It took retailers a bit to react to Apple dominating the laptop scene with the announcement of the MacBook Neo. Immediately after the announcement, I asked (and answered) why the best Windows laptop deals had paused. Since then, retailers have rolled out some excellent deals. The ASUS Zenbook A14 at $699.99 stands out even among discounted PCs from HP, Lenovo, and other OEMs.
Slim, sleek, and stunning, the Zenbook A14 packs plenty of ports and has a battery that "simply refuses to die." A $300 discount on the Zenbook A14 slashes the price of what was already one of the best Windows laptops.
I understand I'm being effusive in my praise of the Zenbook A14, but it's 100 percent justified. The laptop won a "Best of CES 2025" award from us, made our Editor-in-Chief fall in love, and earned a 4.5/5 in our Zenbook A14 review. All that was before the laptop dropped in price.
So, what makes the Zenbook A14 one of the best Windows laptops?
The Zenbook A14 is lightweight but durable, thin but full of ports, and snappy but able to last over 12 hours on battery.
A large, 70Whr battery combines with the Snapdragon X Plus to deliver all-day battery life. A Windows Battery Report shows the Zenbook A14 can get 12 hours of actual screen-on usage.
One of the best things about the laptop is that it performs well when plugged in or running off battery. Many laptops throttle speed and dip in performance when unplugged, but that's not the case here.
"I tested the Zenbook A14 on and off the charger with identical settings, and observed a 0.7% drop in CPU performance and a 1% drop in GPU performance," said Zachary Boddy in our review.
The Snapdragon X Plus chip inside the laptop is great for efficiency, but can run into some compatibility issues. It's worth double-checking if the apps you need work on Windows on Arm. Works on Windows on Arm is an excellent site for confirming compatibility.
The laptop's display is OLED, delivering deep blacks and vibrant colors. The 14-inch screen is FHD and 60Hz, which is good for productivity and enjoying media but not as smooth as 120Hz panels.
The Zenbook A14 is a light laptop, coming in at under 1 kilogram, but it feels surprisingly robust. Its secret is Ceraluminum, a fancy word from ASUS for a magnesium alloy. The material is 30% lighter and 300% stronger than the average laptop's aluminum. A scratch-resistant ceramic coating envelopes the laptop for added protection.
Is it fair to compare the MacBook Neo to discounted Windows laptops?
The answer to this question depends on who you are.
If you're a journalist arguing that the MacBook Neo is a "Windows killer," I think it's unfair to compare a sale price to a retail price. You need to make like-for-like comparisons when assessing things at an industry level.
But if you're a person shopping for a laptop, retail price isn't as important, at least not directly. You want a laptop with the right specs at the perfect price (or at least at a price within your budget).
A large discount can indicate value, but you still need to check the spec sheet and reviews. I've seen plenty of sales over the years that "saved you hundreds" on a PC I wouldn't recommend to anyone.
Luckily, the current Zenbook A14 deal is genuinely great. For $699.99 ($300 off), you get one of the best Windows laptops. It also has 16GB of RAM, which is more than Apple will give you on the MacBook Neo no matter how much you pay.
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