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It seems to be a really busy time in the year right now for Asus, the Taiwanese electronics manufacturer that recently showcased an array of new laptop models at this year's Computex trade show in Taipei, including the ZenBook Duo series with two displays. While Asus’ smartphone wing is fighting hard to bring the Asus 6z (previously called ZenFone 6z) to India, its laptop wing has had yet another successful product launch: the new VivoBook series.
While the VivoBook 14 is a 14-inch model that weighs 1.5 kilogrammes, the VivoBook 15 is a 15.6-inch model that weighs 1.6 kilogrammes. The display on both models has a Full HD resolution and bezels as slim as 5.7 millimetres on either side. Rendering graphics on the VivoBook 14 and 15 are an NVIDIA GeForce MX230 and MX250 GPU respectively with up to 2GB of dedicated video memory. The RAM on both models is a standard 8GB DDR4 chip and is upgradeable to up to 16GB. Both models support Bluetooth 4.2 and 802.11ac 2×2 Wi-Fi.
Both VivoBook models come not with Intel's 9th Gen Core series CPUs but the “Whiskey Lake” refresh of its 8th Gen chips. The VivoBook 14 is powered by an Intel Core i5-8265U quad-core CPU. The VivoBook 15, on the other hand, gets the option of an Intel Core i7-8565U quad-core CPU. Storage on the VivoBook 14 and 15 goes up to 512GB on a PCIe NVMe solid-state drive. Additionally, both models hold space internally for a 2.5-inch hard drive. They come with a hard drive upgrade kit, which includes a SATA connector, hard drive mounting caddy, and thermal paste. Asus recommends getting the hard drive fitted through an authorised Asus service centre.
Ports on the VivoBook 14 and 15 include USB-A 3.1, USB-A 2.0 (one on VivoBook 14, two on VivoBook 15), USB-C 3.1, full-size HDMI, a 3.5mm audio jack for headsets, and a microSD card reader, apart from the proprietary round-pin power port that’s reserved for charging. Both laptops get Asus’ signature ErgoLift hinge technology, which gives the entire keyboard island a 3-degree tilt in the direction of the user for easier typing. The battery on the two models is a dual-cell 37Whr lithium-ion polymer unit, which Asus claims is good for up to 10 hours of continuous use on a single charge. It can be fast-charged up to 60 percent in 49 minutes.
Admittedly, Asus’ newly launched VivoBook models are not the same as the ones we saw in Computex 2019 a couple of weeks ago. These do not get Asus’ new ScreenPad 2.0 tech, which is essentially a second touch-enabled display inside the touchpad of the laptop. They also do not get a backlit haptic numpad (or “NumberPad”) on the touchpad, a feature the outgoing ZenBook 13/14/15 series has. You can read more about the Asus ZenBook 13 here in our review.
The new VivoBook 14 and 15 come in a variety of colour options. The Transparent Silver is available on all variants of the two laptops. On offer are also Slate Grey, Coral Crush (a variant of orange), and Peacock Blue. According to Asus, the VivoBook 15 is aimed at both online and offline buyers alike but the VivoBook 14 is reserved for Flipkart customers only, at least for the moment. The VivoBook 14 and 15 start at Rs 33,990 and Rs 34,990 respectively and go on sale in India starting today.
Read our complete review of the new Asus VivoBook 14 here.