Asus VivoBook 18 laptop review: The display monster for just under $1,000

Affordable 18-inch laptops without a dedicated graphics card have been a rarity until now. As a result, the VivoBook 18 M1807HA with the Ryzen 7 260 and the Radeon 780M iGPU has a real unique selling point but unfortunately, Asus hasn't exhausted its full potential. Starting with its case, which could be higher-quality and more stable, especially in the touchpad area. Its rather small keyboard in relation to the available space (no standard numeric keypad) is also a bit of a shame. Furthermore, Asus should work on the laptop's cooling, as despite its below-average GPU performance, the 18-inch device gets quite loud under load (at least from performance mode onwards). In addition to a second fan, there would have been room for a secondary M.2 or RAM slot in its case (the existing 16 GB are soldered on). Its partially outdated connections cost further rating points, as the 18-incher has to make do without USB 4.

In all the other categories, the VivoBook 18 cuts a solid to good figure. For example, we have little to complain about its CPU speed, picture quality and battery life. Overall, we would only recommend a purchase for users who absolutely want an 18-inch device that doesn't cost too much.

The VivoBook 18 M1807HA is not yet available to purchase in the United States. It has an estimated MRSP of just under $1,000.

The manufacturer has gone for a plastic case. Its dark gray surfaces are—as we know from many laptops—quite susceptible to fingerprint marks. With a height of around 20 mm (without the feet), the VivoBook 18 is neither thick nor particularly thin. Its weight of around 2.6 kg is also still acceptable for an 18-inch laptop. One highlight is its generous opening angle of 180°, although its hinges feel a little on the delicate side. Its build quality is generally high.

The VivoBook 18 has to make do with four USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, although its two Type-C ports support PowerDelivery and DisplayPort. It also features an audio jack and an HDMI 2.0 output. There is no LAN port or card reader.

The Wi-Fi speed of the integrated wireless module (Realtek RTL8852BE) was only mediocre during our test.

The laptop's Full HD webcam, which has a mechanical cover, delivers solid sharpness but could be more color accurate.

Apart from its unusual size, Asus has gone for a relatively unspectacular IPS panel. 1,920 x 1,200 pixels (16:10 aspect ratio) are on the borderline for an 18-inch device; we would have liked to see at least 2,560 x 1,600 pixels. Otherwise, the display didn't make any glaring mistakes during our test. Just under 100% sRGB coverage is just as appropriate for the laptop's price as its contrast of 1,375:1. A brightness of around 324 cd/m² is good enough for most indoor areas, but a higher brightness would be needed for outdoor use. In its delivered state, the panel has a slight blue cast, but this can be corrected through calibration. Its response times are within the typical IPS range. We noted no image flickering.

While its CPU performance is in the mid-range, the GPU's performance only tended towards the entry-level range in our test. 16 GB of RAM and a 512-GB SSD are fine for its price of just under $1,000, without being anything to shout about.

The Ryzen 7 260 is an eight-core model from the Zen 4 generation (4 nm) that we haven't previously tested, and it can process up to 16 threads in parallel via SMT and has 16 MB of L3 cache. Not least thanks to its generous PL1 and PL2 levels, the laptop's CPU performed quite well during the benchmark course and was almost on a par with the Ryzen AI 9 365 (MSI Prestige A16).

The laptop's system performance isn't bad either, although the VivoBook 18 was only in the midfield of the comparison devices. Its sluggish working memory became noticeable during our test.