ASUS Studiobook vs Zenbook vs Vivobook: What's the difference?

ASUS is one of the best laptop manufacturers on the market, with products to suit every occupation and lifestyle. But with all of these different model names, it can be difficult to know what to buy when shopping for the best ASUS laptops. So we've broken it down for you by explaining the key differences between each of these top-spec laptops, so you can decide which one is best for you.

We'll go into more detail on these ASUS laptop specs below, but for even more options, see our dedicated guide to the best gaming laptops (with contenders from the ASUS ROG series) for immersive and powerful gameplay. You might also want to keep tabs on our Black Friday computing deals hub for the best early savings.

The ASUS Vivobook

There are a plethora of ASUS laptop models within each of the product families, but the entry-level ASUS Vivobook series has some budget-friendly options to suit every creative, considered some of the best laptops for photo editing.

These laptops are excellent value and offer more than enough for most people, equipped with everything you need to complete creative tasks, just without the fun flair of dials, extra screens, 3D visuals and raised keyboards.

The Vivobook Pro models also have exceptional NVIDIA GPUs to support light gaming sessions with horsepower to handle multiple tasks at once. Most of the Vivobooks also have beautiful OLED displays with accurate and reliable colours, making them great for streaming and especially for students who might not have the biggest budget but still need a reliable and fast laptop for meeting deadlines.

You can find the entire range of ASUS Vivobook Laptops via ASUS' website, and purchase one directly from ASUS or through retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy, B&H Photo Video, plus Currys and Argos in the UK.

As you can see from the list below, there's a whole host of individual Vivobook models all at different price points and capable of different things, but we've reviewed some of the most popular Vivobooks including the ASUS Vivobook Pro 16X OLED, as well as the Asus Vivobook Pro 15 which we highly recommend.

Available ASUS Vivobook laptop models include the:

• ASUS Vivobook Pro – (ASUS Pro 16X OLED /Pro 16X /Pro 16 /Pro 15X OLED /Pro 15X /Pro 15 OLED /Pro 15 /Pro 14 OLED)

• ASUS Vivobook Go – (ASUS Go 15 OLED /Go 15 /Go 14 Flip /Go 14 /Go 12)

• ASUS Vivobook Slate – (ASUS 13 Slate OLED)

• ASUS Vivobook S Flip – (S 16 Flip OLED /S 16 Flip /S 14 Flip /14 Flip OLED)

• ASUS Vivobook S – (S 16X /S 15 OLED /S 14 OLED /S 15 /S 14 /S15 S533 /S14 S433)

• ASUS Vivobook (standard) – (ASUS 17X /17 /16X OLED /16X /16 /15X OLED /15 OLED /15 /14X OLED /14 )

The ASUS Zenbook

The ASUS Zenbook is a step up from the affordable and student-friendly Vivobook, yet not quite as performance-heavy as the Studiobook. The Zenbook series caters to a variety of lifestyles and creative interests with fun design elements and innovative form factors such as the 2-in-1 laptop with a foldable hinge, built-in second screens for multitasking, and raised edge backlit keyboards.

Best for creatives who don't need the highest specs, but do need enough power and specific tools to get the job done, the Zenbook sits at the mid-tier out of these three product families but is arguably still a premium choice for many.

The ASUS Zenbook even has a whole host of features that the Studiobooks do not, such as foldable hinges on the Zenbook Fold and Flip models, an ASUS dial to improve editing and workflow speeds, and extended built-in beautiful screens on some of the Pro models. Our reviews editor heralded the ASUS Zenbook Pro 16X OLED as the mightiest Zenbook of all, and it quickly became his new favourite laptop.

You can find the entire range of ASUS Zenbook Laptops via ASUS' website, and purchase one directly from ASUS or through retailers such as Amazon, Best Buy, B&H Photo Video, plus Currys and Argos in the UK.

Available ASUS Zenbook laptop models include the:

• ASUS Zenbook Pro 

• ASUS Zenbook S 

• ASUS Zenbook Flip 

• ASUS Zenbook Fold 

•  ASUS Zenbook (standard)

We've reviewed a whole host of these laptops from the mighty Zenbook 15 OLED, to the Zenbook 14x Flip. Take a look at our large collection of ASUS Zenbook laptop reviews to help you make an informed purchase from our expertise, and bookmark our guide to the best ASUS Zenbook Pro 16X OLED prices too.

The ASUS ProArt Studiobook

By far the most premium laptops from ASUS are the ProArt Studiobooks, which are designed for creative professionals and offer the ultimate balance of sheer power. They have optimum connectivity across devices and workstations, enabling full creative control while offering beautiful high-resolution screens, control dials compatible with Adobe software, and powerful CPUs all in one package.

In terms of power, the Studiobook in almost all configurations wins over the other two models, but this premium build certainly does not come cheap. One huge selling point of some Studiobook OLED 3D models is the 3D display screens that track your eye movements and don't require you to wear any glasses (yes, really) – which we think will soon be the future of gaming.

The premium ASUS ProArt Studiobook Laptops aren't always the easiest to get hold of. You can purchase one directly from ASUS and from other popular retailers but don't expect stock to hang around for too long, especially on Amazon.

Current ProArt Studiobook models available include the: 

• ASUS ProArt StudioBook Pro 17 

• ASUS ProArt Studiobook Pro 16 OLED 

• ASUS ProArt StudioBook 16 3D OLED 

• ASUS ProArt Studiobook (standard) 16 OLED 

• ASUS ProArt Studiobook (standard) 15 OLED

For some suggestions on which of the below models to choose from, we've got hands-on reviews of the hugely powerful ASUS ProArt Studiobook OLED (H7604), as well as the slightly older Asus ProArt Studiobook 16 OLED which we gave five stars.

The spec sheet

With so many configurations for each model, we'd be here all day if we gave you the individual specs for every single one. So to keep things simple and provide a general idea of what sets each Asus laptop apart, the table below has a collection of broader specs from the most popular products in each series that we've reviewed ourselves.

FAQs

Which ASUS laptop is the best for gaming?

ASUS has a whole other product line dedicated to gaming laptops, such as the ASUS ROG series, the ASUS Zephyrus, the ASUS TUF series for more rugged and durable hardware, and the Strix series too. You can of course use any of the laptops we've covered in this article for gaming too, which is a great option if you tend to mix work and play on the same device and would also use your laptop for content creation.

However, if you want a fully immersive and uninterrupted gaming session then it might be wise to purchase a separate gaming laptop and keep your work on a separate device. Our personal favourite ASUS gaming laptop is the ASUS ROG Flow X16 laptop.

What's a good price for a pro laptop?

There's no specific answer we can give to this question, but most pro-level laptops these days can be found for around $4,000/£4,000 with top-spec features. Whether or not that's a good price depends on your own budget, lifestyle, and how much you can justify paying for one device.

However, if you work in the creative field and rely heavily on your laptop to do your job, and need to run necessary software such as Photoshop and Lightroom to make a living, then you could argue that pro-level laptops will pay for themselves in the levels of advanced work they let you create, and are a necessary investment.

That's just one way of looking at it, the alternative is to wait around for the next best model to replace the one you want, and get a worthwhile discount as the value lowers. You can also shop secondhand, which is a great way to save money and help the e-waste economy at the same time.

Should I get an Intel or Ryzen CPU model?

If you feel that you need a more powerful processor and have heftier workloads and tools to operate, then it definitely wouldn't hurt to upgrade your processor when purchasing a laptop. As for Intel vs Ryzen, it all depends on personal preference but Intel Processors are generally known to be more reliable (and expensive) for faster speeds.

I have an Asus Vivobook Pro 15 with a Ryzen 7 model, and as a photographer, I have no issues to report on how it handles the running of multiple software and tasks. It allows me to run multiple software including Capture One Pro, Epic Games, and Photoshop simultaneously. The fans might sound a little urgent at times, but other than this giveaway, you'd never know the laptop was under pressure.

If you only really use Word documents and spreadsheets as opposed to editing software then you might be able to save money by downgrading even further to a Ryzen 5 processor with the Vivobook series. But only you can make that call based on your usage, and decide if the minimal differences are worth it.