Motorola is currently working on its fourth clamshell foldable phone, the Motorola Razr 2023. Some recent rumors suggest the company is also working on launching a “Lite” version of the Razr 2023. In this article, we’ll learn more about the Motorola Razr Lite and all the rumors surrounding it.
Motorola Razr Lite Overview
MySmartPrice, in collaboration with OnLeaks, has leaked some renders of Motorola’s upcoming affordable. According to rumors, the standard Motorola Razr 2023 will be the “Lite” model, while the premium foldable will be known as the “Razr Plus” instead.
Design and Display
As seen from the leaked renders, Razr Lite 2023’s main display will have relatively thin bezels and a hole-punch cutout for the selfie camera.
Image: MySmartPrice x OnLeaks
But more importantly, it will have a significantly smaller cover display than Motorola’s past foldables. So it could be useful for a limited number of tasks only, such as displaying time, notifications, or incoming calls. In fact, the Razr Lite 2023 is expected to have a smaller cover display than that of the Samsung Galaxy Z Flip 4.
The leaked renders also reveal a dual-rear camera setup at the back next to the cover display. Other than this, there are no leaks about the performance, battery, or other aspects of the Razr Lite for now.
Motorola Razr Lite Price and Availability
Motorola will be unveiling the Razr Plus 2023 alongside the Razr Lite 2023 later this year. However, there are no pricing leaks as of now. But since the Razr Lite is expected to be Motorola’s most affordable clamshell phone, it could cost significantly less than Razr 2022‘s asking price of EUR 1,199.
Xiaomi has unveiled the “Smart TV X Pro” series at its “Smarter Living 2023” event. Available in up to 55-inch size, it comes with a bunch of premium features like a metal bezel, Dolby Vision support, and more. Let’s know more about the Xiaomi Smart TV X Pro series along with its expected price and availability in Nepal.
Xiaomi Smart TV X Pro Series Overview:
Design and Display
The Xiaomi TV X Pro series has a metal body and base, as well as a carbon-fiber back. It is built around a 4K LED backlit LCD panel and comes in three different screen sizes—43′′, 50′′, and 55′′.
Regardless of the screen size, they all support 1 billion colors, HDR 10+, and Dolby Vision IQ. For starters, the latter is an updated standard of Dolby Vision which changes the display settings in your TV based on lighting conditions in the room. For this, the TV supports adaptive brightness feature.
On top of this, Xiaomi has also added support for its properitary color profile, the Vivid Picture Engine 2 that offers improved colors, contrast and saturation. Similarly, the Reality Flow MEMC engine compensates for smooth, blur-free visuals in fast-paced content.
Powering the Xiaomi Smart TV X Pro series is a 64-bit Quad-core A55 CPU. A Mali G52 MP2 GPU is integrated for graphics. Memory-wise, you get 2GB of RAM and 16GB of storage space. It contains Xiaomi’s PatchWall TV OS on top of Google TV in terms of software.
Audio is where things are a bit different in these SKUs of Xiaomi TV X Pro series. Specifically, the 43″ model has a 30W speaker while the 50″ and 55″ model comes with a 40W speakers. Regardless, they all have Dolby Atmos, DTS-HD, and DTS X support. These TVs also include far-field microphones and Google Assistant functionality.
Rest of the specs
In terms of connectivity, the TVs have 3 x HDMI 2.1, 2 x USB, Ethernet, AV, a 3.5mm headphone jack, and an optical port. The HDMI port also supports Auto Low Latency Mode for low-lag gaming and eARC for connecting to external soundbars. Wireless connectivity options include dual-band Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0.
Xiaomi TV X Pro Series Price in Nepal and Availability
The Xiaomi TV X Pro Series retails in India at a starting price of INR 32,999 for the 43″ model. The 50″ and 55″ models are priced at INR 41,999 and INR 47,999. We expect the price of the Xiaomi Smart TV X Pro Series to start at NPR 60,999, if and when it launches in Nepal.
Tesla and Twitter CEO Elon Musk has launched a new company called “X.AI”; just weeks after signing an open letter proposing to halt AI advancement. Many people have called this move hypocritical but Musk has remained silent on the matter. In this article, we will explore the details of Musk’s latest venture and discuss the potential hypocrisy of his actions.
Elon Musk announces X.AI
An open letter was published on March 22, 2023, by Musk-funded “The Future of Life Institution” which proposed a 6-month halt on “Giant AI experiments”. Among 2000+ signees were many prominent figures including Steve Wozniak (co-founder of Apple), Emad Mostaque (CEO of Stability AI), and Musk himself. But just weeks after the signing, news has come out about Elon Musk’s X.AI.
The letter in question argued that Large Language Models (LLMs) and chatbots like Chat GPT were getting exceptionally good and companies were rushing to make more and more powerful models without considering much about its consequences. The letter labels these models as “Black Boxes” mostly because even the creators of the model themselves don’t exactly know how they work.
Hence, the letter argues that even its developers can’t predict how it’s going to impact the future. As such, it demands a halt on research and development of systems more powerful than GPT-4 until we are certain that these LLMs won’t be detrimental to human society. The letter suggests we use this time to implement “robust AI governance systems”, which is an umbrella term for AI safety research, AI regulatory systems, and AI certification bodies.
Elon Musk’s new company shares its name with his ambitious dream of creating an “Everything” app. Musk even merged Twitter Inc. with X Corp, showing that he is serious about the matter. To start off, sources cite Musk buying 10,000 highly powerful graphics processing units (GPUs) as well as seeking to hire talent for launching an AI to compete with ChatGPT.
Buying Twitter is an accelerant to creating X, the everything app
Musk has openly expressed his distaste for Open AI’s regulation on GPT which prevents it from generating specific text. He has also complained about its output being too “woke”. It is safe to say Musk is choosing to duke it out with industry leaders like Open AI and DeepMind instead of staying on the fence. But many find it strange for him to do so, especially so quickly after his support for the open letter.
The gray area
The strange part of all this is the timeline. Many would assume Elon Musk founded X.AI after the open letter to halt AI progress went in vain. But the truth is quite the reveal. According to the state fillings mentioned in the Wall Street Journal’s article, Elon Musk founded X.AI on March 9th, which is just days before the open letter published on the 22nd. Even when giving Musk the benefit of the doubt, it’s hard to defend this practice of preaching truce and instigating competition at the same time. This makes it clear that Musk might have had other intentions behind signing the letter than just AI safety.
Elon Musk “X.AI”: Final Words
Elon Musk’s X.AI might just be the beacon of hope for free speech in this world of regulatory “biased” AI. Or it might just be another AI hype marketing move.
Either way, signing an open letter lobbying against further development of large AI experiments while launching an AI company on the side seems like a shady thing to do. Maybe he just wanted the best for humanity or maybe he wanted a buffer for his new company to catch up to existing leaders, we will never know for sure. But what we can say for certain, is that Elon Musk’s stance on AI is hypocritical and you probably shouldn’t take his words at face value.
Xiaomi’s Smarter Living 2023 event in India saw the launch of the company’s latest robot vacuum cleaner called the Robot Vacuum Mop 2i. It was launched alongside the Beard Trimmer 2C, Smart TV X Pro-series, and a bunch of other devices. So let’s get into the specs, features, availability, and expected price of the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum Mop 2i in Nepal.
Xiaomi Robot Vacuum Mop 2i Overview
Design
The Mop 2i looks pretty similar to other robot vacuums from Xiaomi. That is, it gets the same spherical round body, but it’s available in a white color option, a first for a robot vacuum cleaner from Xiaomi.
The front of the body also has a black stripe. It is home to 25 high-precision sensors which gives the cleaner real-time data about its surroundings. As for the dimensions, it’s lightweight at 3.1 kg and stands at a height of 8.13 cm.
As the name suggests, the Vacuum Mop 2i is a clever two-in-one device that can both vacuum and mop the floors. It uses the aforementioned 25 high-precision sensors to help it avoid obstacles, and it also features a gyroscope and optical sensor to aid in its navigation. Xiaomi says the vacuum cleaner can easily go over door thresholds during cleaning.
The cleaner employs a 168mm primary brush to sweep dust from the floor, while its suction capacity of 2200Pa should be powerful enough to remove all dust particles from a room.
Moving on, the Vacuum-Mop 2i has a 450ml dust tank and a 270ml water tank. You can easily control the device using the Xiaomi Smart Home app, as well as Google Assistant and Alexa. It supports both 2.4GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 4.2 for wireless connectivity. And it is powered by a 2600mAh battery.
Xiaomi Robot Vacuum Mop 2i Price in Nepal and Availability
The new smart vacuum cleaner from Xiaomi is launched in India at INR 16,999. We expect the price of the Xiaomi Robot Vacuum Mop 2i in Nepal to be NPR 35,999 if and when it launches here.
Xiaomi unveiled its latest lineup of air purifiers in the “Smarter Living 2023” event held last week. So let’s have a look at the new Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 series (including Smart Air Purifier 4 Lite), along with their features, availability, expected price in Nepal, and more.
Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 series overview:
In terms of design, Xiaomi’s new air purifiers have the same rectangular shape as their predecessors. There’s a circular OLED touch display that displays information such as real-time PM2.5 (Particulate Matter) level, temperature, humidity, and WiFi connection. This button can also be used to switch between modes such as Sleep, Auto, Favourite, Low, Medium, and High.
Three-layered filtration system
They also include a three-layer filtration system, which includes a primary filter, a true HEPA filter (with anti-bacterial and anti-viral coating), and an activated carbon filter. According to Xiaomi, the Smart Air Purifier 4 series can remove up to 99.97% of 0.3μm airborne particles. For reference, pet hair, pollen allergens, dust, smoke, dander, cotton fiber, etc. comes in the 0.3μm particle range.
Furthermore, Xiaomi has obtained TÜV Rheinland Allergy Care Certification for the Smart Air Purifier 4 series. They also function as an odor eliminator, removing VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds), formaldehyde, toluene, cooking fumes, and other odors. Unlike the “Lite” variant, the regular Air Purifier 4 has negative air ionization too, which releases negative ions for even cleaner air.
Other than this, Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 has a Particle CADR (Clean Air Delivery Rate) of up to 400 cubic meters per hour, can produce 6660L of purified air per minute, and can cover 28 to 48 square meter area.
Whereas the Air Purifier 4 lite has a CADR of 360 cubic meters per hour, can produce 6000L of purified air per minute, and can purify a 25 to 42 square meter room in just 10 minutes. These air purifiers can pair with the “Mi Home” app, and you can control them via Google Assistant and Alexa. And according to Xiaomi, their single filter can last 6-12 months.
Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 series Specifications:
Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 series Price in Nepal and Availability
In India, the Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 Lite and Air Purifier 4 cost INR 9,999 and INR 13,999, respectively. We expect the Xiaomi Smart Air Purifier 4 series price in Nepal to start at NPR 18,499 when it launches here shortly.
Unlike the Xbox which won’t be getting a mid-cycle update (“Xbox Series S Pro” or “Xbox Series X Pro”), it’s now confirmed that Sony is definitely working on a PlayStation 5 Pro. And there are already a bunch of details (including the launch date) for Sony’s upcoming console.
PlayStation 5 Pro Rumors:
A previous report by KeyToGaming revealed some interesting details about the PlayStation 5 Pro which touched a bit on improvements to the GPU and ray tracing abilities. But a new leak reported by ‘The Verge‘ has opened the floodgates regarding the upcoming PS5 Pro.
CPU, GPU, and Memory Improvements
PS5 Pro, codenamed ‘Trinity’, will house a much more powerful GPU alongside a boosted mode for the CPU. According to the report, the new console will have an increased memory bandwidth and ship with faster memory as well.
PS5
The new GPU will feature more Work Group Processors (WGP) and is up to ‘45% faster’ than the regular PS5. There’ll be a new “high CPU frequency” mode for the CPU to boost up to 3.85GHz, a 10% increase from the “standard” 3.5 GHz clock. This means more power draw for the CPU which will slightly affect the GPU performance (1% worse).
On the memory end, you get faster RAM with a 28.5% increase in clock speed from 14,000 MT/s to 18,000 MT/s. Alongside that, bandwidth is increased by nearly one-third to 576GB/s (from 448 GB/s) which means games will be able to use more memory for resources (up to 13.7 GB). Some amount of memory (250Mb) will also be used by Sony’s upscaling technology which we’ll talk about later.
Raytracing all the way!
One of the major focus points for the PS5 Pro is going to be improved ray tracing abilities. For this, Sony is apparently using a “more powerful ray tracing architecture” on the upcoming Pro. Besides that, the upcoming console is also going to have a “custom architecture for machine learning” supporting up to 300TOPS of 8-bit computation. These architectural changes also support Sony’s PlayStation Spectral Super Resolution (PSSR).
PSSR is an upscaling technology like DLSS, FSR, and xeSS and will help boost frame rates and improve graphical fidelity. Paired with the improved GPU and bandwidth, PSSR should provide a much better ray-tracing-enabled gaming experience to the current PS5. Sony allegedly stated around 2ms of latency while upscaling from 1080p to 4k and is working to support up to 8k resolution in the future.
Developers are warming up!
The article from Verge states that game developers can already order test kits and optimize for the console. Games sent for certification by developers till the month of August will likely be available upon launch. Developers are also expected to ship a single package/game for both the standard PS5 and PS5 Pro in the future. They can label their games with a “Trinity Enhanced” sticker (aka “PS5 Pro Enhanced”) if they “provide significant enhancements.”
From what we know so far, Sony is planning to launch the PS5 Pro for the Holiday season of 2024. That means the console is likely to hit the markets in November. Looks like the vanilla PS5 or shall we say the ‘PS5 Slim’ is going to be sold alongside the Pro model.
Ripple was the first brand to launch 12th Gen Intel gaming laptops in Nepal with the Nova series. The company is now offering the vanilla Nova for a discounted price. So, let’s get into the full specs, features, official price, and availability of Ripple Nova and Nova Pro (Intel / Ryzen) gaming laptops in Nepal.
Ripple Nova, Nova Pro Overview:
Latest Intel / AMD CPUs
The new Ryzen variant of the Ripple Nova Pro is powered by AMD’s Ryzen 7 6800H processor. It is an octa-core processor with clock speeds ranging from 3.2GHz to 4.7GHz. The processor has 16MB of cache at its helm and supports Simultaneous Multithreading (SMT).
In addition to the new Nova Pro Ryzen, Ripple is continuing the 12th Gen Intel-powered Nova and Nova Pro gaming laptops. The Intel variant of the Ripple Nova Pro packs Core i7-12700H , a 12-core CPU with 6 performance and 8 efficiency cores.
Then we have the regular Ripple Nova with the Core i5-12500H. It is based on the base hybrid architecture as its bigger sibling but has reduced performance cores (4) and threads (8).
RTX 30-series GPUs
As for the graphics performance, all Ripple Nova series gaming laptops rely on NVIDIA’s RTX 30-series gaming laptops. Irrespective of the CPU choice, you get the RTX 3060 GPU on the Ripple Nova Pro, configured at a max TGP (Total Graphics Power) of 140W.
The Ryzen variant even offers a MUX Switch to bypass the integrated graphics to speed up graphical workloads.
Ripple Nova, on the other hand, comes with RTX 3050 Ti configured at up to 90W TGP.
RAM and Storage
Talking about the memory options, the Intel Powered Ripple Nova series laptops start at 8GB Of RAM and 256GB of SSD storage. Ripple Nova Pro Ryzen, on the other hand, starts at 16GB RAM. All three laptops come with upgradeable RAM and SSD slots. But it is important to note that the Pro laptops have DDR5 slots that are faster but unfortunately also rarer in the market.
Design and Design
All laptops under the Ripple Nova series have similar designs. They even have the same screen size and weigh the same.
That being said, Ripple Nova Pro (Intel / Ryzen) has a better display than the Pro. It sports a 15.6–inch display with a 165Hz refresh rate and QHD resolution. The 2K panel even has 100% sRGB coverage. Thus, we see it appealing to content creators as well.
On the other hand, Ripple Nova only has a 144Hz FHD display.
Rest of the specs
Likewise, Ripple Nova Pro (Intel / Ryzen) comes with a 62.32Wh battery and ships with a 180W power adapter. On the other hand, the regular Nova comes with a smaller 42.32Wh battery and a 150W adapter. The port selection is exactly the same. Here, you get three Type-A, one Type-C, an HDMI, audio out, and an ethernet jack.
Ripple Nova Series (Nova, Nova Pro) Specifications:
Nova
Nova Pro
Dimension
360.2 x 243.5 x 19.9mm; 1.9 kg
Display
15.6-inch FHD, 144Hz refresh rate, 3ms
15.6-inch QHD, 165Hz refresh rate, 100% sRGB
CPU
Intel Core i5-12500H (12C/16T)
Intel Core i7-12700H (14C/20T)
AMD Ryzen 7 6800H (8C/16T)
GPU
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti (90W)
NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060 (140W)
RAM
8/16/32GB DDR4-3200
8GB DDR5-4800 (Intel)
16GB DDR5-4800 (Ryzen)
Storage
256/512GB/1TB SSD
Keyboard
Full-size S-Zone RGB Keyboard
Battery
47Wh (150W adapter)
63Wh (180W adapter)
Ports
2x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type-A, 1x USB 2.0, 1x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x card reader, 1x Audio out, 1x RJ45
Ripple Nova, Nova Pro Price in Nepal and Availability (Official)
Under the new offer, you can get the Ripple Nova and Nova Pro for Rs. 128,000 and Rs. 185,000, respectively. This discounted price is valid for pre-order with 20% pre-payment.
Ripple Nova Gaming Series
Price in Nepal (Official)
Offer Price (Pre-Order)
Nova (144Hz FHD, Intel Core i5-12500H, RTX 3050 Ti, 8/256GB)
Rs. 138,000
Rs. 128,000
Nova Pro (165Hz QHD, Intel Core i7-12700H, RTX 3060, 16/512GB)
Rs. 201,000
Rs. 185,000
Meanwhile, check out our review of Ripple Nova Pro (Nepali).
Last year, Amazon unveiled the Scribe with the largest Kindle to date. In addition, it also brings stylus support—making it the first Kindle with for reading and writing. Here, we will take a look at the Amazon Kindle Scribe, along with its specs, features, availability, and expected price in Nepal.
Amazon Kindle Scribe Overview:
Design, Display
Looking at the device and what it has to offer, the Kindle Scribe is basically an enlarged Kindle Oasis. The Paperwhite display on the Kindle Scribe measures 10.2 inches and supports touch as well as stylus input.
The screen has a 300 PPI pixel density and also a front light that supports automatic adjustment. It is only available in a single grey color option called ‘Tungsten.’
The presence of stylus support is one of the most exciting features of the Kindle Scribe. Amazon refers to its stylus as just a ‘Pen’ and offers it in Basic and Premium options. The Pen does not need charging and attaches magnetically to the side of the Scribe. Moreover, the Premium Pen has an eraser up top alongside a customizable button to switch between pen modes and more.
The Sticky Notes feature on the Kindle Scribe can be used to save handwritten notes to ebooks, which can also be synced to other devices. Note-taking, journaling, templates, to-do lists, and other features are also available.
Rest of the Specs
Besides that, the Kindle Scribe offers access to over 3 million titles via the Kindle Store. For connectivity, it has Wi-Fi, and other features include parental control, auto page rotation, and more.
According to Amazon, the Kindle Scribe should last 12 weeks on a single charge with half an hour of reading per day with the light setting at 13. Talking about writing, it is rated for 3 weeks of usage with the same criteria.
Amazon Kindle Scribe Specifications:
Dimensions: 196 x 230 x 5.8mm, 433g
Display: 10.2-inch Paperwhite display, 300 PPI pixel density
storage: 16/32/64GB
GPU: 800MHz
Memory: 2GB RAM | 16GB internal storage
Wireless connectivity: Dual Band Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.2
Battery Life: 12 weeks of half an hour reading per day
Charge Time: 2.5 hours with a 9W USB-C charger
Colors: Tungsten
Amazon Kindle Scribe Price in Nepal and Availability
You can now buy the new Amazon Kindle Scribe from Neostore. It costs Rs. 100,000 for the 64GB memory configuration with Premium Pen.
Intel has just announced a multi-generation collaboration with Arm, the top IP licensor for mobile chipsets. This multi-generational deal will initially concentrate on manufacturing Arm-based mobile chips before expanding to applications in the automotive, IoT, data center, aerospace, and government sectors.
Intel Foundry x ARM
It’s no secret that the recent years have not been good for Intel with delays on its 10nm and 7nm process nodes—letting its archenemy AMD thrive in the market. So in 2021, Intel announced IDM 2.0 strategy under which the company devised a new Foundry Service decision to manufacture chips for other clients. It even announced to invest USD 20 billion into building two new boundaries for the same.
The new design technology co-optimization (DTCO) between IFS and ARM is part of this strategy. This doesn’t mean Intel will be fabricating chips for ARM. Instead, it opens the door for fabless companies to build chips using ARM’s IP design and Intel’s open foundries.
This agreement also puts Intel directly against TSMC and Samsung Semiconductors, the leading manufacturers of all smartphones chips today. TSMC, in particular, has helped rivals AMD and NVIDIA to get Intel’s market share.
Intel’s foundry will manufacture Arm chips for smartphones using the 18A process, which Intels hopes will go into mass production in 2024. The 18A process is essentially a 1.8nm technology. The “A” in 18A stands for the metric unit named Angstrom, which measures one-tenth of a nanometer (0.1 nm).
Intel 18A promises two new changes: RibbonFET and PowerVia. The former is the new transistor architecture that will replace the FinFET, which Intel has been using since 2012. It brings ribbon-shaped channels with gate all around that allows for higher performance, greater control, and a compact form factor.
With PowerVia, intel will power transistors in chipsets directly from underneath. This is more efficient than placing the power cables on top and frees up the space on top for signal routing.
Why this deal, though?
Both sides will benefit from this partnership. Intel will benefit from Arm’s expertise in low-power and high-performance chips, while Arm will gain access to Intel’s advanced manufacturing and research capabilities. This joint effort may bring the SoC‘s size to miniature more than ever and increase the efficiency of the next-gen chips.
“Intel’s collaboration with Arm will expand the market opportunity for IFS and open up new options and approaches for any fabless company that wants to access best-in-class CPU IP and the power of an open system foundry with leading-edge process technology”, says the CEO of Intel.
Hence, the partnership between Intel and Arm might bring a whole new level to the field of smartphone chips.
Meanwhile, check out our comparison of the latest flagship smartphone chipsets.
So I’ve been using the new Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023) for a little over a week now. And I’ll give it to you straight—this thing is pretty impressive as there’s pretty much everything I look for on a solid 2-in-1 laptop here. Including powerful performance thanks to the latest 13th Gen Intel CPU, a beautiful OLED touchscreen, and decent battery life. All in a package that weighs no more than 1.5 kg! So if you’re in the market for a reliable 2-in-1 laptop, this guy should definitely be on our radar. More on this full review of the Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023).
Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023) Review: Specifications
Design & Build: Aluminum build, 12.26 x 8.80 x 0.63-inches (W x D x H), 1.50 kg
What’s Inside The Box: Laptop, 65W power adapter, Asus laptop sleeve, Asus Pen 2.0 (stylus), USB-A to RJ45 adapter, User manual and other documents
Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023) Review:
Design and Build
12.26 x 8.80 x 0.63-inches (W x D x H)
1.50 kg, Aluminum build material
Okay, I guess you guys might already know that I’m not a big fan of flashy, over-the-top design choices. And I like to keep things nice and simple.
But there’s just… something about the Zenbook Flip that really resonates with me somehow.
The shiny, angular Asus logo along with a little “Zenbook” branding at the bottom adds some much-needed character to this machine, and I’m quite fond of it. The fact that I don’t have to worry about fingerprint smudges or anything is just the cherry on top too. And since this is a premium “Zenbook” laptop after all, its build quality is also top-notch. Consisting of nothing except an all-metal chassis.
What about durability then? That’s always been something of a concern with 2-in-1 laptops, right? Well, the Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023) has impressed me on that front as well. It passes the usual military-grade durability tests—sure.
But more importantly, this 360º hinge is incredibly sturdy too. Usually what I’ve seen with such light 2-in-1 laptops is that they end up with really wobbly hinges, which ruins the experience of using a convertible device in the first place. But Asus has managed to avoid all that… rather heroically, might I say.
Tent it, stand it, tablet it, laptop it
As a result, I’ve had no trouble using it in either laptop, tent, stand, or tablet mode. And another neat little thing I noticed here is these four rubber bumpers on the keyboard deck. They might look pointless at first but they are actually quite important to protect the display from pressure every time you close it. Such small attention to detail really ends up making quite a big difference in the long run, huh?
For such a compact 2-in-1 laptop, the Asus Zenbook 14 Flip’s I/O selection deserves an equal amount of praise. You get a couple of Thunderbolt 4-ready USB-C ports on the right, both capable of accepting USB power delivery or connecting 4K (or even 8K) external displays.
Ports
1 of 2
Left
Right
Then there’s a full-sized HDMI 2.1 and a 3.5mm combo audio jack, while a lone USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port sits on the left. And despite the laptop’s thin profile, I like how Asus hasn’t used a drop-jaw USB port here. I know that’s mostly a necessary design choice on such impossibly slim laptops, but I just… don’t like drop-jaw ports.
Display
14″ glossy 2.8K OLED touchscreen
90Hz refresh rate, 100% DCI-P3 color gamut
400 nits brightness, Corning Gorilla Glass NBT
Supports Asus Pen 2.0 (stylus)
The Zenbook 14 Flip’s display is a stunner too. You’re looking at a 14” 2.8K OLED touchscreen with a 90Hz refresh rate and a tall 16:10 aspect ratio, which is also Pantone-validated for color accuracy. Oh, and this is the only display configuration that Asus has for this laptop by the way; there’s no Full HD option with a higher refresh rate or a sharper 4K config that refreshes at a standard 60Hz.
While that certainly doesn’t sound like much of a choice, I must say that I don’t mind the lack of multiple options here.
That’s because I think 2.8K has the perfect trade-off between sharpness and battery life. Just think about it. Neither does it look pixelated, nor is it too heavy on the battery—it’s a win-win! Anyway, I guess I don’t need to tell you how beautiful this OLED display is.
Display Properties
1 of 3
Color Gamut
Gamma
Brightness
From lively colors to punchy contrast and everything in between, I absolutely love this screen. The company’s claim of 100% DCI-P3 color gamut did come a bit short on our testing—at 99%—but that’s nothing.
Weirdly enough, our Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023) fell short on brightness measurements too. Asus quotes 400 nits of peak brightness but it maxed out at 361 nits only. I hope this is just some quality control issue on our unit because this is quite unusual. Not a dealbreaker or anything, just unusual. Since it is more than bright enough for comfortable indoor usage.
Display be glossing
Outdoor visibility is a different story though—but not because of those brightness levels I just talked about. Instead, since Asus has used a glossy OLED panel here, it catches surrounding reflections much much easily. On some really sunny days, I’ve even had to shut off the blinds in our office to be able to comfortably look at this thing.
So yeah, if your workplace or wherever you end up setting up your laptop gets a lot of ambient light, then this could be mildly annoying.
Other than this, Asus has done an A1 job with the display here. With incredible color coverage and that Pantone validation, it is perfectly workable for graphic designers, photo editors, or just about anyone that needs a color-accurate screen. And the Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023) is even loaded with a bunch of different color profiles to match your workflow. Asus is also well ahead of your concerns regarding OLED burn-in, with a couple of preventive features like pixel refresh and pixel shift built-in.
The stylus experience
To make the most out of this touchscreen, you’ll need a stylus too. Thankfully, Asus ships one in the box itself. While I wish it was a garaged stylus instead of something I had to carry around separately, my digital artist friends were quite repulsed at the idea of a flat pen. I guess that makes sense—I can already imagine the discomfort of holding such pens in long drawing sessions. Regardless, this second-gen Asus Pen is fantastic.
Its input latency is quite minimal and it is pressure-sensitive as well. You also get a couple of extra nibs with different hardness levels for a more realistic drawing experience.
And one thing that’s really stuck with me about this stylus is that I can switch to the next page in my Powerpoint presentation directly by clicking the top button. So no more awkwardly trying to reach the laptop to change slides in the middle of the presentation; that’s pretty cool! I know the college me would’ve absolutely worshipped this thing back in the day! But for some reason, this button’s tactile feedback is pretty terrible. And I wish Asus would improve its palm rejection tech with a future update as well.
Keyboard and Trackpad
Full-size backlit chiclet keyboard (1.4mm travel)
Glass trackpad (with NumberPad 2.0)
As for the keyboard, the Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023) has got the usual key layout that I know and love. With a solid 1.4mm travel distance and soft, bouncy feedback, I’ve had no trouble maintaining my usual typing speed on this thing. Its noise profile is on the quiet side so that’s good too.
Oh, and since this laptop has an ErgoLift hinge that raises the keyboard deck a little, I also find it much more comfortable to type on than other ordinary laptops with a flat base. However, even keyboard backlighting is still something that Asus struggles with. I feel like I’ve been complaining about it in basically every one of our Asus laptop reviews, but here we are. Guess I could cut Asus some slack on budget devices but on a premium “Zenbook” device like this, it’s just embarrassing.
At least this glass trackpad is pretty great. It is smooth and spacious enough for all sorts of gestures, scrolling, or pinch-and-zoom actions. The integrated buttons have solid feedback and Asus has also thrown in its digital Numpad here.
While that’s a great way to bring the Numpad experience on a 14” chassis, the number of times I unknowingly triggered it daily was rather annoying. The one silver lining is that there’s an option in the “MyASUS” app now that lets me disable the digital numpad. And I don’t have to mess around with the trackpad drivers this time.
Audio
Down-firing stereo speakers
Dolby Atmos audio
Asus Zenbook 14 Flip’s audio setup is fantastic though. No, it doesn’t have front-firing stereo speakers or anything but its sound output is far better than most other Windows laptops I’ve tested in this price bracket. With a spacious—almost surrounding—sound profile that lets you enjoy the details in all sorts of music or whatever you’re listening to, the multimedia experience on this laptop is awesome. I didn’t expect it but there’s even a bit of oomph in its bass.
Webcam
FHD IR camera (no privacy shutter)
Built-in array microphone
In the past year or so, we’ve come a long way from the crappy 720p webcams on Windows machines. Who would’ve thought a global pandemic is what it would take for laptop makers to finally ship decent cameras? Anyway, you get a proper FHD camera here that’s great for casual video calls or online classes.
It doesn’t get the subject’s skin tone quite right and exposure handling versus a bright background remains a struggle, but I can look past those things. The onboard array microphones do a good job of picking up the audio, and Asus has also offered a bunch of features to enhance your video call experience.
Like background blur or motion tracking to keep you in the center of the frame even when you’re moving around. But “gaze correction” is one that particularly caught my eye. With this, Asus says it can make you appear as if you’re intently looking at the camera even when you’re not. Just like Nvidia’s “Eye Contact” feature.
Unfortunately, it simply refused to work here—so I’m hoping Asus is working on a fix. And one more thing. Even though there are a bunch of camera optimization features available, I can only use turn on one at a time. That’s oddly limiting. So, say I wanted to blur my background while also applying lighting correction and motion tracking, tough luck.
Performance
Intel Core i7-1360P CPU (28W TDP)
Intel Iris Xe Graphics (Integrated)
16GB LPDDR5 RAM, 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD
Okay, let’s now get into the performance side of things. Our Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023) is powered by Intel’s latest 13th Gen Raptor Lake CPUs, and you can choose between Core i5-1340P or Core i7-1360P processors. While the memory options include 8 or 16GB LPDDR5 RAM. But as expected from a compact 2-in-1 device, the RAM is soldered into the motherboard here so make sure you consider that before buying this laptop. The storage is upgradable though and you can get it with either 512GB or 1TB of M.2 NVMe SSD by default.
Let’s talk about the CPU choice
Interestingly, Asus had gone with “H” series processors in last year’s Zenbook 14 Flip, which are relatively more powerful than the “P” series Intel CPUs on this machine. So… is there actually a downgrade in performance here somehow? Well, technically yes. But it’s a meaningful and sensible downgrade when you really think about it.
You see, these two lineups of Intel processors have vastly different power requirements; with the H-suffixed CPUs eating up over 50% power even when operating at base frequencies.
i7-1355U
i7-1360P
i7-13705H
Cores
10 (2x P, 8x E)
12 (4x P, 8x E)
14 (6x P, 8x E)
Threads
12
16
20
E-cores Max. Freq.
3.70 GHz
3.70 GHz
3.70 GHz
P-cores Max. Freq.
5.0 GHz
5.0 GHz
5.0 GHz
Intel Smart Cache
12MB
18MB
24MB
Graphics
Iris Xe
Iris Xe
Iris Xe
Execution Units
96 (1.30 GHz)
96 (1.50 GHz)
96 (1.50 GHz)
Base Power
15W
28W
45W
Max Turbo Power
55W
64W
115W
Although that’s not an issue for gaming or creator laptops, you’d be basically wasting all that power in a 2-in-1 laptop like this. Which means the battery life is needlessly taking a hit, whereas the cooling system gets worked up for nothing since there isn’t enough thermal headroom in such compact laptops either.
Benchmarks
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Cinebench R23
Night Raid 1.1
Time Spy 1.2
PugetBench for Photoshop
PugetBench for Premiere Pro
So settling with Intel’s “P” series processors that have much more manageable power requirements is 100% the right move in my opinion. If that’s the case, why not just go with “U” series CPUs that are even less power-hungry then? That’s a valid point but for me, those Intel processors are well-suited for budget laptops only.
The right amount of power
As in, they handle everyday tasks like web browsing, working on Office suite of applications, video streaming, and such with no trouble. But when pushing them up a notch just a little bit with creative apps like Photoshop, such low-powered CPUs struggle to keep up with your work. So keeping that in mind, I am definitely thankful for that extra bit of performance leeway here. Even on battery power, the Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023) shows no signs of struggle on all my usual chores.
Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023) – Gaming
1 of 3
CS: GO
Asphalt 9
Fall Guys
And I really like how cool and quiet this thing stays too. Even at the highest fan profile, the fan noise is barely audible in a typical office setting like ours. Now, since this laptop relies on the integrated Iris Xe graphics for all your GPU needs, don’t expect it to breeze through something like video editing or gaming. It’s good enough to edit short-form 1080p projects or play light games like CS: GO, Asphalt 9, and Fall Guys at 1080p, but that’s about it.
Battery
75 Watt-hour 4-cell Li-Ion battery
65W USB Type-C AC Adapter
Moving on, the battery life on this year’s Zenbook 14 Flip gets a nice upgrade too. Asus has managed to bump the battery from 63Wh to 75Wh here—that too without any significant weight gain so that’s quite impressive.
As a result, I was constantly averaging 6 hours of screen time while using this laptop at 70% brightness with the batter mode set to “Balanced”. That’s pretty great! I also tested it with “Best Performance” mode a few times but found its excessive power draw for a barely-noticeable performance jump to be essentially useless.
Charging this thing is a breeze though. You get a 65W AC adapter in the box, but you can always go for a much cleaner setup since it supports 65W USB-PD charging too. Getting it from 0 to 100% takes almost 3 hours though, so there’s that.
Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023) Review: Conclusion
Summing up our Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023) review, this is a fantastic 2-in-1 laptop; there’s absolutely zero doubt about that. It manages to impress on all essential fronts like performance, display, design, battery life, and more. While also edging out the competition like Samsung’s Galaxy Book3 Pro 360, MSI Summit Flip 14 Evo, and HP Spectre x360 in terms of price.
So if you’re in the market for a solid, premium convertible laptop without breaking the bank, then the Zenbook 14 Flip OLED is an easy recommendation from me.
Now, this thing isn’t perfect in any way. Obviously. Apart from all the minor complaints I talked about earlier, there are a few other things I wish Asus did differently. Like including a physical camera kill switch, for example. Or not including bloatware apps like McAfee antivirus. But you know what? These are such small, ignorable complaints that they shouldn’t stop you from getting this otherwise awesome 2-in-1 laptop.
Watch our video review of the Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023)
Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023) Review: Pros and Cons
