A Thunderbolt 3 input would have been the cherry on top, but that relatively new standard isn't expected at this price. We use it to assess overall system performance for office-centric tasks such as word processing, spreadsheet jockeying, web browsing, and videoconferencing. Still, it pans smoothly and the full press is responsive, which is all you need. I then moved the app to the main screen by pressing an app-switcher icon located on the bottom-left corner of the smaller screen. As with the CPU, you should look elsewhere if your work is graphics-based, or if you are looking for a gaming laptop. Receive mail from us on behalf of our trusted partners or sponsors? The VivoBook S15 posted the fastest Handbrake result, and was the third best in the other two tests. After fully recharging the laptop, we set up the machine in power-save mode (as opposed to balanced or high-performance mode) where available and make a few other battery-conserving tweaks in preparation for our unplugged video rundown test. Everything else comes packaged in with Windows 10 Home. Despite its 15.6-inch screen, the VivoBook is still highly portable, weighing just 1.8kg and measuring a sleek 18mm thick. In fact, it may be one of the better laptops we’ve tested. Graphics: Intel UHD Graphics 620 Connectivity: WiFi 6 (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5.0 If you want a slimmer, lighter machine, then this Asus laptop is perfect for you. That's the good. We recommend waiting until then to hit that buy button. It's larger than some of these laptops, so it can fit a bigger battery, but it's still a pretty portable machine. If you want to buy a laptop for under $1,000 and don't need a 15.6-inch display, go for the HP Envy 13. It's hard not to cheer for the VivoBook S15. The ScreenPad is a bit of a mixed bag, though. Also installed on the VivoBook S15 are a couple of third-party apps that aren't part of Windows 10, including a SmartAudio app for changing mic-speaker volumes and ScreenXpert, which powers the ScreenPad 2.0. Please refresh the page and try again. The display offers full HD (1,920 by 1,080) resolution and features thin bezels, which raises the screen-to-body ratio to 88 percent and is more pleasant to look at than the usual thick plastic borders you get on most budget laptops. The Asus VivoBook S15 is not only an excellent value for the price, but an excellent laptop all around. The Dell Inspiron 13 5000 (5391) is even smaller, but since it's priced right in line with Asus' machine, it's useful to see what you can get for the same amount of money. Between the color scheme and construction, it's a pleasant laptop to hold and use, even if a 15-inch system is bulkier than the more portable options available today. Thank you for signing up to TechRadar. You will receive a verification email shortly. For the sake of performance comparisons, I gathered a batch of competitive laptops. Still, its four cores and eight threads get the job done, and seemingly were not pushed to their full extent in these tests. Unfortunately, the VivoBook S15 lasted only 7 hours and 5 minutes on our Laptop Mag battery test (continuous web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits) with the ScreenPad 2.0 turned off. But the yellowish green shade isn't the most pleasing and I wish Asus had just continued the white color of the bottom panel onto the lid, even if that had made the VivoBook S15 look like a Pixel phone. Some nifty software changes also make it easier to use, although the overall experience is still rough around the edges. Want both performance and storage? Asus is aiming the S15 squarely at younger users (the marketing specifically mentions Gen Z multiple times), matching the color options with what the company sees as a creative, expressive generation. The Dell Inspiron 14 7000 (7490) is our current top pick among ultraportables, down slightly in size from the VivoBook S15 but a powerful competitor nonetheless. Receive news and offers from our other brands? The keys are large enough and have decent key travel, although they are a bit shallow compared with those on other 15-inch laptops. Apple MacBook Pro vs. Microsoft Surface Laptop 3: Which 13-Inch Premium Laptop Is Tops? Sign up to get breaking news, reviews, opinion, analysis and more, plus the hottest tech deals! The new 5.56-inch screen is plenty bright and I didn't have any problems with touch sensitivity. On the left side of the VivoBook 15 are two ancient USB 2.0 ports, while the right side houses a USB 3.1 Type-A port, a USB-C input, an HDMI, a microSD card slot and a headphone/mic jack. The VivoBook S15 is no better or worse than the other Intel systems, while the AMD system is about twice as good. I like how the pearlescent lid changes tones depending on how the light hits it. Tapping on the preinstalled Evernote icon opened the app on the ScreenPad. If you want more power, a midtier VivoBook S15 goes for $899 and has a Core i7-8565U CPU, 8GB of RAM, a 256GB SSD and a GeForce MX250 discrete graphics card. According to our colorimeter, the VivoBook S15's display covers only 61% of the sRGB color gamut, making it less vivid than the panels on its predecessor (68%), the Envy 13 (109%) and the IdeaPad 530s (72%). That's about as bright as its predecessor (257 nits), the IdeaPad 530s (255 nits) and the category average (255 nits) but the Envy 13's panel gets much brighter (410 nits). Spending $999 on a maxed-out VivoBook S15 gets you a Core i7-8565U CPU, 12GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD and an MX250 GPU. There are also models with either Windows 10 Home or Windows 10 Pro for business users. In this case, it's rendered in the eponymous Unigine engine, offering a different 3D workload scenario for a second opinion on each laptop's graphical prowess. Finally, the Lenovo Yoga C740 (15-Inch) gives us a look at a competing 15-inch convertible. Your subscription has been confirmed. With more room to stretch its muscles, the Core i5-10210U proved one of the better performers across these media tests. The bad is that the VivoBook S15's improved ScreenPad 2.0 still has some problems and the main 15-inch panel is quite dull. It's worth noting some price discrepancies here. PCMag, PCMag.com and PC Magazine are among the federally registered trademarks of Ziff Davis, LLC and may not be used by third parties without explicit permission. The new version is smaller but weighs a tad more than last year's model (14.3 x 9.6 x 0.7 inches, 3.7 pounds), while the Lenovo IdeaPad 530s (14.1 x 9.6 x 0.6 inches, 3.7 pounds) is lighter and slimmer. The build quality stands far above most at this price range, and the laptop remains plenty portable despite a 15.6-inch screen. That's really unfortunate because the S15's slim bezels do a good job of drawing your eyes toward that large panel. On the whole, the Asus VivoBook S15 is a very strong value. In it, we put a stopwatch on test systems as they transcode a standard 12-minute clip of 4K video (the open-source Blender demo movie Tears of Steel) to a 1080p MP4 file. A slim, stylish all-rounder that's sweet for the price. (Worth noting: If the S15 appeals to you but you'd prefer a smaller size, there's also a new 14-inch VivoBook S14.). We run two different 3DMark subtests, Sky Diver and Fire Strike, which are suited to different types of systems. Take off your boring suit and show your colors. Asus offers only a single U.S. configuration of this laptop, with the color choice as the only option to specify when ordering. We also run a custom Adobe Photoshop image editing benchmark. Ports: 2 x USB 2.0, 1 x USB 3.1, 1x USB-C, 1 x 3.5mm audio, 1x micro-SD, 1 x HDMI And while the Harmon Kardon stereo speakers aren’t exactly Hi-Fi quality, they do manage to avoid the thin, tinny sound that afflicts many laptops, so the sound quality of the VivoBook S15 is perfectly adequate for watching video or listening to some music on Spotify. You will receive a verification email shortly. On top of that, the ScreenPad 2.0 goes dark when you're in traditional touchpad mode, then turns the touchpad off when you want to see anything on the small screen. The keyboard itself feels firm and responsive for speedy typing, and the size of the screen means that there’s room for a proper numeric keypad, and a comfortably large set of navigation (arrow) keys as well. The display of third-party trademarks and trade names on this site does not necessarily indicate any affiliation or the endorsement of PCMag. The elaborate ball gowns at a party scene should have stunned with their vibrant reds and shimmering gold accessories but instead looked faded and worn. Asus VivoBook S15 price and configuration options. Slick Ultraportables Face Off: 2020 Apple MacBook Air vs. Microsoft Surface Laptop 3, High-End Mac Showdown: Apple iMac vs. Apple MacBook Pro, Acer's Swift 3X Laptop to Use Intel's First Dedicated Graphics Processor, Acer Reveals New Porsche-Designed Laptop, Updates to Business and Creator Lines. The VivoBook S15 is the first laptop we've tested with the new and improved ScreenPad 2.0, a touchpad that moonlights as a secondary 5.65-inch, 2160 x 1080-pixel touch screen. As expected, the VivoBook S15 impressed in our benchmark tests when compared with other laptops at this price. Of course, despite the small differences in performance here, none of these laptops is especially equipped for demanding media tasks. It landed at the back of the pack, but hung close enough to the others, proving its worth for everyday tasks. However Asus marketing wants to flavor this look, the point is that this laptop is decidedly peppier-looking than the average general-use system. As tempting as the big screen and low price are, you'll want to consider a more powerful category of laptop if you're a professional media editor. The VivoBook S15 did a great job keeping cool under pressure. Bath Still, the VivoBook S15 is at least as good as the others here, particularly showing up the much more expensive Surface Laptop 3 (while offering double the storage, to boot). Matthew earned a degree in Mass Communications/Journalism and interned for a college semester at Kotaku, writing about gaming before turning it into part of his career. Camera: 1920x1080 webcam with microphone Cinebench stresses the CPU rather than the GPU to render a complex image. The dull screen is really unfortunate because the S15's slim bezels do a good job of drawing your eyes toward that large panel. Continuing this theme, the Enter key (shown below) is outlined in yellow, which is meant to represent, and I quote, "overthrowing the old system and creating substantial change." Ideally, it doesn't break the bank, lasts long off the charger, and has the ports they need. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Our only minor complaint here is that the silvery gloss on the keys doesn’t highlight the characters on each key very well, even with the backlight turned on.
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