Do you dream of a device that combines productivity with stunning visuals? Then buckle up, because we’re diving deep into the ASUS Vivobook 14 Flip, a 2-in-1 laptop that promises insane battery life and a display that will make your eyes sing.
ASUS has built a reputation for versatility with its Vivobook line. From the budget-friendly Vivobook Go to the powerhouse Vivobook Pro, there’s a Vivobook for almost everyone. The common thread? Portability, a rich feature set, and a focus on value.
The Vivobook 14 Flip aims to bridge the gap between work and play, packing a beautiful 14-inch FHD+ OLED touchscreen, a handy stylus, and boasting over 28 hours of battery life (yes, you read that right!). But at a price point of around Rs 1.2L, is it worth the investment? Let’s find out!
Key Specifications at a Glance
Before we dive into the nitty-gritty, here’s a quick rundown of the key specs:
- Processor: Intel Core Ultra 7–256V
- Display: 14-inch 16:10 FHD+ (1920x 1200) OLED touchscreen, 500 nits peak brightness
- Refresh Rate: 60Hz
- RAM: 16 GB LPDDR5X 8533MHz
- Storage: 512 GB PCIe Gen 4 SSD
- Wireless Connectivity: Dual-band Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4
- Ports: 1 x Thunderbolt 4 USB-C DP+PD, 1 x USB3.2 Gen2 Type-C DP+PD, 1 x USB3.2 Gen1 Type-A, 1 x HDMI 2.1 TMDS, 1 x Micro SD Card reader, 1 x Audio combo jack
- Battery: 70Whr
- AC Adapter: 65W
- Weight: ~1.5 Kg
Design, Build and Connectivity: Minimalist Elegance
The Vivobook 14 Flip sports a minimalist design that’s as at home in a classroom as it is in a boardroom. The matte grey finish is sophisticated and understated, a refreshing change from the glossy silver finishes you often see. The “ASUS VIVOBOOK” logo on the lid is a subtle touch of reflective silver, adding a touch of elegance without being flashy.
Opening the lid reveals the stunning 14-inch OLED display, ready to “flip” 360 degrees into tablet mode.
Robust Hinge & Lightweight Build
The hinge is surprisingly strong, exhibiting minimal wobble. This is crucial for a 2-in-1 device where you’ll be switching between laptop and tablet modes frequently. You can even lift the lid with a single finger, a testament to the build quality and balanced weight distribution. The laptop weighs 1.55 Kg without adaptor and with adaptor it weighs 1.90 Kg.
Keyboard & Trackpad: Comfort and Convenience
The keyboard, while not full-sized, offers a comfortable typing experience. It’s backlit with three brightness levels, which is great for working in dimly lit environments. I would’ve loved an auto-brightness mode, but that’s a minor nitpick. The power button is strategically placed as the second-to-last key on the top row, which I found quite intuitive after a short adjustment period. Note that there’s no fingerprint sensor for added security.
Webcam with Physical Shutter
On the security front, the webcam supports Windows Hello facial recognition and includes a physical shutter – a welcome addition for privacy-conscious users.
The Smart Gestures Feature
The trackpad is generously sized, smooth to the touch, and supports all the standard multi-touch gestures. But ASUS goes a step further with Smart Gestures. You can swipe up/down on the left edge to control volume, up/down on the right edge to adjust brightness, and horizontally on the top edge to fast-forward/rewind media. It’s a clever implementation, reminiscent of Acer’s approach on their SWIFT Go OLED laptops, where physical media controls are accessed via a trackpad swipe.
Solid Construction & Port Selection
The laptop’s aluminum alloy construction feels robust and durable. The rectangular design with contoured edges makes it comfortable to hold and type on.
The left side of the laptop houses a comprehensive selection of ports (as listed in the key specs), while the right side features a single USB-A port and the exhaust vent. The bottom panel has an air intake for cooling. For optimal performance, avoid using the laptop on soft surfaces like pillows. Instead, switch to tablet or tent mode for comfortable content consumption in bed.
Display: Once You Go OLED…
Once you experience an OLED display, it’s hard to go back! The ASUS Vivobook 14 Flip boasts a gorgeous 14-inch OLED panel. The 16:10 aspect ratio gives you extra vertical space for documents, spreadsheets, and web browsing. You’ll notice slightly thicker black bars when watching movies, but you’ll quickly adapt to it.
Dealing with Reflections
My only real gripe with the display is its reflectivity. In a brightly lit office, I had to carefully angle the screen to minimize reflections. Thankfully, the viewing angles are excellent, making it easier to find a comfortable position.
Vibrant Colors and Deep Blacks
Despite the reflectivity, the display is a joy to use. Movies look incredible with deep blacks and accurate skin tones. Even mundane tasks like writing documents and working on spreadsheets are more enjoyable on this display. The 60Hz refresh rate is perfectly adequate for productivity tasks, and while some might crave a higher resolution, the FHD+ resolution is sharp and clear for most users. The display boasts 100% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage, DisplayHDR 500 True Black certification, and TÜV Rheinland certification, ensuring accurate colors, deep blacks, and eye comfort. This makes it an ideal choice for creative tasks like photo editing and graphic design.
Touchscreen Functionality
The touchscreen is highly responsive and convenient for scrolling through presentations, playing/pausing content in tablet/tent mode, and quickly switching between tabs. Pinch-to-zoom works flawlessly for detailed graphs and stats. If you use the touchscreen a lot, you’ll appreciate its responsiveness.
Audio: Surprisingly Good Laptop Speakers
The Vivobook 14 Flip features two bottom-firing speakers that deliver surprisingly good sound quality for a laptop. The speakers get loud and clear when placed on a table. Watching shows like Succession or movies on Netflix, or even just watching YouTube videos is enjoyable.
Volume Control Quirks
However, in tent or tablet mode, there’s no convenient way to adjust the volume like you would on a dedicated tablet. Don’t expect deep bass or pinpoint accuracy when listening to music, but the speakers are more than adequate for everyday use.
Performance: Intel Core Ultra 7–256V Under the Hood
Let’s talk performance! The ASUS Vivobook 14 Flip is powered by an Intel Core Ultra 7–256V processor. How does it stack up against the competition? Here’s a look at some synthetic benchmark results compared to similarly priced laptops:
The Intel Core Ultra 7 256V performs well in synthetic benchmarks, delivering decent scores across the board. It boasts respectable numbers in Cinebench, PCMark 10, and GeekBench, and its GPU performance is particularly impressive.
Benchmarking Results
Compared to the competition, the Intel Core Ultra 7–256V excels in single-core performance but lags slightly behind in Cinebench R24’s multi-core test against the Vivobook S 14 (AMD Ryzen 9 HX 370). However, it’s on par with the Microsoft Surface Pro (Snapdragon X Plus). A similar trend is observed in GeekBench, where Intel leads in single-core but trails in multi-core performance.
GPU Performance
Turning to GPU performance, Intel takes the lead, outperforming both the AMD Ryzen 9 HX 370 and Snapdragon Elite. This is a commendable achievement.
Battery Life Champ
In PC Mark battery tests, the Intel Core Ultra 7-256V-powered Vivobook 14 Flip shines. It achieved a remarkable 23 hours and 25 minutes, far surpassing the Vivobook S14 (11 hours and 2 minutes) and the Snapdragon-powered Omnibook (12 hours and 51 minutes).
Real-World Performance
In real-world scenarios, I consistently achieved two days of heavy productivity and entertainment on a single charge, equating to approximately 18 hours of usage. I tackled presentations, Excel work, wrote portions of this and another review, and managed a barrage of emails, all while keeping around 45 tabs open in Chrome. Even demanding tasks like video editing, photo editing, and using the stylus for drawing should be well within this laptop’s capabilities.
Gaming: Casual Fun
We tested the Vivobook 14 Flip with GTA V and Valorant to assess its casual gaming prowess. The results were surprisingly good. We averaged 108 FPS in GTA V and 256 FPS in Valorant. The settings for GTA V were MSAA at 4X, Reflection at 4X, and Anisotropic filtering at X16. Valorant was played at High settings with MSAA at 2X.
Gaming Performance Comparison
To provide context, the Omnibook ran GTA V at an average of 49 FPS (same settings), while the Zenbook S 16 (AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370) achieved 50 FPS in GTA V and 165 FPS in Valorant.
Casual Gaming Capability
The ASUS Vivobook 14 Flip can easily handle most casual games. To truly appreciate the OLED display, try a visually stunning title like Ori and the Will of the Wisps. The game looks breathtaking in HDR on the OLED panel.
AI: Early Stages on PC
AI is still in its infancy on PCs (excluding gaming), and we’ve started using Geekbench AI as a benchmark. Microsoft Copilot tasks, such as finding locations, writing emails, and generating cat images, worked flawlessly during my testing.
Verdict: A Great All-Rounder with Exceptional Battery Life
The ASUS Vivobook 14 Flip is an excellent choice for everyday productivity and portability, thanks to its outstanding battery life. The OLED display is gorgeous, and the connectivity options are more than adequate for daily use. The 2-in-1 form factor makes content consumption a breeze, especially when relaxing in bed, without compromising thermal management. The included stylus will be particularly appealing to designers and artists.
Drawbacks
The main drawbacks are the display’s reflectivity under direct sunlight and the lack of markings on the touchpad for ASUS Smart Gestures. While the Intel Core Ultra 7-256V offers great efficiency, its raw CPU performance might be slightly less impressive than some AMD Ryzen 9-HX 370-powered laptops in the same price range. However, the integrated Intel ARC GPU helps bridge the gap.
The Competition
If you prioritize battery life and seamless everyday productivity, the Vivobook 14 Flip is a strong contender. However, consider that Apple recently launched the M4 Macbook Air in India for Rs 99,990, offering 16GB RAM and the powerful M4 chip. While the Vivobook boasts a superior display, the M4’s performance is undeniable. And then there are the Snapdragon X Elite, X Plus, and X-powered laptops entering the market, offering compelling alternatives. So, carefully weigh your options based on your specific needs before making a decision.
Pros:
- Fantastic battery life
- Good build quality with a comfortable keyboard
- Great display with convertible form factor
- Windows Hello with camera shutter
Cons:
- Raw performance could be better
- Reflective display
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How long does the battery last on the ASUS Vivobook 14 Flip?
Ans: The ASUS Vivobook 14 Flip boasts an impressive battery life of over 28 hours based on ASUS testing. In real-world usage, expect around 18 hours of heavy productivity and entertainment.
Q: Is the ASUS Vivobook 14 Flip good for gaming?
Ans: The ASUS Vivobook 14 Flip is suitable for casual gaming. It can comfortably run games like GTA V and Valorant at decent frame rates.
Q: Does the ASUS Vivobook 14 Flip come with a stylus?
A: Yes, the ASUS Vivobook 14 Flip comes with a stylus included in the box.
Q: Is the ASUS Vivobook 14 Flip display good for creative work?
Ans: Yes, the ASUS Vivobook 14 Flip has a great display with 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut coverage, DisplayHDR 500 True Black certification, and TÜV Rheinland certification. It’s great for creative tasks like photo and video editing and also for drawing, when using the stylus.
Q: Does the ASUS Vivobook 14 Flip have a fingerprint scanner?
A: No, the ASUS Vivobook 14 Flip does not have a fingerprint scanner.