There’s been a year-long shortage of laptops and Chromebooks have been especially tough to find. There’s one that’s been easier to get ahold of than others, though. The ASUS Chromebook Flip C436, which I had the opportunity to test drive for several months as the year wound down. The availability has nothing to do with the Flip C436 being a bad Chromebook. On the contrary, it’s fantastic. It features a cutting edge (and award-winning) design, premium materials, and high end components. However, you pay for the upscale approach. Where the predecessor Chromebook Flip C434 started at $599, the Flip C436 starts at $799. The version I tested was priced at $999.
In other words, while parents were scrambling to find affordable Chromebooks for kids who were remote learning, this one is probably priced out of that market.
Scores Big on Visual Appeal
Chromebooks can often look utilitarian. Traditionally aimed at the education market and budget-conscious parents, that’s understandable. However, there have been a growing number of premium Chromebooks, where more expensive materials are used and more attention paid to visual appeal. The ASUS Chromebook Flip C436 is definitely in this club.
This is a laptop that visually pops. It features a magnesium-alloy body with sharply and precisely machined edges. The lid on my review unit was finished in an Aerogel White. This is much more than a white paint job, it glistens and has an opalescent effect that shows flashes of other colors (like light pinks and blues) depending on the light and viewing angle. It’s also available in a more traditional Transparent Silver, but that Aerogel White makes this laptop a real looker.
Premium Design Touches Throughout
ASUS designers clearly put a lot of thought and effort into the Flip C436.
Its NanoEdge display has minimal bezels for an 85% screen-to-body ratio. This allowed the company to fit a 14-inch FHD display in a 13-inch form factor. The front edges of the laptop are machined into a “V” shape that makes it easier to open the lid. The 360-degree ErgoLift hinge is smooth and holds the device firmly in whatever position you choose — traditional laptop, tablet, and everything in between. That hinge also elevates the back deck of the Flip C436, providing a more ergonomic typing experience while improving audio performance.
USB-C ports on either side can accept power, so you can plug in the power adapter on whatever side is most convenient. There’s a 720p integrated webcam with microphone (and Google Assistant support), and quad-speakers with Harman Kardon-tuned audio. The backlit, full-sized keyboard includes a fingerprint sensor. The touch display also supports an active stylus like the ASUS Stylus Pen SA300, although that’s an extra-cost option.
The laptop weighs just 2.51 pounds and is 0.54-inches thick. The Chromebook Flip C436 won ASUS a reddot design award in 2020.
High Performance for a Chromebook
One of the ways manufacturers keep Chromebook costs down is through use of lower end components and specifications. In the early days of Chromebooks, this meant some pretty dismal displays although that situation has largely improved. However, the combination of trying to stay budget-friendly and the lower requirements of Chrome OS compared to Windows and macOS still results in measures like low-powered processors, minimal RAM (4GB is still common in affordable Chromebooks), and miserly onboard storage.
ASUS went off-script with the Chromebook Flip C436.
My review unit was equipped with a 10th generation, quad-core Intel Core i5 processor with 16GB of RAM to play with. Storage is generous and it’s fast: a 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD. The Full HD IPS display isn’t the world’s brightest at 300 nits, but it has 100% sRGB color coverage, wide viewing angles, and looks pretty nice when streaming 1080p video. The Flip C436 is even equipped with Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), the latest and greatest in high speed Wi-Fi.
It’s certified to meet Intel’s Project Athena standard, which means it is fast. In use, there wasn’t much I could do to make the Chromebook Flip C436 break a sweat. Start opening multiple Chrome tabs — which will quickly show the limitations of basic hardware — and the Flip C436 doesn’t slow. At one point, I had more than a dozen tabs open with each streaming a 1080p video simultaneously and the Chromebook was fully responsive.
Battery Life
If there’s one area where the Flip C436 didn’t leave lesser Chromebooks in the dust, it was battery life. ASUS rates it at up to 12 hours, but you’d have to be pretty aggressive in your power management to achieve that. In typical use, I saw more like eight hours on a charge. That isn’t bad. It will get most people through a day of use. But it’s not great, either.
ASUS Chromebook Flip C436 Specs (as Tested):
- 14.0-inch 1080p IPS NanoEdge touch display with stylus support, 16:9 aspect ratio, 100% sRGB coverage, 300 nits brightness
- 10th generation, quad-core Intel Core i5-10210U CPU with Intel UHD graphics
- 16GB DDR3 RAM
- 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD
- 2 x USB-C (USB 3.2 Gen.1) ports, microSD card slot, 3.5 mm audio jack
- Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0
- Full-sized backlit chiclet keyboard with 1.2mm travel, over-sized trackpad
- 720p webcam
- Microphone with Google Assistant voice support
- Quad speakers with Harman Kardon-tuned audio
- Fingerprint sensor, Titan C security chip
- Magnesium alloy chassis, Aerogel White lid
- Weighs 2.51 pounds, 0.54-inches thick
- 42 WHrs, 3-cell Li-ion battery rated at up to 12-hours use
- MSRP $999
- Includes USB-C power adapter and laptop sleeve
Recommendation
While Chromebooks have traditionally been aimed at the education market, ASUS isn’t targeting students who are remote learning with the Chromebook Flip C436. Not with a starting price of $799 (and a $999 price tag for the Core i5 version). This is a Chromebook those who want a stylish, svelte, zippy laptop and are willing to pay extra for it. Think of it something like a MacBook Air, but for those who prefer Chrome OS.
If you’re in the market for a Chromebook that will turn heads and keep up with pretty much anything you can throw at it, the ASUS Chromebook Flip C436 is well worth considering.
