Professional’s Score
Professionals
- 16GB RAM
- First rate construct high quality
- Balanced set of options
Cons
- Poor display
- Sluggish USB
- Weak GPU
Our Verdict
Not an thrilling laptop computer, however a superb all-rounder when you’re in search of one thing for writing, searching, chatting or workplace work. Nonetheless, there’s a variety of competitors at this worth level, and the Vivobook 15 doesn’t actually do something to face out.
There’s a phrase that reviewers usually attempt to keep away from as a result of it sounds an excessive amount of like damning with faint reward, and that phrase is ‘wonderful’. It smacks of a product not going far sufficient to please its consumer, of reducing corners to hit a worth level and producing one thing that works, however isn’t going to make you smile.
And the Vivobook 15, in its i5 CPU/16GB RAM guise, is simply that. It’s wonderful. It really works. However there’s no spark about it. It’s not a laptop computer that’s going to make you smile each time you open the lid. Nonetheless, it’s moderately priced, and relying on what you need to do, typically wonderful is nice sufficient.
Design & construct
- Silver plastic exterior
- Navy-grade sturdiness
- Disappointing port choice
Asus’ silver plastic chassis is a really acquainted one, the corporate having launched many laptops that look the identical over the previous couple of years.
There’s nothing spectacular or modern in regards to the design of the Vivobook 15, with the fold-flat hinge the one notable characteristic. The highest of the lid has a satin end whereas the underside is matte gray, which no less than has the advantage of not selecting up fingerprints or different greasy marks in the identical manner a shiny high does.
Ian Evenden / Foundry
The plastic has a variety of flex to it when you press on it with a finger, however Asus claims it has military-grade sturdiness. Whereas I’m unsure how nicely it will stand as much as being bumped round in a tank, a life spent on a desk at army HQ is definitely throughout the Vivobook’s capabilities.
The plastic has a variety of flex to it when you press on it with a finger, however Asus claims it has military-grade sturdiness
Having the ability to hook as much as peripherals and switch a lot of information shortly will not be the Vivobook 15’s robust level. It has three USB-A ports, two of that are USB3 and one which is USB2, versus the newest USB4 normal.
There’s a single USB-C, alongside full-size HDMI and a 3.5mm audio jack. You additionally get a basic DC energy port, as you may’t cost utilizing USB-C.
Ian Evenden / Foundry
And that’s it, so no Ethernet (however you do get Wi-Fi 6), no Thunderbolt and no SD card reader.
Keyboard, trackpad & webcam
- Small, unintuitive trackpad
- Spongy, squashed keyboard
- Common 720p webcam
These are among the weakest areas of the laptop computer. The trackpad is small, and lacks the graceful, silky floor of another Asus laptops. It tries to hold on to your finger because it scrolls throughout it, and it appears far too simple to right-click while you imply to left-click, particularly when you’re left-handed.
The keyboard has been dipped in some type of anti-microbial goo to inhibit the unfold of viruses and micro organism, however this doesn’t put it aside
The keyboard has been dipped in some type of anti-microbial goo to inhibit the unfold of viruses and micro organism, however this doesn’t put it aside. The keys are spongy, they’re not backlit, and so they’re barely squashed as a result of presence of a separate quantity pad. Ditching the latter and making the opposite keys bigger would’ve been a greater transfer right here.
Ian Evenden / Foundry
There’s no fingerprint reader or Home windows Hiya facial recognition on the Vivobook 15 I examined.
The webcam is a 720p mannequin that’s displaying its age, although it’s at all times good to see a built-in privateness shutter, and the Vivobook’s has an orange flash so you may at all times inform whether or not or not it’s closed.
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
Whereas usable for video calls, we’ve seen all the things carried out with extra panache elsewhere, and an exterior digital camera with a noise-cancelling mic will serve you higher.
Show & audio
- First rate 15.6in LCD show
- Doesn’t get very shiny
- Underwhelming audio system
The Vivobook is provided with a 15.6in, LED-backlit, 1080p LCD display with a 60Hz refresh fee. It’s, as soon as once more, wonderful.
The anti-glare coating means you may see what’s on the display when there are lights round you, and it doesn’t have OLED’s reflectivity points
Current laptops and TVs with OLED shows have ruined the poor outdated LCD, nevertheless, because it now not has the brightness or distinction to essentially stand out. The display’s brightness – 250 nits in keeping with Asus, 275 by my measurements – isn’t the perfect, at solely half the output of the MacBook Air M2.
Nonetheless, the anti-glare coating means you may see what’s on the display when there are lights round you, and it doesn’t have OLED’s reflectivity points. It’s nonetheless not a display you’re going to need to use in direct daylight, however underneath a tree within the park can be wonderful.
There’s no automated brightness adjustment for ambient mild, although Home windows 11’s potential to regulate the show primarily based on content material involves the rescue. The slim aspect bezels no less than make it look good, however the high is thicker to accommodate the webcam.
Ian Evenden / Foundry
The audio system are small and downward-firing, with no seen grille on the highest of the casing. They’re additionally offered by SonicMaster slightly than Harman Kardon, which has been used for the Vivobook Professional.
They’re wonderful for Home windows alert notifications and perhaps a video name or two, however you’re higher off utilizing the three.5mm headphone port or Bluetooth to attach an exterior headset or speaker.
Specs & efficiency
- Intel Core i5-1235U processor
- Spectacular 16GB of RAM
- Positive for on a regular basis duties
The Core i5 is a middle-ground processor within the Intel Twelfth-gen vary, however the i5-1235U used right here is from the low-power U Collection.
It’s additionally a 2022 chip, whereas the hybrid design (containing each efficiency and effectivity cores) means you’re not going to get distinctive efficiency out of this chip, regardless of having 10 cores and most frequency of 4.4GHz.
That stated, there’s sufficient right here to run workplace purposes and browsers. The 16GB of RAM is very nice to have, as the additional headroom it gives to cease an excessive amount of information being despatched to and from the SSD retains issues rushing alongside properly. Core i5 chips are common with avid gamers who pair them with an exterior GPU for a finances desktop setup.
Anyron Copeman / Foundry
There’s no exterior GPU on the Vivobook 15, although. The Intel Iris Xe isn’t too unhealthy as built-in rendering options go, however don’t go anticipating to have the ability to play Starfield or Armored Core VI on this machine. It’s simply not what it was designed for.
You will get away with much less demanding video games comparable to Grand Theft Auto V, Fortnite, Stardew Valley or the numerous hundreds of video games launched ten years in the past or extra, nevertheless it’s not going to push the polygons sufficient for something too fashionable. It runs video games about in addition to Nvidia’s GT 1030 card, the bottom-of-the-range mannequin from 2017, and within the Evening Raid gaming benchmark that’s designed for computer systems utilizing built-in graphics it scored barely larger than a generic workplace laptop computer from 2020.
However anticipating it to play fashionable video games nicely is unfair on the Vivobook. The i5 isn’t a foul chip, and there’s sufficient efficiency right here for the likes of net searching and workplace apps – the on a regular basis stuff that most individuals use computer systems for.
The i5 isn’t a foul chip, and there’s sufficient efficiency right here for the likes of net searching and workplace apps
You could possibly flip it to picture enhancing and 1080p video enhancing so long as you don’t go loopy with results because of the 16GB of RAM, although the sluggish USB ports will bottleneck giant file transfers and the display’s color output doesn’t handle to show the complete gamut of any skilled color house.
Battery life
- Not fairly all-day battery life
- First rate 45W charging
In battery life exams with the display on continually, the Vivobook 15 managed to final for six hours, which could nearly get you thru a day’s work when you take just a few breaks however extra doubtless means you’ll be reaching for the charger earlier than the top of the day.
Ian Evenden / Foundry
Charging utilizing the equipped 45W energy adapter – you may’t cost via the USB-C port – noticed 30% of the 42Whr battery fill in half an hour, which is completely affordable, and the charger itself is especially small and slimline, simple to place right into a bag and take with you.
Worth & availability
When paying full worth, the Vivobook 15 begins at £459 within the UK. Costs go all the way in which as much as £799.99, however reductions are sometimes out there.
You should buy one from the likes of Amazon, Argos, Currys and Very.
Contemplating the pretty fundamental specs on provide, the cheaper fashions characterize higher worth for cash.
Do you have to purchase the Asus Vivobook 15?
The Vivobook 15 is a good laptop computer, nevertheless it doesn’t do something out of the strange.
It’s a superb machine for working, searching, streaming, photograph enhancing, even slightly gaming. However the battery gained’t final all day, the display isn’t significantly shiny or vibrant and it’s removed from essentially the most highly effective machine on the market.
Whereas the energy of competitors from Chromebooks and different finances laptops makes it tougher to advocate, the Vivobook 15 will nonetheless serve you nicely when you don’t anticipate an excessive amount of of it.
Specs
- CPU: Intel Core i5-1235U
- Graphics: Intel Iris Xe
- RAM: 16GB DDR4-3200
- Storage: PCIe 4.0 500GB SSD
- Display: 15.6in 1080p LED backlit LCD, 60Hz refresh fee
- Connectivity: USB 3.2 Gen 1 Kind-A and Kind-C, USB 2 Kind A, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, headset jack
- Dimensions: 35.97 x 23.25 x 1.79 cm
- Weight: 1.7kg