Powerful, ultra-thin laptops are beginning to make a mark, offering impressive performance for efficient and portable machines. Asus' ZenBook Flip S (ux370) proves this point, with an Intel i7-7500U processor, 8GB of RAM and a generous 512GB SSD. As a laptop, the ZenBook Flip S is great, with an impressive screen, keyboard and track-pad making the device a pleasure to use. While the device does run a little warm, even with just general use, the overall experience was still quite positive.
Being a 2-in-1 tablet hybrid, the Zenbook Flip S's screen can also -- true to its name -- be folded around all the way to the back, turning it into a 13-inch tablet. In this department, the Zenbook Flip S experience is less impressive. While I found the touch-controls fine and responsive, the full-HD (1920x1080p) resolution screen makes the screen a little pixelated as a tablet, especially when viewed up-close, as most tablet users are wont to do out of habit. Then again, this is perhaps a slight concession to make considering the device's undeniable versatility.
Design
Asus' trademark minimalistic, spun-aluminium design continues to be simple and attractive. Available in Royal Blue and Smoky Grey, the device's all-metal body is surprisingly resistant to fingerprint smudges, which is always a plus. The sparsely-decorated all-metal casing, which is only broken only by the Asus logo in the middle of the cover, also brings out the gold-edged borders of the bottom hinge, which gives the device a subtle-but-classy design.
At just 1.1cm thick and weighing 1kg, the ZenBook Flip S is incredibly light as well. Carrying it around is easy, especially since Asus also included a sleek leather sleeve for you to carry your laptop in. On the sides, the device sports two USB-C ports, a power button, fingerprint scanner, volume rockers, fan vents and a 3.5mm audio-jack. While the lack of other common ports like HDMI or even older-gen USB ports may sting for many, Asus also included a USB-C-connected dongle with all the aforementioned ports, so all in all not a real problem. The device also charges through the USB-C ports (one located on each edge), which means you can plug the charger in on both sides, a nice little bonus for USB-C machines.
The keyboard is surprisingly usable for a device of this size, feeling easily as natural as typing on my usual larger 15-inch device. The yellow backlit keys are also a nice touch, which I feel is milder than bright white or blue, as is usually the case. The trackpad is certainly responsive, though I found having to tap the trackpad with two fingers to "right-click" to be a little unintuitive, as other machines either sport separate buttons or the ability to press on the bottom right edge to do that.
The fingerprint sensor is also decent, unlocking the device at the merest touch, when it works. Occasionally, the sensor would seemingly glitch out and not recognise my finger, but it was not in any way common or significant.
Performance
With the aforementioned Intel-i7 processor and 8GB RAM, the ZenBook Flip S is speedy enough for what it's designed to do. That is to say, it'll handle general day-to-day use and even lighter games just fine, though it's in no way a gaming machine. The machine runs simple games like Minecraft at a respectable graphics setting and frame rate, though anything heavier will most likely struggle to maintain a smooth, steady frame rate.
The 13-inch screen, meanwhile, seems colourful enough in laptop mode when you generally place the device a little further away from yourself. Up close in tablet mode, however, the brightness of the screen can be a little jarring. While decreasing the brightness seems like a natural answer to this problem, doing so makes the colouration on the screen a little drab, which makes it equally annoying to use. There's certainly a sweet-spot to be achieved depending on how far you usually hold your tablets from your face, but the way I use it, the screen's brightness makes it a little painful to use over extended periods.
In tablet mode, the touch-screen was responsive and precise, scrolling and flipping through apps and pages like a dream. Asus also included an active stylus pen with the machine, not unlike Microsoft's Surface Pro 4, though the screen isn't nearly as sensitive. Drawing on the device still feels floaty, and would probably not be sufficient for professional artists. The stylus unfortunately can't be docked in the device, however, so you'll have to carry it around like a normal pen. It also runs on a single AAA battery instead of a rechargeable, which is unfortunate in this day and age. Also unfortunate is the battery life, which seemed to last about six hours at full charge. That's certainly a short battery life for a portable device.
Verdict
Attractive and powerful, the ZenBook Flip S is an excellent choice for those looking to get a 13-inch, ultra-portable laptop. While somewhat limited in capabilities by its relatively low-pixel screen (for a tablet), the device still performs respectably, and is undoubtedly a breeze to carry around. Though at 63,990 baht, you're definitely paying for it.
