Asus ZenBook Flip 13 in review: Compact convertible with great OLED display

[Redaktion]

The ZenBook Flip 13 from Asus is an ultra-compact 13-inch convertible with an excellent OLED display. However, the compact design doesn't mean that you have to sacrifice performance, because Intel's latest Tiger Lake SoCs provide enough power. This detailed review with numerous measurements and benchmarks will reveal how well the device performed in our benchmark circuit.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Asus-ZenBook-Flip-13-in-review-Compact-convertible-with-great-OLED-display.550248.0.html

[kek]

60 Hz PWM!!! WTF ASUS.

This laptop is literally a weapon. It should be illegal to sell a laptop with that low PWM

[LHPSU]

And no audio jack. The people who designed this should be sent to jail

[Muhammad Anhar]

And no audio jack. The people who designed this should be sent to jail

I almost switched to ZenBook after I found Envy X360 still have headphone jack. What a weird decision by Asus!

[Daniel Ridenhour]

I hoped for more performance but still would be buying one of these in a heartbeat if it had a 16:10 screen.   16:9 in a 13.3 has just never worked for me...  they work on paper but in practice the screen just isn't that useful no matter how great it is.

Note on PWM...  just about every OLED screen in tablet or PC uses PWM at the same refresh rate as the screen to prevent burn in.   So 60hz screen you get 60hz pwm...   on a 120hz samsung s7+ you get 120hz pwm.  Its really not the same deal as cheaping out on the dimmer that it is with backlit screens.

[GMaximus]

> The frequency of 60 Hz is very low, so the flickering may cause eyestrain and headaches after extended use.

Having a bit of experience of PWM-sensitive person, i can say that general frequency reference is misleading.
Take a look at oscillogram for this notebook's screen, the pockets of bottom peaks are of very narrow width of around 2ms, that's 500Hz and would be generally unnoticed by human's eyes.
The bad and ugly clasic PWM looks like this: notebookcheck.net/fileadmin/Notebooks/Dell/XPS_13_9310_OLED/0to51.jpg
Or this: notebookcheck.net/fileadmin/Notebooks/Samsung/Galaxy_S10/response_pwm.png
Speaking of the latter one, for example, I've spent around 5-6 hours straight on this phone (reading Notebookcheck searching for a new laptop), and at the end of the evening i got strong weakness and nausea.
Meanwhile, i have no problems watching TV that utilises PWM, for hours - because its PWM is performed differently, tiny pockets on a generally straightlined brightness level, instead of a sinusoid-like nightmare.

So, "60Hz bad" is not true, it could be fine and much better actually than "240Hz" of some other screen.

[AB]

CPU performance depends on fun profile, My the best R15 result is 860, much higher then in the test

[Braden]

I don't know if it was just because I read about PWM in this review, but my eyes felt strained using this screen so I returned this laptop after purchasing it.

[Rui Marques]

I commend your review, very complete and well explained.
However, I take the opportunity to ask a question and if you can help me.
I bought an ASUS Zenbook UX363JA Touch Laptop 13-13.9 FHD IPS (I5 1035G4, 8G RAM, 512G PCIE SSD)
As I had an excellent promotion, I had to take advantage of it and didn't even think twice about buying it. But as I have the option to return it if I don't like something on the device, that's why I'm in the study phase.
One of the things that worries me is if you use the PWM system, the screen flickering, because if you use it and the frequency is too low, it can cause eyestrain and headaches after prolonged use.
So, although it is a slightly different model from the review you presented, but I would like to know if you have any information about the ASUS Zenbook UX363JA model, in relation to PWM (Pulse Width Modulation)
If you know, please reply to my email, if possible, [email protected]
Thanks

[jkasus]

I bought this laptop with intention for work, but in the end I decided to return it. Why?
The battery life.
Unit I purchased lasted only around 5-6h of very light use (with screen set to 60% brightness). To my amazement that's exactly the same result as Surface Laptop Studio (that I ended up buying).
According to Notebookcheck reviews however there should be a big difference in battery life between these two machines (in favour of Asus). I don't know how is it possible. I installed just office suite + adobe suite and few other apps not working in the background.

I wonder what are exactly the conditions of notebookcheck tests. I'd love to explore more how is it possible to get 50% difference in results.