ASUS Vivobook 14 (M1407KA) Review — strong processor, middling laptop

ASUS Vivobook 14 (M1407KA)

7.7

For just RM3,499, I don't think you can find a more powerful laptop that's this portable.

What's Good?

• Ryzen up to the occasion
• A splash of color in a monochrome world
• Good connectivity, albeit slightly outdated
• Nice quality-of-life features
• A full day's battery life

What's Not?

• Could really do with a better display

The ASUS Vivobook 14 (M1407KA) promises a lot on paper. It’s equipped with a powerful AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 processor that delivers impressive performance for everyday tasks and even has the AI chops to pass as one of the latest Copilot+ PCs. However, like a high-performance engine placed in a rather ordinary car, the ASUS Vivobook 14’s other components don’t always keep pace, leading to a somewhat uneven user experience.

ASUS Vivobook 14 (M1407KA) — What’s Good?

Ryzen up to the occasion

Let’s start with the highlight: the processor. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 here is a notable performer. This chip is a significant step up from what you’d typically find in this price range. In our benchmark tests, the Vivobook 14 (M1407KA) consistently outperformed competitors in its class. It also feels responsive and snappy, a stark contrast to the sluggishness that can sometimes plague budget-friendly laptops. The integrated Radeon 860M is adequate for casual gaming and media consumption, although throwing in another stick of DDR5-5600 SO-DIMM would help greatly in terms of performance.

A splash of color in a monochrome world

Most laptops in this price segment are often available in gray or black, and not much else. Rarely do we see more color options, but the ASUS Vivobook 14 (M1407KA) here comes in Platinum Gold, which looks like a light shade of champagne to me. Sure, if you’re boring, you can also get it in Cool Silver or Quiet Blue, but I do appreciate this lighter color option. On that note, the ASUS Vivobook 14 isn’t the lightest laptop out there at 1.46kg, although I would say that it’s reasonably portable and it does feel like it will survive most of your daily abuse with what feels like decent build quality, albeit its all-plastic construction.

Good connectivity, albeit slightly outdated

In its relatively thin design, the ASUS Vivobook 14 is not lacking at all when it comes to ports. Two USB-C, two USB-A, a full-sized HDMI port and a headphone jack means that you won’t really be needing any dongles or adapters when using this laptop. What I don’t quite like however is that all the USB ports are only capable of USB 3.0 (5Gbps) speeds. Meanwhile, we have the ASUS Vivobook 16 The wireless connectivity is also quite outdated, only capable of WiFi 6. But at least it’s 2×2 and not a 1×1 adapter like what the ASUS Vivobook Go 15 came with.

Nice quality-of-life features

The keyboard is comfortable to type on, with a decent amount of key travel, and the touchpad is quite large and accurate. There’s also support for some gesture navigation to adjust the brightness as well as going through a video timeline. For those who’re more worried about privacy, the inclusion of a physical webcam privacy shield is a welcome addition. However, the ASUS Vivobook 14 relies on the IR camera for biometric authentication, which means you will have to uncover it at least until you’re logged in to Windows, unless you’re willing to forgo the more convenient Windows Hello sign-in process in the name of privacy.

A full day’s battery life

According to PCMark 10’s Modern Office battery benchmark, we are looking at around a full workday’s worth of juice. With that said, I still think ASUS could have done better by putting a larger battery pack into the ASUS Vivobook 14. Call me spoiled, but the recent wave of Snapdragon X series and Lunar Lake laptops make the ASUS Vivobook 14’s battery life feel a tad too short, even though it lasted 8 hours in the benchmark. There’s also support for USB-C charging, so you don’t have to lug around a charger specifically for your laptop.

ASUS Vivobook 14 (M1407KA) — What’s Not?

Could really do with a better display

The one area where the Vivobook 14 (M1407KA) falls really short is its display. The 14-inch FHD+ IPS panel is… adequate. Colors are reasonably accurate, and viewing angles are decent, but it lacks the vibrancy and sharpness that would truly elevate the overall experience. Given the 45% NTSC gamut — which translates to around 60% sRGB — this is to be expected. With the performance on tap, I would have loved to see a more capable display that can deliver at least 100% sRGB, which would make the ASUS Vivobook 14 a reasonable option for budding creators. Or hey, maybe charge me an extra RM200 and give me an OLED panel.

ASUS Vivobook 14 (M1407KA) Specifications

ASUS Vivobook 14 (M1407KA) — should you buy this?

The ASUS Vivobook 14 (M1407KA) is a bit of a mixed bag. For just RM3,499, I don’t think you can find a more powerful laptop that’s this portable. But all that horsepower from the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 is somewhat wasted by a display that doesn’t exactly allow you to take full advantage of that performance. Your content creation experience is going to be severely limited by the drab screen. What the display is good for is daily productivity, but you don’t need this beefy Krackan Point chip for that.

The more affordable ASUS Vivobook 16 (A1607QA) might be a better fit for you, if word processing and web browsing are all that you’re going to do. Heck, you will even get better battery life out of that laptop. But if you prioritize raw performance and are willing to overlook what might be its only major shortcoming, the Vivobook 14 (M1407KA) delivers potent performance for its price. To unleash the full performance of this laptop, all you need to do is add another stick of RAM and you’ll be flying through casual games and light content creation.

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If you are interested in the ASUS Vivobook 14 we would really appreciate if you purchase it via the links below. The affiliate links won’t cost you any extra, but it will be a great help to keep our lights on here at HelloExpress.

• ASUS Vivobook 14 (M1407KA) (Lazada): https://s.lazada.com.my/s.KfFeR
• ASUS Vivobook 14 (M1407KA) (Shopee): https://s.shopee.com.my/5fbia3N2AN