Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (2023) Review: Classy Convertible

Price When Reviewed

$999.99

Best Prices Today: Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (UP3404)

Asus releases dozens of laptops every year, although Zenbook is one of its most established product families. The line began life back in 2011, and it’s been one of the leading names among thin and light laptops ever since. 

Well over a decade later, the Zenbook 14 Flip continues that tradition, packing a host of premium features into its 1.5kg chassis. But with a starting price that puts it among the most expensive 2-in-1s you can buy, the device has a lot to live up to. 

Unfortunately, despite plenty of positives, it falls just short of those lofty expectations. Here’s our full review. 

Design, build & ports

• Premium matt finish
• Great convertible functionality
• Decent port selection

Asus has played it safe with the Zenbook 14 Flip design, yet it still manages to stand out from the crowd. That’s primarily due to the back of the device, which features a matt finish and unique angular pattern. 

But this is a double-edged sword: it looks great, particularly when catching the light, but fingerprint smudges and dirt can quickly accumulate. You might not have thought about cleaning the back of your laptop very often, but it’s something you’ll need to consider here. 

I really like the futuristic design and so am happy to accept this is a trade-off, but not everyone will be as enthusiastic about it. The effect is more pronounced on the Jade Black version compared to Pine Grey, although the latter doesn’t stand out in the same way. 

The 14 Flip certainly still qualifies as an ultrabook, although it’s not as thin or light as I was expecting. A 1.5kg chassis is heavier than plenty of 14in laptops, while 15.9mm thick is nothing remarkable. 

However, there are benefits to these design choices. The weight helps it feel both premium and robust, so it’s no surprise to see military-grade durability here. I didn’t see any signs of fragility during my testing time, and it should mean the device holds up well long-term. 

This is particularly important on a convertible laptop, where you’re regularly bending the screen almost a full 360°. Despite two relatively small hinges, the 14 Flip doesn’t feel flimsy at all. There is slightly more of a wobble than a regular clamshell laptop while using the keyboard, but it doesn’t get annoying while typing. 

Despite two relatively small hinges, the 14 Flip doesn’t feel flimsy at all

Deciding against a razor-thin chassis also means there’s room for plenty of ports. Both USB-C ports support Thunderbolt 4 for fast data transfer, charging or connecting to an external display. 

They’re joined by a full-size HDMI 2.1, 3.5mm audio jack, and a USB-A on the opposite side. If I’m being really picky, a second USB-A port would’ve been nice, but this is enough for most situations. 

Keyboard, trackpad & webcam

• Impressive full-size keyboard
• Solid trackpad with virtual number pad
• Underwhelming 720p webcam

A 14in display means there’s plenty of room for a full-size keyboard, and it’s a very good one. Despite relatively little key travel, I could comfortably use it for several hours at a time. Each key feels clicky and responsive.

The keyboard offers three levels of backlighting. The lowest setting is great for a room that’s very dark, while the maximum allows you to comfortably see the keys in much brighter environments. 

Disappointingly, there’s no fingerprint sensor on the 14 Flip. It’d be nice to have an alternative to the Windows Hello face unlock, although the latter is relatively fast and reliable. 

The 14 Flip does have one more trick: a virtual number pad built into the trackpad. Activated via a long press of the top-right corner, it works as advertised, but feels unnecessary and much clunkier than the usual physical version. Overall, I found the virtual number pad to be totally pointless, but luckily, you can easily forget it’s there. 

Fortunately, the trackpad is much more impressive for its usual purpose. A large surface area means you can easily highlight lots of text in one go, yet it remains precise enough to select very specific areas of the screen too. As an alternative to connecting a mouse, it definitely does the job. 

I found the virtual number pad to be totally pointless

Laptop manufacturers are slowly transitioning to offer at least Full HD (1080p) quality, but Asus has let the 14 Flip lag behind. It’s still frustratingly stuck at 720p, and further burdened by washed-out footage which struggles for exposure. While usable, I wouldn’t recommend this laptop to anyone who wants to use a built-in webcam for video calls. 

Screen & speakers

• Gorgeous 90Hz OLED display
• Supports touch and pen input
• Above-average stereo speakers

Display is where the Zenbook 14 Flip really excels. It’s a 14in, 2880×1800 OLED touchscreen, giving it the 16:10 aspect ratio that’s common on modern laptops. 

But a high refresh rate screen is far less common. It’s a 90Hz panel here, although you’ll need to turn it on in Settings – 60Hz is selected by default. Once activated, I saw an immediate difference in fluidity while moving around Windows 11. Everything feels that bit slicker, and I didn’t notice a drop-off compared to even faster 120Hz laptop panels. The effect is less noticeable than on smartphones, though. 

Even without this feature turned on, the 14 Flip’s display is a joy to use. Being an OLED, it delivers both rich, vibrant colours and deep blacks, making content consumption feel genuinely immersive. That high resolution means there’s plenty of detail, too – I couldn’t ask for much more from a laptop display. 

I can’t verify Asus’s claim of a 0.2 second response rate, but it certainly feels fast. That’s relevant for both touch and stylus input, with the Asus Pen 2.0 included in the box. The latter’s apparent 4096 levels of pressure sensitivity gives you a real feeling of control, and it’ll be weeks before you need to make use of the USB-C charging. 

I couldn’t ask for much more from a laptop display

The only real display disappointment is brightness. Up to 550 nits of advertised peak brightness is fine for almost all indoor environments, but you can forget about using it in the garden on a sunny day. 

Audio is surprisingly punchy, despite the stereo speakers firing sound from the bottom of the device. With an impressive amount of detail and a decent hit of bass, the 14 Flip can hold its own against almost any slim laptop. The speakers here won’t replace dedicated audio equipment, but they’re great for watching the occasional film or TV show – especially in tent mode. 

Specs & performance

• Intel 13th-gen P-series CPUs
• Impressive everyday performance
• No discrete GPU or cellular connectivity

Convertible laptops are often less powerful than equivalent regular clamshell devices, and that’s the case here. Performance on the 14 Flip is very good, but not quite top notch.

While you do get Intel’s latest 13^th-gen CPUs, the Core i5-1340P and Core i7-1360P are far from the most powerful in the range. You’ll often find P-series chips on thin and light devices, but the H-series is significantly more capable. 

But the bigger limitation on performance is the integrated graphics. The 14 Flip uses Intel Iris Xe rather than a discrete GPU of any description, making it unsuitable for most content creation and demanding games. 

Alongside 8- or 16GB of DDR5 RAM, it can handle almost every other regular task, though. My daily workflow includes lots of web browsing, word processing, emails and the occasional video – with all often running at the same time.

The 14 Flip can cope with all these tasks without breaking a sweat. Combined with that 90Hz refresh rate, it’s a superb option for most everyday situations.

Performance on the 14 Flip is very good, but not quite top notch

In benchmarks, the 14 Flip keeps pace with a model of the Dell XPS 13 Plus that’s around £500 more expensive. But performance is similar to both a regular clamshell Zenbook and four of the best 2-in-1 laptops you can buy, all of which are around £200-£400 cheaper in the UK.

You can choose between 512GB and 1TB of SSD storage, although the former will be plenty for most people.

There’s nothing remarkable here in terms of connectivity, with Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5 but no 4G or 5G support. The option to stay connected while out and about would’ve been nice, but you can always hotspot from your phone. 

Battery & charging

• 75Wh battery
• All-day battery life for most people
• Decent charging speeds

Asus describes the Zenbook 14 Flip’s 75Wh battery as “class-leading”, although a similar capacity can be found in many rivals. 

The good news is that this laptop delivers above-average battery life that will satisfy all but the most demanding users. You should be able to get a full working day from a single charge, although it’s worth staying near a power source from late afternoon onwards. 

In our video loop battery test, the device lasted a respectable 13 hours and 18 minutes on a single charge. This simply serves as a measure of screen on time, as the brightness was set to a relatively low 120 nits and volume muted. But it means the 14 Flip ranks as one of the longer-lasting laptops we’ve tested. 

The 14 Flip ranks as one of the longer-lasting laptops we’ve tested

When it comes to charging, both USB-C ports support Power Delivery fast charging. Using the supplied power adapter (Asus doesn’t specify its wattage), I got 34% battery back in 30 minutes. A full charge took somewhere between 1 hour 45 mins and 2 hours. Considering the size of the battery, that’s pretty good. 

Software

• Windows 11 Home
• Frustrating extra software
• Timely updates for the foreseeable future

The Zenbook 14 Flip runs Windows 11 Home, and it’s very close to the version you’ll find on Microsoft’s own Surface devices. However, the same can be said for almost every Windows laptop, with the software tweaks nothing like you’ll see on Android. 

And in terms of extra pre-installed apps, Asus is one of the worst. Undoubtedly the most annoying is antivirus software McAfee, which opts you into a free trial and then repeatedly bugs you to pay for a subscription. Antivirus pop-ups are particularly jarring when the free Microsoft Defender app offers everything most people need.

Frustratingly, there are also occasional pop-up ads from the MyAsus companion app. It does at least offer tools for managing display, sound, battery and fans, but isn’t the most intuitive to use.

ScreenXpert is genuinely useful, acting as a hub for capturing content and moving around the operating system. But most of the tools it offers are already available elsewhere in Windows 11, and it probably won’t change the way you use the device. 

The bloatware can easily be removed, but it shouldn’t be there in the first place. 

The rest of the Windows 11 experience will be familiar to many people by now. Frequent updates since launch mean the touchscreen experience is impressive, while the option to run desktop apps on such a versatile device is great. It’s far from perfect, but other shortcomings are consistent across all Windows 11 devices. 

The bloatware can easily be removed, but it shouldn’t be there in the first place

Microsoft delivers software updates to all devices at roughly the same time, so you won’t have to wait long after general availability. If Windows 12 arrives as rumoured in 2024, the 14 Flip will almost certainly meet the hardware requirements – even if they’re stricter than Windows 11. 

Price & availability

Price is one of the big sticking points of the Zenbook 14 Flip, although it varies depending on where you’re based. 

In the US, only the Core i5-1340P model with 16GB of RAM is being sold for $999.99. 

Only the Core i7-1360P version I reviewed will be available in the UK, costing £1,499.99. A page for the device is live on the UK site,…