ASUS Zenbook Flip 13 (UX363), Great Value For Money?

The popularity of the 2 in 1 convertible laptops is on the rise because of how versatile they are, from portable design to multiple use cases, these devices hold so many features as compared to a traditional laptop. Today we have The ASUS Zenbook Flip 13 UX 363 Laptop in for review, and it features a compact body and a vibrant OLED display. If you’re looking for a premium 2-in-1 laptop that has a great battery life, impeccable graphics and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg, then you should look no further than the ZenBook Flip 13 UX 363.

Let’s take an in-depth look at The ASUS Zenbook Flip 13 UX 363, which retails from Ksh. 145,000 locally, to help you know if it is great value for money.

Design and build

The ASUS Zenbook Flip 13 laptop gave us nothing short of the expectations, the laptop sports great visuals and a full-aluminum body. One of the most impressive stats regarding its construction is the profile as it stands at just 13.9mm. It is also pretty light, at 1.3 kg. The laptop itself seems rigid when it is closed, but we found that the base is a bit bendy, when you open it up. On the bright side, the Laptop sports the ErgoLift hinge mechanism, which makes the backside of the base stand a bit higher, providing more headroom for cool air. Above the display, you can find the optional IR face recognition camera.

It has thicker bezels at the top and bottom of the screen which help the daily use experience by soaking up the exhausted heat in laptop mode and acting as a proper handle in tablet mode.

The ASUS Zenbook Flip 13 is pleasing to look at, with a dark-gray color scheme, subtle concentric circles on the lid, and a matte interior with chiseled edges around the arm-rest.

Flex with style with its 360° Hinge

The Zenbook Flip 13 features an exclusive 360° ErgoLift hinge design. This makes it  versatile, so the laptop works any way you want it, and that’s in part thanks to its powerful Intel Core i7-1065G7 processor. This ensures it delivers the flexible performance and mobility that you desire. Furthermore, you can flip the screen over completely to transform the UX363 from a laptop to a tablet. Or turn it part of the way to use it as a stand or in tent mode.

Precision Touchscreen

The ZenBook Flip 13 (UX363) is equipped with a 13.3-inch FHD NanoEdge touchscreen, featuring slim 3.9 mm bezels that maximise the screen space while reducing the laptop’s footprint.

If you are creative you will love the possibilities offered by the NanoEdge display when combined with the optional ASUS Pen and Windows Ink. The high-precision touchscreen is fully compatible with the ASUS Pen’s 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity, providing an improved experience that makes the ZenBook Flip 13 (UX363) the perfect choice for creating , note-taking and instinctive editing in any supported app.

Hardware and performance

The Asus Zenbook Flip 13 UX363EA comes with an Intel Tiger Lake Core i7-1165G7 processor and Intel Iris Xe graphics, 16 GB of LPDDR4x 4266 MHz memory, and a middling 1 TB Kingston SSD.    

Battery life

ZenBook Flip 13 uses a high-capacity battery that won’t let you down, however long and demanding your working day is. Its fast-charge technology lets you recharge to 60% capacity in as little as 49 minutes, so you can be up and running quicker than ever. ASUS USB-C Easy Charge lets you use a wide range of standard USB-C chargers for convenient charging on the go.

Keyboard and trackpad

For the keyboard, ASUS went with a squashed layout on this 13-inch laptop. It is also backlit which enables you to the keys in the dark so that you’ll be able to type without running into problems.

The ZenBook Flip 13 introduces the amazing new NumberPad, an innovative solution to the lack of space for a numeric keypad on small laptops. A simple long press on the NumberPad icon on the touchpad will turn the glass-covered touchpad into an LED-illuminated keypad with a familiar layout for easy data entry.

The ZenBook Flip 13 UX363 includes several dedicated hotkeys. You can use these to capture any part of the screen with a single tap, easily switch the webcam off, or lock the system in an instant for extra privacy.

Ports

On the left, the ZenBook Flip 13 UX363 has an HDMI connector, followed by two 40 Gbps Thunderbolt 3 ports, that can be used for charging, data transfer, DisplayPort output, eGPU connection, and pretty much everything. Also, you can use the included dongle, to extend one of them to a 3.5mm audio jack. And on the other side, you get a full-sized USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 1) port, as well as the Power On/Off button, which is easily detectable with a finger and has clicky feedback.

Here is a summary of the laptop’s features:

Pricing and Availability.

I think the laptop is great value for money, for the value and features it offers. It’s available at  Elevetus Technologies from Ksh. 145,000. Laptop Clinic Kenya is the Local service center for Asus and is located at Tulip Towers, 1st Floor, Mpaka Road, Nairobi, so you don’t have to worry about repairs or parts.

Verdict

Pros

• Doesn’t use harmful PWM
• Wide color coverage and accurate color representation with our Gaming and Web design profile
• Supports PCIe x4 SSDs, WiFi 6 standards and has two Thunderbolt 3 ports
• Great battery life
• Optional ASUS Pen and other accessories inside the package
• Its keyboard is backlit and great for typing
• ErgoLift and ScreenPad 2.0 boost its versatility

Cons

• No RAM upgradability post-purchase
• Lacks an SD card reader