Asus NUC 14 Pro AI (Lunar Lake) and NUC 14 Essential (Twin lake) mini PCs coming this month

The Asus NUC 14 Pro AI is a mini PC with an Intel Lunar Lake processor, an integrated microphone, mono speaker, and a fingerprint reader on top of the case along with a Windows Copilot key on the front.

First unveiled in September, the Asus NUC 14 Pro AI is expected to hit the streets in early January for $850 and up. And if that price seems a bit steep for you, Asus also has a substantially cheaper new model on the way: the Asus NUC 14 Essential is a compact system with a low-power Intel Twin Lake processor that was also revealed late last year, but it’s expected to go on sale later this month.

The NUC 14 Pro AI will be one of the only mini PCs on the market to feature an Intel Lunar Lake processor, with support for up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 288V chip with Arc 140V graphics and a 48 TOPS NPU.

Because Lunar Lake chips feature on-package memory, the NUC 14 Pro AI will only be available with up to 32GB of LPDDR5x-8533 memory. If you need more memory than that or want user-upgradeable RAM, then you might be better off with another system like the new NUC 15 Pro series. Asus will also continue to sell the NUC 14 and NUC 14 Pro for the foreseeable future.

But this energy-efficient processor also allows the computer to offer strong CPU, graphics, and AI performance at a low power envelope, with just a 30 watt TDP.

The NUC 14 Pro AI’s other features include a single M.2 2280 slot with support for up to 2TB of PCIe Gen 4×4 NVMe storage, support for WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, and a set of ports that includes:

• 1 x Thunderbolt 4 (40 Gbps)
• 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (10 Gbps)
• 1 x HDMI
• 1 x 2.5 GbE LAN

The computer measures 130 x 130 x 34mm (5.12″ x 5.12″ x 1.34″) and weighs 530 grams (1.17 pounds). It comes with a 120W power adapter.

The NUC Essential, meanwhile, is a slightly smaller lower-power system that measures 135 x 115 x 36mm (5.3″ x 4.5″ x 1.4″) and comes with 6 to 15 watt processors based in Intel Twin Lake architecture.

Processor options include:

This little computer has a single SODIMM slot for up to 16GB of single-channel DDR5-4800 memory and a single M.2 2280 slot for PCIe Gen 3 x4 storage.

Ports include:

• 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (10 Gbps w/DisplayPort 1.4)
• 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C (10 Gbps data-only)
• 4 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A (10 Gbps)
• 1 x USB 2.0 Type-A (480 Mbps)
• 1 x HDMI 2.1
• 1 x DisplayPort 1.4
• 1 x 2.5 GbE Ethernet (RTL8125BG-CG)
• 1 x 3.5mm audio
• 1 x DC power input (19V/3.42A, 65W)

Asus says that there’s also a configurable port option that will allow customers to choose systems with dual 2.5 GbE Ethernet ports in the future, something that’s new for an NUC-branded mini PC.