Asus ROG Flow Z13 ACRONYM review: it’s a lot

Sometimes I obtain one in all these weird little computer systems that Asus has executed in collaboration with somebody or different, and my senses are ever so barely overwhelmed. They made one with an animated exploding head on the lid. There was one which changed into a DJ deck. There was one covered in dogs.

However this newest launch — the ROG Circulation Z13 ACRNM — could be the wackiest one but to cross my desk. There isn’t any discernible theme, rhyme, or cause to it. It’s pure chaos, high to backside. Which, you realize what, positive. It’s 2023. Truthful sufficient.

The Circulation Z13 is the second collaboration between ROG and ACRONYM, an attire model that sells items like this $1,800…dress, I think? It’s a 13.4-inch gaming pill with a kickstand and removable keyboard — a gaming Surface Pro, for lack of a greater descriptor.

With a worth of $2,499.99, our Core i9 13900H/RTX 4070/16GB RAM/1TB SSD/2560 x 1600 mannequin check unit targets a reasonably area of interest viewers — on-the-go avid gamers with deep pockets and a deeper need to mission an edgily chaotic aesthetic. Most individuals shouldn’t be spending this a lot. If it’s the convertible pill you’re after, you possibly can trick out a Surface Pro 9 for $500 much less. If it’s gaming energy and portability you’re after, a really comparable Zephyrus G14 is even cheaper. However the Z13 serves its explicit, particular area of interest about in addition to a laptop computer can.

Listed below are some phrases that Asus makes use of in its press supplies to sum up the aesthetic it’s going for right here:

• “A redefinition of cell computing”
• “Superbly refined but uncooked”
• “Really distinctive machine”
• “A hands-free dream machine”
• “A useful but putting murals”

It’s avant garde, that’s for positive. Each time I have a look at this factor, I spot one thing else. The underside is roofed in logos and typography (and so they’re not simply stickers; they’re laser-etched into the metallic). The darkish leather-based cowl sports activities a funky-looking form as properly. I can’t say I actually know what any of them are. If any of you usually take ayahuasca and anticipate that you just’re conscious of their deeper non secular that means, be at liberty to let me know within the feedback.

The rear is dotted with rubber pads, which do look a little bit bit humorous, however will even do a strong job of preserving the machine in place when you’re making an attempt to lie it down on a desk. The corners have “drop-resistant crashworthy bumpers”. There’s additionally a strap you could connect to the corners with a purpose to sling the factor over your shoulder like a briefcase. Let’s simply say I’m very glad this didn’t come out whereas I used to be in faculty, as a result of I completely would’ve traipsed round campus with this dangling round my entrance like a fanny pack. The cool children would’ve bullied me, and rightly so.

Eclectic design apart, it is a 13-inch pill with an RTX 4070 and an H-Sequence Core i9 inside. That’s extremely uncommon — these are the sorts of chips you usually anticipate to see in a lot greater gaming rigs. The keyboard is removable; the kickstand just isn’t. Mentioned kickstand permits for each vertical and horizontal orientations, a characteristic Asus has lengthy been satisfied that individuals want. I’ve no use for a 16:10 Home windows pill in vertical orientation, however extra energy to you when you do.

Now, the Z13 just isn’t notably transportable as tablets go. At 2.91 kilos and 0.61 inches thick, it’s hardly an iPad, and it’s not the kind of factor I’d essentially wish to deliver up for an hour-long presentation. Nonetheless, when selecting between carrying this factor in my backpack and carrying, say, a Titan GT77, I’d select this one any day. I used this for some sofa and cafe work, and will match it onto these crowded work surfaces with no drawback.

One different factor to name out: the show. This mannequin’s has a 165Hz refresh fee and 2560 x 1600 decision. It’s fairly vibrant. Quite a few completely different shade modes had been obtainable for numerous several types of video games, and I discovered that they improved the viewing expertise. The 13.4-inch display is a bit small for taking part in most video games, and I needed to squint at some home windows right here and there, however no less than the QHD decision delivers sharp particulars.

So these are the bells and whistles. Right here’s what it’s like to make use of the factor.

The Z13, properly, you realize. It’s a 13-inch pill. So, bearing that in thoughts, the body charges had been positive.

Specifically, it had no drawback working demanding titles at its native QHD decision. I noticed a mean of 232fps on CS:GO and 55fps on Pink Lifeless Redemption 2, with each titles at most settings. These are each higher outcomes than we noticed from last year’s Zephyrus G14 (which was a full-fledged conventional gaming laptop computer, not one in all these pill issues). They’re not stunningly good to the purpose the place they’re blowing different premium gaming laptops out of the water, and Asus has clearly needed to kneecap the (it’s fed simply 65W of energy — sure, it may well run that low) RTX 4070 to squeeze it into this chassis. It’s a bit like having packed a whole faculty dorm room into the trunk of a sedan. Certain, you probably did it, however at what price?

However I digress. All through, I used to be pleasantly stunned by how properly the machine was in a position to preserve its temperature down. I didn’t see many spikes above 70 levels Celsius as I performed. The good factor about this way issue, too, is that regardless how sizzling the chassis will get, it’s usually not going to switch to the keyboard or palm rests and impression your gaming expertise.

For an extra charge, people may join the machine to the XG Cell, a line of exterior GPUs that ought to ship considerably increased body charges. You possibly can at the moment get one in all these for around $1,000.

Oh, and the Z13 helps Nvidia’s Superior Optimus. This primarily operates your MUX change for you routinely — it would flip the built-in GPU off while you’re gaming and switch it again on (and switch the discrete GPU off) while you’re executed gaming, which saves you from having to dig by means of your laptop computer’s settings to do this manually. Good! Enjoyable! Like to see it.

Should you had been anticipating this machine to have glorious battery life, bless your coronary heart, but it surely has no such factor. I averaged 4 and a half hours of steady work use, which concerned bouncing round 20-ish Chrome tabs, streaming Spotify, Slacking, and such. I did get a greater battery gaming outcome than I’d anticipated to, eking out about 48 minutes of Pink Lifeless Redemption 2 play to at least one cost. The included 130W adapter can juice the machine as much as 50 % in half-hour, per Asus’s estimates.

Common readers of my opinions may anticipate a diatribe right here about how glorious battery life ought to be a baseline expectation for a transportable machine, however truthfully, I don’t have it in me. I do know that individuals aren’t shopping for this for glorious battery life or top-of-the-line body charges; they’re shopping for this as a result of it appears prefer it simply fell down from outer house. As properly they need to.

I’ve been an open-minded non-curmudgeon the entire means by means of this overview, so I hope you’ll enable me to grump about one factor. I simply can’t with the keyboard. It’s an excessive amount of.

The keys comprise what Asus refers to as “Acronym’s personal customized alphabet”. I’m completely happy to be taught that Acronym has an alphabet of its personal. Sadly, it’s not the alphabet I have to sort with for work.

I’m a really competent contact typist in relation to phrases. After I have to, for instance, sort a quantity on the Z13, it turns into a scavenger hunt. It’s not that the actual numbers aren’t on the Z13’s keys, however they’re buried in a dump of so many different symbols and colours and zany doodads that my eyes couldn’t discover them instinctively. Different issues simply aren’t delineated. For instance, the important thing that lowers the brightness is labeled “DARK” and has a little bit faint grid on it. I perceive what you’re going for, Acronym, however I simply need the common brightness icon. You possibly can jazz up the brightness icon. Simply give me the brightness icon.

Wacky designs are a beautiful factor till they start to encroach on the on a regular basis operate of a tool. Kooky laptops are laptops first. The Zephyrus G14 Acronym (which I raved about upon its release) labeled its keyboard keys in a storybook-esque font that made them simpler, not tougher, to learn. It sprinkled different decorations across the keycaps, however they had been clearly and clearly delineated from the keys’ actual precise labels.

Eye-popping designs are nice, and this machine is a novel providing you received’t discover anyplace else in the marketplace. I love merchandise which can be unapologetically themselves, whether or not motion pictures or clothes or client know-how. However the fundamentals can not fall by the wayside. And I hope firms, as they proceed to innovate, do not forget that.