ASUS ZENBOOK FLIP 15

It’s chunky and it’s weird, but we’re still intrigued

THE LATEST ZenBook Flip is strange. It has a 10th-gen Intel CPU, but still uses the compact Max-Q version of Nvidia’s GTX 1050, a two-year-old graphics card. It’s got a 360-degree hinge, but it’s thicker than any convertible we’ve seen recently. The trackpad doubles as a tiny screen with numeric keypad functionality, but Asus still saw fit to squeeze a physical numpad on the keyboard.

It’s an odd, anachronistic product, as full of older hardware as it is brimming with innovation. The chassis is fairly bulky, with a 15.6-inch screen making the overall build a lot larger than sleek convertibles such as the HP Spectre x360 and the Dell XPS 2-in-1. It’s not heavy, mostly due to the plastic chassis, but it does feel chunky and outdated.

That 360-degree hinge is a lot sturdier than the plastic outer shell suggests, raising the keyboard slightly toward the user in laptop mode and ensuring minimal movement when using the Flip 15 in other configurations. The keyboard doesn’t share the same robust construction, though, with some keys making the entire plastic assembly flex alarmingly. The backlighting also isn’t very impressive.

The trackpad, on the other hand, is a work of genuine beauty. It’s the same ScreenPad Asus has been touting for a while, but upgraded to the ScreenPad 2.0: a dinky display that contains customizable quick-access apps, from a digital numpad to handwriting tools and Spotify. It runs up to 1080p 60Hz, but the default 1000x500 makes touch controls easier. Using an external mouse is a good idea to free up the ScreenPad, but it shifts back to trackpad use with a single icon tap, and feels good to use; it’s wide, and has a robust click.

The Flip 15 is also equipped with an excellent display, a 4K panel with 10-point touch control. It’s vibrant, with great color density, and makes using the Flip 15 in tablet mode delightful. It’s larger and heavier than most tablets, which means holding it up isn’t too comfortable, but it’s perfect for a Netflix binge in bed.

Despite some peculiar design choices, the Flip 15 does perform OK. Most games are playable above 30fps at 1080p Medium or High settings, with less demanding titles such as Fortnite running great. This is no gaming laptop, but the GTX 1050 does put in the work, outpacing integrated graphics; the Flip 15 definitely meets the needs of casual gamers.

So it handles graphics well, but it falls down in other areas; CPU performance wasn’t terrible but wasn’t impressive either, while SSD read/write times were disappointingly slow compared to other recent laptops. The device as a whole isn’t particularly well equipped for handling heavy video editing and 3D rendering tasks, but it’s capable enough. The battery life is decent, although the discrete GPU and ScreenPad 2.0 definitely hamper it. In terms of overall performance, we’d say that we were thoroughly whelmed.

So, we can’t outright recommend the ZenBook Flip 15 from a performance standpoint, especially not when it costs a hefty $1,550. Thankfully, it’s bringing more to the table than just a GPU from 2018 and last-gen memory. The big, beautiful display makes this one of the best laptops around for watching video content, and the ScreenPad 2.0 is well implemented. It certainly has its uses, whether it’s displaying tools for Microsoft Office or keeping music under control.

Speaking of music, the Flip 15 has a surprisingly good set of speakers. Anyone working with sound professionally will still want to use headphones, of course, but the Harman Kardon audio is genuinely good, handling both music and dialogue well. Connectivity is another area where the Flip 15 excels, as it boasts two USB-A ports, a USB-C port, headphone jack, SD card reader, and an HDMI port for connecting a second screen.

As is often the case with laptops, what you see is not what you get. On the surface, the ZenBook Flip 15 is pretty awesome—an excellent screen with a tiny bezel, funky trackpad display, and two-in-one functionality all seem like the perfect ingredients for a great laptop. But unless you’re particularly drawn to the innovations on display here, there are definitely superior systems out there for the same price. –CHRISTIAN GUYTON