ASUS ZenBook Flip 13 review (11th gen Intel) | Reviews.org

ZenBook Flip 13 design and display

Making peace with the smaller screen

The ability to tuck the keyboard away makes for a tidier second-screen experience when I’m plugged into my WFH setup

The ZenBook Flip 13’s light form factor could be one of its strongest features. It’s a slim machine (13.1mm at its thickest) and weighs a negligible 1.3kg. Multiple times throughout my review, I was visited by flashes of panic as my brain tried to marry the significance of a $2,000 plus laptop with the floaty feeling of a seemingly empty backpack. Feels like you’re carrying nothing at all. Nothing at all.

It’s not just the price tag that’s betrayed by its featherweight form. The ZenBook Flip 13 looks and feels premium. I’m fond of the Pine Gray model’s brushed aluminium finish. To me, it looks like someone’s taken an orbital sander to the lid but I think it’s inspired by the circular sand grooves of a Japanese dry garden (it is a ZenBook, after all). Either way, it’s all class and sturdy to boot. Even some of the best 2-in-1 convertible laptops feel a bit floppy but the ZenBook Flip 13 is such a convincing laptop that I was rattled with fear the first time I tried the 360-degree hinge.

Speaking of the hinge, unless you’re a designer by trade or budding digital artist, you might wonder what benefits the foldable form offers you. Speaking for myself, I’ve found that it makes for a better viewing experience when watching movies or playing games (with a connected controller) in bed. The ability to tuck the keyboard away also makes for a tidier second screen experience when I’m plugged into my WFH setup.

The OLED difference

With so much time plugged into an external monitor, it took me a while to really appreciate the OLED panel of the ZenBook Flip 13. But for extracurricular stuff, like playing games and watching movies, it really is a sight to behold. Despite the smaller screen real estate, I’ve found myself slowly opting for the inky blacks of the ZenBook Flip’s 13.3-inch OLED display over my desktop monitor. You’ll have to fork out for the 4K upgrade if that’s important to you but I honestly think the OLED upgrade is more important (especially on such a small display). 

The stylus might not stick around for long

I’ll never say no to an included stylus with a touchscreen laptop. It sure beats paying up to $199 for one (sorry, Apple). The ZenBook Flip 13’s stylus is slim, comfortable to hold and supports 4,096 pressure levels. That’s about half of what the most common Wacom tablets offer but it’s still a lot more sensitive (and accurate) than plenty of older graphics tablets. It’s hard to compare it to the Apple Pencil because Apple doesn’t provide information on the pricey pen’s pressure support but in my testing, you’re getting roughly the same experience.

The one issue with the stylus is that there’s no onboard stowage to help you keep your stylus secure. There is a magnetic strip along the top of the ZenBook Flip 13’s lid that will hold the stylus for short periods of time but it’s not a secure attachment and will fall from its holding place with the slightest movement.

It’s hard to fault considering the incredibly slim build of the ZenBook and something is always better than nothing, just don’t count on it to keep your stylus secure.

NumberPad 2.0 is a mindful solution that will work for some

Another clever piece of ingenuity from ASUS is the way it deals with the missing number pad—which data nerds and spreadsheet savants are sure to miss. For the sake of keeping the ZenBook slim, ASUS has built a number pad into the trackpad. Touching the top-right corner of the trackpad will switch to an illuminated, touch-sensitive keypad (or NumberPad). It’s a clever trick and, for the most part, the ZenBook seems to be smart enough to know when you’re trying to use your mouse and when you’re trying to use the NumberPad. But not always. Sometimes you need to get a little firm with it and that inconsistency has been enough for me to mostly ignore the feature and fall back on the physical number keys, even if it is a little clunky after so many years of having a dedicated number pad.

Plenty of ports

I don’t have anything insightful to say about the abundance of ports offered by the ZenBook Flip 13 except that it’s bloody delightful having two USB-C Thunderbolt ports, one USB-A (3.2) and one HDMI port all on deck. Combined, the abundance of ports and the all-day battery life make for a light backpack (and a lot less shoulder pain). As mentioned, I’ve been doing a spot of gaming on the ZenBook Flip 13 too and have found it incredibly convenient to plug the HDMI into my living room telly, hook up an Xbox controller and continue my game from the comfort of the lounge.