ASUS ZenBook Flip UX360CA prices and specs

Are you looking for a light convertible that copes with multiple, productive Windows tasks and looks good at the same time? Asus takes an attempt at tackling this balancing act and rebuilds its successful Zenbook UX305CA (Core m, fanless) in Yoga style. The outcome is a rival for Lenovo's Yoga 900-13ISK (1400 Euros, ~$1578). Of course, Asus makes the better price of 830 Euros (~$935), but it waives a 4K resolution and only has a Core m3 and no pretty watchband hinge.

"Only a Core m3" - is that a drawback? We think: No. Asus has recognized, like we have in our tests with the Core m3, m5 and m7, that the m3 provides the best price-performance ratio. This is for the reason that the Core m7 - like in e.g. HP's Spectre x2 12 - cannot develop its full performance during basic load due to throttling. That would be like if someone buys a motorcycle that is limited to only 80 km/h. Then it would be preferable to buy a frugal, 125 m³ lightweight bike from the outset. It also gets through city traffic well as the system benchmarks prove. Thanks to the fast SSDs in all comparison devices, the differences between Core i and Core m are quite small. 12 - 15% sounds very insignificant.

Microsoft has not for nothing opted against m5 and m7 in its fanless Surface Pro 4. Users who want more power will have to look for Core i processors. Asus, however, does not offer these in its 360-degree model but only in its normal clamshell Zenbooks. Lucrative alternatives would be the not much higher-priced Acer's Aspire R13 R7-372T-746N (with Thunderbolt 3 port) or Toshiba's Satellite Radius 12 P20W-C-106.

Compared with tablet solutions, the UX360CA offers a greater diversity of interfaces. Depending on the requirements, this plus point does not inevitably beat every tablet. Lenovo's IdeaPad Miix 700 comes with a full-sized Type-A USB port alongside micro-HDMI, and HP's Spectre x2 12 offers a total of two USB Type-C ports - but not a real video-out.

Asus' Zenbook UX360CA-FC060T ultimately is a well-conceived convertible subnotebook that only suffers from a keyboard that is weak because it is unstable. Prolific writers will not be happy with it in the long term.

Despite falling in the middle or bottom of our benchmark comparisons, using the Flip is a really pleasant experience overall. It still feels snappy and can multitask well: When we had over a dozen tabs open in Chrome, including videos running on YouTube, we could still copy files to the SSD with no slowdowns.

Yes, it has shortcomings, but the’re very tolerable. The Flip feels cheaper in places and more plastic-y (because it is), but it’s also lightweight and thin, and boasts both a decent variety of ports as well as a cavernous amount of storage, plus a damned fine screen. For $749, it might not be quite as elegant and powerful as rivals like the Yoga 910 or HP Spectre X360, but it costs a heck of a lot less while still doing 99 percent of what the more expensive laptops can.

The Asus ZenBook Flip might not be quite as elegant and powerful as its primary competition, but it costs a heck of a lot less and can still do the vast majority of the same workloads.

Pros

• Fanless design
• Very thin and light
• Snappy for everyday tasks...

Cons

• ...but only good for everyday tasks
• Feels a little flimsy
• Trackpad feels floaty

Our biggest beef with most 2-in-1s is their short battery life. Thanks to its efficient Core m3 processor, the Asus ZenBook Flip UX360CA (starting at $699, reviewed at $749) lasted a very strong 10 hours on our battery test. This fanless 3-pound convertible also runs super-quiet and sports a colorful 13-inch display you can use in laptop or tablet mode. The UX360CA isn't very speedy, but overall, it's a good value.

The Pros:

Lightweight, fanless design; Vivid display; Great battery life

The Cons:

Below average performance; Some bloatware

Verdict

It's not the fastest 2-in-1, but the Asus ZenBook Flip UX360CA offers long battery life and a colorful full-HD screen with a design that's lightweight and quiet.