Asus Chromebook CM34 Flip review

It’s no secret that I’m an enormous fan of Chromebooks. I like the simple nature of them. I like the shortage of bells and whistles, which fits me simply tremendous as a result of I primarily use mine as a piece machine.

These days, Chromebooks are available in nearly each form of selection, from gaming machines to luxurious convertibles. Though convertible Chromebooks, aka 2-in-1s, aren’t new to the tech world, there are a few actual standouts. Asus’ Chromebook CM34 Flip is one such instance.

The CM34 Flip is an effective laptop computer for the on a regular basis individual. You’ll discover AMD {hardware} beneath the hood in addition to a touch-enabled show with skinny bezels, a 360-degree hinge and phenomenal battery life. So far as options and functionalities go, this particular machine checks off a whole lot of packing containers.

Having used numerous Chromebooks for the final couple of years or so (I take into account myself to be well-versed on this class), I can confidently say that the CM34 Flip is effectively definitely worth the cash.

Design & construct

The darkish blue color scheme is unquestionably delicate, however that’s not essentially a nasty factor. There’s an air of sophistication right here. I do know I wouldn’t thoughts bringing this laptop computer to an vital enterprise assembly.

It’s not ugly, per se, however possibly only a contact on the boring aspect. We function in a world of gray rectangular packing containers, so I like seeing a pleasant pop of color every so often, even when that color is extra understated. It’s nonetheless a pleasant contact.

What stunned me was the load of the machine. For a convertible laptop computer, it’s fairly heavy. After I eliminated it from the field, I may really feel all 4lb (1.81kg) of it weighing down my arms. That’s not what I used to be anticipating.

Whereas I used to be disillusioned within the common heaviness, it will get brownie factors for sturdiness, because it positively feels well-made. After I flipped the display screen round 360 levels, the hinge holding the display screen to the remainder of the laptop computer was good and tight. I didn’t discover any creaking within the keyboard deck, both.

Keyboard & trackpad

Total, the keyboard is sweet to make use of. It’s a full-sized backlit keyboard that enables for 1.4mm of journey. I’m of the thoughts that if I take advantage of a keyboard lengthy sufficient, I’ll get accustomed to it no matter whether or not it stinks or not.

Thankfully, this keyboard is fairly good for a laptop computer keyboard. I like that it’s full-sized, which leaves an excellent quantity of area between the keys and the backlighting is sweet for typing in low-light environments. It doesn’t embrace a numpad, however that’s extra widespread on gaming laptops.

IDG / Ashley Biancuzzo

The touchpad is phenomenal, nonetheless. It measures 5.55-inches and it sits proper within the centre of the keyboard deck. It registered my faucets and swipes with ease. I may additionally zoom out and in in a single clean, seamless movement. If there have been any misfires, they had been few and much between. I discovered that I tailored to it immediately.

Show & audio

I actually just like the show’s 16:10 facet ratio in addition to the ultra-slim bezels. You’re getting an excellent quantity of display screen right here. I discovered that it was tremendous straightforward for me to scroll by way of a protracted article I used to be enhancing.

It’s additionally an excellent display screen for watching Netflix, YouTube movies and so forth. After I watched the trailer for the Barbie film, the varied shades of pink in Barbie’s fantastically outrageous world had been each vibrant and sharp.

By the best way, the show contains a decision of 1920×1080 and a refresh fee of 60Hz. That’s completely appropriate for general-purpose use or workplace work.

IDG / Ashley Biancuzzo

My solely gripe with the show is that it’s tremendous reflective in exterior environments. I prefer to work from my deck on good days, but it surely’s nearly not possible to take action with the Flip as a result of it’s so troublesome to see the show beneath direct daylight.

By way of brightness, it measures about 300 nits, which is okay for indoor however exterior is one other story. That mentioned, this isn’t uncommon for touchscreen laptops. When you don’t sometimes use your laptop computer exterior, then you definately in all probability received’t ever encounter this drawback.

I don’t take into account myself a lot of an audiophile, however even I can recognize clear-sounding audio system. The Flip is outfitted with Harman Kardon-certified audio system, which have a little bit of a punch to them (that’s an excellent factor).

I’m a baby of the ’90s, so I’ve received a rigorously curated playlist taking part in always. After I began taking part in music from The Cranberries, Dolores O’Riordan’s (RIP) highly effective vocals sounded crisp and full. I’d say the audio system are highly effective sufficient to fill a medium-sized room with sound.

Webcam & ports

The 1080p webcam is a pleasant perk, that’s for positive. With so many individuals working from residence (hello!) nowadays, it simply is smart to equip laptops with 1080p webcams as a substitute of the cheaper 720p fare. Frankly, I don’t need to look grainy in videoconferencing calls.

Total, I used to be happy with the standard of this webcam. Colors appeared wealthy and heat, and I didn’t discover any blurring round my face. Background particulars had been comparatively clear, too.

The Flip has a pleasant choice of ports. You’re getting one HDMI 2.1, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sort-C, one USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sort-A, one audio jack, one microSD card reader, and one Kensington lock slot.

That’s an excellent selection proper there, so that you don’t actually need to maintain an adapter with you. That is excellent news for these occasions whenever you need to plug in an exterior mouse or monitor.

IDG / Ashley Biancuzzo

Efficiency

The Flip was one of many first to incorporate AMD’s line of Chromebook-specific CPUs. The AMD Ryzen 3 7320C CPU comprises 4 cores and eight threads, which implies it’s able to dealing with a number of duties and purposes directly. I didn’t discover a lot slowdown after I was leaping from tab to tab throughout the browser.

Nevertheless, it’s vital to mood your expectations, because it’s not the strongest performer on the market. It’s higher than these with Snapdragon CPUs, positive, but it surely’s not going to carry out like extra highly effective AMD chips.

The Spin 514 has a CPU with six cores and 12 threads, which implies it’s extra highly effective within the processing division. The extra cores, the higher. Nevertheless, the Spin can be dearer because of that {hardware}.

The Flip can deal with on a regular basis duties simply tremendous and if that’s all you’re on the lookout for, then it received’t disappoint. Right here’s how the Asus Chromebook CM34 Flip carried out in our browser-based benchmarks:

• CrXPRT 2: 148
• Speedometer: 73.7
• Basemark Internet 3.0: 725.03
• Kraken: 716.7
• Jetstream 2: 171.377

The Acer Chromebook Spin 514, for instance, earned a rating of 210 in our Speedometer benchmark, which measures the responsiveness of net purposes. The Flip, alternatively, scored simply 73.7. If I needed to guess, it’s seemingly as a result of Flip’s CPU, which doesn’t have as many cores or threads.

In real-world use, I’m undecided you’d discover that a lot of a distinction between the machines so far as efficiency goes, until you deliberately run the Flip into the bottom by overwhelming it with a bunch of open tabs and purposes. It’s not a robust Home windows machine, however then once more it’s not attempting to be.

Battery life

The Flip lasted a jaw-dropping 19 hours on a single cost, which is positively wild. In truth, I ended up working the benchmark twice as a result of I used to be so stunned by the consequence and felt the necessity to confirm it.

We run the CrXPRT 2 battery benchmark on Chromebooks, which cycles by way of numerous duties till the laptop computer dies. The Flip’s 60Wh battery is on the bigger aspect, so I anticipated it to succeed in the ten hour mark, however the ultimate consequence exceeded my expectations.

When you’re on the hunt for a long-lasting on a regular basis machine, you actually can’t get a lot better than this. Holy cow.

Verdict

With its vibrant touchscreen, 2-in-1 kind issue and incredible battery life, the Flip has quite a bit to supply at this $599 worth level.

It’s an excellent possibility for school college students or those that simply want an on a regular basis machine. The touchpad is spacious and the 1080p webcam captures clear, vibrant video.

It’s heavier than most convertible laptops, although, which can be a dealbreaker to some individuals: you may find yourself with a sore shoulder should you plan on lugging it round day after day.

That mentioned, should you don’t thoughts the extra heft, it’s a extremely good worth purchase. Hopefully it’ll come to the UK in some unspecified time in the future.

Specs

• CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 7320C
• GPU: AMD Radeon graphics
• Reminiscence: 16GB
• Storage: 128GB PCIe SSD
• Show: 14-inch 1920×1200 touchscreen, 60Hz, 16:10, 300 nits
• Ports: 2 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sort-C, 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Sort-A, 1 HDMI 2.1, 1 3.5mm audio jack, 1 Kensington lock slot, 1 microSD card reader
• Webcam: FHD 1920×1080
• Weight: 4.07 lbs
• Battery: 63 Wh
• Wi-fi: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) (Twin band) 2*2 + Bluetooth 5.3 wi-fi card

This assessment was initially revealed on PCWorld.