Asus ROG Flow X13 Review: Near-perfect convertible laptop; taking gaming experience to next level

Asus ROG Flow X13 review: We all have witnessed a huge rise in laptop sales worldwide, including in India due to the COVID-19 pandemic which forced almost everyone to work from home. To meet the demands of users globally, Taiwanese tech giant Asus, one of the biggest names in the personal computing business, has been working tremendously hard to gain more customers in big markets like India.

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In such an attempt, Asus has brought the most powerful 13-inch convertible gaming laptop Asus ROG Flow X13 under its sub-brand Republic of Gamers (ROG) to India that mixes gentleness with hardcore gaming internals. The new Asus ROG Flow X13 is priced in India at Rs 1,19,990 and is available in Asus Exclusive Stores, ROG Stores, Flipkart, Reliance Digital, Croma, and Vijay Sales.

Meant for heavy gaming, the newly launched Asus ROG Flow X13 comes with a 13-inch convertible gaming laptop that changes form freely on a slick 360-degree Ergolift hinge and offers opportunities to use the laptop in various mode as per the need. It is powered by the AMD Ryzen 9 5900HS and AMD Ryzen 7 5800HS processors paired with Nvidia GeForce GTX 1650 GPUs. The laptop has up to 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB SSD. 

During the review, we used Asus ROG Flow X13 for over 15 days and here's what I think about this newly launched machine.

Let's start with a major highlight of this newly launched convertible 2-in-1 machine. The Asus ROG Flow X13 offers all-around performance. With intense gaming and heavy multi-tasking, this machine has delivered a high-powered performance and it has taken the Asus ROG series name to a next new level. Even after playing games and watching web series and doing multiple tasks on both screens for long hours, the Asus ROG Flow X13 kept working smoothly and provided a lag-free experience. The battery life of this newly launched laptop is extremely good, however, the device did heat up, which occurred after intense gaming. But overall, the device has managed to tick almost every right boxes.

Design and Features 

- Design - In terms of design, this Asus ROG Flow X13 is made of a Magnesium alloy body and comes with 'gravity wave' design. The important part here is that the design is solid. In terms of measurement, the laptop weighs 1.3 kilograms and 15.8mm thin (299.4 x 222.9 x 15.75 mm dimension). The design facilitates easy slipping into bags. It is easy to carry and even though there are dual fans, a touchscreen, a dedicated GPU, multiple heat pipes, and a large battery, it is extremely lightweight. 

- Display - The screen is the major highlight of the Asus ROG Flow X13. The display alone justified the price of this laptop to a certain extent. This 13.4-inch (16:10 display with 3840x2400 pixels) laptop delivers an immersive viewing experience. It's also has a touchscreen panel with a glossy finish. You can choose between an immersive 4K panel and an FHD+120Hz panel for super-smooth gaming. Both are Pantone validated with a 16:10 aspect ratio, giving more space for toolbars and tabs. Also, both panels are covered with Corning Gorilla Glass, protecting the touchscreen-enabled panel. The touchscreen experience was effortless. You can easily watch apps like YouTube, Netflix, Google Chrome, or Spotify.

Features: 

The laptop also has a side-mounted fingerprint scanner embedded in the power button for that extra layer of security.

The X-factor of the Asus ROG Flow X13 is this ultrabook features a 360-degree hinge - a convertible device and you can use it as a tablet or in tent mode. The 360-degree hinge maximizes touchscreen viewing and interaction, making it easy to quickly flip from laptop mode into a tablet, stand, and tent modes for drawing, gaming, and presenting. 

The device also comes with a detachable eGPU, XG Mobile, powered with an exclusive PCIe 3.0x8 interface that boosts performance, connectivity, and power delivery.

The 16:10 display options provide a choice between a 120Hz panel that makes gameplay smoother and an Ultra HD 4K alternative with richer detail for creativity and entertainment, the company said.

Asus ROG Flow X13 comes with an AMD Ryzen9 5900HS processor which features up to 19% more performance than last generation, and NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650 GPU with 4GB GDDR6 memory, making this machine equipped to meet demanding workloads and multitasking, with tilted 13- degree for comfortable viewing. 

The laptop has up to 16GB of RAM and up to 1TB SSD. While the internal GPU is ready for everyday gaming, the optional ROG XG Mobile eGPU turns the Flow X13 into a gaming powerhouse. The video quality of the HD 720P Webcam was pretty decent as well.
Connectivity 

For easy connectivity, Asus ROG Flow X13 comes with Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) Bluetooth v5.1, 3 USB ports, HDMI Port, 3.5mm Headphone, and Mic Combo Jack ports. There's a Type-C port to charge your laptop and a power button on the right side of the laptop (which I personally didn't like).

Performance 

In terms of performance, the keys of the newly launched Asus ROG Flow X13 are decently sized and the backlit keyboard is comfortable to use. The touchpad of the laptop is faster, easy to use, and definitely made good impressions here. 

From playing games Asphalt 9: Legends and watching movies on Amazon Prime, Netflix, Disney+Hotstar to daily office work, we didn't face any issue. It is really fast and can handle most of your work easily, which is its biggest USP. The audio quality of this machine was loud and clear. The overall audio performance of this was up to the mark.

Also, the machine is offering amazing networking performance, which includes ultra-fast downloads, smooth streaming, a big range, and decent stable network connections.  
In terms of battery performance, The Asus ROG Flow X13 is powered by a 62Whr battery inside. The battery life isn't great, one of the disappointing points I must say. The device lasted for more than five hours after fully charged during the heavy usage and the machine did heat up during medium to heavy usage. The laptop battery life lasted for long hours in low brightness conditions. While playing games, the battery drained quickly.

Verdict: Priced at Rs 1,19,990, the Asus ROG Flow x13 is definitely the near-perfect convertible laptop that will take your gaming and streaming experience to next level. This machine provides a lag-free, faster and smooth touchscreen experience, and the ScreenPad Plus will give you a nice viewing experience.  For intense gamers and working professionals, If you are planning to spend more than Rs 1 lakhs on a Windows 10-based laptop, this machine from Asus might be a good option for you.