Asus Zenbook Flip Review – Ultrabook with tablet mode
The Zenbook Flip looks like a nice laptop that is neatly finished. Here and there you will suffer from sharp edges while tapping, but that is more a design choice than manufacturing sloppiness. Another design choice, but potentially annoying, is the angle at which the ports are accessible. The trackpad is also a bit grumpy at times and the keyboard flexes just a bit too much for a laptop worth a thousand euros. In terms of performance, the convertible has excellent battery life, which can be matched by laptops with more powerful hardware. Charging goes smoothly and the performance is, especially compared to the UX305, perfectly fine. However, there are alternatives that cost less.
Pros
- Excellent battery life
- Complete set of ports
- Smooth performance
Cons
- Mediocre, glossy screen
- Keyboard and trackpad below average
At the end of March, Asus announced its latest ultrabook in the Zenbook series with a screen that can be tilted 180 degrees. This Zenbook Flip was called the ‘UX360CA’ and comes with Core m processor, SSD and 13.3″ IPS touchscreen. There are versions with a full HD screen, but a higher resolution of 3200×1800 pixels is also possible .
The model we tested has a full HD screen, a Core m3-6Y30, 8GB lpddr3 memory and a 256GB SSD on board. This brings this model to a price of 999 euros.
Appearance and screen
The Ultrabook Flip features a 13.3″ IPS panel, which is unfortunately hidden behind an unlaminated glass touchscreen. The screen, like many touchscreens, has a glossy finish, which can affect readability under bright light. To counter that, Asus gives a maximum brightness of 350cd/m², but we measured 281cd/m² on our review sample.The color deviation is considerable with an average color error of 7.5 and the screen is set a little too cool, at almost 7000 Kelvin.
The screen is encased in an aluminum housing with Asus’ signature brushed finish with concentric rings. The edges have a slightly sharp edge, as a result of the glass that extends to the edge on the inside. A black bezel borders the screen, which is attached to the body of the laptop with two infinitely adjustable hinges. The raison d’être of the Flip is its screen, which can be folded all the way to the bottom, so that the Zenbook can be used as a thick tablet. Windows then switches, generally neatly, to tablet mode. During use this went wrong a few times, but that can be both Asus’ and Microsoft’s fault.
The body of the laptop is also made of light metal, with four rubber feet on the bottom and two speaker perforations on the front. At the top, narrow rubber strips protect the glass and the keyboard is slightly recessed.
Trackpad and keyboard
That keyboard is made up of chiclet keys that provide reasonable feedback, but in practice it appears that double letters in particular are regularly missed. In the middle, the keyboard springs quite a bit, but otherwise it’s okay. It’s just a pity that no keyboard lighting can be switched on. The edges of the housing also sometimes give an unpleasantly sharp impression to the wrists while typing.
The trackpad generally functions well, but especially with fine operation, the roughness is sometimes somewhat counterproductive. You may have trouble moving the pointer if you’re halfway through a mouse click. Of course you can also use the touchscreen, but that is really only nice in tablet mode. When used in laptop mode, the screen then moves quite a bit and we obviously don’t have to talk about fingerprints.
The other operation also has its drawbacks, especially plugging USB equipment into the ports can be annoying. The edges of the laptop, in which the ports are incorporated, are slightly tapered inwards, so that the plugs have to be plugged in by touch, without visual aid. That is often looking for the hole. Furthermore, there are enough ports; The laptop has a card reader and USB 3.0 port on the left, and a second USB 3.0 port and a USB 3.0 port with a type-C connector on the right. You send video out with a micro-HDMI port and there is an audio jack. On the left side you will also find volume buttons and the power button. Both run the risk of being operated accidentally, because you can’t see them in laptop mode, just like the ports.
benchmarking
We compare the UX360 with the UX305, which has the same soc on board, but is 300 euros cheaper. HP’s Specter is more expensive, but has a similar flip-up screen and the Toshiba Radius costs 999 euros, just like the UX360, and has a UHD flip-up screen and a more powerful processor on board.
The Zenbook Flip isn’t exactly made for monstrous performance. The Core m processor in the laptops is not suitable for this. However, those economical socs are suitable for short-term peak activity and then take it easy again. So don’t expect a mobile workstation, but an ultrabook that is more intended for media consumption, for example. Where the thin Zenbook Flip, with its housing of only 13.9 mm thick and weighing 1.3 kilograms, excels, is being carried for a day. The battery life is claimed at twelve hours, but we will of course verify that.
With a browsing time of over ten hours and just under ten hours of video playback, the Flip has an impressive battery life for such a flat laptop. It helps, of course, that it contains a super-efficient Core m processor, which has the added advantage that it can be cooled completely passively. You won’t find unsightly cooling grilles on this laptop.
We only show a selection of the other benchmarks.
The UX360 performs a lot better than the UX305, although both laptops have the same m3 processor. Throttling probably plays less in this new laptop. Compared to the Toshiba and HP, the Zenbook Flip scores a lot less, but compared to the Radius, it has a much longer battery life. However, the Specter performs better and lasts a long time on the battery, but it costs a lot more. The SSD is an M2 drive, but is connected via SATA and therefore has corresponding performance.
Conclusion
The Zenbook Flip looks like a nice laptop, which is neatly finished. Here and there you can suffer from sharp edges while tapping, but that is more a design choice than manufacturing sloppiness. Another design choice, but potentially annoying, is the angle at which the ports are accessible. The trackpad is sometimes a bit grumpy and the keyboard springs just a little too much for a laptop worth a thousand euros.
In terms of performance, the convertible has excellent battery life, which can be matched by laptops with more powerful hardware. Charging goes smoothly and the performance is, especially compared to the UX305, perfectly fine. However, for the same money you can also buy a compact Toshiba laptop, which performs much better, with more powerful hardware. You only have to hand in a lot on the battery.