United States
United Kingdom
Deutschland
France
Canada
España
Belgium
Netherlands
Poland
Sweden
България
Australia
Singapore
Italia
中国
日本ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406 review – Balanced Performer with Long Battery Life
What about a 28W AMD Zen 4 CPU fitted in a light 14-inch device? Yep, the Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406 has the powerful AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS under the bonnet alongside the Radeon 780M. The latter is pretty snappy for an iGPU and thanks to it, you can play CS2 on Medium details with around 152 FPS on average which is a respectable result for integrated graphics.
Perhaps this laptop could look familiar to some of you. That’s because it’s the AMD version of the Team Blue Zenbook 14 OLED (UX3405) that we have already tested. This means a thin notebook with good input devices and limited upgradability because of the soldered memory. The port selection is decent but compared to the Intel version, you don’t don’t get Thunderbolt 4 support here.
You can choose from three glossy OLED HDR display options. Two of which are 60Hz 1200p models with or without touch capabilities. The top dog is a 2880×1800 120Hz panel. You can rely on sound by Harman/Kardon and Wi-Fi 6E + Bluetooth 5.3 for connectivity.
You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/asus-zenbook-14-oled-um3406/
Contents
Specs, Drivers, What’s in the box
ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (UM3406) - Specs
- HDD/SSD
- up to 4000GB SSD + up to 4000GB HDD
- M.2 Slot
- 1x 2280 PCIe NVMe 4.0 x4 See photo
- RAM
- up to 32GB
- OS
- Windows 11 Home, No OS, Windows 11 Pro, Windows 10 Pro, Windows 10 Home, Windows 11
- Battery
- 75Wh, 4-cell
- Body material
- Aluminum
- Dimensions
- 312.4 x 220.1 x 14.9 mm (12.30" x 8.67" x 0.59")
- Weight
- 1.20 kg (2.6 lbs)
- Ports and connectivity
- 1x USB Type-A
- 3.2 Gen 1 (5 Gbps)
- 1x USB Type-C
- 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps), Power Delivery (PD), DisplayPort
- 1x USB Type-C
- 4.0, Power Delivery (PD), DisplayPort
- HDMI
- 2.1
- Card reader
- Ethernet LAN
- Wi-Fi
- 802.11ax
- Bluetooth
- 5.3
- Audio jack
- 3.5mm Combo Jack
- Features
- Fingerprint reader
- Web camera
- FHD IR with support for Windows Hello, privacy shutter
- Backlit keyboard
- Microphone
- Array Microphone
- Speakers
- Stereo Speakers with Smart Amp Technology
- Optical drive
- Security Lock slot
All ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED (UM3406) configurations
Drivers
All drivers and utilities for this notebook can be found here: https://www.asus.com/laptops/for-home/zenbook/asus-zenbook-14-oled-um3406/helpdesk_download?model2Name=UM3406HA
What’s in the box?
We found a 65W Type-C adapter and the laptop itself inside the package. The box may also contain some optional accessories such as a sleeve, the ASUS Pen SA200H-MPP1.51, and the USB-A to RJ45 LAN adapter.
Design and construction
The Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406 is a carbon copy of the UX3405 model. The AMD model in front of us is only available in Jade Black color. The metal chassis looks super stealthy but many fingerprints are visible after just an hour of work. In this case, a microfiber cloth on your desk is a must.
Opening the laptop with one hand is possible but don’t rush the process. Otherwise, the front of the base will jump up a bit. The lid can be flexed but not too much which is good given how thin this thing is. Overall, the base is solid. Yes, you can flex the zones below and above the keyboard but only when you apply more pressure than usual. The main body remains stable even during harsh typing. The device’s portability is one of its main advantages. It has a 14.9 mm profile and the weight varies from 1.20 to 1.28 kg depending on the configuration and its display.
The dark bezels blend well with the black base. The bottom bezel is a bit thicker than the other three.
The 1080p IR Web camera with a privacy shutter is placed normally above the screen.
Because of the 180-degree hinge, this small notebook can lay flat on an even surface. If you push far back the lid, its lower side with two rubber feet lifts the rear of the chassis which enhances the cooling capabilities of the machine.
The backlit keyboard offers impressively long key travel for such a thin laptop. Most of the keys sound quiet on press expert for some of the bigger ones like the “Space” and “Enter”. The mandatory AI shortcut is onboard and is positioned close to the too-tiny Arrows.
The touchpad is big, smooth, and offers accurate tracking. Our laptop boasts the ASUS NumberPad 2.0 which is a virtual numeric keypad. You can summon the NumPad function by pressing the dedicated button in the top right corner of the pad.
Flipping the machine upside down reveals three rubber feet, a large big ventilation grill, and four cutouts for the speakers. The heat is being exhausted through two vents – one on the back and one on the left. The hinge cover is placed right in front of the rear exhaust and that’s why not much hot air reaches the screen during heavy CPU loads.
Ports
On the left side, we can see only one USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port. On the right, you get an HDMI 2.1 TMDS, an Audio combo jack, a 40 Gbps USB4 port, and a 10 Gbps USB Type-C 3.2 (Gen. 2) port. Both Type-C ports support DisplayPort and Power Delivery.
Display and Sound Quality, Get our Profiles
| ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406 | ATNA40CT02-0 (SDC41A0) |
| Diagonal | 14.0 inches (35.6 cm) |
| Panel Type | OLED |
| Resolution | 1920 x 1200 pixels |
| Max Refresh Rate | 60 Hz |
| Aspect Ratio | 16:10 |
| Pixel Density | 162 PPI |
| ‘Retina’ Distance | Greater than or equal to 53 cm |
Viewing Angles
Viewing angles are good. We take photos from different angles to evaluate the quality.
Also, a video with locked focus and exposure.
Color Coverage
The whole “sail-shaped” map below (Fig. 1) consists of all the colors we can see, while the black crooked line shows all the colors from real-world scenes and nature around us.
Then, we’ve drawn some of the most important and interesting color spaces, compared to the colors the panel of ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406 can show:
Standard/For Web: sRGB – widely used color space for most consumer devices, ideal for Web design and development
For Print: AdobeRGB – used in professional photo editing, graphic design, and print
For Photographers/Video Editors: DCI-P3 – used in high-end film production, post-production, and digital cinema
Premium HDR: Rec.2020 – the widest consumer ITU color standard, covering a massive 75.8% of the visible spectrum, a benchmark for premium HDR content
ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406: the yellow dashed triangle (– – – – – –) represents the range of colors this monitor can display.+
In our tests, we calculated the total color coverage of the monitor at 100% of the sRGB color gamut and 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut.
(Fig.1) ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406 covers 100% of the DCI-P3 gamut
The “MyASUS” app emulates Display P3 and sRGB color spaces.
(Fig.2) Display P3
[Gamut-sRGB_ZenBook_S14_ATNA40CU09-0]
(Fig.3) sRGB
Brightness and Contrast
The maximum brightness in HDR mode is 650 cd/m² at 8% white fill and 623 cd/m² on a full white screen.
The maximum brightness in SDR mode is 382 cd/m² in the center of the screen and 378 cd/m² averaged across the surface with a maximum deviation of 3%.
The Correlated Color Temperature (CCT) on a white screen at maximum brightness is 6530K (“Native-Default, Normal” mode in “MyASUS” app).
The contrast ratio of OLED panels is excellent because the pixels turn off completely when displaying black.
Uniformity: Luminance, Contrast, and Color Deviation
The figure below shows the results from our uniformity test across different sections of the screen. It’s measured at 184 nits (Windows slider = 69%) — a brightness level we consider typical for standard working conditions.
DeltaE values below 4.0 are acceptable for regular users. For those working with colors, screens with DeltaE values no higher than 2.0 are recommended.
Color Accuracy
Let’s check the difference between real colors and those you’ll see on the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406. We measure that distance in DeltaE – the higher the number, the more different they look.
Values below 4.0 are acceptable for regular users, while values below 2.0 are suitable for color-sensitive work. A value below 1.0 means the difference is indistinguishable to the naked eye.
For the next graph, we’ve selected 24 common colors, including dark/light skin, blue sky, green grass, etc.
Below are the results of the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406 in its factory condition (HDR off) compared to Display P3 and sRGB color spaces.
(Fig. 4) ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406 in Display P3
(Fig. 5) ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406 in sRGB
Visibility in dark scenes
Have you ever watched a movie with dark scenes where you could barely see anything? This often happens because many display panels struggle to differentiate the darkest nuances, making them appear the same.
The next figure illustrates how well the display reproduces these dark nuances. The left side of the image shows the display with stock settings, and the right side shows it with our Design and Gaming profile activated.
On the horizontal axis are the grayscale levels, and on the vertical axis – the corresponding display brightness.
You can also check how your display handles the darkest nuances but keep in mind that this also depends on the settings of your current display and the surrounding light conditions.
Health Impact: PWM (Screen flickering)
Some use PWM to regulate their brightness, which means that instead of reducing the light intensity, they pulse or flicker. Our brain merges the image, so it appears darker, but this strains both it and our vision, especially when the frequency of the pulses is low. You can read more about that in our dedicated article on PWM.
In the graph below, you see the intensity of light at different brightness levels—on the vertical axis is the brightness of the emitted light, and on the horizontal axis—time.
The light of the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406 display is not pulse-width modulated, providing visual comfort in the discussed aspect.
Health Impact: Blue light emissions
Installing our Health-Guard profile reduces harmful Blue Light emissions while keeping the colors of the screen perceptually accurate.
If you’re not familiar with the Blue light, the TL;DR version is – emissions that negatively affect your eyes, skin, and your whole body. You can find more information about that in our dedicated article on Blue Light.
Health Impact: Screen Reflectance
Glossy-coated displays can cause eye fatigue in high ambient light conditions due to reflections. We measure the level of screen reflection with the display turned off, at a 60° angle.
The reflectance of the ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED’s screen is 175 GU.
High Gloss: >70 GU
Medium Gloss: 30 – 70 GU
Low Gloss: <30 GU
Get our profiles
Since our profiles are tailored for each individual display model, this article and its respective profile package are meant for ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406 configurations with ATNA40CT02-0 (SDC41A0), 1920 х 1200, OLED panel.
*Should you have problems with downloading the purchased file, try using a different browser to open the link you’ll receive via e-mail. If the download target is a .php file instead of an archive, change the file extension to .zip or contact us at [email protected].
Read more about the profiles HERE.
In addition to receiving efficient and health-friendly profiles, by buying LaptopMedia's products you also support the development of our labs, where we test devices in order to produce the most objective reviews possible.
Office Work
Office Work should be used mostly by users who spend most of the time looking at pieces of text, tables or just surfing. This profile aims to deliver better distinctness and clarity by keeping a flat gamma curve (2.20), native color temperature and perceptually accurate colors.
Design and Gaming
This profile is aimed at designers who work with colors professionally, and for games and movies as well. Design and Gaming takes display panels to their limits, making them as accurate as possible in the sRGB IEC61966-2-1 standard for Web and HDTV, at white point D65.
Health-Guard
Health-Guard eliminates the harmful Pulse-Width Modulation (PWM) and reduces the negative Blue Light which affects our eyes and body. Since it’s custom tailored for every panel, it manages to keep the colors perceptually accurate. Health-Guard simulates paper so the pressure on the eyes is greatly reduced.
Get all 3 profiles with 33% discount
Sound
The ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED’s speakers are of very good quality. The low, mid, and high frequencies are clear.
Performance: CPU, GPU, Storage
All benchmarks and tests were conducted with the “Best Performance” preset activated in the Windows “Power & Battery” menu. Also, the “Performance mode” for the fan is applied in the “MyASUS” software.
The “Memory Allocated to GPU” is set to “Automatic” because our laptop has 16GB of RAM which isn’t that much.
CPU options
The AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS is the only CPU option for this ASUS series.
Here, we evaluate the CPU's performance using a real-world 3D rendering task, assessing its ability to handle complex computations and rendering workloads efficiently.
Results are from the Cinebench 2024 Multi-Core test (higher is better)
Single-core performance ensures smooth operation and responsiveness in operating systems, providing a better user experience.
Results are from the Geekbench 6 Single-Core test (higher is better)
Multi-core performance is essential for handling complex and demanding tasks, such as Video editing, CAD, and Scientific simulations.
Results are from the Geekbench 6 Multi-Core test (higher is better)
GPU options
This means you can rely on the AMD Radeon 780M for graphics tasks.
The results are from 3DMark Time Spy (Graphics). Higher is better.
The results are from 3DMark Wild Life Extreme Unlimited. Higher is better.
Gaming tests
| Counter-Strike 2 | HD 1080p, Low (Check settings) | HD 1080p, Medium (Check settings) | HD 1080p, Very High (Check settings) |
| Average FPS | 169 FPS | 115 FPS | 43 FPS |
| Gears 5 | Full HD, Low (Check settings) | Full HD, Medium (Check settings) | Full HD, High (Check settings) | Full HD, Ultra (Check settings) |
| Average FPS | 89 FPS | 58 FPS | 45 FPS | 34 FPS |
[eBook Guide + Tools] How to MAX OUT Your Laptop
You can make your laptop Faster. LaptopMedia has tested thousands of models in the last 15 years, and we have yet to see a notebook that couldn't be made more powerful through modifications.
That's why we decided to bundle everything we know about how to achieve this in an Easy-to-Follow, Step-by-Step, and Laboratory-Tested, all in one project.
Read more about it here:
[eBook Guide + Tools] How to MAX OUT Your Laptop
🛠️ GPU Modifications: vBIOS, Overclocking, Undervolting
⚙️ Building Fast/Reliable RAID configuration
💻 Hardware upgrade tips for best results
🖼 Display enhancing
💾 OS Optimization for best performance
Storage performance
Our notebook has a 1TB Micron 2400E (MTFDKBA1T0QFM-1BD1AABGB).
It’s a QLC SSD which is decently fast for this kind of memory. It also doesn’t get too toasty during benchmarking.
Temperatures and comfort, Battery Life
Max CPU load
In this test we use 100% on the CPU cores, monitoring their frequencies and chip temperature. The first column shows a computer’s reaction to a short load (2-10 seconds), the second column simulates a serious task (between 15 and 30 seconds), and the third column is a good indicator of how good the laptop is for long loads such as video rendering.
Average core frequency; CPU temp.; Package Power
| AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS (28W TDP) | 0:02 – 0:10 sec | 0:15 – 0:30 sec | 10:00 – 15:00 min |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406 | 3.93 GHz @ 76°C @ 50W | 3.62 GHz @ 88°C @ 41W | 2.95 GHz @ 81°C @ 28W |
| Acer Aspire 15 (A15-41M) | 4.02 GHz @ 62°C @ 51W | 3.51 GHz @ 64°C @ 38W | 3.39 GHz @ 61°C @ 33W |
The Ryzen 7 8840HS can maintain pretty good clocks for a 14-incher in short and medium loads. In the long run, the CPU boosts to around 2.95 GHz which is lower than the official AMD base frequency of 3.3 GHz.
Comfort during full load
The three fan modes can be found in the MyASUS software.
When the processor is stressed at max in “Performance mode”, the fan sounds kind of noisy-ish but not too intrusive. In this scenario, the hotspot on the keyboard reaches 51°C. We measured 43°C on the zone of the display bottom bezel in front of the back vent.
In “Standard mode” the fan is quiet because the CPU clocks are tanked to just ~ 2.50 GHz.
Battery
Now, we conduct the battery tests with the Windows’ Power Efficiency setting turned on, screen brightness adjusted to 180 nits and all other programs turned off except for the one we are testing the notebook with. The 75Wh battery pack lasts for around 19 hours and a half of video playback. That’s a very good result considering the powerful processor and the OLED screen. Оur test was conducted with the “Battery Saver” preset activated in the Windows “Power & Battery” menu and the “Standard” fan profile applied in the MyASUS app.
Brightness: 180 nits; Display Mode: SDR
Time to Full Discharge: Higher is Better
Disassembly, Upgrade options, and Maintenance
To open this small 14-inch machine, you have to undo seven Torx-head screws. Use a lever tool to raise the two zones close to the top corners. This will create gaps in these sections. Then, insert a thin plastic tool to pop the edges. Keep in mind that the hinge cover feels a bit spongy when pushing it with the tool. You can counter this by pressing with a finger where the spudger is and fully pry the rear using this method. The last step is to pop the sides and the front by inserting a thin plastic tool at a 45-degree angle. Pry the panel carefully step by step otherwise the internal clips can snap.
Here’s the internal look of the laptop.
That’s the bottom plate on the inside.
Peel the two plastic films around the cooling.
This device has a 75Wh battery. To remove it, you have to slide up the small metal shroud on the top side that covers the battery connector. Before doing that, wear gloves to avoid short circuits. Then, undo the 3 Phillips-head screws that hold the battery in place.
The capacity is enough for around 19 hours and a half of video playback. That’s a very good result considering the powerful processor and the OLED screen. Оur test was conducted with the “Battery Saver” preset activated in the Windows “Power & Battery” menu and the “Standard” fan profile applied in the MyASUS app.
The memory is soldered but at least you can order this machine with up to 32GB of LPDDR5x-7467 MHz RAM that works in dual-channel mode.
There is just one M.2 slot compatible with 2280 Gen 4 SSDs. The NVMe drive is covered with a heat shield and it has a small thermal pad on top. To undo the single screw that holds the unit fixed to the base, you have to lift the rubber element on the right.
The Wi-Fi card is also soldered and it’s placed close to the top left corner of the battery.
The cooling comprises one fan, a single long heat pipe, two heat sinks, and a heat spreader.
Verdict
The Zenbook 14 OLED UM3406 has one significant advantage over the Intel version and that’s the higher 3D rendering multi-core performance while the AMD CPU runs cooler in in short and medium loads. Speaking of which, the Ryzen 7 8840HS can’t reach its official base clock in long stress but a frequency of ~ 3.00 GHz doesn’t look half bad for a thin and light 14″ machine. Also, the noise levels seem a bit lower than the Team Blue version.
The battery life is outstanding – 19 hours of videos on a single charge! Still, this applies to our laptop with a non-touch 1200p display. Perhaps the autonomous work will be tanked if you pick a machine with the optional 2880×1800 120Hz screen. This reminds us that the default OLED panel (ATNA40CT02-0 (SDC41A0)) is very good. It’s a color-accurate unit with full sRGB and DCI-P3 coverage and a maximum brightness of 382 nits in SDR mode and 650 cd/m² while viewing HDR content.
The ASUS Zenbook 14 OLED is a solid metal small laptop with a great display, superb battery life, a comfortable keyboard, quality speakers, and an IR Web camera.
You can check the prices and configurations in our Specs System: https://laptopmedia.com/series/asus-zenbook-14-oled-um3406/
Pros
- Great OLED display with 100% sRGB and DCI-P3 coverage (SDC41A0)
- Infinite contrast ratio (SDC41A0)
- 650 nits in HDR and 382 nits max brightness in SDR mode (SDC41A0)
- Superb color accuracy (SDC41A0)
- Light and thin (1.20 – 1.28 kg / 14.9 mm)
- Quality Harman Kardon-certified speakers
- Comfortable quiet keyboard
- Big and smooth touchpad
- Virtual ASUS NumberPad 2.0 (option)
- 1080p IR Web camera
- Very good overall CPU and iGPU performance given the thin profile
- Up to 32GB of soldered LPDDR5x RAM
- Very long battery life (~ 19 hours of videos)
- The AMD Ryzen 7 8840HS can maintain 3.93 GHz in short loads
- Metal build
- 2x Type-C + 1x Type-A ports
Cons
- The CPU clock drops down below the official base frequency in long loads
- Only one M.2 slot + soldered memory
- Lacks Thunderbolt 4 support
- QLC SSD
- Fingerprint magnet
TOP 100 GAMING LAPTOPS
TOP LAPTOP RATINGS
HIGHLIGHTS view more
![[November 2024] Amazon USA: Top 10 Best-Selling Gaming Laptops – ASUS is an Absolute Leader](https://laptopmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/US-Top-10-Gaming-375x250.jpg)
[November 2024] Amazon USA: Top 10 Best-Selling Gaming Laptops – ASUS is an Absolute Leader
Dec 06, 2024![[November 2024] Amazon USA: Top 10 Best-Selling Laptops – Apple Takes the Crown](https://laptopmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/US-Top-10-375x250.jpg)
[November 2024] Amazon USA: Top 10 Best-Selling Laptops – Apple Takes the Crown
Dec 05, 2024![[November 2024] Best-Selling Laptop Brands on Amazon USA: Apple Takes Half of the Total Market Revenue](https://laptopmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/US-market-375x250.jpg)
[November 2024] Best-Selling Laptop Brands on Amazon USA: Apple Takes Half of the Total Market Revenue
Dec 05, 2024![[October 2024] Global Ranking of the Top 10 Best-Selling Gaming Laptops on Amazon – ASUS ROG Strix G16 Leads the Pack](https://laptopmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/World-Top-10-Gaming-Laptops-375x250.jpg)
[October 2024] Global Ranking of the Top 10 Best-Selling Gaming Laptops on Amazon – ASUS ROG Strix G16 Leads the Pack
Nov 30, 2024![[October 2024] Global Ranking of the Top 10 Best-Selling Laptop Series on Amazon – MacBook Air Reigns Supreme](https://laptopmedia.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/World-Top-10-375x250.jpg)
[October 2024] Global Ranking of the Top 10 Best-Selling Laptop Series on Amazon – MacBook Air Reigns Supreme
Nov 30, 2024
REVIEWS view more
ASUS Vivobook S 14 OLED M5406 review – Exceeds the Expectations
Dec 06, 2024HP Dragonfly G4 review – The Business Traveler’s Dream
Dec 06, 2024Acer Swift Go (SFG16-72) review – Hot Offer
Dec 05, 2024Acer Nitro V 16 (ANV16-71) review – The Budget Gaming Champ
Dec 04, 2024Lenovo Yoga Pro 7i (14″, Gen 9) Review – The Perfect 14″ Laptop, But Get The IPS Variant!
Dec 03, 2024