Asus touch screen laptop review

Asus VivoBook Flip 14 price in India: Rs 67,990 (Intel Core i5 version)

Asus VivoBook Flip 14 specifications: 14-inch Full HD (1920×1080) 16:9 LED display |Intel 11th gen Core i5-1135G7 processor | Intel Iris Xe graphics | 8 GB LPDDR4X 4266 RAM | 512 GB PCIe SSD | Thunderbolt 4 USB-C | 720p HD web camera | 42 Wh 3-cells lithium-polymer battery | Windows 10

Intel confident Apple doesnt have the ammunition to score in enterprise market yet

Asus VivoBook Flip 14 review: Whats new?

Visually, the VivoBook Flip 14 looks fantastic. While the chassis is made of metal, the classic style of the notebook made me an instant fan. Its also seriously light and comfortable, measuring 12.75 x 8.66 x 0.73 inches and weighing just 1.5 kg. Two hinges let you fold the display into laptop, tablet, or tent mode. The hinges are secure, and the laptop easily folds. Obviously, the convertible design does have some advantages over the traditional looking notebooks. Although I found the tablet mode a bit silly, I did like using the tablet tent mode for watching movies.

Because the VivoBook Flip 14 is portable and easily slips into a backpack, this 14-inch notebook is ideal for students and travellers. Despite its small footprint, Asus was able to squeeze a number of ports into the housing. On the right side is a Thunderbolt 4 USB-C port that doubles as a charging port, a USB-A 3.2, a headphone jack, a microSD card reader, and an HDMI port. On the left side is a USB 2.0 port and Kensington lock.

Asus VivoBook Flip 14 review: Whats good?

The 14-inch touchscreen uses a full HD resolution, and the bezels are pretty slim especially on the right and left sides. The screen is reasonable and gets bright enough for indoor viewing. Personally, I prefer this type of screen on a laptop. Colours arent overly saturated and viewing angles are great too. I did a lot of photo editing on the machine and had no trouble identifying different colours.

I was pleasantly surprised to use the keyboard. It has a good amount of feedback and the keyboard is also backlit with white LEDs. The Enter key is outlined in yellow, which is a nice design touch. Sure, this is not the best keyboard Ive used but its pretty good for a laptop. The touchpad, even though responsive and reliable, is a bit small in my opinion. It includes a fingerprint reader in the top right corner, which offered a convenient way to securely login into Windows.

If I had to choose one feature that truly stands out on the VivoBook Flip 14, it would be the speakers. I get it most users these days wear headphones while watching movies or listening to casual music, but I think the VivoBook Flip 14s speakers are exceptionally loud. Audio coming from the speakers, which are powered by Harman/Kardon, can easily fill a small room. I found the notebooks speakers so helpful when attending video calls on Zoom.

Inside the VivoBook Flip 14 is Intels Core i5-1135G7 processor, the latest Tiger Lake 10nm CPU and Xe graphics. The version I reviewed had 8GB RAM and 512GB SSD version. But the notebook is also available with an Intel Core i3 processor. Obviously, you cant upgrade the internals, so choose the model accordingly.

I spent a lot of time using the VivoBook Flip 14, and I did not face any performance-related issues. The notebook can handle productivity apps like MS Office and it is even possible to edit light videos on the VivoBook Flip 14. Intel has been pushing gaming in a big way with Xe integrated graphics and although you can achieve frame rates in the range of 40fps in certain games, 8GB RAM is just not enough to handle AAA games. Though I have to admit the Tiger Lake CPUs does offer significant improvements in gaming performance compared to the 10th Gen CPU with UHD graphics. If you are planning to buy this notebook for education purposes or you run a small-medium enterprise, the VivoBook Flip 14 wont disappoint you.

The VivoBook Flip 14 does have fans. I could hear them running but only when during a long gaming session, or after prolonged usage.

What about battery life? Well, I got between five and six hours of battery, depending on the type of work I usually do on a laptop. I actually use a laptop to browse the web, write and edit copies, listen to music on Apple Music, watch videos on YouTube, and edit photos. I also excessively use Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp Web. Thankfully, charging the laptop is a quick affair with the included 45W adapter.

Asus VivoBook Flip 14 review: Whats not good?

Not everything is perfect. The webcam is still 720p resolution and its very average. I dont blame Asus in particular, it is an industry-wide issue.

Asus VivoBook Flip 14 review: Should you buy it?

Is the Asus VivoBook Flip 14 the perfect notebook? No. But it is very much a compelling option for students or someone who needs light but a capable 14-inch laptop. Its light, comfortable, and has great build quality. I especially like the design, performance, keyboard, and the quality of speakers. The battery life could have been better. I didnt like the webcam, though. It is worth paying Rs 67,990 for the Asus VivoBook Flip 14, if you want a hybrid laptop purely to consume content, do school assignments, and make presentations. I think the VivoBook Flip 14 serves well as an everyday computer.