Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UN

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Reviews for the Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UN

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Model: Something fresh is coming out. This year might become the year of ultra light, yet powerful notebooks. With the help of new processors from Intel and new graphics cards from Nvidia, the dream of having ultra light, yet very powerful devices is coming true.

The ZenBook Flip 14 is a new series that Asus is pushing out and it is branded as the world's thinnest 2-in-1 laptop. It has 13.9 mm thickness and weighs only 1.4 kg. And hardware? It uses the 8th gen Intel i7-8550U and a dedicated Nvidia MX150 graphics card. Think about the possibilities this device provides. Equipped with a 512 GB SSD and 16 GB of RAM, the performance is definitely not an issue - unless you want to game. The MX150 is not a gaming GPU. It replaces the old GeForce 940MX. Yes, it performs better, but it is still not adequate for gaming. You can play some basic games or some less demanding games but with low settings. On the other hand, it provides enough horsepower for video and picture editing.

ZenBook Flip 14 series can be a game changer in 2-in-1 models. With this hardware, the performance it delivers is quite amazing. There is almost nothing you can not do; again just forget about the gaming. Moreover, you have a very light device that you can use in different modes, which can also take care of almost all demanding applications.

Besides you get close to 14 hours of possible usage. That is more than enough for a work day. Also quick charge has to be mentioned. According to specs, 60 % charge takes only about 49 minutes. There will be other variations including 15 inch versions with Thunderbolt. However, for 14 inch models there seems to be no reference to a Thunderbolt 3 port. Which could have been nice when thinking about connecting an external GPU and playing games. But this will not be possible. Instead you get a normal USB 3.0 connection, a USB-C connection and a full size HDMI output. There is also a microSD slot. Is it future proof? Debatable. Would it be if there was a Thunderbolt 3 port? Yes, definitely. But still, this device is pretty capable of almost anything.

The screen has a resolution of 1,920 x 1,080 pixels; pretty standard. But what makes it unique is it feels almost like it has no bezel. You can almost use the whole view area. Of course the touchscreen will have to prove itself for outside use. The test devices at IFA are not enough to provide good data in this area.

Should you buy it? Or who should buy it? I would recommend this device mostly to power users who need raw power to deal with complex excel spreadsheet or will be running analytical processes and then needs to present. Just make your calculation, turn your screen and voila everyone is impressed.

The Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UN can be a good choice. But, it may not come cheap. If you do not need the performance, mobility is not your first pick and you are on budget, the Lenovo Yoga 720 models can be a better alternative.

Hands-on article by Ümit Yılmaz Güneş

The Asus ZenBook Flip 14 UX461UN claims to be the world's thinnest 2-in-1 to use discrete graphics, which makes it a thin and light creative powerhouse, with the added versatility of a 360°-flippable touchscreen and Asus Pen support to take users beyond the boundaries of a traditional laptop. Great build quality, fast processor/graphics card and dependable battery life are common qualities of an ultrabook, but the ZenBook Flip 14 takes that up a notch by giving users slightly more processing power. The ZenBook series sets the standards for thin, light and elegant laptops, and the ZenBook Flip 14 is no exception. Its all-aluminum design is just 13.9 mm thin and 1.4 kg light, it has an ultra-compact footprint that packs a 14-inch screen into less hardware than many 13-inch models. The lid features the iconic Zen-inspired spun-metal finish that adds a unique touch of luxury, and the user can choose from two sophisticated colors - Icicle Gold and Slate Grey. The 14-inch NanoEdge display on the ZenBook Flip 14 has an ultra-thin bezel, which means it fits into a much smaller frame than a standard panel. In fact, the frame is comparable in size to many 13-inch laptops. It also gives the ZenBook Flip 14 an impressive 80% screen-to-body ratio in this area. It features 178° wide-view technology, 100% sRGB color gamut, exclusive Asus Splendid with Asus Eye Care technology, and Asus Tru2Life Video technology.

With the latest 8th-generation Intel Core i7 8550U quad-core processor, high-performance NVIDIA GeForce MX150 discrete graphics, 16 GB of RAM and an ultrafast 512GB PCIe SSD, the ZenBook Flip 14 will never keep users waiting. It provides solid performance that enables extensive multitasking. Asus packed 59 watt-hours of battery capacity into this laptop, which compares to the 63 watt-hours in the Spectre x360 13 and the hefty 70 watt-hours in the Yoga 920. Combined with the highly efficient Intel Core i7-8550U when running less demanding productivity tasks, one can expect a full day’s worth of battery life. The device offers excellent battery life, providing approximately 9 hours of runtime, which involves continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi. The keyboard has an excellent backlight, but similar travel to the MacBook Pro’s butterfly keyboard. The touchpad is smooth and includes a sensor with Windows Hello fingerprint protection. The Harman/Kardon-branded speakers on the Asus ZenBook Flip 14 provide enough power to fill a medium-sized conference room. The included Audio Wizard sound-adjustment app offers presets based on different kinds of content. Port-wise, the ZenBook 14 is decently equipped: two USB-3.0 ports, a 3.1-USB-C port (non-Thunderbolt 3, not for charging the laptop), HDMI out, a charging port, a microSD-card slot, and, finally, a 3.5-mm audio jack.

Hands-on article by Jagadisa Rajarathnam

NVIDIA GeForce MX150: Pascal GP108 based laptop graphics card and mobile version of the desktop GeForce GT 1030. Offers 384 shader cores and usually 2 GB GDDR5 with a 64 Bit memory bus. Manufactured in 14nm. With these GPUs you are able to play modern and demanding games fluently at medium detail settings and HD resolution. » Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Graphics Cards and the corresponding Benchmark List.
Intel Core i7: The Intel Core i7 for laptops is based on the LG1156 Core i5/i7 CPU for desktops. The base clock speed of the CPUs is relatively low, but because of a huge Turbo mode, the cores can dynamically overclock to up to 3.2 GHz (920XM). Therefore, the CPU can be as fast as high clocked dual-core CPUs (using single threaded applications) but still offer the advantage of 4 cores. Because of the large TDP of 45 W / 55 W, the CPU is only intended for large laptops.  
8550U: Kaby-Lake-Refresh based low power quad-core processor. The four cores are clocked between 1.8 and 4 GHz (Turbo Boost) and support HyperThreading. The integrated GPU is clocked between 300 and 1,150 MHz. The SoC is manufactured in a 14nm+ FinFET process.» Further information can be found in our Comparison of Mobile Processsors.
14":

Above all, this display size is used for subnotebooks, ultrabooks and convertibles. For all three types, this size is quite large. The biggest variety of subnotebooks is represented with this size.

Large display-sizes allow higher resolutions. So, details like letters are bigger. On the other hand, the power consumption is lower with small screen diagonals and the devices are smaller, more lightweight and cheaper.

» To find out how fine a display is, see our DPI List.
1.5 kg:

This weight is typical for big tablets, small subnotebooks, ultrabooks and convertibles with a 10-11 inch display-diagonal.

Asus: ASUSTeK Computer Incorporated, a Taiwanese multinational company, produces motherboards, graphics cards, optical drives, PDAs, computer monitors, notebook computers, servers, networking products, mobile phones, computer cases, computer components, and computer cooling systems. The company's 2007 revenues reached US$6.9 billion. ASUS also produces components for other manufacturers. The Eee PC initiated the netbook boom in 2008.

In the notebook sector, Asus had a global market share of about 11% from 2014-2016, making it the fourth largest laptop manufacturer. In the smartphone sector, Asus is not among the Top 5 and has only a small market share (as of 2016).

78.4%: This rating is not convincing. The laptop is evaluated below average, this is not really a recommendation for purchase.
» Further information can be found in our Notebook Purchase Guide.

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