Asus Vivobook S 15 review: A powerful but drab Copilot Plus PC

The dual-microphone variety is flawlessly matched for video calls. It grabbed great volume and presented my voice plainly. History noise was greatly reduced, too: practically none of the noises in my area, consisting of a follower and low-volume music, made it into the recording.

The touchpad determines concerning five inches wide and a little bit greater than three inches deep, which prevails for a laptop computer of this dimension. Some rivals like the Dell XPS 16, Apple’s MacBook Pro, and Razer Blade have a tendency to supply bigger touchpads, however they’re a lot more pricey.

That apart, the display is beautiful in all the ways typical for an OLED panel. It takes advantage of an unbelievable contrast proportion that provides a sensible feeling of depth and immersion, as well as a large and vibrant shade gamut that aids content order your interest. Brightness, also, is strong.

HDR is a perk, as the display screen is VESA DisplayHDR True Black 600 certified. That’s a greater degree qualification than many competitors and gives HDR material a little bit extra impact on this laptop than on the Acer Swift Edge 16 and LG Gram 16.

The Vivobook S 15’s supply adequate quantity at their optimum and use a crisp, clear midrange in the majority of scenarios, although songs with a hefty bass line can cause some recognizable distortion. Outside speakers are still a huge upgrade, yet the laptop’s sound is good for a light and slim Windows laptop computer.

Rates begins at $1,099 for the entry-level design with the Snapdragon X Plus and a 512GB solid state drive. The version that I checked, with the Snapdragon Elite and 1TB strong state drive, was valued at $1,299. That’s not expensive for a Windows Computer with a Qualcomm cpu (the least costly beginning at $999).

The base Asus Vivobook S 15 has a Snapdragon X Plus chip with 10 processor cores, however the Vivbook S 15 I assessed had an upgrade to the Snapdragon X Elite with 12 processor cores. The chip additionally has Qualcomm Adreno integrated graphics. It’s a capable chip that can commonly beat Intel Core Ultra and AMD Ryzen processors, though not in every instance.

That’s because the Snapdragon X Elite has 12 cpu cores, none of which are “effective” or “low-power” cores. AMD Ryzen processors do not utilize “effective” cores, however Ryzen mobile chips max out at eight cores, four less than the Snapdragon X Elite.

As a Copilot Plus PC, the Vivobook S 15 gain from AI-driven workshop impacts and noise cancellation. It can also translate and caption video on-the-fly. These features are offered on various other Copilot And Also Computers but, since the Vivobook S 15 is amongst the less costly Copilot And also Computers, it’s a budget friendly way to access them.

Every Asus Vivobook S 15 has a 1080p webcam with an optimum framerate of 30 frameworks per secondly. The camera has a broad area of sight– which may be great or negative, depending on just how you desire to use it– and appropriate image top quality.

Most customers will forgive that, nevertheless, since the laptop computer’s wireless connection is outstanding. It sustains Wi-Fi 7, which is the latest and quickest Wi-Fi standard available, and Bluetooth 5.4, which once more is the most recent version of that criterion. The Vivobook S 15’s cordless connectivity is future-proof: it’ll likely be a years, or much more, before the laptop’s cordless connection becomes obsolete

The Asus Vivobook S 15 is just one of over six PC laptop computer manufacturers that have actually joined Microsoft in introducing the brand-new Copilot Plus PCs, all of which presently have Qualcomm Snapdragon X cpus. They note a major change in the sort of equipment that is readily available in Windows laptop computers, however you wouldn’t understand that from looking at the Vivobook S 15. It’s a completely standard laptop computer and, although enjoyable to utilize, Asus’ choice to play it risk-free makes the Vivobook harder to suggest.

Secret feel is not special but strong. Each key activates with excellent vital traveling and a definitive activity that has some clicky responsive feeling. It’s very little various than the keyboards on price-competitive laptop computers, yet I assume most individuals will certainly locate it comfortable to use for hours on end.

The laptop computer also has two USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 ports, so it’s very easy to attach a wired keyboard and computer mouse. Extra ports include an HDMI 2.1 port, a 3.5 mm combination sound jack, and a microSD card visitor. This provides enough ports to take care of both modern-day tools, the majority of which are mosting likely to use USB-C, and older gadgets that still count on USB-A. The only port missing out on is Ethernet.

Cinebench R24, a heavily multithreaded criteria, also blog posts superb results on Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X equipment. Going for a total of 12 efficiency cores settles in any workload that leans heavily on multithreaded cpu performance. You would certainly need to opt for an Intel chip from the business’s more power-hungry lineup, like the Core i7-14700HX, to speed up past this outcome, and no laptop computer with that cpu will be as light or thin as the Asus Vivobook 15 S.

The star of the program right here is certainly the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite processor. The Asus Vivobook S 15 I got for evaluation had the Elite variation, which is an upgrade over the Snapdragon X Plus and brings 2 even more cpu cores. The Snapdragon is paired with 16GB of RAM and a 1TB strong state drive, which is regular for mid-range Windows laptops.

The 16:9 aspect ratio is currently unusual amongst mid-range and high-end Windows laptops. Many have actually moved to use a 16:10 facet ratio, which is slightly taller.

My grievances boil down to the details. When closed, the laptop computer’s silver light weight aluminum body has one of the most common appearance and structure you can possibly imagine. When opened, the laptop is disclosed to have the exact same texture and look inside, and a bland silver keyboard (which, as is typical for such key-boards, does not rather match the appeal and shade of the laptop computer’s body) stretches out throughout the interior. Frustratingly, I find it also less one-of-a-kind than various other Asus Vivobook and Zenbook laptop computers that I’ve reviewed over the previous couple of years.

Nonetheless, the Vivobook S 15’s build top quality chalks up a win. It’s a light and thin laptop, evaluating just 3.13 extra pounds and determining just 0.63 inches thick. Despite that, it really feels stiff when gotten, and even the display screen cover enables only a hint of flex when opened up. The Vivobook S 15 is visibly a lot more inflexible than a common LG Gram or Acer Swift laptop computer, which are somewhat lighter however roughly equivalent in girth.

The Asus Vivobook S 15 has a sizable key-board with a number pad. The only tricks that are noticeably smaller sized than common are the number pad keys, which are slim, however that’s common for a 15 or 16-inch laptop that includes a number pad. The number pad secrets remain large sufficient to use conveniently. A white key-board backlight is common, also, and by default turns on instantly when the key-board remains in use.

The Vivobook’s touchpad is substantially balanced out to the left of the laptop, though, to keep it focused below the spacebar. That can make the palm rest feel confined on the left side of the laptop, as my palm came to relax on the left side of the touchpad. The good news is, I didn’t notice problems with unintended inputs triggered by my left palm grazing the touchpad, which felt responsive and precise the whole time I utilized it.

If any person from Asus with control over the company’s style reviews this review, I am begging you: please find a brand-new layout language that helps ASUS laptops stand out. I’ve examined laptops enough time to remember the company’s terrific “concentric circle” design, which always let me recognize I was considering an Asus. Contrasted to that, the Asus Vivobook S 15 is as bland as oat meal.

The Asus Vivobook S 15 has an excellent mix of forward-looking and tradition connectivity. It consists of two USB-C 4 ports, both of which support DisplayPort Alternating Setting and USB Power Shipment, which implies the USB-C ports can be used to link to an exterior screen or to bill the laptop. The laptop computer additionally ships with a USB-C battery charger that supplies up to 90 watts of power.

3DMark Night Raid is Arm-native, suggesting it is maximized to run well on Qualcomm chips (and others which utilize the Arm instruction set). Time Spy is not Arm-native, however, so it runs through Windows’ PRISM emulator.

The Asus Vivobook S 15 is a proficient entry into the Copilot Plus computer field, yet one that battles to stand apart from the choices. It delivers good efficiency, long battery life, and a great mix of wired and wireless connection– but the same is generally true of various other Copilot And Also Computers. I’m likewise not a fan of Asus’ dull design, which isn’t suitable for what need to be a front runner laptop computer. The Vivobook S 15 is an excellent pick if you want a slim and light 15-inch device, however, and defeats options like the Acer Swift Side 16 and LG Gram 16.

Real-world usage mirrored the battery examination. The Vivobook S 15 sips battery, yet much less so than a few other laptops with Qualcomm hardware. Apple’s MacBooks with Apple Silicon can last much longer, and a rare handful of Windows laptop computers with AMD Ryzen 8000-series chips are almost as reliable.

The difference is stark. Qualcomm’s Adreno appears to, theoretically, show equally as capable as the best Intel Arc and AMD Radeon integrated graphics solution– yet that’s only true if a 3D video game or application has an Arm native version. Adreno’s 3D efficiency inevitably falls behind in applications not maximized for it.

It’s worth remembering that the Vivobook S 15’s rate of $1,299 presently puts it in league with laptops that have discrete graphics like the Asus Vivobook 16X OLED and Acer Swift X 16. The Vivobook S 15 sips battery, but much less so than some other laptop computers with Qualcomm equipment.

A substantial 70 watt-hour battery is found in the Asus Vivobook S 15. That, paired with the efficient Snapdragon X Elite processor, hints at impressive battery life. The Vivobook S 15 does not fairly strike that mark, though its battery life is still solid.

The Asus Vivobook S 15 is one of over half a dozen PC laptop computer manufacturers that have joined Microsoft in launching the new Copilot And also PCs, all of which currently have Qualcomm Snapdragon X cpus. When opened up, the laptop is revealed to have the very same appearance and look within, and a boring silver key-board (which, as is typical for such keyboards, doesn’t fairly match the gloss and shade of the laptop’s body) stretches out across the inside. You would certainly require to go for an Intel chip from the company’s more power-hungry lineup, like the Core i7-14700HX, to speed up past this result, and no laptop computer with that cpu will certainly be as thin or light as the Asus Vivobook 15 S.

Matthew S. Smith is an independent innovation journalist with 15 years of experience evaluating consumer electronic devices. Along with PCWorld, his work can be discovered on Wired, Ars Technica, Digital Trends, Assessed, IGN, and Lifewire. Matthew also covers AI and the metaverse for IEEE Spectrum and runs Computer system Gaming The other day, a YouTube network devoted to PC video gaming history.

It deserves bearing in mind that the Vivobook S 15’s cost of $1,299 currently places it in league with laptop computers that have discrete graphics like the Asus Vivobook 16X OLED and Acer Swift X 16. It’s something of an apples-to-oranges comparison, due to the fact that those options are much heavier and have much shorter battery life. It reveals that if you want good 3D graphics performance at a mid-range rate, the Vivobook S 15 is not for you.

The Vivobook S 15 endured approximately 15 and a fifty percent hours in our conventional battery test, which loops a 4K documents of the brief movie Tears of Steel. It’s an excellent outcome although, as the graph shows, it’s in the direction of the reduced end of what we have actually experienced with new Copilot Plus Computers that have Qualcomm Snapdragon X inside.