[Editor’s note: Monica Chin is The Verge’s former senior laptop reviewer, currently taking a break from tech journalism. But some things are hard to quit.]
As soon as upon a time, within the olden days of March 2020, a little bit firm known as Asus launched a spritely whippersnapper of a gaming laptop computer known as the ROG Zephyrus G14. It weighed simply over 3.5 kilos, and it was powered by a really monstrous AMD processor, the likes of which had by no means been seen in a 14-inch kind issue.
I nonetheless bear in mind reviewing that laptop computer, virtually 4 years in the past, prefer it was yesterday. I bear in mind working the Purple Lifeless Redemption 2 benchmark — the last word check at the moment — over and over, poring over the sport settings, making an attempt desperately to determine what I’d messed as much as make the egregiously excessive body charges I used to be seeing make sense. (The most effective Intel needed to supply on the time, bear in mind, was Comet Lake. And, nicely, we don’t discuss Comet Lake on this family.)
After which there was the design. The G14 sported a retro aesthetic, spaceship-y in nature with giant, luxuriously comfy keycaps and a keyboard font that evoked Johnny Rockets. The lid eschewed the graceful and glossy aesthetic round which laptops had been simply starting to converge at the moment, opting as a substitute to be lined with a curious however completely distinctive dot matrix. In the event you paid a bit (okay, quite a bit) of additional cash, these dots grew to become animated LEDs that you could possibly do all types of funky issues with, from elevating a digital pet to creating a dude’s head repeatedly explode. Since then, there’s been a G14 mannequin that doubles as a DJ deck and one other lined in obscure shapes with “BLACK HOLES IN THE NOW” scrawled throughout the underside. It has by no means been a laptop computer involved with mixing in.
I bear in mind emailing Asus to ask if the $1,449 worth they’d despatched me was a typo — shouldn’t one thing this distinctive be $1,000 extra? And I viscerally bear in mind the sensation I acquired when Asus’ consultant replied that no, consider it or not, that was the actual worth. It was a realization that this laptop was one thing new — that this laptop was one thing completely different.
The G14 went on to create what was basically a brand new class of gaming laptop computer over the following few years. The product’s reputation made it mainly inconceivable to purchase for fairly a while. It’s been an enormous product for Asus, a near-consistent presence on Finest Purchase’s bestseller lists, and, anecdotally, one of many gaming laptops I most frequently noticed within the wild.
As of late, modern 14-inch rigs abound. Asus’ wasn’t the primary ultraportable gaming pocket book — that honor, after all, belongs to the Razer Blade — however the Zephyrus G14 nonetheless proved to everybody that not solely may heavy-duty video games run nicely on a 14-inch laptop computer with all-day battery life and a cool, daring design, but in addition that such a machine didn’t have to price an arm and a leg.
It redefined the class, in different phrases, by being the precise reverse of a MacBook in mainly each method.
Quick-forward to CES 2024. The G14, which has largely retained a facsimile of its 2020 chassis since launch, was unveiled with a serious redesign. It’s a lot thinner and far lighter. The spaceship vibe isn’t any extra. Gone is the dot matrix, as are the exploding heads and digital fauna that it wrought. The lid is now glossy {and professional}, with a — I don’t know, is it a slash? — throughout the middle as the only ornament. Every little thing about it’s rounder, extra polished, and status. As studies from the present have identified, it out of the blue appears to be like, feels, and appears a heck of quite a bit like a MacBook.
The G14 is much from the one CES launch that’s blatantly chasing the Mac line relating to design. Dell has swapped out its 15-inch and 17-inch XPS configurations for a 14-incher and 16-incher, respectively (sound acquainted?). The fashions have misplaced not solely their full-sized SD slot (sigh), but in addition their bodily operate row in favor of haptic contact buttons (one other factor a sure Cupertino firm tried). Everybody and their mom is grumpy about it. And it’s emblematic of a bigger pattern we’ve been seeing all through the computing area lately, through which 13-inchers and 14-inchers are converging on a boardroom aesthetic whereas getting thinner and lighter in any respect prices.
Now, I perceive the will to emulate the MacBook. It’s an exceptional line of computer systems. It’s on prime of Finest Laptop computer pages all throughout the web, and there’s little disagreement as to its worth.
However there are some things I actually hope producers will remember as they mull over whether or not to scrap designs that had been distinctive and completely different in pursuit of the MacBook’s appear and feel. The primary is that the MacBook just isn’t simply its appear and feel. It’s rather more.
I might argue that the rationale Apple computer systems have develop into the machine that, like, each skilled has is, moreso than anything, their efficiency. It’s the category-topping energy of each their chips and their battery life — it’s the mixture of energy and effectivity that they provide. In any case, the early-2020 MacBook Professional 13 and the late-2020 MacBook Professional 13 had very comparable chassis, however solely the latter had each category-topping efficiency and category-topping battery life, and it solely took a couple of months to completely eclipse its Intel counterpart’s gross sales. Class-topping efficiency and category-topping battery life, by the way, are additionally what the G14 has had for a number of years.
I don’t imply to suggest that design is unimportant. I am saying that the pursuit of thinness, sleekness, suaveness, no matter you wish to name it, typically comes with prices.
We’ve seen that play out time and time once more. You may look to the transition from the Dell XPS 13, an all-around distinctive laptop computer that was topping Finest pages within the pre-M1 period, to the Dell XPS 13 Plus, a flaming fireball of an ultrabook with about 5 minutes of battery life, a shallow touchpad, disappointing efficiency, and a irritating keyboard that acquired middling critiques from just about everybody. (Tom’s Information, famous followers of the XPS line, slammed it as “a stunning step backwards.”)
You may look to the ThinkPad Z-series, which needed to miss many of the options that make ThinkPads world famend so as to keep a slim body. The Razer Blade has been doing the thin-and-sleek factor for years on finish, and it has persistently been louder, hotter, pricier, and worse within the battery life division than the G14. Heck, you’ll be able to even look to Apple. In any case, the thin-at-all-costs mindset is what subjected us to 5 years of butterfly keyboard.
I hope this isn’t what’s occurring to the G14, the XPS 13, and different main laptops that acquired redesigns at CES this yr. However I’m seeing some warning indicators. Final yr’s G14 may accommodate as much as an RTX 4090 — Nvidia’s prime weapons — whereas this yr’s caps out at an RTX 4070. Granted, the G14’s 4090 was restricted to 125W, a considerably decrease quantity than greater 4090 machines had been pulling at the moment, and the RTX 4070 mannequin was undoubtedly the candy spot of efficiency and worth. However the reality stays: SKU choices for G14 followers are extra restricted now than they had been earlier than.
After which there’s battery life, which has lengthy been one of many G14’s most excellent options. Not solely does the 2024 G14 have a smaller battery than its predecessor, but it surely has a higher-resolution OLED display screen. Don’t get me improper: I like me an OLED display screen, particularly for gaming, and the Zephyrus’ appears to be like nice. However final yr’s QHD Mini LED panel was already gorgeous, with some reviewers reporting that it was mainly nearly as good as an OLED. And high-resolution OLED screens mixed with H-series processors are hardly ever a recipe for distinctive battery life. I’ll level you, once more, to the XPS 13 Plus. The Acer Swift 3. The HP Pavilion Plus 14. The Asus Zenbook 14X OLED. The HP Spectre x360 13.5. I imply, actually, simply take your choose.
I perceive the impulse to observe the cool youngsters to their cafeteria desk. Actually, I do. However the Zephyrus G14 had an excellent factor going. It wasn’t for everybody, but it surely was wholly and unapologetically itself. It could be a disgrace, as Home windows machines throughout the market race to catch the MacBook, if such daring merchandise disappeared.
Up to date Jan twentieth 2024 at 4:35pm ET: Added additional context in regards to the energy draw of the RTX 4090 in final yr’s G14 that was current in unique draft.