Ryzen-powered Asus VivoBook Flip 14 shows just how badly Intel needs to launch its Tiger Lake platform

Asus recently refreshed its VivoBook Flip 14 convertible series this year with both updated processor options and a brand new look. Unlike last year's model, however, only the Ryzen CPU series is available to choose from while any Intel variants won't hit store shelves until Q4 2020. Should users wait for the Intel versions or should they "settle" with the current AMD options?

Based on our time with the Ryzen 7 4700U VivoBook Flip 14 TM420IA, Intel has a long hill to climb in its battle against AMD in the budget to mid-range laptop market. The Ryzen-powered VivoBook is both faster and cheaper than most — if not all — Intel Core i7 Ice Lake or Core i7 Comet Lake-U convertible currently in the market by noticeable margins. Some of these Intel convertibles may even retail for hundreds more than our VivoBook like the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 and yet our AMD-powered Asus still manages to come out on top in terms of raw performance.

Intel has no answer to the 3rd gen AMD U-series until the aforementioned Tiger Lake platform launches in Q4 2020. Even then, we fully expect these Tiger Lake laptops to cost more than the existing Ryzen laptops especially if AMD decides to cut prices and uphold their strong performance-per-dollar advantages. This ultimately means that the Ryzen 7 VivoBook and others like it will be uncontested for most of the year. Intel will really have to hit it out of the park with Tiger Lake to make the wait worthwhile.