The ZenBook Flip S has a 13.3-inch 4K display and an 11th-generation Core i7 processor, as well as 16GB of RAM and 512GB of storage.

The new laptops seem to have started something of a revolution in the segment. And the fact is that the latest models we have tested seem to have many meeting points in this evolutionary leap: size and reduced weight; a lot of portability; great battery performance and lots of power.

In part, this new generation of notebook computers owes its existence thanks to new processor models that allow it to offer the above-mentioned features.

In this sense, the Asus ZenBook Flip S (UX371) that we tested includes Intel’s

Pure design

At the time of testing the equipment, it was impossible for me not to notice the design, but not only the product (which we will talk about later) but also the packaging. Asus has set out (and managed) to offer a design experience right out of the box, making it clear that we are dealing with a premium team. Of course, the laptop comes in a conventional large and rectangular box designed, of course, to protect the equipment. But after digging around a bit and getting rid of it, an exquisite design box of only 32 x 23 centimeters appears in front of us. By lifting the lid of this second box, it will raise the equipment from behind, leaving the notebook at an inclined angle to be appreciated for a few moments. A first contact that made us smile.

A team withdrawing, find Within the same box to manually tab Where a small lodge and warranty certificate, and elsewhere the digital pen to take advantage of the touch screen Flip S ZenBook.

When we come into contact with the laptop, the first thing we notice is its aluminum cover, which stands out for being black (like the rest of the equipment) with glossy other details. This tone can be seen in the Asus logo and in the piping on the sides and front.

When opening the lid of the equipment we find a plastic structure replacing aluminum, a black keyboard with letters and numbers highlighted in ocher, along with a generous touchpad.

First power on

To get in touch with the operation of the equipment, it is somewhat disorienting not to find the power button in its most usual place: above the keyboard or on it. Unlike this, and after turning the equipment, we place the key for this purpose next to a USB port, at the end of the right spine. Without being uncomfortable, the button is somewhat small and, if we have something connected to the adjacent port, we can bump our finger against it. It takes some practice.

Regarding the power-on experience and as Intel announced in the presentation of the Athena project, the team boots and leaves us in the Windows 10 login screen in 2 seconds. At that event Ezequiel Bartelemi, Intel’s Senior Technical Sales Specialist for LATAM, said that “the idea is to bring some of the characteristics that make us use the cell phone more today to a laptop.” In this new generation equipment this is real: during the three weeks that we tested the ZenBook Flip S we never turned it off, we only suspended it by lowering the lid; and when lifting it in less than a second, we were already working.

Technical characteristics

Small in size, this Asus laptop mounts a 13.3 "4K Nano Edge OLED screen with HDR support. The screen is very bright and has VESA Display HDR 500 True Black certification that, like all OLED displays, achieves much deeper ■■■■■■ and intense since these sectors of the panel are turned off completely.

Under the case and as indicated above lines, we find an eleventh generation Intel Core i7 (1165G7) processor mounted on the new Intel Evo platform based on the second generation of Project Athena (which certifies a series of characteristics to improve the performance of the laptop) and including the new Intel Iris Xe graphics. Like all computers with the Intel Evo platform, the ZenBook Flip S includes a Thunderbolt 4 port, and an Intel Wi-Fi 6 connection.

Intel’s new chip rigs with 16GB of RAM and a 512GB Solid State Drive (SSD). In this regard and in relation to current demands, perhaps it falls a bit short. In this sense, perhaps a 1 TB disk would have been a better option.

On the ports side, the computer has 2 Thunderbolt (which also work as USB-C), 1 USB 3.2 port and HDMI output.

In practice, the notebook performed like a fish in water. Weighing in at just 1.2kg, it’s an ultra-portable device that doesn’t even require backpacks or bags to transport it. In addition, we experienced 12 hours of work (reducing the brightness of the screen a bit) so we are facing an interesting proposal to face the working day without transporting chargers. Among my tasks, I imagine that it would be an interesting adventure companion to cover events, where the hours accumulate and I need to lift the lid and start writing smoothly.

A separate paragraph deserves the touchpad, which offers great precision and the use of gestures as shortcuts. In addition, it can be transformed into a calculator by simply pressing the icon in the upper right corner of it. In this way, the numbers and the operations that we can do will appear there, a good complement if we use spreadsheets.

To evaluate performance, we installed the Office 365 suite and some video editing programs. The performance was as expected and the ■■■■■■■■■ of the applications were within the expected second of time before displaying its main screen.

In the middle of teleworking and mediated by virtual meetings, it must be said that the sound of the Zenbook Flip S is another matter to highlight. It has two Harman Kardon certified speakers and a microphone that, using AI, enables intelligent cancellation of ambient audio for a clear voice when we speak.

The team is a 3 in 1 since it can adopt different positions thanks to the hinges that Asus calls Ergo Lift 360. So, we can use the laptop as a notebook, tablet or lectern. For these last two uses, Asus includes a digital pen to take advantage of the touch screen which is an ideal solution for graphic designers.

By adopting the lectern format, we also found it comfortable when consuming multimedia content. We tested a film in 4K resolution and the experience was remarkable: there were no micro-cuts (usually due to the size of these files) and the image quality lived up to expectations.

Games? Although it is not a laptop designed to play, we could not with our impulse and we installed Fortnite and CS: GO, obtaining fluidity in the performance of both titles. Perhaps for other games with more graphic requirements, we should “play” with the options to lower the graphic quality.

Conclusion

The renewal in laptops is here and the ZenBook Flip S is one of the alternatives that are already on the market. In this sense, you have to be observant and careful when buying a new computer, these new technologies coexist today with previous generation processor models at very similar prices. Being informed can be the result of staying with a new generation team or an older generation one.

Due to its performance and portability, this Asus laptop is positioned as an interesting proposal for those who require portability, long battery life and power.