The interesting point for us was the performance of Zenbook 2024 in running Python codes; While in previous generations, even expensive laptops with Intel’s H-series processors were behind the MacBook M1 in this regard, now the 28-watt Core Ultra 7 155H processor is about 20% faster than the M1, and if it runs from the Linux Subsystem (WSL) instead of the PowerShell environment for Use coding, the advantage of Zenbook reaches 40%.
Apart from discussing the performance of the device in benchmarks and professional uses, we need to measure the state of the cooling system in uses that constantly put pressure on the processor.
To evaluate the state of the central processing unit (CPU), we put the laptop under a multi-core processing load continuously for 30 minutes. We performed this test in two modes connected to electricity and disconnected from the power outlet (Plugged/UnPlugged) with the Performance mode performance profile.
As you can see in the graphs above, the laptop uses the CPU with the same frequency and the same power consumption in the Elixir of Science stress test, whether it is connected to the power or disconnected from the power outlet; Only when connected to power, the CPU has longer momentary jumps to higher frequencies, and in the initial moments it achieves a higher power consumption (60 W vs. 53 W) for a fraction of a second.
Apart from the power consumption and frequency, the temperature of the hottest CPU core also remains below 90 degrees Celsius in the rest of the moments, except for the initial moments when it reaches about 107 degrees Celsius. During the stress test, the fan of the device also works with a low noise and the temperature of the device itself does not reach an annoying level.
Performance of M1 and M2 M1 and M2 exchanges in multi-core processing
In the past three years, Apple has always had the upper hand in terms of productivity and the ratio of performance to power consumption; But this year, Intel has changed the situation in its favor, at least in part of the story.
Comparison of productivity and performance of Core Ultra 7 155H chip with Apple M1 and Apple M2 chips |
||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Chip/benchmark |
Single-core power consumption |
Multi-core power consumption |
single trade score |
Multiple points |
The ratio of single-core performance to power consumption |
The ratio of multi-core performance to power consumption |
Intel Core Ultra 7 155H |
22 to 24 watts |
26 to 29 watts |
1637 |
13367 |
71 |
486 |
Apple M2 |
About 8 watts |
20 to 21 watts |
1579 |
8730 |
197 |
436 |
Apple M1 |
About 6 watts |
15 to 16 watts |
1512 |
7778 |
252 |
486 |
* The results of the table above were obtained in Elixir of Science tests.
The central processor (CPU) in the Dell Core Ultra 7 155H reaches a power consumption of about 65 watts while performing multi-core processing in very short periods of time; But its power consumption fluctuates stably in the range of 26 to 29 watts. This issue makes its productivity significantly improved compared to the previous generation and even equal to M1 and M2.
As much as the Intel chip appears stunning in multi-core processing, it is still far behind Apple’s chips in single-core processing. In this situation, the power consumption of Core Ultra 7 155H is in the range of 22 to 24 watts; While the power consumption of the Apple chip is around 6 to 8 watts and the performance difference between the two chips is not much different; Therefore, we see a 70% weakness of Intel chip productivity in single-core processing compared to Apple chips.
In order to measure the performance status of the cooling system in continuous graphics processing with Performance mode performance profile and in both Plugged and UnPlugged modes, we put the Core Ultra 7 155H GPU under continuous processing pressure for 20 minutes.
The Core Ultra 7 155H graphics processor consumes about 18 watts in plugged mode and 16 to 17 watts in unplugged mode, and the graphics frequency fluctuates between 1900 and 1700 MHz, respectively.
The device’s graphics behave more aggressively compared to the CPU; So that in plugged mode, the temperature of its hottest point increases continuously and reaches about 100 degrees Celsius; But in UnPlugged mode, the graphics temperature remains in the range of 90 degrees Celsius.
In continuous graphic processing, the temperature of the body, especially the area above the keyboard of the device, reaches about 45 degrees Celsius; Of course, overall, the temperature doesn’t rise so much that it becomes difficult to work with the device, although the fan noise is a bit louder during heavy GPU processing than when the CPU is stressed.
Performance of Asus Zenbook 14 OLED when connected to power and with battery |
||
---|---|---|
Test/Performance |
Plugged result |
Result UnPlugged |
CineBench (Multi-Core) |
13367 |
11137 |
3DMark |
3453 |
3513 |
Speedometer 2.1 |
396 |
370 |
Blender |
416 |
371 |
Premiere Pro |
2940 |
2779 |
Python |
49.4 seconds |
58 seconds |
Apart from stressful situations, Zenbook has a feeling similar to Apple’s MacBooks in normal and everyday use; In the sense that the device does not get hot, the sound is rarely heard, and more importantly, the performance of the device is more or less at the same level whether it is connected to electricity or disconnected from the power outlet; A problem that plagued Windows laptops for many years.
Plugged and UnPlugged performance of Zenbook 2024 is very close
The 14-inch Zenbook 14 OLED laptop provides the energy it needs with the help of its 75-watt-hour battery; Considering the 28-watt thermal design power of the device’s processor, this battery is considered an optimal capacity; Especially, the changes made in the architecture of Core Ultra processors have improved their productivity dramatically.
Asus Zenbook 14 has very low consumption in standby mode; so if you disconnect the device from the power outlet at night with a 100% charge, the laptop battery will be reduced by 4-5% by tomorrow morning.
Asus Zenbook 14 OLED Battery Life vs Other Laptops |
||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laptop/Test |
Functional profile |
hardware |
Display |
Battery capacity |
Play offline video |
Everyday use |
Processor and graphics |
Dimensions, resolution, and refresh rate |
watt-hours |
720p Video |
PCMark 10 |
||
minute: hour |
minute: hour |
|||||
Zenbook 14 |
Performance |
Core Ultra 7-155H Intel Arc |
14 inches and 120 Hz 1800 x 2880 pixels |
75 |
17:25 |
9:09 |
Galaxy Book 3 Ultra |
Performance |
Core i7-13700H RTX 4050 |
16 inches and 120 Hz 1880 x 2880 pixels |
76 |
11:00 |
6:21 |
MacBook Pro 2022 |
— |
Apple M2 10-core GPU |
13.3 inches and 60 Hz 1600 x 2560 pixels |
58.2 |
26:18 |
— |
MacBook Air 2022 |
— |
Apple M2 8 core GPU |
13.6 inches and 60 Hz 1664 x 2560 pixels |
52.6 |
14:11 |
— |
MacBook Pro 2020 |
— |
Apple M1 8 core GPU |
13.3 inches and 60 Hz 1600 x 2560 pixels |
58.2 |
16:47 |
— |
MacBook Pro 14-inch 2021 |
— |
M1 Max 24Core GPU |
14.2 inches and 120 Hz 1964 x 3024 pixels |
70 |
18:14 |
— |
This year, Intel has separated the video decoding engine and display output from the GPU tile and transferred it to the low-power SoC tile; Thus, when you are watching a movie or video, the GPU tile is completely turned off, and this leads to a significant improvement in charging the device during video playback; I played the Elixir of Science benchmark 720p video at 200 nits display brightness, 120 Hz refresh rate, and the Performance profile for 17 hours and 25 minutes; A result that separates Zenbook 14 from the category of Windows laptops and places it at the level of Apple MacBooks.
The excellent charging of ZenBook 14 is not only limited to video playback, this laptop continuously charges for 9 hours and 9 minutes in daily use with 200 nits brightness, a constant refresh rate of 120 Hz, and a Performance profile, which is an admirable result.
Asus provides a compact 65W charger with Zenbook 14 that charges the laptop through the USB-C port; The weakness of this charger is the lack of ability to separate the USB-C cable from the adapter.
Minimal design, very light and extremely slim
If you think that all the charms of Zenbook 2024 come back to its very good performance and exemplary charging, you must be very wrong!
Asus laptop has a very minimal and attractive design. The entire body of the device is made of aluminum and is very strong, despite such strength, the weight of the laptop reaches only 1.2 kg and its thickness reaches 14.9 mm, which makes the 14-inch Zenbook an attractive option for those who are constantly moving.
Diagonal lines can be seen on the laptop door, which, while simple, add to the attractiveness of the device. The 14-inch Zenbook is sold in two colors, gray and blue. We had the blue color available for review, which, despite its beauty, has one of the weaknesses of the laptop design: the blue laptop body easily absorbs the user’s fat and fingerprints and reduces the beauty of the device.
In addition to absorbing stains and hand fat, another weakness of the Zenbook design in my opinion is its hollowness; It seems that Asus designers, unlike companies like Apple or HP [in the Specter series], did not carve the body of the device from a block of aluminum and used thin aluminum sheets in the construction of the body. Not premium.
Although the thickness of the laptop does not exceed 15 mm; Asus engineers have been able to fit the operating ports in this slim body. The right side of the device hosts HDMI 2.1 ports, two USB-C with Thunderbolt 4 support and DisplayPort and PowerDelivery standards, and a combo audio jack; But on the left side, we only see the USB 3.2 Type-A port with a bandwidth of 5 Gb/s.
Zenbook 14 uses an island keyboard; The keys have a standard arrangement and a suitable distance from each other. The movement depth of the keys reaches 1.4 mm, and their feedback is considered favorable and quiet; The ZenBook 14 offers one of the best typing experiences we’ve had in a while. Within a short period of time, you can get used to typing with the device’s keyboard.
ZenBook 14’s trackpad is made of glass, has a decent area, and supports Microsoft’s precision drivers. We evaluate the performance of the trackpad as very accurate and smooth, and the feedback of the left and right click mechanism is also appropriate; But hopefully next year Asus will join the handful of manufacturers that use a MacBook-like haptic mechanism for their devices’ trackpads.
One of the weaknesses of the Zenbook 14 design is the lack of a glass cover on the display panel and the plastic edges around the panel. These plastic edges reduce the premium feel of the device; Of course, Asus says that the model is equipped with a touch screen, but it uses Gorilla Glass to protect the panel; We had the non-touch version available for review.
On the upper border of the screen, we see a lot of openings for the webcam and facial recognition sensor, which are clearly visible due to the plasticity of the borders and negatively affect the appearance of the device. To protect the user’s privacy, Asus has also included a slider that physically covers the webcam.
Stunning OLED display with spectacular colors
The Zenbook’s less-than-pleasing plastic bezels are compensated by its stunning OLED display. The device uses a 3K or 1800 x 2880 pixel OLED panel with a refresh rate of 120 Hz and supports HDR, which produces extremely attractive and accurate colors, covers color spaces very well, has excellent brightness, and displays extremely high contrast.
Zenbook 14 OLED screen performance against other laptops |
||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laptop/test |
White image |
Black image |
contrast ratio |
AdobeRGB |
sRGB |
DCI-P3 |
||||
Maximum brightness |
Minimum brightness |
Average brightness |
Native |
cover |
Average error |
cover |
Average error |
cover |
Average error |
|
Zenbook 14 |
512 intention (788 nits HDR) |
0.27 nits |
0 intentions |
∞ |
89.6 |
2.6 |
100 |
0.6 |
99.7 |
1.3 |
MacBook Pro 2022 |
437 intentions |
0.00 nits |
0.5 nits |
874 |
73.5 |
— |
99.8 |
2.7 |
79.5 |
— |
MacBook Air 2022 |
447 intentions |
0.1 nit |
0.65 nits |
693 |
73.5 |
— |
100 |
2.5 |
77.5 |
— |
Galaxy Book 3 Ultra |
441 intentions |
4 intentions |
0 intentions |
∞ |
97.3 |
3.7 |
99.6 |
1.9 |
99.8 |
2.3 |
MacBook Pro M1 Max |
455 intentions (1497 nits HDR) |
0 intentions |
0 intentions |
∞ |
85 |
— |
121.6 |
— |
97.3 |
2.5 |
In my measurements, the ZenBook 14 achieved a very good maximum brightness of 512 nits in everyday use and an excellent 788 nits when playing HDR videos. The minimum brightness of the device reached 0.27 nits, which is a good value for use in the dark.
OLED panels usually use PWM technology to achieve low brightness; In the sense that the pixels turn on and off at a high speed and if this speed is not higher than a limit, it will cause a headache in the user. To fix the problem, Asus suggests that you set the brightness slider in Windows settings to 60% and adjust the brightness of the device with the OLED Flicker Free Dimming function in MyASUS software to achieve low brightness.
In my tests, the ZenBook 14’s display was able to cover 89.6% of the extremely wide Adobe RGB space, 99.7% of the DCI P3 color space, and 100% of the sRGB space. The accuracy of the display in producing colors was also exemplary; So the color display error in the sRGB color space reached a stunning number of 0.6 and in the DCI P3 space it reached an excellent number of 1.3.
In long-term use, OLED panels are in danger of encountering the problem of burn-in, or in simple words, image burn. Asus suggests that you make the Windows taskbar semi-transparent or set it to Auto-Hide to reduce the possibility of burn-in. In addition, the ability to renew pixels is also available in MyASUS software.
In general, whether you are a web surfer, whether you use Photoshop software to edit photos and create graphic designs, whether you are interested in watching movies, in any case, the Zenbook display will satisfy you.
Asus has paired the Zenbook’s attractive display with powerful stereo speakers tuned by Harmon/Kardon, projecting sound to the bottom of the laptop, producing loud and clear sound, and supporting Dolby Atmos surround sound technology.
The 14-inch Zenbook 2024 has been one of the best ultrabooks of the past few years; Currently, the Core Ultra 7 155H model with 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and a 120Hz OLED and 3K screen is sold at a price of about 75 million Tomans, which is almost the same as the price of the MacBook Air M2 with 8GB of RAM and 512GB of SSD. For years, Windows enthusiasts have been looking for a high-quality ultrabook that can provide them with the same experience as the MacBook Air. Currently, Zenbook 2024 is the closest option to what these people want, at least in the Iranian market.
The future of Windows laptops is no longer worrying
ZenBook 14 feels similar to Apple’s MacBooks in everyday use with excellent charging, fast performance, and quiet cooling. In Elixir of Science tests such as Photoshop and running Python codes, this ultrabook came close to the MacBook Air M2, in editing FHD videos at the level of the MacBook Air M1, it showed the same performance when connected to electricity and relying on the battery, and its 75 watt-hour battery was responsible for a day. It was a perfect job.
Intel’s Meteorlake processors gave a boost to the stagnant Windows laptop market and made the competition with Apple’s MacBooks a little more serious. I hope that this trend will continue in the next few months with Arrow Lake processors and of course with Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite chips; Because more and more serious competition will ultimately benefit the consumer.
Pros
- Impressive charging and productivity
- Efficient hardware and quiet operation
- Stereo speakers with clear and expressive sound
- High-quality design, compact and very light
- Stunning OLED display with great colors
- The same performance when connected to electricity and relying on batteries
Cons
- Good build quality; But not at the level of premium devices
- Absorption of stains and fingerprints in the blue model
- Plastic edges of the display
- Lack of memory card slot
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Samsung S95B OLED TV review
What can be placed in a container with a depth of 4 mm? For example, 40 sheets of paper or 5 bank cards; But to think that Samsung has successfully packed a large 4K OLED panel into a depth of less than 4mm that can produce more than 2000 nits of brightness is amazing. Join me as I review the Samsung S95B TV.
Samsung has a very active presence in the smartphone OLED display market, and by the way, it also has some of the best and most stunning small OLED panels in its repertoire; But surprisingly, it has been a little more than a year since he seriously entered the OLED TV market; Of course, Samsung launched its first OLED TV in 2013 and quickly withdrew from the large-size OLED market and left the field to its traditional and long-standing rival, LG.
In the years after withdrawing from the OLED TV market, Samsung focused on the evolution of LCD TVs with technologies such as Quantum Dot and MiniLED; But after almost 10 years, Samsung decided to once again try its luck in the world of OLEDs, and thus, in 2022, it launched the S95B TV in two 55-inch and 65-inch models.
In 2023, Samsung introduced the S95C TV as a successor to the S95B and unveiled the S95D model at CES 2024; While Samsung’s 2024 TV has just been launched in international markets a few months after its launch, it is still hard to find its 2023 model in the Iranian market. Accordingly, we have prepared the 65-inch S95B model from 2022 for review. It is more numerous than the 2023 model in the market of the country.
Slim design… super slim
What draws attention to Samsung TV at first sight is not its eye-catching image and ear-pleasing sound, but its infinite slimness. The S95B was so slim that when I unboxed and installed it, I experienced the same level of anxiety I had on exam night! Samsung OLED TV is only 3.89 mm thick; For this reason, despite all the company’s efforts in strengthening the body, it still simply shakes and sways.
Samsung calls the ultra-slim design of its TV LaserSlim; Because the laser beam is narrow and sharp; So you should be very careful when installing the TV. I wish we knew what is the logic behind the childish efforts of companies to make the world’s thinnest TV. To some extent, the narrowness of the TV helps to make it more modern and better installed on the wall; But the strength of the TV should not be sacrificed to make it thinner.
Samsung designers have not spared even the edges of the TV! The width of the edges around the panel does not exceed 8 mm. The narrowness of the edges helps the user to immerse well in the depth of black and the extraordinary contrast of the OLED TV panel and enjoy the content to the fullest.
The S95B TV has a high-quality and well-made body, the frame of the device is metal, and like most OLED TVs in the market, there is a wide plastic protrusion in the lower half of which parts such as the board, speakers, and power supply are placed. Due to this protrusion, the thickness of the body reaches 4.1 cm in the maximum state.
Unfortunately, just like LG’s OLED TVs, the base of the S95B is also located in the middle of the device; Although the base itself is metal and relatively wide; the large dimensions of the TV and its very small thickness make it not to be firmly and firmly placed on the table and not to wobble; Of course, you can install the TV on the wall with a 300×200 mm VESA mount.
All the ports of the S95B TV, including HDMI and USB, are included in the plastic protrusion on the back of the device. These ports are covered with a plastic screen to integrate and beautify the back of the device. After installing it, surprisingly, you won’t be able to access the ports! Samsung TV ports are as follows:
- Four HDMI 2.1 ports with the ability to transfer 4K120 image signal; Two ports facing down and two ports on the side of the frame
- Two USB 2.0 ports on the side of the frame
- A network port
- Internal and external receiver input
- An optical audio output
One of the HDMI ports (number 3) has eARC capability and can be used to connect the device to the soundbar. USB ports are also different in terms of current and voltage; One of the ports is limited to 0.5 amps and 5 volts and the other is limited to 1.0 amps and 5 volts; Therefore, it is considered a more reasonable option for connecting an external hard drive.
Stunning brightness and disappointing color accuracy
I mentioned earlier that we had the 65-inch S95B model available for review. With such dimensions, you can enjoy the 4K resolution of the panel the most if you sit at a distance of about 2 meters from the TV; At closer distances, pixels can be separated, and at distances greater than 2 meters, your brain’s perception of a 4K image will be no different from a 1080p image.
The Samsung S95B TV uses a 10-bit OLED panel with a resolution of 4K or 2160 x 3840 pixels and can display more than a billion colors. Supporting this number of colors is essential to provide an optimal experience of HDR content playback. In the following, I will explain more about the compatibility of Samsung TVs with HDR standards and the quality of color display.
Unlike LCD panels, where the light needed by the pixels is provided by a number of LED lights on the edge or back of the panel, in OLED panels, each pixel provides its own light; As if instead of a limited number of exposure areas, for example 500-600 in MiniLED TVs, we have more than 8 million exposure areas; Thus, to display the color black, the pixels are turned off, so that instead of a spectrum of gray color, we see a deep black and experience an extremely high contrast.
The absence of any Blooming thanks to the precise control of light in the TV’s OLED panel
The great advantage of self-lit pixels (pixels that provide their own light) in displaying deep black and preventing the Blooming phenomenon (creating a halo around bright subjects in a dark background) thanks to the very precise control of the light distribution, also has some weaknesses; The greater vulnerability to burn-in phenomenon during long-term static image display and the lower level of OLED panel brightness compared to MiniLED samples are among these weaknesses.
Like other OLED TVs, the S95B TV is not immune to the risk of burn-in. In order to reduce the possibility of this phenomenon, the Koreans have considered solutions such as moving the image slightly in different time periods. Unfortunately, we do not have the possibility to examine the TVs for a long time to evaluate their performance in preventing the risk of burn-in; But at least based on RTINGS’ long-term and unrealistic test, the S95B seems to be more vulnerable compared to its competitors; However, in real use, it is unlikely that a user would want to watch TV with such intensity.
To overcome the inherent weakness of OLED panels in achieving higher levels of brightness, Samsung engineers have combined quantum dot technology with OLED panels. Quantum dots are very small crystal particles that are layered in the heart of the display panel. With the help of the quantum dot layer, the panels achieve higher brightness and produce more vivid colors. Samsung calls its combined panel QD-OLED and claims that with the help of the Neural Quantum processor in the heart of the S95B TV, this panel can raise the brightness to a higher level than its competitors.
Samsung S95B 65-inch TV brightness with default settings |
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Image modes/pattern white percentage |
10 percent |
50 percent |
100 percent |
|
SDR |
Dynamic |
1065 |
633 |
364 |
Standard |
740 |
487 |
281 |
|
Movie |
430 |
399 |
229 |
|
HDR |
Dynamic |
2094 |
— |
— |
Standard |
2179 |
— |
— |
|
Movie |
2179 |
— |
— |
|
FILMMAKER Mode |
2175 |
— |
— |
In my measurements, when only 10% of the screen was lit and the device was playing a normal SDR image, the brightness of the S95B panel reached 1100 nits in the highest mode, which is a very good number and better than the brightness of the C2 and C3 TVs in the same conditions, respectively. It is about 300 and 100 nits more.
Aside from the S95B’s excellent performance in SDR image brightness, the real magic happens when the device is playing HDR video. In this situation, when 10% of the screen is lit, the brightness reaches a stunning number of about 2200 nits, which is 700 nits more than the HDR brightness of the C2 and C3 TVs. Achieving such a level of brightness helps the TV to deliver a stunning HDR movie viewing experience.
Comparison of brightness and contrast of S95B with other TVs |
||
---|---|---|
TV/parameter (the brightest profile) |
Brightness (50% pattern) |
contrast |
Samsung S95B |
633 |
∞ |
LG C3 |
603 |
∞ |
LG QNED80 |
580 |
116 |
LG NANO84 |
295 |
149 |
LG C2 |
525 |
∞ |
LG QNED96 |
470 |
— |
Note that the stunning numbers of 1100 and 2200 nits are obtained when a small part of the screen is bright, which is often the case in movies and series, and the entire image is not full of bright colors; But when the whole screen is lit; For example, consider a scene from The Lord of the Rings where we see Galadriel in the land of the elves, in such a situation, the maximum brightness of the whole screen is about 370 nits, which is still 40 nits higher than the LG TV.
Thanks to the panel’s excellent brightness and the deep blacks produced by the muted pixels, it’s no surprise that the Samsung TV’s image contrast is superb; Especially since there is an anti-reflective coating on the panel so that you can enjoy the image even in bright environments; Note that unlike what comes from the corners of the panel, you should not remove this anti-reflective layer from the panel; Otherwise, you will face problems like us!
If you think that the S95B is the best TV on the market so far, I must say that not everything about the S95B is rosy.
The S95B TV provides the user with the following four color profiles, all of which tend to be very cold by default and do not produce very accurate colors.
- Dynamic
- Movie
- Standard
- FILMMAKER Mode
Like most OLED TVs on the market, the S95B TV also covers a wide range of colors. In my tests, the Samsung TV managed to cover about 148% of the sRGB color space, nearly 100% of the DCI P3 wide space, and 75% of the Rec 2020 ultra-wide space. These numbers are great, But the disappointing thing is the very low accuracy of the device in producing the mentioned colors with factory settings.
Samsung S95B 65-inch TV performance in covering color spaces with default settings |
||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Image mode/color space |
sRGB |
DCI-P3 |
Rec. 2020 |
|||
cover |
mean error |
cover |
mean error |
cover |
mean error |
|
Dynamic |
146 |
— |
98.6 |
13.7 |
77.9 |
— |
Standard |
147.7 |
— |
99.7 |
12.1 |
78.7 |
— |
Movie |
125.4 |
— |
89.5 |
4.6 |
65.5 |
— |
FILMMAKER Mode |
121.9 |
— |
89.5 |
4.1 |
64.6 |
— |
Note that the FILMMAKER mode belongs to the UHD union and most big companies like Samsung, LG and Hisense use it in their TVs. On paper, with FILMMAKER mode, we should see movies as the director intended.
Comparison of Samsung S95B color accuracy with other TVs (default settings) |
||
---|---|---|
TV/parameter (the most accurate profile) |
DCI P3 |
|
Covering |
Color accuracy |
|
Samsung S95B |
89.5 |
4.1 |
LG C3 |
96.8 |
3.0 |
LG QNED80 |
90.7 |
2.7 |
LG NANO84 |
82.9 |
— |
LG C2 |
98.7 |
2.1 |
LG QNED96 |
90.8 |
3.9 |
The most accurate colors of the S95B TV are depicted by the FILMMAKER Mode profile with an error of 4.1, in which the TV covers about 90% of the DCI P3 color space; As a comparison, in the review of the C3 TV, the color display error in the same FILMMAKER mode was 3.6 and in the most accurate color profile it was 3.0; Therefore, Samsung TV does not have an interesting performance in terms of factory calibration of colors.
We were so surprised by the results that we returned the TV and got another S95B to review, But the results did not change.
Fortunately, Samsung TV provides you with various settings to change parameters such as gamma, color temperature, color hue, and brightness limiter (ABL) so that you can achieve your desired style and style for displaying colors; For example, I was able to reduce the color display error in the Standard profile from a terrible number of 12.1 to a very good number of 3.0 by making the following changes.
Color accuracy of S95B TV after minor changes in panel settings |
|||
---|---|---|---|
Image mode/color space |
DCI-P3 |
||
Settings |
Average error (recommended: less than 3) |
Color temperature (neutral: 6500 K) |
|
Standard |
default settings |
12.1 |
14236 |
ABL: Off Contrast Enhancer: Low Gamma: 2.2 |
3.0 |
8180 |
Another weakness of Samsung S95B TV compared to LG OLEDs is that it does not support HDR videos with Dolby Vision standard; The iPhone, for example, records HDR video using the same standard. Samsung TV supports HDR10, HDR10+, and HLG standards.
Like other OLED TVs, the Samsung S95B TV has wide viewing angles, and even from the corners, it displays colors with the least drop in freshness; So if you use wide furniture at home, you can safely go to S95B.
Samsung has focused a lot on the gaming capabilities of its TV; The device uses a 120 Hz panel with support for FreeSync Premium and G-Sync technologies, and the TV itself provides the user with Game Mode, which, by activating it, significantly reduces Input Lag, makes available a variable refresh rate, and The frames of the games can also be seen.
Samsung compensates for the visual weaknesses of the S95B TV with the amazing listening experience of its powerful speakers; While a TV like the LG C3 uses 40-watt speakers, Samsung engineers have used 60-watt speakers with a 2.2.2 channel combination in the S95B’s slim body; In the sense that two speakers throw the sound down, two speakers throw the sound up, and two woofers are responsible for producing low frequencies.
The S95B TV supports Dolby Atmos surround sound and its sound output is considered excellent for a TV; The volume is high, you can hear the pounding bass, and at high volumes, the distortion is controlled at a reasonable level.
Tizen; The user interface is more limited and different from competitors
Finally, we must avoid the TV user interface; Samsung’s OLED TV, like the rest of the company’s TVs, uses the Tizen operating system. The user interface of the device is smooth and smooth, moving between different menus of the user interface is done without problems, although sometimes with a little slowness; But the device can play most of the video formats.
A number of functions are also available, which doubles the enjoyment of the TV experience, provided that the user uses a Samsung phone; For example, you can run the Samsung phone’s desktop mode or Dex on the TV and use the phone’s screen as a trackpad. The phone can even be used as a webcam to make video calls with Google Mate on the TV.
If you want to write a text, you can call Microsoft365 from the Workspace section of the user interface by connecting a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard to the Samsung TV and start writing in Microsoft Word software.
Samsung Internet Browser is available in the S95B TV user interface; But the Samsung remote control, despite its compact design and the possibility of being charged with a solar panel or USB-C port, does not have the ability to use a mouse; So you have to browse the web with the arrow keys of the remote control; In my opinion, this is one of the main weaknesses of Samsung TV compared to LG TV with its practical magic remote.
As another weakness, we should mention Samsung’s not very rich store; For example, you can’t find some useful apps like Spotify or native apps like Filmo in the Samsung TV store.
Read more: How to connect to the TV with a Samsung phone?
Without a doubt, the S95B is one of the most stunning TVs we’ve ever reviewed on Zoomit; An attractive and extremely slim device that will amaze you with its stunning brightness and contrast, impressive gaming capabilities, and very powerful speakers.
In terms of factory color calibration, the S95B appears below expectations and a bit disappointing; So, if you are not very fond of the image and do not know much about color parameters, you will have to start with inaccurate and very cold colors; But if you are aware of the color parameters, you can change them and enjoy the attractive picture of the TV to the fullest.
The S95B TV is one of Samsung’s 2022 flagships, and now its 65-inch model is sold in the price range of 105 million Tomans; In this range, go for the more updated LG C3 TV with more accurate colors, or for a little more money, choose the Sony A80L TV for 2023, which is powered by a more practical Android operating system; In addition, C2 TV is also available at a price of 10 million less than in 2022.
what is your opinion? Do you think the S95B is a reasonable choice or do you prefer other models from LG or Sony?
Pros
- Very high brightness
- 6 powerful speakers
- Very modern and attractive design
- Deep black and excellent contrast
Cons
- Low color accuracy with default settings
- Too thin and vulnerable body
Technology
MacBook Air M3 review; Lovely, powerful and economical
Published
1 week agoon
06/05/2024MacBook Air M3 review; Lovely, powerful and economical
If you are looking for a compact, well-made and high-quality laptop that can be used in daily and light use, the MacBook Air M3 review is not for you; So close the preceding article, visit the Zomit products section and choose one of the stores to buy MacBook Air M1 ; But if you, like me, are excited to read about the developments in the world of hardware and are curious to know about the performance of the M3 chip in the Dell MacBook Air 2024 , then stay with Zoomit.
The design is a copy of the original from the last generation
Almost two years have passed since Apple said goodbye to the familiar and wedge-shaped MacBook Air design; A different design that accompanied this ultrabook from the first day of its birth in 2008; But finally in 2022, with the aim of harmonizing the design language of the Apple laptop family, it was abandoned so that the MacBook Air 2022 will have a similar appearance to the 14-inch and 16-inch MacBook Pro.
The new MacBook Air is uniform in thickness; But it was slimmer, the screen was bigger, the edges were narrower and the corners were rounded, and a relatively large notch was added to it, whose only existence was to host the device’s 1080p webcam. MacBook Air 2022 also marked the return of the MagSafe magnetic charging port to Apple’s popular Ultrabook.
Previously, in the review of the MacBook Air 2022 with the M2 chip, we have talked comprehensively and deeply about its design and its positive and negative points. I suggest that if you haven’t read the article, you must visit it; Because the MacBook Air M3 is no different from the MacBook Air M2 in terms of appearance, display, or ports.
We also see the same incredibly well-made and metal body of MacBook Air 2022 in the new generation of Apple Ultrabooks; A body that, like the rest of Apple laptops, is carved from an aluminum block instead of the usual method of using aluminum sheets, and for this reason, it has a strong and dense structure so that we do not see the body sinking when pressing the keyboard area or the screen frame swinging.
All the parts of the MacBook Air 2024 are assembled with the utmost care; So that there is no gap between them. As expected, the hinge of the laptop is also well-adjusted so that you don’t need to use two hands to open the laptop door. All in all, the combination of the quality of components and Apple’s exemplary engineering precision, brings an extremely enjoyable and unique feeling to the user while using the MacBook Air.
Just like the previous generation, the new MacBook Air is sold in four colors: gray, silver, dark blue, and cream. One of the flaws that could be found in the design of the MacBook Air 2022 was that fingerprints and grease remained on the body; The item that was more noticeable in dark blue color. Apple says this year it has used a new coating that reduces the severity of this problem. We did not have the 2022 model available for comparison at the time of writing the following review, But traces of fat and finger still remain on the body of the MacBook Air 2024.
Grease and fingerprints on the laptop body
MacBook Air keyboard is among the best examples in the market in terms of arrangement and dimensions, feedback, and key stability; But the matte coating on the keys absorbs the fat of the fingers very quickly, and on the other hand, like other MacBooks, there is a possibility that the matte coating will disappear and the keys will become shiny. Depending on your usage, this can happen very quickly or over time; For example, for me, who is constantly writing, the keys on my MacBook Pro M1 burned out in less than a year.
Apparently, the buyers of used laptops are very sensitive about the keys being electrocuted; Therefore, if you plan to replace your Macbook with another laptop after one or two years, be sure to keep this in mind and use an external keyboard for long typing.
As always, the trackpad is one of the main strengths of any MacBook, and the MacBook Air M3 follows the same rule. The glass trackpad of the device is large in size and has little friction on its surface, it offers flawless, accurate, and smooth performance, and its Fortouch mechanism, which makes it possible to click on the entire surface of the trackpad, is so efficient that after the MacBook, it is impossible to work with the trackpad of any laptop. Another enjoyed.
MacBook Air 2022
The set of MacBook Air 2024 ports is limited and has not changed; On the right side of the device, there is a headphone jack, and the left side of the device hosts two USB4 ports and a MagSafe magnetic charging port. Along with the basic model, Apple provides a relatively small 30-watt adapter with a cloth cable of the same color as the device’s body; But you can also get the laptop with a more powerful 35 or 70-watt adapter, which charges the battery up to 50% within half an hour.
USB4 ports support Thunderbolt 3 standard with a bandwidth of 40 Gbps, But it is not possible to connect external graphics. Both ports also transmit the image signal with the DisplayPort standard. In the new MacBook, if you close the laptop door, you can connect a 6K monitor and a 5K monitor (both 60Hz) to the device at the same time; But with the laptop’s screen on, just like the MacBook Air M2, the image output is limited to a 6K monitor; It is interesting that the Intel version of MacBook Air could output images to two 4K monitors at the same time as its own screen is on!
As in the previous generation, Apple uses Bluetooth version 5.3 in its Ultrabook; But the Wi-Fi module has upgraded the device from Wi-Fi 6 to Wi-Fi 6E, which incompatible networks can increase the communication bandwidth of MacBook Air 2024 with the router and the rest of the devices in the network from 1.2 to 2.4 Gbps.
Attractive display with more attractive competitors
Like most parts of the device, the screen of the new MacBook Air does not change; Of course, in this field, you can’t criticize Apple much, since 2018, when the MacBook Air screen became Retina, it has always been among the best; However, today, with OLED competitors with stunning colors and infinite contrast, Apple’s Retina display no longer has its former glory.
MacBook Air M3 can be purchased just like the previous generation in two 13.6-inch and 15.3-inch models. The pixel density of both versions is a very good number of 224 pixels. With this density, the MacBook Air screen produces a very clear image. So that it is difficult to distinguish the pixels from each other. We have the 13.6-inch MacBook Air M3 with a resolution of 2560 x 1664 pixels available for review.
Unfortunately, unlike the expensive models of MacBook Pro or even Windows Ultrabooks with the same price as Zenbook, the panel of the MacBook Air is 60 Hz and it does not have amazing technologies such as OLED and MiniLED to produce 1000 nits of brightness and extraordinary colors. MacBook Air uses an 8-bit IPS LCD panel with back exposure, which, by using FRC technology, can give the user the feeling of 10-bit panels with a billion colors.
MacBook Air covers the wide DCI P3 color space with high accuracy. The Apple Ultrabook covers 98.4% of this space with an error of 1.9 (an error of less than 3 is ideal), perhaps the only color weakness of the panel can be considered a slight tendency to be cold; However, thanks to the True Tone feature, the device evaluates the ambient light temperature with high accuracy and adjusts the color temperature accordingly to give you a satisfying visual experience.
In our measurements, with a 50% raster standard, we reached a maximum brightness of 443 nits, which in itself is a very good number, and thanks to the anti-reflective coating on the panel surface, in environments with different light conditions, it brings a satisfactory experience of working with a laptop. Without the appearance of the shadow of the environment on the panel, the user will not be bothered.
MacBook Air 2024 screen performance against other laptops |
||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laptop / test |
White image |
Black image |
contrast ratio |
AdobeRGB |
sRGB |
DCI-P3 |
||||
Maximum brightness |
Minimum brightness |
Average brightness |
Native |
cover |
Average error |
cover |
Average error |
cover |
Average error |
|
MacBook Air 2024 |
443 intentions |
0.00 nits |
0.67 nits |
661 |
87.9 |
— |
100 |
2.4 |
98.4 |
1.9 |
Zenbook 14 |
512 intention (788 nits HDR) |
0.27 nits |
0 intentions |
∞ |
89.6 |
2.6 |
100 |
0.6 |
99.7 |
1.3 |
MacBook Pro 2022 |
437 intentions |
0.00 nits |
0.5 nits |
874 |
86.3 |
— |
99.8 |
2.7 |
97.5 |
— |
MacBook Air 2022 |
447 intentions |
0.1 nit |
0.65 nits |
693 |
87.5 |
— |
100 |
2.5 |
98.1 |
— |
Galaxy Book 3 Ultra |
441 intentions |
4 intentions |
0 intentions |
∞ |
97.3 |
3.7 |
99.6 |
1.9 |
99.8 |
2.3 |
MacBook Pro M1 Max |
455 intentions (1497 nits HDR) |
0 intentions |
0 intentions |
∞ |
85 |
— |
121.6 |
— |
97.3 |
2.5 |
In addition to the reasonable maximum brightness of 442 nits in bright images, unlike most laptops with IPS LCD screens, the black color brightness is also very low in the MacBook Air display; So that the device achieves a very high contrast. On the other hand, the minimum brightness of the display was 0 nits even with the 0.01 nits accuracy of the Zoomit luminance meter; In the sense that while using the laptop, there will be a little pressure on your eyes.
The attractive screen of the MacBook Air is completed by a set of 4 speakers; Speakers that have a very large sound volume compared to the size of a laptop, produce clear sound, and at high volumes, they are confused and distorted. MacBook Air speakers support Dolby Atmos and are easily ahead of most Windows laptops.
M3 chip and championship called TSMC
The main changes of MacBook Air 2024 have happened in its heart; Where it hosts the M3 chip as the beating heart of the device. Next, before we put the performance of the M3 under the microscope, we take a look at the details of the technical specifications of this chip.
The M3 chip is manufactured using TSMC’s 3nm-based manufacturing process known as N3B, hosts 25 billion transistors on its surface, and uses the same layout and configuration as the M2 for the CPU and GPU cores. Apple says the processor and graphics used in the M3 are about 35 and 65 percent faster than the M1, respectively.
Technical specifications of M3 against M2 and M1 |
|||
---|---|---|---|
parameters/chip |
Apple M3 |
Apple M2 |
Apple M1 |
manufacturing process |
3 nanometer N3B TSMC |
TSMC’s second-generation 5nm |
5 nm N5 TSMC |
CPU |
4 powerful cores with a maximum frequency of 4.05 GHz 4 low-power cores with a maximum frequency of 2.75 GHz |
4 Avalanche cores with a maximum frequency of 3.5 GHz 4 Blizzard cores with a maximum frequency of 2.4 GHz |
4 Firestorm cores with a maximum frequency of 3.2 GHz 4 Icestorm cores with a maximum frequency of 2.0 GHz |
cache memory |
16 MB shared L2 cache and 320 KB L1 cache for each of the powerful cores 4 megabytes of shared L2 cache and 192 kilobytes of L1 cache for each low-power core 8 MB system cache for the entire chip |
16 MB shared L2 cache and 320 KB L1 cache for each of the powerful cores 4 megabytes of shared L2 cache and 192 kilobytes of L1 cache for each low-power core 8 MB system cache for the entire chip |
12MB shared L2 cache and 320KB L1 cache for each Firestorm core 4 MB shared L2 cache and 192 KB L1 cache for each Icestorm core 8 MB system cache for the entire chip |
memory bass |
128 bits |
128 bits |
128 bits |
DRAM |
8 to 24 GB LPDDR5-6400 |
8 to 24 GB LPDDR5-6400 |
8 or 16 GB LPDDR4x-4266 |
Memory bandwidth |
100 GB per second |
100 GB per second |
68.2 gigabytes per second |
GPU |
8 or 10 cores with hardware support of ray tracing |
8 or 10 cores |
7 or 8 cores |
Like the last two generations, the M3 chip uses a combination of 4 high-power cores and 4 low-power cores, respectively, with maximum frequencies of 4.05 and 2.75 GHz as CPU. Apple has made minor changes in the architecture of the cores, and the main difference of the cores is the 15% increase in frequency compared to the M2 cores.
Apple has not even changed the amount of cache memory of the M3 chip compared to the M2; Each of the high-power and low-power cores have access to 320 and 192 KB of ultra-fast L1 cache, respectively, the set of four high-power and low-power cores also have access to 16 and 4 MB of L2 cache, respectively, while the system cache is 8 MB for the set of chip processing blocks. GPU and CPU are included.
The M3 chip is used in Apple laptops in two versions with 8- and 10-core graphics processors. We had the MacBook Air with 8-core graphics available for review, which in total, just like the last generation, has 128 execution units with 1024 calculation and logic units in its heart, which operate at an almost identical frequency of 1.38 GHz.
The main difference between the M3 graphics compared to the previous generation is the addition of the Ray Tracing hardware accelerator, Mesh shading, and Dynamic Caching technology, the latter of which allows the chip to provide the memory required by the GPU in real-time and based on the type of processing. Thus, it optimizes the amount of memory consumption.
The M3 chip uses a 16-core neural processing unit (NPU) with a computing power of 18 trillion operations per second, and in addition to ProRes and ProRes Raw videos, it now has a separate engine for AV1 video codec decoding. Due to its two 64-bit channels and support for LPDDR5X-6400 RAM, this chip can achieve a bandwidth of 102 GB/s for data exchange with its integrated RAM.
Performance of the MacBook Air M3 in benchmarks while plugged in |
||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laptop/benchmark |
Technical Specifications |
Web browsing |
Performance in graphics |
CPU performance in rendering |
CPU computing power |
GPU computing power |
3 Dark |
CineBench R23 |
GeekBench 6 |
GeekBench 6 |
|||
Speedometer 2.1 |
TimeSpy |
Single Multi |
Single Multi |
OpenCL Metal/Vulkan |
||
DirectX 12 |
||||||
MacBook Air 2024 |
Apple M3 8 core GPU |
680 |
— |
1897 9872 |
3143 2008 |
25845 41671 |
Zenbook 14 |
Core Ultra 7 155H Intel Arc GPU |
396 |
3453 |
1637 13367 |
2290 12256 |
34889 38268 |
MacBook Pro 2022 |
Apple M2 10-core GPU |
407 |
— |
1579 8730 |
2581 9641 |
28852 42673 |
MacBook Air 2022 |
Apple M2 8 core GPU |
405 |
— |
1577 8476 |
2578 9655 |
27846 39735 |
MacBook Pro 2020 |
Apple M1 8 core GPU |
209 |
— |
1512 7778 |
2335 8315 |
21646 32743 |
MacBook Pro 14-inch 2021 |
M1 Max 24Core GPU |
300 |
— |
1549 12508 |
2378 12239 |
65432 101045 |
MacBook M3 appears about 20-25% faster than M2 in single-core and multi-core benchmarks, and in comparison with M1, it increases its superiority to about 35-45%; Therefore, considering the 15% increase in frequency and the improvement of TSMC’s manufacturing process, it seems that Apple has not changed much in the architecture; But in any case, CPU performance on par with the M1 Pro is a surprising result for the M3.
Compared to the new Asus ultrabook with the Core Ultra 7 155H chip, MacBook Air M3 leads by 15-35% in single-core benchmarks; But in multi-core benchmarks, it loses the field to the competitor with a single-digit difference of up to 25%. We will talk more about the difference between the two chips in productivity and power consumption.
Apple laptops have a stunning performance in terms of web surfing experience and M3 has taken this performance to a whole new level; MacBook Air 2024 outperforms Asus Ultrabook 2024 with a 65% difference in the Zoomit web browsing test. The stunning superiority of the MacBook Air shows that Apple’s laptop offers faster and smoother performance on the web.
Apple’s new ultrabook appears in almost the same level of computing processing as the last generation. It seems that M3 remains behind its Intel competitor by 25% in the processes that take place on the basis of the OpenCL framework; But instead, thanks to Apple’s exclusive Metal framework, it surpasses the performance of Core Ultra 7 in processes based on Vulkan, with a difference of 10%.
Let’s skip the benchmarks and talk about how the MacBook Air 2024 performs in professional software and games. For this, we considered Photoshop and Premiere Pro software, Python code execution, and the Rise of the Tomb Raider game.
The set of games available for macOS is much more limited than for Windows; However, thanks to the tool that Apple introduced at WWDC 2023 for porting Windows games (Game Porting Toolkit), some were able to run titles such as Medium and Cyberpunk 2077 on Macs with powerful graphics processors such as the M2 Max, and it is hoped that in the future, this same tool, pave the way for more games to be released.
We were able to run the old game Rise of the Tomb Raider at 1200p resolution, High graphics settings and an average frame rate of 50.5 fps, which shows an advantage of about 25 percent of the M3 compared to the M2.
MacBook Air M3 performance while playing Rise of the Tomb Raider game
MacBook Air M3 works about 10 to 20 percent faster than its two previous generations and ZenBook 14 while using Photoshop software for tasks such as resizing large photos and implementing the blur effect or lens correction.
MacBook Air M3 performance in Photoshop software
In Premier Pro software, while performing tasks such as blur effect implementation, image sharpening, or 4K video output, the performance of the device is 20-30% better than the MacBook Air M2 and Zenbook 14.
Performance of MacBook Air M3 in Premier Pro software
Note that in software such as Premiere Pro, where we are dealing with heavy projects, the low RAM overshadows the performance level and you may even get stuck in scenarios like editing 4K videos. Next, we will talk about the MacBook Air M3 RAM.
The MacBook Air was able to run Zoomit’s Python code in about 45 seconds, which is about 13 seconds faster than the M2 and 33 percent faster than the M1.
MacBook Air M3 performance while running Python code
One of the most attractive features of MacBooks is that they work equally well, whether connected to electricity or relying on batteries; For example, when running Python code while plugged in, the MacBook Air M3 beats the ZenBook 14 by just 4 seconds; But by disconnecting the laptops from the electricity and Zenbook’s performance drop, the time difference reaches 11 seconds!
In addition to running Python code, the MacBook Air also displays similar performance in other software in both plugged-in and battery-powered states; In the table below, you can see the difference in performance of MacBook Air M3 in Plugged and UnPlugged modes in a number of users:
Performance of MacBook Air 2024 when connected to electricity and with battery |
||
---|---|---|
Test/Performance |
Plugged result |
Result UnPlugged |
CineBench 2024 (MultiCore) |
574 |
573 |
Speedometer 2.1 |
680 |
681 |
Photoshop |
6488 |
6588 |
Premiere Pro |
3868 |
3881 |
Python |
44.6 seconds |
44.7 seconds |
In the MacBook Air 2022 review, we said that the lack of an active cooling system (fan) makes this ultrabook unable to provide stable performance under continuous processing loads. Now it’s time for MacBook Air 2024 with the same cooling system; But this time with a more optimized chip, it will be wider. Does the MacBook Air M3 offer stable performance?
To evaluate the cooling system, the performance stability level and measure the power consumption and other parameters of the MacBook Air M3, we first ran the CineBench R23 multi-core test on the device for 30 minutes consecutively in both power-connected and battery-based modes; Then we went to the 20-minute Wild Life Extreme test.
MacBook Air 2024 laptop performance under continuous processing load |
||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Laptop status |
CPU score at first |
CPU score after 30 minutes |
GPU score first |
GPU score after 20 minutes |
Connected to electricity |
9872 |
7841 |
6989 |
5207 |
with battery |
9833 |
8322 |
6996 |
5271 |
MacBook Air M3 shows more or less the same behavior whether in Plugged or UnPlugged mode; After 30 minutes, the CPU performance drops by about 15-20%, and in a 20-minute graphics processing load, the GPU drops by 25%.
Contrary to the numbers stated in the technical specifications of the M3 chip, the MacBook Air 2024, whether in multi-core or single-core processing, never reaches the frequency of 4.05 GHz in powerful cores; In my measurements, the frequency of the most powerful cores in the multi-core test remained at 3.7 GHz for a few seconds; But it immediately begins the gradual process of decline and reaches below 2.5 GHz from the 10th minute, which is lower than the stable 2.75 GHz frequency of low-power cores!
Read more: Asus Zenbook 14 OLED laptop review
CPU frequency in MacBook Air M3
The frequency drop process starts when the temperature of the hottest point of the chip reaches 103 degrees Celsius; It seems that Apple has adopted a more conservative strategy this year; Because in MacBook Air M2, the maximum temperature of the chip reaches 109 degrees Celsius. The temperature of 103 degrees of the chip continues for 5-6 minutes and then, thanks to the frequency drop, it decreases to the range below 90 degrees Celsius.
CPU temperature on MacBook Air M3
The temperature of the laptop body rises to 46-47 degrees Celsius, especially in the upper area of the keyboard; But in general, the body heat is not such that you cannot continue working with the laptop.
CPU consumption in MacBook Air M3
As you can see in the power consumption graph, the CPU consumes about 21 watts in the first few seconds; But as the body heats up, the power consumption gradually decreases and after a few minutes it reaches below 10 watts and reaches the range of 7-8 watts.
As you can see from the graphs below, the M3 GPU also follows a similar path to performance degradation from overheating the device.
GPU consumption in MacBook Air M3
GPU temperature on MacBook Air M3
GPU frequency on MacBook Air M3
About 2-3 minutes after the start of graphic processing, in order to prevent the chip temperature from exceeding 103 degrees Celsius, the frequency of the GPU drops from about 1350 MHz and its power consumption from about 14 watts to 1000 MHz and below 8 watts. is approaching
My tests show that the MacBook Air M3 uses its powerful core stably with a frequency of about 3,750 MHz in single-core processing, this number is about 3,200 and 2,980 MHz in the MacBook Air M2 and MacBook Air M1 laptops, respectively.
In order to have a general outline and limits of architecture changes and IPC (the number of instructions executed per processing cycle), we can divide GeekBench’s single-core score by the chips’ single-core frequency; Note that this measure is not exact and only provides a general picture of the state of architectural changes. To accurately measure IPC, one should go to an expensive tool such as SPECView, which unfortunately is not available in Iran.
Ratio of performance to CPU frequency
To be more precise, what you see in the graph above is the ratio of single-core performance to CPU frequency in three generations of MacBook Air laptops with M1, M2, and M3 chips. In this chart, I have considered the MacBook Air M1 as a benchmark so that we can compare the other two chips relatively. The numbers say that the architectural changes in M3 have a 4 and 7 percent impact on the performance of this chip compared to M2 and M1, which is not a significant improvement.
In the graph below, you can see the ratio of M3’s performance to its power consumption compared to previous generations and the Core Ultra 7 155H chip. Note that the amount of power consumed by the chips is not stable and after a few seconds, it deviates from its maximum value; Therefore, the graph below was created by running CineBench R23 once and based on the average power consumption during the benchmark execution period, so that we can obtain the ratio of performance to power consumption in the best performance condition of the laptop.
The ratio of performance to CPU power consumption
My measurements show that the M3 consumes an average of 4.9 and 19.1 watts when running the CineBench R23 single-core and multi-core benchmarks, respectively; While these numbers are equal to 8 and 20.2 watts for the M2 and 23 and 37.8 watts for the Core Ultra 7 155H, respectively, this shows the stunning efficiency of the M3; But if you consider the numbers obtained in the previous chart, you will realize that TSMC’s optimized manufacturing process has more influence on this amazing productivity than IPC and Apple’s architecture improvements.
The M3’s incredible efficiency also contributes to the MacBook Air M3’s excellent charging performance. Apple uses the same 52.6-watt-hour battery as the MacBook Air M2 in its new ultrabook and says that this laptop can charge for about 18 hours, just like the previous generation.
MacBook Air 2024 battery life compared to other laptops |
||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Laptop/Test |
Functional profile |
hardware |
Display |
Battery capacity |
Play offline video |
Everyday use |
Processor and graphics |
Dimensions, resolution, and refresh rate |
watt-hours |
720p Video |
PCMark 10 |
||
minute: hour |
minute: hour |
|||||
MacBook Air 2024 |
— |
Apple M3 8 core GPU |
13.6 inches and 60 Hz 1664 x 2560 pixels |
52.6 |
14:13 |
— |
Zenbook 14 |
Performance |
Core Ultra 7-155H Intel Arc |
14 inches and 120 Hz 1800 x 2880 pixels |
75 |
17:25 |
9:09 |
Galaxy Book 3 Ultra |
Performance |
Core i7-13700H RTX 4050 |
16 inches and 120 Hz 1880 x 2880 pixels |
76 |
11:00 |
6:21 |
MacBook Pro 2022 |
— |
Apple M2 10-core GPU |
13.3 inches and 60 Hz 1600 x 2560 pixels |
58.2 |
26:18 |
— |
MacBook Air 2022 |
— |
Apple M2 8 core GPU |
13.6 inches and 60 Hz 1664 x 2560 pixels |
52.6 |
14:11 |
— |
MacBook Pro 2020 |
— |
Apple M1 8 core GPU |
13.3 inches and 60 Hz 1600 x 2560 pixels |
58.2 |
16:47 |
— |
MacBook Pro 14-inch 2021 |
— |
M1 Max 24Core GPU |
14.2 inches and 120 Hz 1964 x 3024 pixels |
70 |
18:14 |
— |
The MacBook Air 2024 was able to play our benchmark HD video for a little over 14 hours, just like the previous generation, in standard Zoomit conditions, which includes 200 nits brightness (about 70% brightness) and flight mode activation, which is an impressive result; But it is about 3 hours less than the Asus Zenbook 14 Ultrabook with a larger 75 watt-hour battery.
… and 8GB RAM for everyone
Unfortunately, this year Apple did not fall short either, and in 2024, it released the basic version of its $1,100 ultrabook with 8 GB of RAM and 256 GB of SSD. If you buy from Apple’s website, you can order 16GB or 24GB of RAM and 512GB, 1TB, and 2TB of SSD; Of course, to go to each higher step, you have to pay 200 dollars more; For example, the MacBook Air 2024 with 16 GB RAM and 512 GB SSD will cost you about $1,500.
If the base version of the 8GB MacBook Air disappointed you, you can be glad that Apple has moved away from the cowardly strategy of using a NAND chip for the SSD of the base version of the MacBook Air, which ended up halving the read and write speeds, and this year all models with 2 sells NAND chips; The maximum speed of 4 and 3.5 GB/s for reading and writing is lower than Windows competitors; But it’s not bad either.
The average SSD speed of the base model MacBook Air 2024 compared to other MacBooks |
||
---|---|---|
Models / Performance |
Sequential reading rate (UK gigabytes) |
Sequential write rate (UK gigabytes) |
MacBook Air M3 |
2.63 |
2.58 |
MacBook Air M2 |
1.03 |
2.32 |
MacBook Pro M1 |
2.28 |
2.46 |
There is a lot of debate on social networks about whether 8GB of RAM is sufficient or not. A number of Apple fans, with the logic that “MacBook RAM has high speed and memory swap technology is available to help SSD as RAM”, say that in many applications, 8 GB of RAM is enough; But you should pay attention to several points:
1. The data is not just traveling between the chip and RAM, which can compensate for the low capacity of the RAM by just having a high data exchange rate; In some applications, such as modeling or graphic work, several gigabytes of data may be stored in RAM for a relatively long time. Let’s say that the data exchange rate between the RAM and the M3 or M2 chip is no longer the best, and some chips such as the Core Ultra 7 155H offer a higher rate.
2. Memory swap is not a magical and new technology; The rest of the operating systems, such as Windows, also have similar technology; But it should be noted that swap memory reduces the useful life of SSD and the speed of SSD is not at the level of RAM that can fully play its role; For example, in MacBook Air M3, the data exchange rate between RAM and chip also reaches 102 GB/s; While the Mac SSD read and write rate is maybe one twentieth of this number.
3. Software tools are constantly developing, and their need for hardware resources, including RAM, also increases day by day. On the other hand, the user also buys the MacBook for a few years of use; Therefore, due to the lack of ability to upgrade RAM, one may face problems over time.
Aside from all the talk about Rome, a number of domestic sellers are also taking advantage of the opportunity; For example, Apple charges the same amount for a MacBook Air with 16 GB of RAM and 256 GB of SSD as for an 8 | 512 GB considered; But in Iran, configuring MacBook with more RAM is much more expensive than configuring with more SSD.
MacBook Air M3; Attractive and not very valuable
The MacBook Air M3 is by no means a bad product; But what makes buying this ultrabook illogical is the great value of its predecessors, especially the MacBook Air M1, especially if we consider their significant price difference.
For a person who does not have a laptop and is looking for a compact and well-made ultrabook for daily and light use, the base model of MacBook Air M1, which is currently sold at a price of 47-48 million Tomans, is a very desirable option; A device with an integrated metal body, a high-quality display, a very good keyboard and trackpad, excellent charging and fast performance that meets all the needs of an individual with daily use, journalism or light content production; Without the need to take an irrational action, about 25 million Tomans more will be spent to buy M3.
A person who already has a MacBook Air M2 and uses it for daily use should not go for the MacBook Air M3; Because it will not experience any significant changes; Except for the faster SSD, which is hardly noticeable in everyday use. For a current Mac M1 user, it might make more sense to upgrade to the M3.
For people who use laptops for tasks such as programming or video editing, the 8GB version of the MacBook Air M3 is not really a rational choice. If these people prefer macOS, it is better to go for used models with a budget of 70-75 million tomans, such as M1 Pro with 16 GB RAM, or if they are comfortable with Windows, high-quality options such as HP Envy with Core i9-13900H processor. And 16 GB of RAM will be a reasonable option for them.
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