Head-to-head · Best Thin and Light Laptops

ASUS Zenbook S14 (UX5406) vs Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13

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

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 comes out ahead by a narrow margin (4.4 vs 4.6). The gap is mostly about Business travelers and professionals who want the lightest possible 14-inch Windows ultraportable with the best keyboard, port selection and enterprise security. — read the strengths below before deciding.

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 →

Higher ratedRanked #2 in Best Thin and Light Laptops

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13

4.6

$2,299.99as of Jun 7

The ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition is the best premium thin-and-light for business users, shaving weight to about 2.16 lbs while keeping the legendary keyboard, port selection and build. Notebookcheck scored it 90% and PCMag handed it a five-star Editors' Choice. The main trade-offs are a steep price and Lunar Lake performance that trails some cheaper machines.

Strengths

— Extraordinarily light at roughly 2.16 lbs, the lightest X1 Carbon ever
— Gorgeous 14-inch 2.8K (2880x1800) OLED at 120Hz with 400 nits
— Class-leading ThinkPad keyboard, TrackPoint and haptic touchpad

Watch-outs

— Premium price, often more than a comparable MacBook
— Lunar Lake multi-core performance trails some cheaper rivals
— Real-world battery (9-11 hours) is good but not class-leading for the chip

$2,299.99 · 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.

Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13

The premium business pick: lighter than the Dell XPS 14 and matching the OLED panel of the ASUS Zenbook S14, but pricier than both; unlike the MacBook Air M4 it runs Windows with full ThinkShield security and a far better keyboard and port array.

Specs side-by-side

Spec	ASUS Zenbook S14 (UX5406)	Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13
CPU	Intel Core Ultra 7 258V (Lunar Lake)	Intel Core Ultra 7 258V (Lunar Lake)
RAM	16-32GB LPDDR5X	Up to 32GB LPDDR5X
Storage	512GB-1TB SSD	Up to 1TB PCIe Gen 5 SSD
Display	14-inch 3K OLED, 120Hz	14-inch 2.8K OLED, 120Hz
Weight	2.6 lbs (1.18 kg)	2.16 lbs (982g)
Battery	~14 hours real-world	9-11 hours real-world
Chassis	Ceraluminum	—
Wireless	Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4	Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
Ports	—	2x Thunderbolt 4, 2x USB-A, HDMI 2.1

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