Asus have recently revamped their entire lineups of ZenBook ultrabooks, and while I’ve tested most of their clamshell models in recent months, I was yet to touch their updated 2-in-1 convertible models till now.
Not anymore, though, this article is our detailed review of the late-2020 ZenBook Flip 13 UX363EA, and we’ll also follow-up on the top-tier ZenBook Flip S UX371EA shortly .
As the name suggests, the ZenBook UX363EA is built on Intel Tiger Lake hardware and shares many in common with the standard ZenBooks of this generation, such as an all-metal construction, good screen options, and a large battery that charges via USB-C. Unfortunately, though, this 13-inch convertible also shares its keyboard design and IO with the clamshell ZenBook 13 UX325 , as you’ll find out down below.
Our review unit is a retail model, in one of the higher-end configurations available in stores here in Europe. It was provided by Asus for the purpose of this review, and down below I’ve gathered my thoughts and impressions after using it for about a week, with its particularities and its quirks.
Specs as reviewed – ZenBook Flip 13 UX363EA
Asus ZenBook Flip 13 UX363EA
Screen 13.3 inch, 1920 x 1080 px, 16:9 aspect ratio, IPS, glossy, touch, Chi Mei N133HCE-EN2 panel
Processor Intel Tiger Lake, up to Core i7-1165G7, 4C/8T
Video Intel Iris Xe graphics
Memory 16 GB LPDDR4x 4266 MHz (soldered, dual-channel)
Storage 1x M.2 PCIe x4 SSD (Kinston OM8PCP3512F-AB)
Connectivity Wireless 6 (Intel AX201), Bluetooth 5.0, Ethernet with adapter
Ports 1x USB-A 3.2 gen1, 2x USB-C 3.2 with Thunderbolt 4 (data, video, and power), HDMI 1.4?, microSD card reader, 3.5 mm jack with USB-C adapter
Battery 67 Wh, 65W USB-C charger with quick-charging
Size 305 mm or 12.01” (w) x 211 mm or 8.31” (d) x 13.9 mm or 0.55” (h)
Weight from 2.8 lbs (1.28 kg)+ .45 lbs (.21 kg) charger, US version
Extras white backlit keyboard with compact layout, glass NumberPad, HD+IR webcam with Hello, stereo bottom speakers
Asus offers the ZenBook Flip 13 UX363EA in a multitude of configurations, with various amounts of memory and storage, either Intel i5-1135G7 or Intel i7-1165G7 hardware platforms, and either an IPS or an optional OLED panel.
These aside, though, they share the rest of the other traits, so most of this article applies to any of the configurations you might be interested in.
Update: If interested, in the meantime we’ve also reviewed of the latest ZenBook S 13 Flip model .
Design and construction This ZenBook Flip is entirely made out of metal, with solid pieces of aluminum plastered on top of a plastic inner frame. Given my experience with the rather flimsy clamshell UX325 , I was surprised to find out that this convertible feels a lot stronger: Asus implemented a very sturdy screen ensemble here, the keyboard deck barely bulges even when pressed hard, and the interior no longer squeaks with daily use or when picking up the laptop.
In all fairness, this 2-in-1 model is slightly larger and heavier than the standard non-flip variant, but is still fairly lightweight and compact , at just under 3 lbs. You’ll notice the thicker bezel at the top and bottom of the screen compared to other convertibles in its class, such as the HP Spectre 13 or the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1, and it’s up to you if you’re fine with them or not. I agree that a 16:10 display would have been nice on this product, but otherwise, that thicker chin actually helps the everyday use experience, soaking up the exhausted heat in laptop mode and acting as a proper handle in tablet mode.
Speaking of, as a 2-in-1, I’d expect you’ll most often use this as a laptop. In that case, it just feels like a standard ZenBook, just one that allows the screen to lean back flat, something very few other Asus ultrabooks can, and something I highly appreciate on ultraportables.
And then, you can further push back the screen and transform this into a tent or tablet, fine for watching movies or showing-up a presentation. However, just like all the other devices of its kind, this is heavy and bulky for tablet use, so don’t expect it to feel like an iPad. If that’s what you’re primarily looking for, then get a real-tablet, such as an iPad or a Surface Pro if you need it to run Windows.
I will also complain about the quality of the magnets used to hold the screen and main-body together in tablet mode, as they’re weak and the two parts barely keep up in contact with this design.
Moving on, aesthetically, this ZenBook Flip sure is pleasing to look at, with a dark-gray color scheme, subtle concentric circles on the lid, and a matte interior with chiseled edges around the arm-rest. They’re not the most friendly on the wrists, but sure look exquisite. The materials do a decent job at hiding up smudges, but you’ll still have to constantly wipe them clean to keep this looking pristine.
And then, as far as the ergonomics go, I appreciate the spacious palm-rest and large clickpad, I’m fine with the slightly aggressive edges and I find that the rubber feet on the bottom offer a decent grip on a flat desk.
Much like all the other modern ZenBooks, this also integrates ar Ergolift hinge system, which means that the main-body raises up on two small rubber feet placed at the bottom of the screen, on the back, allowing for improved airflow underneath and a slightly inclined typing position, but taking a toll on the grip and pushing the hot-air into the screen, as the exhaust is placed between the hinges and under the display. As I mentioned earlier, that’s less of a problem on this unit, as the chunky bottom bezel soaks up most of that heat, and the screen doesn’t heat up as badly as on the more compact clamshell models.
About that Ergolift system, the hinges seem to be well made. They allow one-handed adjustments and they’re also strong enough to keep the screen at set-up when picking up the laptop. However, the rubber feet at the bottom of the screen are stiffer and smaller than on the regular clamshell ZenBooks, and as a result, the laptop doesn’t rest just on these rubber feet and ends-up touching the desk with the metallic hinges once you lean back the screen past 120-degrees. And given how the metallic hinges are sharp around the corners, I fear they will eventually scratch sensitive surfaces. It might sound like nitpicking, but it might end-up frustrating if this scratches your furniture or desk surface.
Still, you might have noticed by now that Asus implement a squashed keyboard on this laptop, the same they put in the 13-inch clamshell model. I understand the decision, but I don’t approve it. As you’ll see down below, this squshed variant is not as accurate as the full-size layouts Asus put on the 14-inch ZenBooks of this generation .
Finally, let’s touch on the IO. Asus puts two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4 support on this laptop, as well as a full-size HDMI port, full-size USB-A, and a micro SD card reader. They’ve left out the 3.5 mm jack, which they instead replaced with a USB-C to 3.5 mm adapter included in the pack. I don’t like and I still argue that they should have ditched something else and not the jack, which I’d reckon was a controverted decision among their lines as well, since the 3.5 mm jack is now back on their latest launches, the ZenBook UX435 and UX435 Ultralight . A USB to LAN adapter, a protective sleeve, and a stylus are also bundled-in in most regions.
Keyboard and trackpad Ok, so about that keyboard. Asus went with a squashed layout on this 13-inch laptop, despite the fact that there’s a fair bit of unused space at the top. I’d reckon they decided to implement the same keyboard on both the clamshell and the convertible units, for cost reasons.
That means that the main set of keys are 16 x 13 mm, which cramps up the layout a fair bit. Now, this implementation isn’t awful by any means; it’s about the average you can expect from an ultrabook in terms of feedback and typing experience, with an extra toll on the accuracy taken by the smaller keycaps. I was able to get along fine with it, a man with average-sized hands, but if you’ve got big hands I’d look elsewhere.
Layout and feedback aside, this keyboard is backlit, with bright white LEDs and a dedicated Caps Lock indicator. The illumination system is fairly bright and uniform, but plenty of light creeps out from the keycaps and you’ll notice this with everyday use. Again, that’s less of an issue with the 14-inch keyboard model.
Down beneath, centered on the chassis, Asus implements the same spacious glass clickpad with Precision drivers and secondary NumberPad functionality that’s also in their clamshell UX325/UX425 models. It’s a smooth, reliable, and sturdy surface, with solid gesture support and palm-rejection. I also like that this surface feels solid and doesn’t rattle with taps, and the physical clicks in the corners are fine, just a tad stiffer than I’d like.
As a side note, there’s no ScreenPad offered for this series. As for biometrics, there’s no finger-sensor, but you do get an IR camera at the top of the screen.
Screen As a convertible, this ZenBook Flip UX363 gets a touchscreen with a 13.3-inch panel, available as either a FHD IPS with 100% sRGB coverage or as a FHD OLED with 100% DCI-P3 premium alternative. The latter is a pricy upgrade, but brighter and something you could consider as a professional looking for a color-accurate display in your ultrabook. However, this laptop’s performance might not suffice for that, that’s why my first choice would still be the more IPS choice on this product.
That’s what we have on our unit, and it’s the same Chi Mei N133HCE panel also implemented on the ZenBook 13 UX325. It’s a fine option for daily use, with almost 100% sRGB color coverage, good blacks and contrast levels, decent viewing angles, and 300-nits of brightness, which is OK for indoor use, but not enough for bright environments, especially on this kind of a glossy screen.
Here’s what we got in our tests, with an X-Rite i1 Display Pro sensor :
Panel HardwareID: Chi Mei CMN1388 (N133HCE-EN2);
Coverage: 97.0% sRGB, 68.9% AdobeRGB, 71.1% DCI-P3;
Measured gamma: 2.25;
Max brightness in the middle of the screen: 303.61 cd/m2 on power;
Min brightness in the middle of the screen: 17.08 cd/m2 on power;
Contrast at max brightness: 1414:1;
White point: 6500 K;
Black on max brightness: 0.21 cd/m2;
PWM: 26 KHz for < 50% brightness, not above.
The panel came well calibrated out of the box on this sample, and I’m seeing little light bleeding around the edges and almost no uniformity issues.
I’ll update this section when/if we get to also test the FHD OLED screen option also available for this UX363 series, if that’s something you might be interested in.
For reference, though, down below I’ve added the FHD IPS screen on this ZenBook UX363 – right, next to the 4K OLED display on the ZenBook UX371 – left (not the same as the FHD OLED on the UX363), for a quick preview of how the two options would look like side by side.
There’s no doubt the OLED is a higher-quality panel, with increased brightness, contrast, and nicer colors, but given the price difference and OLED’s particularities with static/gray content, you need to be sure that’s the right option for you and not just buy into the hype. Do your research, and I’ll also further touch on this matter in the UX371 review !
Hardware and performance Our test model is a mid-specced configuration of the Asus ZenBook Flip UX363EA, with an Intel Tiger Lake Core i7-1165G7 processor and Intel Iris Xe graphics , 16 GB of LPDDR4x 4266 MHz memory, and a middling 1 TB Kingston SSD.
Before we proceed, keep in mind that our review unit is a retail model sent over by Asus and tested with the software available as of mid-October 2020 (BIOS 301, MyAsus 2.2.38.0 app).
Spec-wise, this is based on the late-2020 Intel Tiger Lake i7-1165G7 hardware, the same implemented by a multitude of other ultrabooks of this generation. It’s a 4C/8T processor, very snappy in single-core tasks, and averagely competent in multitasking, especially when allowed to run at higher TDP settings. OEMs can implement this hardware in a couple of different versions, with a sustained TDP of up to 28W. As you’ll find from our tests, this ZenBook is a lower level implementation, capable of only 13+W of sustained power in demanding loads in its most aggressive power profile.
Graphics are the major novelty of this Tiger Lake platform, and the i7-1165G7 gets the most capable version of the Iris Xe iGPU, with 96 Execution Units clocked at up to 1300 MHz (on paper).
Our configuration also gets 16 GB of LPDDR4x 4266 MHz of RAM out-of-the-box, in dual-channel, and a Kingston PCIe x4 SSD, a mid-performance option. I would have expected a higher-quality drive on the retail models, but at least over here, that’s not the case. Now, this SSD is fine for daily use, but it heats-up and throttles when copying a lot of files, and even in some of our benchmarks. You can replace the drive if you remove the back panel, hold in place by a couple of visible Torx screws.
The CPU and memory are soldered on the motherboard and non-upgradable, and inside you’ll notice that most of the internal space is occupied by the battery here, leaving for a small motherboard that sent over the SSD very close to the CPU plate. This has an impact on the drive’s high temperatures, but based on our other reviews of roughly similar Asus designs, other drives (Intel, Samsung) should run cooler and more stable in this device, even with the choked thermal design here.
As far as the software goes, this gets the standard MyAsus app which allows control over the power profiles, battery and screen settings, updates, etc, while the Audio is controlled in AudioWizard.
There are three performance/thermal profiles to choose from:
Performance – allows the CPU to run at 13+W in sustained loads, with fans ramping up to 41-42 dB;
Standard – allows the CPU to run at 12+W in sustained loads, with fans ramping up to 38-39 dB;
Whisper – limits the CPU at 8+W to favor lower fan-noise of sub 30 dB.
The Standard profile is well-balanced and keeps the fan idle with light use, and quiet with heavier loads. The laptop also feels snappy with daily multitasking, video streaming, text-editing, and the likes, as the system allows it to run at higher clocks and frequencies in less demanding applications and shorter demanding loads, as you’ll see down below.
On to more demanding tasks, we start by testing the CPU’s performance by running the Cinebench R15 benchmark for 15+ times in a loop, with 2-3 seconds delay between each run, on the Performance mode.
The Tiger Lake i7 runs at high power and clocks for a few runs, but then stabilizes at around 13W of power and ~2.2 GHz, with temperatures in the 70-72 degrees Celsius. The fan ramps to about 41-42 dB at head-level in this test, and the laptop returns scores of around 580-600 points. That’s not much, but expected given the power limitation.
Compared to other Asus Tiger Lake laptops we’ve tested, this one limits the processor more aggressively, which has a positive impact on the temperatures, and a negative impact on the performance. Future BIOS updates might change this behavior, but for now, this is what we got with BIOS 300 from October 2020.
Undervolting is not an option for Tiger Lake with the latest variants of Throttlestop , so we could not tweak the settings in any way.
We did retest the laptop on the Standard and Whisper modes. Standard limits the CPU at 12+ W, with a decrease in fan-noise, and Whisper lowers the limit to 10+ W, with even quieter fans. Finally, the laptop performs the same when unplugged, running at 13+W on the Performance mode. Here’s what we got in our tests.
To put these results in perspective, here’s how a couple of other AMD and Intel ultraportable notebooks score in this same test.
The 6Core Ryzen 4000 platform is still a clear step-up in performance over the Intel options, and other TigerLake implementations we’ve tested so far also outmatch the 13W-limited platform on this ZenBook Flip UX363.
Running the longer and more challenging Cinebench R20 test results in similar findings, while on the gruesome Prime 95 test the CPU stabilizes at around 13+ W after a short initial boost, with temperatures of around 70-degrees C.
We also ran our combined CPU+GPU stress tests on this notebook, on the same Performance profile.
3DMark stress runs the same test for 20 times in a loop and looks for performance variation and degradation over time, and this unit did not pass it, which suggests a performance degradation once the heat builds-up. I was expecting it, given how the platform runs at higher-power for the first tens of seconds, and then is aggressively limited. Luxmark 3.1 fully loads both the CPU and GPU at the same time, but it doesn’t properly support the Tiger Lake at this time, so is not relevant here.
Next, here are some benchmark results. We ran the entire suite of tests and benchmarks on the standard Performance profile. Here’s what we got.
3DMark 13 – Fire Strike: 4633 (Graphics – 5462, Physics – 10685, Combined – 1551);3DMark 13 – Night Raid: 14672 (Graphics – 20018, CPU – 5838);3DMark 13 – Time Spy: 1535 (Graphics – 1402, CPU – 3327);3DMark 13 – Wild Life: 12656;AIDA64 Memory test: -;Uniengine Superposition – 1080p Medium: 2762;Uniengine Superposition – 1080p Extreme: 990;Handbrake 1.3.1 (4K to 1080p encode): 20.28 average fps;PassMark: Rating: 5424 (CPU mark: 12203, 3D Graphics Mark: 3633, Disk Mark: 7193);PCMark 10: 4783 (Essentials – 10044 , Productivity – 6614 , Digital Content Creation – 4471);GeekBench 4.4.2 64-bit: Single-Core: 6663, Multi-core: 22185;GeekBench 5.0.1 64-bit: Single-Core: 1548, Multi-core: 4936;CineBench R15 (best run): CPU 828 cb, CPU Single Core 217 cb;CineBench R20 (best run): CPU 1846 cb, CPU Single Core 547 cb;x264 HD Benchmark 4.0 32-bit: Pass 1 – 192.52 fps, Pass 2 – 43.86 fps;x265 HD Benchmark 64-bit: 80.22 s.
We also ran some Workstation related loads, on the Performance profile:
Blender 2.90 – BMW Car scene- CPU Compute: 10m 10s (Auto);Blender 2.90 – Classroom scene – CPU Compute: 30m 1s (Auto);Luxmark 3.1 – Luxball HDR – OpenCL CPUs + GPUs score: CPU not properly recognized;
These results are within 5-15% of the same Intel i7-1165G7 tested on the ZenBook UX393, which runs at higher-power. That’s actually surprising, as I was expecting poorer scores given the power difference between the two.
We ran a couple of DX11, DX12, and Vulkan titles on the Performance profile and Low/Lowest graphics settings. Here’s what we got:
FHD gaming Flip UX363 – Intel 1165G7 13W Swift 3 13 – Intel 1165G7 17WUX393 – Intel 1165G7 26WUX425 – Intel 1065G7IdeaPad 7 – AMD R7 + Vega 8UM425 – AMD R7 + Vega 7
Bioshock Infinite (DX 11, Low Preset) 65 fps (38 fps – 1% low)
76 fps (45 fps – 1% low)
83 fps (44 fps – 1% low)
40 fps (22 fps – 1% low)
81 fps (58 fps – 1% low)
66 fps (50 fps – 1% low)
Dota 2 (DX 11, Best Looking Preset) 52 fps (32 fps – 1% low)
71 fps (46 fps – 1% low)
63 fps (39 fps – 1% low)
34 fps (20 fps – 1% low)
53 fps (40 fps – 1% low)
39 fps (28 fps – 1% low)
Far Cry 5 (DX 11, Low Preset, no AA) 23 fps (14 fps – 1% low)
32 fps (19 fps – 1% low)
29 fps (19 fps – 1% low)
12 fps (10 fps – 1% low)
28 fps (24 fps – 1% low)
21 fps (17 fps – 1% low)
Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor (DX 11, Lowest Preset) 59 fps (43 fps – 1% low)
60 fps (43 fps – 1% low)
67 fps (53 fps – 1% low)
32 fps (22 fps – 1% low)
33 fps (24 fps – 1% low)
45 fps (36 fps – 1% low)
NFS: Most Wanted (DX 11, Lowest Preset) 56 fps (36 fps – 1% low)
60 fps (53 fps – 1% low)
60 fps (45 fps – 1% low)
42 fps (25 fps – 1% low)
60 fps (46 fps – 1% low)
56 fps (34 fps – 1% low)
Rise of the Tomb Raider (DX 12, Lowest Preset, no AA) 25 fps (11 fps – 1% low)
36 fps (5 fps – 1% low)
46 fps (12 fps – 1% low)
16 fps (3 fps – 1% low)
41 fps (22 fps – 1% low)
28 fps (22 fps – 1% low)
Shadow of Tomb Raider (Vulkan, Lowest Preset, no AA) 25 fps (14 fps – 1% low)
37 fps (21 fps – 1% low)
34 fps (18 fps – 1% low)
17 fps (12 fps – 1% low)
38 fps (22 fps – 1% low)
27 fps (16 fps – 1% low)
Strange Brigade (Vulkan, Low Preset) 47 fps (41 fps – 1% low)
50 fps (40 fps – 1% low)
54 fps (45 fps – 1% low)
21 fps (7 fps – 1% low)
41 fps (36 fps – 1% low)
37 fps (32 fps – 1% low)
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt (DX 11, Low Preset, Hairworks Off) –
–
–
–
28 fps (22 fps – 1% low)
21 fps (14 fps – 1% low)
The Witcher 3, Dota 2, NFS – recorded with MSI Afterburner in game mode;
Bioshock, Far Cry 5, Middle Earth, Strange Brigade, Tomb Raider games – recorded with the included Benchmark utilities.
I’ve added a couple of other configurations for comparison, all of them ultraportables, albeit not within the same price range.
With games, there’s a greater difference between this Flip UX363 and the higher-power UX393 tested earlier, of as much as 20-30% in the more demanding titles. That makes perfect sense, as the CPU package becomes power limited after a while, and most synthetic benchmarks are short enough to run at the higher settings.
As you’ll see in the logs below, both the CPU and the iGPU take a hit when the package end up running at around 13W, and we measured average GPU frequencies of around 850 MHz in Dota 2, 600 MHz in Need for Speed, and 750 MHz in FarCry 5. That’s a fair bit beneath the reference 1.3 GHz clock that the Iris Xe chip is capable of.
Now, I would normally add-in that Asus might choose to tweak this behavior with future BIOS updates, but I don’t think they can, and I’ll explain why in the next section.
Noise, Heat, Connectivity, speakers, and others Asus went with a basic thermal module here, with a single heatpipe and single fan, similar to what we’ve seen implemented on most of their recent ZenBook and ExpertBook lineups.
Furthermore, they went with a closed-back design, despite those grills in the D-panel suggesting otherwise. They are actually covered on the inside with two layers of thermal tape. That means no air comes in through the bottom, and the admission only happens through the keyboard area and through the small cut on the back edge, which channels the air over the CPU, into the fan, and out.
Now, I don’t have the proper expertise to judge this thermal design, but I can say that it’s different from what Asus implement in their clamshell models, and fairly similar to what we’ve seen on the ZenBook UX393. However, unlike the ZenBook UX393, this UX363 performs significantly different: not as hot, internally, but also a low slower in demanding loads and games, as explained in the previous section. At the same time, while I’ve yet to finish-up testing the Tiger Lake versions of the ZenBook UX325 and UX425 , I can say that the previous Ice Lake models were able to perform better with their open-back thermal designs.
With that in mind, even if the settings keep the CPU running in the 70s C in games and other demanding loads, the external chassis still heats-up a fair bit. We’ve measured temperatures in the mid-to-high 50s in the middle of the keyboard, above the CPU, on the screen’s chin right near the exhaust, and on the back edge, also around the CPU. The fan also ramps-up averagely noisy for an ultrabook, at 41-42 dB at head-level.
Given these high external temperatures, I don’t think Asus can realistically allow this laptop to run at higher-power, as those would translate in even higher external thermals and make the laptop pretty much unusable with games. Even as it is, it’s on the borderline or running too hot, with the WASD region reaching higher temperatures that I’d normally be comfortable with.
On the other hand, this ZenBook Flip runs a lot quieter with daily use, as the fan rests idle most of the time, and only kicks in with more intense multitasking. I haven’t noticed any electronic noises and the temperatures are also fairly good for a mostly fanless implementation.
*Daily Use – streaming Netflix in EDGE for 30 minutes, Whisper Mode, fans at 0-33 dB *Gaming – Performance mode – playing Far Cry 5 for 30 minutes, fans at 41-42 dB
For connectivity, there’s latest-gen WiFi 6 with an Intel AX201 module on this laptop. It performed well with our setup and the signal and performance remained strong at 30-feet, with obstacles in between, yet not as fast as other WiFi6 models we’ve tested over the years.
Audio is handled by a set of stereo speakers that fire through grills placed on the underside, on the front lip. The angled shape of the D-Panel allows the sound to bounce off the table without significant distortions, but I’ve noticed major vibrations in the arm-rest at higher volumes. Furthermore, due to their placement, these speakers can also be easily muffled when using the laptop on the lap.
As for the audio quality, we measured average maximum volumes of 76-78 dB at head-level in our tests with DTS processing switched on to the Music profile. The audio quality is about the average you should expect from this class, fine for movies and music, but with little at the lower end. However, I must once more warn that the main-chassis vibrates noticeably at volumes above 70%, so you’ll most likely have to adjust the volumes to lower levels with daily use.
As for that HD camera placed at the top of the screen, it’s fine for occasional calls, but not much in terms of quality.
Battery life There’s a 67 Wh battery inside the ZenBook UX363, larger than what you’d normally get in a 13-inch ultrabook.
Here’s what we got in terms of battery life, with the screen’s brightness set at around 120 nits (~60 brightness).
8.7 W (~7+ h of use) – text editing in Google Drive, Standard + Better Battery Mode, screen at 60%, Wi-Fi ON;6.3 W (~9+ h of use) – 1080p fullscreen video on Youtube in Edge, Whisper + Better Battery Mode, screen at 60%, Wi-Fi ON;5.5 W (~10+ h of use) – Netflix fullscreen in Edge, Whisper + Better Battery Mode, screen at 60%, Wi-Fi ON;13.5 W (~4-6 h of use) – browsing in Edge, Standard + Better Performance Mode, screen at 60%, Wi-Fi ON.
Asus pairs the laptop with a compact 65W charger that plugs-in via USB-C. It’s a single-piece design with a compact brick and a long and thick cable, and a full charge takes about 2 hours, but quick-charging allows to fill-up to 60% of the battery in less than an hour.
Price and availability The ZenBook Flip UX363 is available in stores in Europe at the time of this article, but less so in other regions.
Over here, the base-model with an i5-1135G7 processor, 8 GB of RAM, and 512 GB SSD starts at around 1100 EUR, and the same goes for 999 GBP in the UK.
The higher-tier model tested in this article, with the i7-1165G7, 16 GB of RAM, 512 GB of storage and FHD IPS screen starts at around 1400 EUR over here and under 1300 GBP in the UK. The same configuration, but with the FHD OLED display and 1 TB of storage, is listed at around 1750 EUR on the German market, so you’d be paying a significant premium for that OLED panel.
We’ll update when we know more, and in the meantime, follow this link for updated prices and configurations in your region .
Final thoughts Having used this ZenBook Flip 13 UX363 for the last few weeks, I’m left with mixed feelings about it.
On one hand, Asus nailed the design and build quality, put a decent screen and set of ports on it, Intel Tiger Lake hardware and a large battery. I also find the clickpad among the better you can get in a Windows laptop these days.
On the other, the 3.5 mm jack was left out, and while I don’t like it, I can live with that. Still, not a big fan of the squashed keyboard layout and the illumination system that lets the light creep out annoyingly from under the keycaps, especially since this is not the most compact 13-inch laptop out there and since Asus showed that they can implement a superior keyboard in their 14-inch devices.
And then there’s the performance and thermal design. This laptop feels snappy and smooth with everyday use and multitasking while running mildly-warm, but completely silent, as the fan idles off and I haven’t’ noticed any electronic noises on this unit (no guarantee they won’t be there on yours, so make sure to listen for them). However, longer-duration demanding loads and games are a tough nut for this implementation, as the hardware is power-limited in comparison to other Tiger Lake models we’ve tested, and despite that, the laptop still ends up running hot and fairly noisy for a 2020 ultrabook.
With all these in mind, and considering how much Asus charges for this ZenBook, I feel that the i5 configuration is by far the better value here, as long as you’re primarily looking for a daily-use convertible laptop and you’re OK with the cramped keyboard. That’s the one that earns a 4/5 on our rating scale, and even a 4.25 later on, at discounted prices.
At the same time, I feel that the i7/16 GB configuration is not worth the kind of 200-300 EUR/GBP extra that Asus charges for right now, given that you’ll end up with a limited i7 platform that’s not going to run any better than the i5 in daily use or in demanding loads. Hopefully, that will come down in price, as the i5 version only gets 8 GB of RAM and that might not suffice long term.
However, I can’t end this up without mentioning the competition. In most markets, this ZenBook has a price-advantage over most of the other 2-in-1 convertible laptops , such as the Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 or the HP Spectre x360 or the Lenovo Yoga C730, and is also one of the first 2-in-1s available with Tiger Lake hardware. On the other hand, if you can live with a standard non-convertible ultrabook , I’d prefer one of the clamshell ZenBooks of this generation, while if you’re after an ultrabook that can handle tougher loads or games, I’d definitely look into some of the AMD Ryzen options out there, such as the ZenBook 14 UM425 , ZenBook 14 UM433 with Nvidia graphics, or the competitive IdeaPad Slim 7 from Lenovo .
Anyway, that wraps up our review of the Asus ZenBook Flip 13 UX363EA, but I’d love to hear your thoughts and impressions in the comments section down below, so don’t hesitate to get in touch.
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Navigation: Ultrabookreview.com » 13 inch
Review by: Andrei Girbea
Andrei Girbea is a Writer and Editor-in-Chief here at Ultrabookreview.com . I write about mobile technology, laptops and computers in general. I've been doing it for more than 15 years now. I'm a techie with a Bachelor's in Computer Engineering. I mostly write reviews and thorough guides here on the site, with some occasional columns and first-impression articles.
DavidC1
October 22, 2020 at 1:57 am
Hi, why is Witcher 3 not run on Tigerlake devices?
Andrei Girbea
October 22, 2020 at 9:59 am
My Witcher 3 GOG edition just refuses to start on any of the tiger lake models that I've tested. I've seen other reviewers running Withcer 3 on their models, though, so I don't know what's the issue here, mine just doesn't work
Ardian
November 1, 2020 at 4:25 am
Hi, could you review the new HP spectre x360 15 with tiger lake cpu?
Andrei Girbea
November 1, 2020 at 9:13 am
HP laptops are hard to get over here, so I might no be able to
Sunusha Moodley
November 7, 2020 at 11:30 am
How would this laptop compare with an i7 HP envy x360?
Andrei Girbea
November 7, 2020 at 11:44 am
I haven't reviewed it, Make sure to look at the performance. thermals and battery life sections in reviews
Stienie
December 5, 2020 at 6:51 am
I have just bought this, and I am absolutely loving it, but I do have an issue that screen sarts flickering after acwhile and I havr to restart?
ShortFuse
April 15, 2021 at 4:27 am
From watching a bunch of unboxing videos, it seems the OLED version of the UX363EA says DisplayHDR 500 True Black on one of the labels. On the OLED UM325, it instead just says "HDR Support" in the same spot. It's interesting because for that certification, it would have to have a minimum brightness of 500 nits. If you ever do get your hands on one, I'd be interested to know what the difference is. Also, there's an OLED UX325 now with the Intel chip, but I haven't been able to find any unboxing videos to see if it's DisplayHDR 500. I've only seen it available on Amazon US.
ShortFuse
April 15, 2021 at 3:19 pm
Came back to answer my own question. DisplayHDR 500 True Black only needs to display 300 nits on the whole screen, but 500 nits when only the center 10% is white.
Rui Marques
April 10, 2022 at 3:49 pm
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)
Andrei Girbea
April 11, 2022 at 9:01 am
we don't have the tool to test for pwm