ASUS ZenBook Flip 13 review : when touch is mightier than click
ASUS ZenBook Flip 13 is the new convertible notebook PC from the Taiwanese electronics giant. This new convertible is powered by an eigth generation Intel Core i5 processor and has a 13.3″ FullHD display. Other specs include a 512GB SSD, backlit keyboard, dual cameras, all day long battery life. With its 360°-flippable ErgoLift hinge, Intel® Core™ processors, active-stylus support, ZenBook Flip 13 is versatile, powerful and portable. But does it really delivery in productivity and performance? Read on!
Design
If you are a laptop user, you may have encountered a lot of situations where you want to use your laptop but you cannot use it. A most common scenario is where you do not have anything on which you can rest your laptop. These are the scenarios where a tablet PC will come in handy. But then again, if you have spent a lot of money on buying the latest and greatest laptop, you should not really look for another device to use as a computer.ASUS ZenBook Flip 13 falls in a category of laptops that you can use anywhere and everywhere. As the name says, you can flip the display 180 degrees and turn this into a tablet PC.
There are many laptops that fall into this category. But not many that do justice to 2-in-1 form factor. What’s the use in having a 2-in-1 laptop when you cannot hold it in your hands for extended use. What is the use in having a 2-in-1 laptop if the display is too big and it becomes hard to navigate? ASUS ZenBook Flip 13, on the other hand, falls in that perfect window. The display size is just right, the bezels are absolutely minimal and the laptops is light enough to hold in one hand for an extended period of time.
Coming to aesthetics, this one is a stunner for sure. The peacock blue color on the lid, shiny blue accent on hinges and the gold rim around the laptop base gives the ASUS ZenBook Flip 13 a truly premium look. To touch, the Flip 13 feels super sturdy, thanks to military standard rated body/shell. Two stunning color schemes are the epitome of refined taste: choose the prestigious Royal Blue, with its iconic spun-metal finish, indulgent Rose Gold diamond-cut edges and matching keyboard backlight, or opt for sophisticated Gun Grey with silver diamond-cut edges.
When you open the lid, you are greeted by NanoEdge display. ASUS logo is etched on bottom bezel and webcam is placed above the display (thanks for not moving this camera to bottom bezel). The side bezels are less than 5mm thin, giving this a clean look. If you are wondering where the power key is, it is moved to left side, where ports usually reside.
Even though ASUS ZenBook Flip 13 is more like a 12″ laptop, ASUS has managed to squeeze in an excellent keyboard with six rows of keys, in standard layout. A second camera is placed next to ‘esc’ key on top right corner. This camera can be used when you are using the notebook in tablet mode and if you want to take photo of whats in front of you.
One area where ASUS has skimped on is ports. There is one 3.5mm audio port, power key and notification LEDs on the left side. Two Type-C ports and power input are placed on right hand side. There are no other ports on this laptop. For those who are okay with carrying a Type-C hub, this wont be an issue at all. But for others, this is not so ideal situation. ASUS should have provided atleast a mini displayport or HDMI and a Type-A USB port as Type-C usage continues to be in early stages. My ThinkPad Yoga 370 at work has two Type-A ports, a HDMI port and type-C port and there are countless situations where these ports helped.
Bottom is clean and has two speaker grills and one large air vent. When you are using this laptop on your lap, you will feel little warmth (if you are wearing shorts) else it is cool as cucumber.
Display
Though ASUS ZenBook Flip 13 has a 13.3″ FullHD display, thanks to super thin bezels, ASUS was able to fit this into a 12″ body. The display on ZenBook Flip is soft to the eyes, shows excellent color accuracy/reproduction. The display is super crisp and is on par with the best. Given that this is a touch screen display with a glass layer on top, do not place the ASUS ZenBook Flip 13 directly opposite to a light source as you will see a huge amount of reflection. But in general, thanks to special anti-glare coating, outdoor visibility is very good.
ASUS ZenBook Flip 13 display’s touch response is very good, the colors pop on the display and these combined with Windows 10’s fluid UI makes working on this laptop an absolute delight. I can vouch that when it comes to getting work done, the Flip trumps ThinkPad Yoga.
Using the ASUS ZenBook Flip 13 in tablet mode is very similar to using a Windows-based tablet. When you flip the display and turn this into a tablet, you will notice a pop up in Windows asking you whether you want to switch to tablet mode (a feature of Windows 10). Once you switch to tablet mode, you can make full use of Windows gestures. There are a lot of new windows apps that work really well. Though the Windows Store is not at the level of iPadOS in application support, the ability to run proper Windows apps in tablet mode cancels this disadvantage. Also, Windows has evolved from laggy buggy crash happy OS in the 90s to colorful, fluid and touch happy operating systems.
One thing missing here is a stylus. ASUS should have provided a digitizer that can be used to write or draw on Flip. Flip does support active pen and you can buy ASUS Pen if you want to use one. Lenovo Yoga comes with a built-in stylus and there are many instances where it was really helpful. Like Galaxy Note series, Lenovo Yoga has a tiny compartment in which you can keep the stylus. I would take a slightly thicker laptop with a built-in stylus compartment and better ports any day.
Keyboard and Trackpad
The six row keyboard of ASUS ZenBook Flip 13 is a breeze to use. Though the keys are slightly smaller, I had no issue typing on this laptop. All keys are backlit (gold accent) and you have three stages of backlighting to choose from (F7 key). I was able to hit 88wpm in the 10fastfingers test on this keyboard which is a very good score for me. Do note that there are no multimedia controls and for volume adjustment, you have to use F1-F3 keys. One good change here is that F9 -F12 are mapped to home, end, page up and page down functions. Given how much I use these functions, having these right above my right index finger helps a lot. This is much better than having them on the right end of the keyboard.
Understandably, the trackpad of ASUS ZenBook Flip 13 is not that big. After all, this is a 13.3″ laptop in 12″ form factory. Do note that this is not a ScreenPad or enhanced trackpad that shows num key layout.
This is a plain trackpad that supports Windows gestures. The quality of the touchpad is top notch. Thanks to glass surface, the trackpad feels smooth to touch and there is minimal amount of friction when you move your finger around. You can tap or click to register left click or tap/touch with two fingers to register right click. The feel and sound of click is absolutely satisfying.
Performance
The ASUS ZenBook Flip 13 is powered by Intel Core i5 8265U Quad Core CPU and built in Intel® UHD Graphics 620. While there is not much to talk about the GPU, the CPU is potent enough for heavy multi tasking if you keep away from video rendering. While this does not put things on steroids, the SSD that ASUS has provided does.
The Western Digital PC SN520 NVMe SSD can hit 1700MBps sequential read speeds and in our test, it went above that top speed. Sequential write speed is up to 1400MBps according to WD but in our test, it went slightly above that speed. This has resulted in <3sec sleep to wake time, <10sec boot time. Multitasking is blazing fast. Thanks to highly efficient CPU, SSD, Zenbook Flip stays warm and never really gets hot. When in heavy load, you can hear the fans running, only when you are in a really quiet room.
Audio quality from bottom-firing speakers is decent at best. There is no bass and audio sounds tinny. If there is one drawback in this laptop, that would be this.
With two cameras, one above display and another on the base, video calling is so much easier. You need not turn the laptop and show if you want to show whats in front of you to one on other side of call. When doing video call, keep the Flip in tablet mode and switch to rear camera (similar to how you switch to rear camera of phone). Coming to photo/video quality, front camera above the display can take above average photos at best and he one on the base (next to esc key) is far better at taking photos and recording videos.
Battery
To test battery life, I started using ASUS ZenBook Flip 13 on balanced power mode after a full charge. 3 hours later, there was still more than 60% of battery left. That is mighty impressive for such a thin and light laptop.
Conclusion
A great laptop is not the one that turns heads when it is out of the bag. A great laptop is one that makes the owner’s jaw drop when in use. After using the ASUS ZenBook Flip 13 for two weeks, I can vouch that this one is very comfortable to use and you will not feel its weight if you are carrying it in your backpack. This is how an ultrabook should be. With solid build quality, 90% screen to body ratio (nano edge display), crispy 13.3″ FullHD display, small form factor, powerful CPU, long-lasting battery, the ASUS ZenBook Flip 13 ticks majority of points that are essential for those who are constantly on the run. The only downside here is the lack of ports other than Type-C ports.
Among many laptop makers, ASUS is one of the very few that mastered the art of making ultrabooks that look amazing and deliver solid performance. With the Flip, ASUS has gone to the next level in making a convertible ultrabook. If you are in the market to buy a convertible, the ASUS ZenBook Flip 13 should definitely be on your list.
