Lenovo or ASUS: which notebook to buy

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Sesera editorial account organizes laptop, mini PC, smartphone, and gadget buying guides so readers can check the important points before buying.

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Lenovo and ASUS both sell cheap, capable notebooks. Lined up as the same value pair they still differ. Work-tool use vs screen, carry, and how it feels when you open it changes how happy you are after you buy.

Lenovo as a work tool, ASUS on the screen

This is my own picture of it, but Lenovo is a work-tool maker. A black ThinkPad, a firm keyboard, lots of ports: decks, mail, code, Excel, done without fuss.

ASUS, on the same Windows notebook, pushes screen and looks. Vivobook and Zenbook have many OLED models. ROG and TUF are strong in gaming. They are better at the mood when you open the lid than at a dry spec sheet.

Lenovo is built more for offices. ASUS is better at showing a PC a person uses every day. Not higher or lower. Different rooms.

Long typing: Lenovo. Screen and light carry: ASUS. That split is large.

Fit by job

A notebook is not the maker name. Web, Office, and video are enough on either. Long typing, screen quality, carry, and games show a gap.

CPU is how fast the head turns. Browser, Office, Zoom are fine on Core Ultra 5 or Snapdragon X Plus class. Heavy games and 3D need you to check graphics and cooling too.

The table is a rough Lenovo vs ASUS fit. ◎ is a strong match, ○ is fine, △ depends, × means look at another class.

Use	Lenovo	ASUS	Call
Web, Office, video	○	○	Either is enough. Pick on price and screen.
Reports, mail, writing	◎	○	Long typing: ThinkPad is stronger.
Home office, Excel, decks	◎	○	16-inch class and keyboard lean Lenovo.
YouTube, Netflix, photos	○	◎	OLED models are common on ASUS and feel better.
Campus, cafe, travel	△	◎	Weight and looks too: ASUS.
Games	○	◎	ASUS is strong in ROG/TUF. Lenovo has Legion/LOQ too.
Toughness, office calm	◎	○	ThinkPad as a tool is still strong.

People these two makers cover

Browser, Office, Zoom, YouTube, school reports, household sheets, photo tidy-up: Lenovo or ASUS both work. 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD give room as a normal main PC.

Daily mail and decks lean Lenovo. Long video time, lots of use off a desk, and screen plus design as part of the buy lean ASUS.

People who need another class

Long 4K edit, 3D, or heavy games: do not pick from a normal ThinkPad or Vivobook alone. Split to ROG on ASUS, or Legion / LOQ on Lenovo, where cooling and graphics are the point.

Pen drawing, tablet use, handwritten notes as the main job is another box. Yoga and ASUS 2-in-1s can do it. An iPad or Surface can fit from the start.

Two example machines: spec and price feel

Lenovo is the ThinkPad E16 Gen3 IAL. ASUS is the Vivobook S15 S5507QA.

RAM is how wide the desk is. A small desk stutters when you open tabs, Zoom, Excel, and a deck at once. Even for daily use, 16GB is what you want.

SSD is the drawer for photos and apps. Phone photos, class files, Office: 512GB is enough. Video files and games want 1TB.

Item	Lenovo ThinkPad E16 Gen3 IAL	ASUS Vivobook S15 S5507QA
Photo
Price	About ¥153,965	About ¥138,402
CPU	Core Ultra 5 225U	Snapdragon X Plus
RAM	16GB	16GB
SSD	512GB	512GB
Screen	16-inch	15.6-inch OLED
Weight	16-inch class, desk-first	about 1.42kg
Network	Wi-Fi 6E	Wi-Fi 7
Fit	typing, Excel, decks, work PC	video, carry, daily use, AI PC features

Same 16GB and 512GB, but the ThinkPad E16 is a desk main PC and the Vivobook S15 is a nicer-screen carry notebook. The numbers match. The job does not.

Long typing: Lenovo

People who type a lot often fit Lenovo. ThinkPad keys sink and return in a firm way. The more you type every day, the more that shows.

Inches are how wide the paper is on the desk. 13–14 inch is like carrying a notebook. 15–16 inch is like spreading papers. Excel, PDF, and a browser side by side are easier at 16 inches.

The ThinkPad E16 is 16-inch class, so it is a home or office desk PC more than a bag you carry many stops. A config with a number pad also fits jobs with lots of numbers.

If weight is the one rule, that changes. Campus every day, long standing on a train, a small cafe table: 16-inch class is a bit large. Do not force it.

Long hours of writing, decks, Excel, or code: a ThinkPad is the Lenovo pick.

Screen and carry: ASUS

ASUS is strong on screen and looks. OLED blacks sit deeper. Dark movie scenes, photo color, and YouTube look cleaner.

The Vivobook S15 S5507QA is 15.6-inch OLED, about 1.42kg. A bit under three 500ml bottles. Not a super-light class for daily carry, but light for a 15.6-inch.

Snapdragon X Plus is a low-power chip closer to a phone. Browser, Office, video, and a call are easy. Old peripherals or a company-only app that must run: Intel or AMD Lenovo is the shorter path.

Video, photo tidy-up, reports, work on the road, and newer AI PC features: ASUS is a strong fit. A nicer screen changes the mood when you open it every day.

OLED plus about 1.42kg: ASUS Vivobook S15 is the strong pick.

Series by price band

Lenovo and ASUS move on sale. Same 16GB and 512GB SSD can shift by a few tens of thousands of yen. Check the live buy page last.

About ¥80,000–¥100,000: IdeaPad and Vivobook

This band covers web, Office, video, and reports. Lenovo is IdeaPad. ASUS is Vivobook.

8GB RAM or 256GB SSD only is weak as a main PC. Switching windows, Zoom plus a deck, extra tabs stutter. For longer use, 16GB and 512GB are what you want.

Watch that one line.

About ¥120,000–¥160,000: ThinkPad E and Vivobook S

This is the sweet Lenovo vs ASUS band. Lenovo is ThinkPad E. ASUS is Vivobook S or Zenbook.

A desk PC: ThinkPad E16. Screen and carry too: Vivobook S15. Both at 16GB and 512GB cover daily use and light work.

Around ¥200,000: higher series

Near this band it is less Lenovo vs ASUS and more series vs series. Lenovo: ThinkPad T/X or Yoga. ASUS: higher Zenbook, ROG, ProArt.

Video edit or games: check GPU and cooling, not the maker name. A thin pretty PC still gets loud fans and heat on long heavy work.

Band	Main Lenovo series	Main ASUS series	Who it fits
About ¥80,000–¥100,000	IdeaPad / some ThinkBook	Vivobook	Browser, reports, office work
About ¥120,000–¥160,000	ThinkPad E / L	Vivobook S / Zenbook	Daily main PC, some extra quality
Around ¥200,000	ThinkPad T / X / Yoga	Higher Zenbook / ROG / ProArt	Weight, screen, and speed all matter

Last: these two types

Lenovo and ASUS are both fine makers. If you want to skip a risky brand, both sit on the safe side.

Then split on long typing vs screen and carry.

People who fit Lenovo

Long hours of writing, decks, or code
A 16-inch work screen
Lots of Excel and numbers
A plain work PC look

That set is ThinkPad E16 Gen3 IAL. Core Ultra 5 225U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 16-inch. A straight desk main PC.

A bit large if you carry it light every day. At home or the office, the extra screen is the comfort. People who write, keep Excel wide, or open a deck on a call: Lenovo.

People who fit ASUS

YouTube, Netflix, photos on a nicer screen
A 15.6-inch you can still take out
Newer AI PC features too
Daily use and video more than old work apps

That set is ASUS Vivobook S15 S5507QA. Snapdragon X Plus, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, 15.6-inch OLED, about 1.42kg. Screen and carry sit in a good mix.

Less a hard work tool, more a PC for daily use, video, photos, and cafe work. That is the ASUS side.

Last line

If you stall: long work typing is Lenovo; screen and carry mood is ASUS. That cut is enough.

Either way, keep 16GB RAM and 512GB SSD. Then keyboard is ThinkPad, screen is Vivobook.

Buy when the live price fits.

Related maker splits: Lenovo vs HP, Dell vs Lenovo.