[Hardware] Asus ZenBook Flip S UX371 Review: Premium Look and Feel

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Asus ZenBook Flip S UX371 Review: Premium Look and Feel
In search of… a headphone jack

Intel’s 11th Gen “Tiger Lake” processors are here, and with them a series of new laptop designs. The first crossing through our labs is the Asus ZenBook Flip S UX371 ($1,449), a sleek, attention-grabbing convertible with the new Core i7-1165G7. It packs a 13.3-inch, 4K OLED touchscreen and offers solid battery life in spite of it. Thunderbolt 4 shows up too, but Asus made the strange choice to eliminate a headphone jack, instead bundling a USB-C to 3.5mm adapter in the box.

If you’re one to use Bluetooth headphones, the big question will be this: Does the ZenBook Flip S squeeze enough performance out of the i7-1165G7 to make it the best ultrabook for you?
Design of the Asus ZenBook Flip S UX371

I really can’t get over just how pretty the ZenBook Flip S is. It’s not a drastic change to the ZenBook aesthetic, but it’s sleek and honestly, I can’t stop looking at it. The lid is black with Asus’s signature concentric circles, which attract light just so. Asus’ logo is in a copper accent, and there’s more of that around the edges of the device.

The 13.3-inch display is surrounded by a bezel thicker than that on the Dell XPS 13, and I wish Asus would trim it down on the bottom. But the attention to detail continues on the keyboard deck, which is black and built solid, with white backlighting shinking through the keyboard keys. The touchpad is nice and wide, though it definitely breaks the aesthetic when you turn on the backlit touch-based number pad built into it.

There’s a big, copper-colored stripe under the display, but you only truly see it when you pull back the display on the 360-degree hinges. It’s a striking contrast, though how often will you be looking at the keyboard in tablet or tent mode?

My only true quibble with the design is the port selection. At first glance, it seems fine. There’s an HDMI port and a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports on the left side, with a full USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port on the right side. But there’s no headphone jack. And while Bluetooth headphones are becoming more commonplace, there’s definitely room for one here. Instead, Asus includes a USB Type-C to 3.5mm headphone dongle in the box. Even laptops, now, are part of living the #donglelife.

At just 12 x 8.3 x 0.6 inches and 2.7 pounds, the ZenBook Flip S is petite. The Dell XPS 13 2-in-1 is even smaller at 11.7 x 8.2 x 0.5 inches, but a heavier 2.9 pounds. The HP Spectre x360 is 12.1 x 7.7 x 0.7 inches at 2.7 pounds, and the Acer Swift 3, a standard clamshell, is 2.7 pounds and 1.7 x 8.6 x 0.6 inches.