Tech Advisor - UK (2021-05)

MAY 2021 • TECH ADVISOR 37

The only available finish
is Jade Black, which comes
accompanied by diamond-cut
copper highlights around the
edge of the chassis and display.
The cut corners look the
part, signalling that premium
aesthetic without quite crossing
over into garish. They are a
bit... well, if not sharp, then
definitely angular, however.
You’ll notice the edges jutting
into your palms and wrists – notto
the point of pain, but occasionally
discomfort. There’s certainly some
element of form over function here.
The same can’t be said for thesize
of the laptop, where the two meetquite
naturally. At 1.2kg, it’s not the lightest
device on the market, but it’s easyto
carry – though, like most 2-in-1s,it never
quite feels light enough to comfortably
use one-handed as a tablet.
At just 13.9mm thick, it’s also
undeniably slim. Again, it’s not the
slimmest around, but that’s for good
reason, as Asus has maintainedan
(almost) full complement of ports.
There’s USB 3.2, HDMI, and twoUSB-C
ports, both packed with Thunderbolt
4 support and capable of chargingthe
device – though annoyingly they’reboth
on the same side, when I’d ratherhavea
charging option on either side.

Whatthereisn’t,andI’mhonestly

baffledby the omission,is a headphone

jack.I’velongagoacceptedthatmost

phonesnolongersupport3.5mm

headphones,buttoseeit droppedfrom

a laptopthatclearlyhasspaceforports

is a touchconcerning.

I mostlyusewirelessheadphones,

butappreciatethewiredoption,and

it seemsespeciallyoddona device

clearlypartlytargetedatcreatives–

forwhoma reliableaudioconnection

is especiallyimportant.Asusdoes

includeanadapterdongle(alongwith

anotherforEthernet), but that’s still an

unnecessary inconvenience.

KEYBOARD

I like but don’t love the keyboard on the

ZenBook Flip S. It’s a comfortable size,

though the keys get a touch cramped

towards the edges – that is at least partly

Asus offers an (almost) full complement of ports.