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ASUS laptop buying guide: ASUS' laptop lineup explained

If you want something that can handle games or professional photo and video work, choose one with a dedicated graphics card.
By

Published onAugust 11, 2023

ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo lid profile

When it comes to computers, ASUS offers some of the best hardware out there. ASUS has some particularly great laptop offerings — among the best options for Windows laptops you can find in the market right now.

The catch is that there are multiple ASUS laptop families, each populated with various models targeted at different use cases and price points. It can be hard to pick the best option. To help with that, we’ve created this ASUS laptop buyer’s guide, breaking down the lineup.

Note however that we’re intentionally excluding ASUS’ TUF and Republic of Gamers (ROG) sub-brands. While those offer some of the company’s most powerful specs, their audience is obvious — gamers — and the best model is inevitably the most expensive one you can afford.

ASUS Vivobook series

ASUS describes Vivobooks as “colorful, bold, and youthful” with “innovative and thoughtful design,” but let’s be clear — that mostly translates to general-purpose laptops, though you can get gaming-quality performance on Pro models, and there are a handful of convertible and tablet options.

Vivobook

If you’re mostly just concerned with a good-looking machine for tasks like web browsing, work, and streaming video, this is the way to go. There are 14-, 15, and 16-inch models, with configurations including Intel- or AMD- based CPUs and up to 1TB of SSD storage. There are even a number of models with OLED displays, offering improved colors and contrast.

If you want maximum performance, your best bet is the Vivobook 16X OLED. Its top-end configuration includes a 13th gen Intel Core i9 H45 chip, up to 32GB of RAM, and most importantly a dedicated graphics card in the form of an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060. The 4060 isn’t NVIDIA’s most powerful card, but it’s more than good enough to play games like Cyberpunk 2077 or PUBG with smooth framerates.

Vivobook S

Effectively, the S here stands for Slim. If you go this route you’ll be sacrificing performance options such as dedicated graphics for a thinner profile and lighter weight. You can still get 14-, 15-, and 16-inch sizes though, and some models are equipped with OLED displays. That includes S Flip laptops, which have a 360-degree display hinge.
The top-of-the-line model is the Vivobook S 16 Flip OLED, which currently has a 13th gen Intel Core i9 processor, up to 16GB of RAM, and up to 1TB of SSD storage. It also includes stylus support, say if you want to take sketch notes during class or a meeting.
ASUS Vivobook S 16 Flip OLED (TP3604)
ASUS Vivobook S 16 Flip OLED (TP3604)

Vivobook Pro

ASUS vivobook Pro at CES 2023 5
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority

While the “Pro” moniker is overused, there’s some merit here, since you might legitimately use one of these for tasks like video editing, 3D rendering, or music production. Many models have OLED displays, and all of them have options for dedicated graphics cards by NVIDIA. As before, there are 14-, 15-, and 16-inch sizes.

Configured to the hilt, the Vivobook Pro 16X 3D OLED is honestly impressive, sporting a 3.2K, 120Hz OLED panel, a Core i9 HX55 processor, 64GB of DDR5 RAM, dual Thunderbolt 4 ports, and a 2TB SSD paired with an M.2 expansion slot. The graphics card available is an GeForce RTX 4070, which is about as good as you can get without spending a fortune.

ASUS Vivobook Pro 16X 3D OLED (K6604)
ASUS Vivobook Pro 16X 3D OLED (K6604)

Vivobook Flip

This includes both S and non-S convertibles, but at the moment, you probably shouldn’t bother with the latter unless you’re trying to save money. They tend to have have outdated processors and be slightly bulkier. All Flips come only in 14- or 16-inch formats.

The best Flip is the Vivobook S 16 Flip OLED, which we covered earlier.

Vivobook Go

Even moreso than the S collection, the Go series is meant to be light and compact. There are 12-, 14-, and 15-inch options, and they all have low specs, even in their optimal configurations. Don’t expect to do much beyond web browsing and basic productivity, in other words. You can at least get models with attractive OLED displays.

Consider the Vivobook Go 15 OLED, which peaks with a Core i3-N305 chip, up to 8GB of DDR4 RAM, and 512GB of storage. There are Chromebooks with superior performance, so we’d probably look elsewhere.

Vivobook Slate

All Slates are 13.3-inch Windows tablets with OLED displays, stylus support, and detachable keyboards. They’re somewhere in between Microsoft’s Surface Go and Surface Pro. That means they don’t have much in the way of specs, so check out a Slate only if portability trumps everything else.

The max Slate configuration includes a Core i3 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 512GB of storage. It supports both Dolby Vision HDR and Dolby Atmos audio, but don’t expect to get much oomph from its quad internal speakers.

ASUS Vivobook 13 Slate OLED (T3304)
ASUS Vivobook 13 Slate OLED (T3304)

ASUS Zenbook series

This is probably ASUS’ best-known laptop family. Superficially there are a lot of similarities with Vivobooks, but you’ll see options here that you won’t see elsewhere, including the dual-screen Zenbook Duo and the foldable Zenbook Fold. All Zenbooks are built to be thin and light, though Pro models can deliver serious speed.

Zenbook

Asus Zenbook 14
The standard Zenbook has 13-, 14-, and 15-inch sizes, some equipped with OLED displays, or your choice of an Intel or AMD CPU. There’s honestly nothing too remarkable, but that may be the point — this is what you choose when you simply want a well-rounded laptop.
A fully-equipped Zenbook 14X OLED includes a 13th gen Core i9 processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 graphics, 32GB of RAM, and a 1TB SSD. The OLED panel has 2.8K resolution with a 120Hz refresh rate, so it should look undeniably good.

Zenbook S

If a regular Zenbook is somehow too big, there’s the S series.  These are even thinner and lighter, dropping performance to compensate. Some Zenbook Flips fall under the S category as well. In any case, size options are limited to 13.3 and 13.9 inches.
The ultimate model is a Zenbook S 13 OLED with a 13th gen Core i7 processor, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, and two Thunderbolt 4/USB-C ports. You’re stuck with Intel’s integrated Iris Xe graphics, so don’t expect to play Call of Duty.

Zenbook Pro

If you like the design of the Zenbooks but need something with a dedicated graphics card, that’s where Pro models come in. To make things complicated, there are also Flip and Duo variants, the former being convertibles and the second having a smaller second screen. All Pros are sized around 14 or 15 inches.
Interestingly enough, if you want the best performance, you have to forego Duo features. The Zenbook Pro 16X OLED comes with a 13th gen Core i9-13905H processor, 32GB of RAM, 2TB of SSD storage, and NVIDIA’s scorching-fast GeForce RTX 4080 graphics card.
ASUS Zenbook Pro 16X OLED (UX7602)
ASUS Zenbook Pro 16X OLED (UX7602)

Zenbook Flip

All Zenbook Flips have a 360-degree hinge and stylus support, the idea being that you can prop them up for sketching, handwriting, and similar tasks. There are 13-, 14-, and 15-inch sizes, and as mentioned, some of them are Pros as well.
The top non-Pro Flip is the Zenbook 14 Flip OLED. Fully equipped it uses a 13th gen Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB of storage. You’re limited to integrated Iris Xe graphics.
ASUS Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (UP3404)
ASUS Zenbook 14 Flip OLED (UP3404)

Zenbook Duo

ASUS ZenBook Duo 15
There are only two Duos, but the party trick in each case is a second, keyboard-mounted display, letting you keep an eye on things like email or Spotify while reserving the main screen for your most important tasks.
The one up-to-date Duo is the Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED, which can be configured up to a 13th gen Core i9 processor, 32GB of RAM, 2TB of storage, and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4060 graphics. The secondary screen tilts up at an angle when you lift the lid.
ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED (UX8402)
ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED (UX8402)

Zenbook Fold

asus zenbook 17 fold foldable screen laptop desktop mode25
Bogdan Petrovan / Android Authority
There’s just one Fold, and you should probably skip it, but it’s a genuinely interesting experiment. It’s a 17.3-inch OLED touchscreen tablet, and can switch between several different modes depending on how you fold it and whether you have a keyboard connected. You can even sit the keyboard on top of part of the display if you want a more traditional laptop.
Maxed-out, the Fold has a 12th gen Core i7 processor, 16GB of RAM, 1TB of SSD storage, and Iris Xe graphics. There’s a Thunderbolt 4/USB-C connector, which you’ll probably want to connect a Thunderbolt dock to if you plan to use the Fold as a true desktop PC.
ASUS Zenbook 17 Fold OLED (UX9702)
ASUS Zenbook 17 Fold OLED (UX9702)

ASUS Chromebook

The ASUS Chromebook Flip C436 from the front showing the keyboard and screen.

Chromebooks have gained a ton of traction in recent years, being a cheap alternative to conventional laptops that mostly limit you to the web. We won’t go into depth here — we have a dedicated list of the best ASUS Chromebooks — but it’s worth mentioning that on top of standard designs, ASUS has Flip, Detachable, and Vibe collections.

The Vibe and Detachable options are probably the most interesting, the former being aimed at cloud gaming, and the latter behaving something like a Microsoft Surface, with a tablet mode and support for the ASUS Pen.

ASUS ProArt StudioBook

ASUS ProArt StudioBook graphic
Asus

The average person shouldn’t even consider a ProArt Studiobook. As the name implies, Studiobooks are aimed at professionals in photography, video, or illustration, so they all have higher-end graphics cards and maximally color-accurate displays. They also support colossal amounts of internal storage, though realistically pros will keep the bulk of their content on external drives. All recent models have 16-inch OLED displays.

If you want to go all-out, the ProArt Studiobook 16 3D OLED can be equipped with a Core i9-13980HX processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 4070 graphics, 64GB of RAM, and a whopping 8TB of SSD storage. There’s a Thunderbolt 4/USB-C connector, but we wouldn’t expect any less.

ASUS ProArt Studiobook 16 3D OLED (H7604)
ASUS ProArt Studiobook 16 3D OLED (H7604)

Picking the best ASUS laptop for you

Picking the right laptop shouldn’t be too difficult if you know what you’ll be using it for. For web browsing and most work tasks, just about any recent Vivobook or Zenbook will do. If you want something for professional photo, video, or art work, consider ASUS’s higher-end Pro machines, or even its TUF and ROG brands. Anything capable of handling photorealistic 3D games at 60fps can smash through Photoshop with ease.

How you'll use your laptop, its form factor, and your budget are some of the most important factors to consider when picking the best ASUS laptop for your needs.

We’d probably steer clear of Chromebooks unless you know you can get away with a purely web-based device. Indeed Chromebooks are often best as secondary laptops, something to fall back on when the first is out of reach or temporarily unusable.


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