Asus ZenBook Flip S UX370UA review – the vanity 2-in-1 laptop

29 Comments

  1. drz

    August 16, 2017 at 6:14 am

    Good review. I question Asus choice of core i5/7. I think they should have gone with core i5y/i7y (core m). These are almost as fast in geekbench! They are also more suitable for this kind of device and it would have attracted people like me as I can not tolerate annoying fans. Otherwise a perfect device. But I won't touch it unless it comes fanless later (like the UX360CA).

    • Andrei Girbea

      August 16, 2017 at 3:17 pm

      Well, Core Y is expensive and not that easy to cool. I'm a big fan of fanless experiences too, but I'm not so sure the Core i7y would run well on this build. If I were designing the product, I would have made it a little thicker and tweaked the fan profile so the fan won't kick under a certain threshold.

      • Andrea Severino

        October 30, 2017 at 12:47 pm

        I agree with you Andrei about the fanless desireability.
        But frankly I am not sure why you did not include the Lenovo 900s.
        A bit old now but lighter and smaller with 12.8mm thickness and QHD display I find it to be more the laptop the Asus must compete to (pitched mainly as small and touchpad friendly).

      • Andrei Girbea

        October 30, 2017 at 5:42 pm

        It's Core M though, while this Zenbook is Core U and the difference in performance is huge imo. These days I'd expect fanless Core U builds, there are some out there and hopefully there will be more for us to choose from.

  2. Ben

    August 31, 2017 at 4:55 am

    Hey!

    Thanks for the great review. This is the machine at the top of my list right now, but also considering the UX360UA. (I have good luck with Asus, and I figure I'll stay with them for now.)

    Intel just released their info on the Kaby Lake-R chips, and Asus's site now lists this laptop with the 8000 series chips. From your experience, do you think this model will actually receive that upgrade, and is it worth waiting?

    I'm also thinking to wait for the i5 version to come out, since I don't need it for anything heavy. Again, based on your experience, any idea when the i5 might be out? (either 7th gen or 8th gen)

    Other's I was considering are the newly announced UX461, and UX331. The convertible ability is nice, but not essential after all. Possibly the HP Spectre or Dell XPS13 too, but again, I prefer Asus.

    Thanks, and keep up the great work!

    • Andrei Girbea

      September 2, 2017 at 12:57 pm

      The quad-core KB-R would make little sense in this chassis. Perhaps an update will be available with Coffeelake Core Y later on.

  3. Marcello Patruno

    September 5, 2017 at 8:40 am

    Hello,
    thank you for the excellent testing work that you do, I have had not a fair experience with a few Asus pc, and after seen and touched with hands the HP Spectre X360 I felt that is structurally much better than the Asus machines I owned till today, is it there many difference between the i7-7500U of the HP Spectre X360 and the Intel Kaby Lake Core i7-7500U CPU of Asus Zenbook Flip UX370 please?

    Kind regards
    Marcello Patruno

    • Andrei Girbea

      September 6, 2017 at 12:37 pm

      Performance wise, the i7-7500U throttles faster on the UX370, but whether you'll actually see that in real use depends on your usage.

  4. Art Boyle

    September 16, 2017 at 1:00 am

    Thanks for this review! I'm thinking of buying one very soon however I saw a review on YouTube that indicated the keyboard tray was very bendy and flexed to much and that the screen bounced around as you used the machine because the bins didn't hold it firmly enough. I think your review much more thorough, did you experience anything similar?

    • Andrei Girbea

      September 16, 2017 at 8:39 am

      There is a little bit of flex in the main chassis, yes, but it's nowhere as bad as you're saying.

  5. Oguz Akin

    September 29, 2017 at 1:23 am

    Thank you for your review. It was very informative. I personnaly used Lenovo, Dell xps, Hp spectre during the last 4 months. They all had 8gb ram except the flip s which had 16 gb. Amongst all with 8gb ram, hp spectre was my favorite. Very solid built body and smooth processing. It was quite and never got too hot. It had very good battery life and I liked fast charging spec. Now that I am using flip s, it gives me the feeling of an hp spectre 8 gb ram with its 16 gb ram. I had no complaints so far. I think this is the best looking laptop in the market. I am not interested in a thinnest contest but it looks so pretty in your hand and extremely light to carry. I think it all boils down to cost. If I could find an hp spectre with 16 gb ram similar to flip s with the same price, then I would go with it. However, if you are a daily user with no gaming needs and concerned with how your laptop looks when you take it to a cafe, then I think flip s would win hands down. My two cents

    • Andrei Girbea

      September 29, 2017 at 3:14 am

      Tanks for your feedback. How do you cope with the loss in battery life? The Flip gets a much smaller battery than the Spectre.

  6. Danny Tong

    October 26, 2017 at 4:56 pm

    Would you recommend this over the ux490? I think the ux490 is hotter looking, but can't yoga and is more expensive.

    • Andrei Girbea

      October 30, 2017 at 5:02 am

      Idk, up to you. Personally I liked the UX370 better, but you might have different priorities and needs

  7. Karesz

    December 12, 2017 at 7:17 pm

    Hi Andrei!
    Many thanks for your fantastic site which helped me a lot to find my next laptop.
    I'm considering this model, but there are many circumstances which could have an influence on my final decision.

    In my country Asus ux370 with i7 8500u/16Gb/512Gb Pci-e SSD is the cheapest option compared to other 2in1 ultrabooks with same specs.
    The aforementioned ux370 config costs Eur 1570 which is around Usd 1840 – dongle, pen and Tax (27% :() included.
    The same Lenovo Yoga 920 costs a whopping Eur 2050.
    The similar Dell XPS 13 is Eur 1785 – not the 2in1 version.
    The 16Gbyte HP Spectre X360 is not available by us with the same specs, but the 7500U version w 16Gbyte Ram is Eur 1685.

    I need 16Gb RAM and a fast 8th generation U processor as I have to do my demanding jobs -design works, photo editing, etc. – on-site on my laptop occasionally, instead of my powerful workstation.
    Unfortunately most 8250 and many 8550 laptops come with 8 Gbyte soldered RAM here.
    Portability and design is very important as well as I do many presentations, and I prefer the 2in1 versions which can be useful in many situations -presentation, tablet, cooking at home, or watching a movie in the bed -. Long battery life is a nice to have feature, but I can accept 4-6 hours cordless time.

    I've got to unanswered question right now:
    – Do you think that any of the mentioned laptops fits better in my scope than the UX370, considering the price differences?
    – Are there any better options for me than these sets? (UX461 is not available until now unfortunately)

    I have to finalize my decision and place the order in this year, so any answer or useful hints are well appreciated.

    Thanks!

    • Andrei Girbea

      December 13, 2017 at 4:50 am

      What do you need the 8th gen processor for? If it's demanding loads, while I haven't actually reviewed the UX370 with those processors, I'd expect them to throttle given the dual-cores throttled as well. See the performance section of the article. That's something to keep in mind.

      This Asus is cheaper and lighter, but with compromises in battery life and performance over the HP x360 and the Yoga 920 as well.

      The UX461 is pretty large, however I would also have a look at the Lenovo Yoga 13 720, it's a pretty solid pick and slightly heavier.

      • Karesz

        December 13, 2017 at 11:17 am

        Many thanks for the quick reply Andrei!

        As I mentioned, I have to do some of my tasks occasionally on-site, without my workstation. These are Lightroom import/editing/export and batch processing of 36-46mp Raws, Photoshop with multiply layers, or some basic Premiere manipulation in 720-1080p, as part of our services to the customers. These happen seldom, 1-2 times a months in average. In the other periods I will use the laptop for standard business needs, such as word processing, presentation, web surfing, or watching videos. Gaming is not important. Battery life is not terribly important as I can manage these situations with my old, good Sony Vaio which barely lasts for more than 2 hours. :) But I want to change, as a 15,6" laptop with 4-5 lbs of weight and much larger footprint is cumbersome to carry with me all day.
        The 13" Lenovo Yoga 720 is interesting. I can get it with the same specs for the almost the same price as the Asus UX370 except the CPU, which is 7500u and the screen which is a 4K display instead of 1080p. 8th generation CPUs are unfortunately not available here right now
        I can deal with the slightly heavier weight of the yoga 720 if you are certain, that I won't experience any performance improvement of the UX370's 8550u CPU because of the throttling.
        In this case, I'm wondering, why manufacturers put such a powerful unit in such a thin chassis…

        One more interesting question: do you see any improvement in battery life of the 8th generation CPUs in standard circumstances? I guess they should have last longer in the same set because of the lower base frequency of the CPU cores.

      • Andrei Girbea

        December 14, 2017 at 4:32 am

        I'm not 100% certain, because like I said, I haven't tested it. Based on my experience with the dual-core version, I do expect the 8550U to throttle. Perhaps you can find some other reviews and opinions from people who actually bought the 8th gen model.

        BTW, if that's a possibility, get the ux370, run your tasks and see how it performs. If it does good, keep it, either way, return it. Not sure how return policies are in your country, but that's a possibility in Europe, US, Canada, etc.

        About battery life, as far as I'm seeing right now, light use and video is about the same, while multitaksing is actually shorter with the 8th gens.

        PS: No need to comment twice, comments are manually approved so I can attend to each of them, but that usually takes a few hours to a few days.

      • Karesz

        December 14, 2017 at 4:52 am

        Big thanks Andrei!

        In the EU individuals have the right of free return de facto.
        But I've found a company which offers a "no question asked" 14 days return period for legal entities as well.
        I'll do that and write my opinion as soon as I was able to test the config!
        PS: as soon as I've recognized your approval policy I sent an email to your contact address. Sorry for any inconvenience.

      • Andrei Girbea

        December 14, 2017 at 6:27 am

        Great, let us know of your feedback after you'll get it.

      • Karesz

        December 17, 2017 at 8:33 pm

        Hi Andrei!
        Here are my first impressions of my the UX370.
        After 3 days and around 30 hours of excessive testing, and evaluating I can say that this little gem has surpassed most of my expectations.
        It's light, thin, sturdy, and beautifully crafted. I like the keyboard and the touch-pad. Speakers are really punchy considering the size of the laptop. I have the charcoal grey version with silver accents. It's not as fancy as the Marine-blue version with golden stripes, but maybe more elegant -at least for me. :)
        First of all, I have to admit that I optimize my laptops as much as I can, so these results will not refer to all UX370.
        My machine came with 16Gbyte Ram, I8550u CPU, 512Gbyte PCI-e SSD, quality sleeve, the smaller USB dongle, and a stylus. The package is excellent.
        After I've got rid of the preinstalled bloatware, I started my undervolting and optimizing procedure.
        First of all, a new BIOS version (3.02) was available, so I installed that.
        After Windows has finished with the new updates, and indexing, I have noticed something interesting. The laptop fan is off under 45 degree Celsius, so basically It is totally silent under standard circumstances.
        What surprised me as well, there was a small app -Quiet Fan- provided by Asus Live Update. As far as I was able to check its behaviour, for the cost of around 25-30% loss of the maximum performance the laptop will be much less noisy during more demanding usage as well. This app has a system tray icon, so you can activate and deactivate it according to your needs. I think, there is no real need for Notebook Fancontrol anymore.
        The next step was the installation of Throttlestop and the setting and meticulous evaluation of the undervolted values and other miscellaneous adjustments.
        Right now I was able to set the CPU and the Cache by -95mV, which means, that together with the other tweaks this laptop more often meets with power limit throttling than thermal throttling under stress-tests. I've made many smaller tweaks and tricks to optimize windows and the hardware as much as I can. I've stress-tested the system in Intel Extreme Tuning Utility for more than 8 hours altogether without any hickups. Until now I was able to get 10-20% more power out of my laptop comparing to other i8550u systems, with less noise, heat, and therefore better battery life. Please note, that I'm not an extreme tuner. and I did not overclocked anything. I use this computer for business purposes mainly, so my approach was conservative and I like safe bets more than unstable systems. I'm sure there are some options to get more juice out of this combo.
        Right now, as different scenarios for Performance/AC and Battery are tested and evaluated, I can say, that I have a fine-tuned, but very stable system for my needs:
        – 1st an almost fan-less laptop with 8-10 hours of battery capacity in cordless mode, for standard office and video watching scenarios (as I write this mini review unplugged, my battery is at 84%, and Windows 10 guesstimates 7hr and 31min remaining battery at 40% brightness (running apps: Chrome with 11 tabs, Wordpad, Cinebench R15, Intel Extreme Tuning Utility). It is pretty constant as I've checked it several times.
        – 2nd If more output is required, I can change my setting with one click and let out the beast of this very powerful and not so thermal limited device.
        One more thing to mention: In case of the most extreme situation: even if I set everything to support the maximum performance, the CPU does not heat over 75-80 Celsius -average is 65-70- during the Intel stress tests and the batteries lasts for almost 2hrs at 100% screen brightness.
        Here are some of my test results:
        Intel Extreme Tuning Utility: 1005-1040 pts after 10 benchmark tests
        Cinebench R15: CPU: 642cb and Single Core: 154cb as an average after 10 complete tests
        Geekbench 4: https://browser.geekbench.com/v4/cpu/5505107
        Userbenchmark: http://www.userbenchmark.com/UserRun/6325964

        Conclusion:
        After 3 days, I'm very satisfied with the results
        I've an almost fan-less 2in1 ultrabook for standard jobs
        and a very powerful machine whenever I have to process hundreds of raw files in Lightroom, or for multi-layered works in PS, etc.
        It's a strong, very well crafted, highly portable system if 3D gaming is not so important to you. And once again: it was much cheaper here than the Lenovo Yoga 920, HP Spectre X360, or Dell XPS 13" with comparable specifications.

        Please note, as I'm not a professional reviewer and not every system is identical, therefore take my findings with a grain of salt. I'll do additional tests and will check the and come back if there is something to mention.

        PS: is there any way to change the dedicated volume rocker +/- directions? When I press the downside of the button, it gets louder, and vice-versa. :S

    • Andrew F1

      June 10, 2018 at 3:46 pm

      Hello, Karesz!

      I'm so impressed by your review of ASUS flip S!
      Considering buying it now, the same version you're.
      So, please, tell me, how it is after half-year usage.
      Are you glad of build quality, heat and noise? Is there something you disappointed?
      Thanks!

      • Karesz

        June 13, 2018 at 5:20 pm

        Hi Andrew F1!

        Thanks for your reply.
        The only thing what changed was some decrease in the battery performance. Maybe some hidden services, maybe something else, I didn't have time to check this thoroughly, but the rate is around 20-25%. It's still more than okay in my case, so I don't worry too much about it.
        I'm very happy with this little powerhouse. :)

  8. Francisco

    February 16, 2018 at 3:43 pm

    Thank your for the review. Between Asus UX370 and UX430. Which you recommend me? I'm looking a laptop, light, thin, with good speakers and display.

    • Andrei Girbea

      February 17, 2018 at 4:11 am

      I'm more into the ux430: better screen, matte, better performance, longer battery life. But if you want to flip touchscreen, the UX370 is the obvious choice. Up to you.

  9. Christian Gilbert

    August 16, 2018 at 10:16 pm

    Hello!,
    Can the network card be replaced?

  10. Adrian

    October 19, 2018 at 1:36 pm

    Hello!
    I'm a college student.
    I would like a light, portable, fast, beautiful screen laptop.
    I'm not particularly interested in the touchscreen.
    I can't decide. Could you help me ?
    1. Asus UX331UA i5,256 ssd
    2. Asus UX331UN i7,256 ssd, mx150 but i dont play games.
    3. Acer Swift 5 i5, 256 ssd
    4. Asus Flip S UX370UA
    Which one to buy ?
    Or other option?
    Thanks!

    • Andrei Girbea

      October 19, 2018 at 2:00 pm

      They're very different. You should consider the applications you're going to run and the screen size. The i508250U is fairly capable, should be enough for most everyday tasks and some demanding loads, so I'd probably pick between options 1 and 3. You could also consider something with 16 GB of RAM is you can fit it within your budget.

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