Asus VivoBook Flip 14 (2021) review: Ambitious ultraportable with some flaws

The Asus VivoBook Flip 14 is a bit of an odd man out in the VivoBook lineup. It ’ s a premium offer in a lineup full of low-key-looking home and agency laptops. It is pretty much the top-of-the-line laptop you can get under the VivoBook post. Asus has a few Flip models in its lineup, but the Asus VivoBook Flip 14 is the most low-cost one of the draw that runs Windows. You get the 2-in-1 blueprint, which means a touch screen and a 360-degree hinge that “ Flips ” the screen back to let you use it in pill mode .
Buying guide: Asus laptop batting order explained now refreshed with AMD Ryzen 5000 series processors, the Asus VivoBook Flip 14 brings even more operation in the like thin-and-light chassis, making it a truly bouncing little machine. Asus hasn ’ triiodothyronine played around with the formula, keeping the same design, and merely bumping up the internals. On paper, it looks capital, performs well, and promises incredible value for money.

The question is — should you spend your money on one ? Let ’ s dive into Android Authority ’ s Asus VivoBook Flip 14 ( 2021 ) reappraisal .
Asus VivoBook Flip 14 ( 2021 ) $ 599.99 at Amazon About this Asus VivoBook Flip 14 review: I tested the Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TM420 ( AMD Ryzen 5 5500U model ) over a period of 14 days. The unit of measurement was provided to Android Authority by Asus for this review.

What you need to know about the Asus VivoBook Flip 14

Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TM420 2021 review photo showing the laptop closed, sitting on a yellow wall. Palash Volvoikar / Android Authority

  • Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TM420 (AMD Ryzen 5000 series): Prices starting from $599/Rs. 59,990

The Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TM420 has three AMD Ryzen 5000 series CPU options : the 5300U ( in some markets ), the 5500U, and the 5700U. Asus has equitable one semblance choice here — Bespoke Black. The Flip form divisor means this laptop has a touch screen, and the Asus Pen stylus comes in the corner. You can either kick back the hinge to make the laptop stand up, or fold it all the way and use it as a tablet. The lid of the laptop is made out of metal, while the root gets the plastic discussion. noteworthy optional features include a backlit keyboard, a virtual Numpad integrated into the touchpad, and a fingerprint detector for Windows Hello biometric login. You get all the authoritative ports, with Ethernet being the merely exception. There ’ s a microSD card reader on board, and we besides get Harman/Kardon stereophonic speakers. The laptop weigh in at 3.31lbs ( 1.50kg ). Prices start at $ 599/Rs. 59,990, and the laptop is nowadays available in the USA and India, ampere well as other regions where Asus has a bearing .

How is the design?

Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TM420 2021 review photo showing the laptop sitting on a blue table Palash Volvoikar / Android Authority With the Asus VivoBook Flip 14, there ’ s no denying the design is the most crucial divisor. The lightweight chassis decidedly complements the 360-degree hinge. even in the fully folded pill mode, it ’ s amazingly wrist-friendly. The premier issue with this mood is that the hat has sharp corners, which means you can merely grab the laptop by its sides — a considerable purpose oversight. Those sharp edges are besides a part of what gives this laptop its clean look, though. The Asus VivoBook Flip 14 is rather pleasant to look at, be it the blind, the dull chassis invention, or the keyboard that goes along with it. It besides feels very balance, with solid burden distribution backed by a sturdy hinge .
Also read : The best fresh laptops to look forward to however, good looks aren ’ t everything. The design oversights in this model don ’ thymine end with sharp corners. The hinge, while sturdy, can make the hat a annoyance to open. The recess provided for opening the lid simply slips away from you, leaving you to use your nails to get the lid open. The base chassis is plastic with entirely the lid being metallic element. I faced a curious trouble with the fictile part of the chassis. A market dagger on the right palm rest, highlighting features of the laptop, peeled away during my use, leaving some nasty adhesive material residue and a stain that seems fairly permanent. I have never seen this return before on any laptop I ’ ve always used, and this could be an issue limited to the inspection unit I received. Regardless, the staining raises some concerns about how the credit card body will handle palm grease and early points of reach over time .

How is the screen?

Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TM420 2021 review photo showing the laptop in tablet mode sitting on a yellow wall. Palash Volvoikar / Android Authority The Flip shape divisor of the Asus VivoBook Flip 14 puts the screen at the center of this device. however, the sieve frequently fails to impress. It ’ s a Full HD panel, making it pretty crisp for the 14-inch size. My issue with the empanel was more with the color. It only covers 45 % of the NTSC color gamut, making it rather dull for a laptop that has big media consumption promise. What ’ randomness tied worse here is that the display only hits 250 nits of brightness. I didn ’ thyroxine face any issues with the brightness and semblance while indoors. however, this device has some unplayful limitations when it comes to outdoor use .
The glossy looking glass combined with poor brightness levels meant that this laptop was barely available outdoors, even when the weather was rather cloudy. Coming to the touch screen and stylus experience, it was acceptable. The touch accuracy is solid, and the bundle Asus Pen is a pleasure to use. Windows 10 hush international relations and security network ’ metric ton capital with tint, and the in-built pad mode doesn ’ triiodothyronine do any favors for serviceability. The Asus Pen comes with a bang-up bantam sleeve with a attraction, which you can use to attach the playpen to the metallic lid of the laptop. While I ’ thousand not a touch screen user when I ’ m on a laptop, I particularly enjoyed this attachment solution from Asus. It about made me want to use the pen more .

How is the battery life?

Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TM420 2021 review photo showing the laptop flipped back on a bllue table Palash Volvoikar / Android Authority This is where the Asus VivoBook Flip 14 impresses. My workload is rather light, and the Flip 14 managed to give me a battery biography of between eight to 10 hours, systematically. This included a short ton of open browser tab key in the Chromium-based Microsoft Edge, with a solid bit of Full HD video playback on YouTube going on from time to prison term. even when I tried to push the Flip 14, it still got identical close to the eight-hour punctuate. Unless you ’ re doing some heavy ferment like television editing, the battery should last you for a full bring sidereal day .
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even if your workload results in less-than-stellar barrage life, fast charging should help make up for it. Asus promises a 60 % charge from a “ low battery ” in 49 minutes. In my quiz, the laptop went from under 10 % to full moon in about an hour and 15 minutes. The battery life and immediate top-up surely earn this laptop a few brownie points .

How powerful is it?

Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TM420 2021 review photo showing the laptop sitting on a yellow wall. Palash Volvoikar / Android Authority The Ryzen 5 5500U that I tested is the latest from AMD, sitting in the low-power mobile chip series. It has ample performance on board, and for general-purpose use, you ’ re unlikely to hit any snags. however, there ’ s an return with AMD ’ s chips that seems to considerably water down the performance when on battery. I noticed between a 40-50 % dribble in performance when benchmarked on battery v AC power. SSD speeds dropped a piece arsenic well. Although that was the font, I didn ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate comment any operation drops with my workload .
Also read : The best laptop for television editing and graphic design note that this is not quite an consequence with the laptop itself, but alternatively with the way AMD configures its processors. Asus has operation profiles in its MyAsus app that let you squeeze out some excess performance from this chip. The port choice is properly. The inclusion body of a microSD 4.0 circuit board lector is a courteous tint. The alone major omission here is an Ethernet port. I would have expected to see at least a collapsible interpretation of it. The Asus VivoBook Flip 14 does come with a Wi-Fi 6 network tease which reasonably makes up for the lack of Ethernet .

Anything else?

Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TM420 2021 review photo showing a finger reaching for the fingerprint sensor embedded in the touchpad. Palash Volvoikar / Android Authority

  • Biometrics: The fingerprint sensor is great, waking Windows 10 from Sleep mode in less than a second most of the time.
  • Keyboard: The keyboard is not too bad, but the 1.35mm travel leaves you wanting, and there’s way too much deck flex, although it’s not too much of an issue while typing.
  • Speakers: The Harman/Kardon speakers are better than the average laptop speakers, but not so good at the lows.
  • Webcam: The 720p camera is not the worst you can get at this price, but the image looks dull and smoothened.
  • Windows 10: You get the usual Windows 10 Pro with the MyAsus app, MS Office 2019 Home & Student edition, and a subscription to McAfee LiveSafe for a year.

Asus VivoBook Flip 14 (2021) specs

Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TM420 (2021)Display
14-inch IPS-level LED-backlit LCD
1,920 x 1,080 resolution
45% NTSC color gamut
250 nits peak brightness
Touch support with Asus Pen included
CPU
AMD Ryzen 3 5300U – 4 cores / 8 threads, 2.6GHz base clock, 3.8GHz boost (select markets)
AMD Ryzen 5 5500U – 6 cores / 12 threads, 2.1GHz base clock, 4.0GHz boost
AMD Ryzen 7 5700U – 8 cores / 16 threads, 1.8GHz base clock, 4.3GHz boost
GPU
AMD Radeon Graphics
RAM
Up to 8GB DDR4 on board, up to 8GB DDR4 SO-DIMM, (16GB max)
Storage
Up to 512GB/1TB PCIe 3.0 SSD (depending on market)
Battery
42Wh Lithium-ion
Charging
65W via AC adapter
Camera
720p HD
Connectivity
Bluetooth 5.0
Wi-Fi 802.11a/b/g/n/ac/ax (dual-band Wi-Fi 6)
Biometrics
Fingerprint scanner embedded into touchpad
Ports
1x USB 2.0 Type-A
1 x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A
1 x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-C
1 x HDMI 1.4
3.5mm Audio Jack Combo
MicroSD Card Reader
Dimensions and weight
324mm x 220mm x 18.2mm
1.50kg
Colors
Bespoke Black

Value and competition

Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TM420 2021 review 38 Asus VivoBook Flip 14 ( 2021 ) Asus VivoBook Flip 14 ( 2021 ) brings refreshed AMD Ryzen 5000 series processors while keeping the thin-and-light body. The 2-in-1 design adds in a tablet mode, with an Asus Pen stylus included. $ 599.99 at Amazon Rs. 59,990.00 at Amazon India With prices starting at $ 599/Rs. 59,990, the Asus VivoBook Flip 14 is not quite a unique offer. While it stands out when compared to other VivoBook laptops, it falls short-circuit when compared to its rival. This segment is quite pack, so you have a short ton of options, which is a good thing given the shortcomings of this laptop. Competitors include the Acer Spin 3 ( $ 552 ), the Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 ( $ 519 ), and HP ‘ s Pavilion x360 14 ( $ 749 ). The Lenovo IdeaPad Flex 5 14 is the best alternative you can get to the Flip 14. It has besides been refreshed with Ryzen 5000 processors and offers like weight and dimensions .
Also read : The best laptops you can buy If you are to buy this laptop, it would make sense to pick the cheapest configuration available as it provides the best prize. The floor model will get you the Ryzen 5 5500U processor. Some markets besides have configurations with Ryzen 3 5300U available. The cheapest model will limit the onboard storehouse. however, you will be able to find it for cheaper than the begin price rag of $ 599.99, making it the best value among all the refreshed Flip 14 models. The costlier models come with higher storage options and a processor upgrade to the Ryzen 5 5700U. There ’ sulfur decidedly a performance boost that comes with those upgrades. however, the measure for money thins out given the drawbacks of this laptop, specially the blur display. so if you ’ re set on the Asus VivoBook Flip 14, look out for the cheapest Ryzen 5000 series processor-equipped shape you can find. The Asus VivoBook Flip 14 is not awful rate for the price. In terms of measure, it gets it all veracious on paper. however, a few key issues with the laptop keep it from being the home run hit that it can be, specially in a segment that is very competitive .

Asus VivoBook Flip 14 (2021) review: The verdict

Asus VivoBook Flip 14 TM420 2021 review photo showing the keyboard of the laptop. Palash Volvoikar / Android Authority The Asus VivoBook Flip 14 is a premium-looking extend from Asus. As we have come to expect from Asus laptops, it performs quite well and looks the region. however, it has a few crying issues that become hard to ignore the more you use it. The human body doesn ’ t feel cheap at first base, but there are hints that it won ’ t hold up identical well over prison term. The form divisor promises bang-up media consumption functionality, but the display fails to deliver. It ’ s barely functional outdoors — despite the fact that a laptop like this attracts folks that need a powerful laptop that can be used on the go .
The Asus VivoBook Flip 14 needs to offer a more all-around have, and fix a few issues that hold back the differently big invention. The battery life is impressive, and this laptop can comfortably handle home and office workloads. At the end of the day, this form factor truly deserves a better screen and to have fewer issues with the build. The Asus VivoBook Flip 14 is bound to get your work done, but its rough edges make it hard to recommend over the rival.

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