Asus Vivobook 15 is one of the newest laptops from Asus. It has a lot of new features that are not available on other Asus laptop models, but it’s also half as expensive as most Asus models. The Vivobook 15 comes with an i7-8550u quad-core processor, 8 gigabytes of ram, and 256 gigabytes solid-state drive. There is no dedicated graphics card, so you won’t be playing games or editing videos on this laptop. However, for most users who just need to browse the web and write documents, the Asus Vivobook 15 is perfect!
- Display Size: 15.6 Inches
- Resolution: 1920X1080 P
- Processor: 1920X1080 Pixels
- RAM: 8 GB
- Hard Drive: 512 GB SSD
- Series: VivoBook 15
- Brand: ASUS
- Operating System: Windows 10 Home
- Battery Life: 5 hours
The Asus VivoBook 15 (2021) delivers an affordable, yet premium look that fits well with its price tag. The overall size and weight of this laptop surprised me because it’s smaller than expected given the screen size or other features such as gaming laptops – 13 inches seems more standard these days!
The laptop is a bit of an oddball because it’s not really designed for heavier work like gaming or video editing. However, if you’re looking to do some light web browsing and document writing with minimal else on your mind then this will be sufficient enough!
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Asus VivoBook 15 (2021) Price and configuration options?
The VivoBook 15 is a great laptop for the price. It has an Intel Core i3-1005G1 processor, 8GB of RAM, and 128GB SSD with UHD graphics to play games or does other heavy-duty work on it!
There is one other Intel variant of the VivoBook 15 F512 available, which steps you up to an i5-1035G1 CPU and 512GB storage for $599. Alternatively, there’s an AMD option: The F512DA includes Ryzen 7 3700U processor with 256 gigs hard drive capacity at only $649!
Asus VivoBook 15 (2021) Design
The Asus VivoBook 15 (2021) is a sleek, black Windows laptop that offers the same premium feel as its higher-end ZenBooks. It has an all-steel chassis construction with a textured finish and silver metal accents on top of its Slate Gray body which really makes for some nice contrast when placed side by side next to one another or sitting alone on your desk at home!
The ErgoLift Hinge angles the keyboard deck slightly upward for a superior typing experience. The interior of the laptop carries over the same finish as on top, including an attached color-matched trackpad with a fingerprint sensor while also getting some texture changes around its sides; these are probably there to avoid contact when closed or open because they include recessed areas where fingers will go without interference from displays inside laptops like this one instead which has minimal bezels all along each side (NanoEdge).
The VivoBook 15 isn’t going to be a challenge for premium thin and light laptops, but it compares favorably with other 15-inch laptops in this price range. It comes just a hair lighter than our top choice for best notebooks under $500– Acer Aspire 5 (3 pounds)and HP15 Laptop(4 pounds), thanks to its thinner dimensions that will fit into slightly more compact bags too!
If you haven’t converted to an all-USB Type-C life, then the bounty of ports on this laptop will be a welcome sight as it offers solid options.
Asus VivoBook 15 (2021) Ports
The left side of my laptop is sparse with just two traditional USB Type-A ports, both at a sluggish 2.0 speed but things get more interesting on the other side!
The Asus VivoBook 15 is a sleek and stylish laptop, perfect for the working professional. It features an elegant power jack on one side as well as two USB Type-A ports (one of which can be used with charging), an HDMI 2.0 port, a headphone/mic combo jack along with another microSD card slot!
This is a great setup for those who need the extra USB Type-C port, and it’s affordable. If you want Ethernet or a full-size SD card reader though we recommend checking out our best hubs page!
The Asus VivoBook 15 (2020) has everything you need to get work done, whether at home or on the go. It features an HDMI 2.0 port, USB 3 ports for all your devices with Type-A capability as well as a microSD card slot!
This is an excellent setup for those who need to use two USB Type-A ports, but it does lack the power and versatility of more advanced setups. If you’re looking for something with RJ45 Ethernet or a full-size SD card reader we recommend checking out our best hubs page!
Asus VivoBook 15 (2021) display
The VivoBook 15’s screen is a bright and colorful 1080p panel, but the colors are dull when compared with other laptops in this category.
The VivoBook 15 struggles to capture the vivid reds of Mulan’s costume and leaves its rich environments feeling drab. The screen also has an aggressive sweet spot; if you get just a bit off-center in any direction, images will fall off quickly as well!
I was really pleased to see that even though our test laptop’s display only reaches 65% of the sRGB color gamut, it still came in with an average score higher than most other laptops. It beat out Acer Aspire 5 (63%) and HP15 Laptop (67%) but lags behind 85%.
The Asus VivoBook 15 is a powerhouse in the low light department, but it still can’t compete with some other laptops. The Acer Aspire 5 (258 nits) and HP15 Laptop (222), both had better brightness measurements than this device which only managed to deliver 205 nit readings!
Keyboard and Touchpad
I was surprised that I could type so slowly on the VivoBook 15, but after averaging 80 words per minute with an average speed of 86 wpm it became clear why this laptop is uncomfortable. The 1-4 mm key travel wasn’t more satisfying either – instead, they were mushy and lacked any bounce at all that would help you move your fingers from one key to another!
I really liked the backlighting on this keyboard, it made for an easy low-light typing experience. The key spacing is excellent and I thought they were pretty big compared to most keyboards which are too small these days!
The touchpad is large enough for basic navigation and Windows 10 gestures, but I did run into a couple of things that weren’t so great about them. Clicking doesn’t feel great on either side; instead, it creates an awkward flex across the exterior of this panel which makes me question where my finger will end up when pressing down hard in order to click (and also if there’s any chance at all someone could steal your information!). Additionally, adding fingerprint sensors onto both sides seems like more trouble than it’s worth considering most people only use one side anyway!
Asus VivoBook 15 (2021) audio
There are dual bottom-firing speakers on the VivoBook 15, but they can’t produce any meaningful bass.
The vocals on “Snowchild” by The Weeknd are clear, but I could barely hear them with the laptop speakers. A better option would be if you had some good headphones or an excellent sound system in your house instead of this notebook!
How To Asus VivoBook 15 (2021) perform?
The Intel Core i3 processor paired with 8GB of RAM doesn’t sound impressive, but the laptop loaded two dozen Google Chrome tabs including YouTube videos running 1080p and Twitch streams without a stutter as I jumped between them. Obviously, this isn’t your typical gaming machine.
The Asus VivoBook 15 is not a great computer for gaming or anything that requires heavy work. The Geekbench 5 score of 2,399 was significantly lower than the average in this category at 3XXX with an Acer Aspire 5742 and way behind even more so when you compare it to its competition like the Acer Aspire 5 which achieved almost double what they got while only scoring 2794 points on their test!
Our Handbrake video transcoding test, which requires the laptop to convert a 4K video clip into 1080p resolution takes more than 30 minutes on some computers. The VivoBook 15 finished at 28:33 while it took Acer’s Aspire 5 at 21:55 – FINISH and HP Laptop 25 Min 53 secs., so if you need to perform some conversion work urgently this may be your lucky day!
Graphics
The VivoBook 15 has a lower-end graphics card that will not play demanding games If you want a gaming PC and can afford it (or plan on getting one), we recommend our best cheap laptops for gamers instead!
The VivoBook 15 only managed 8 frames per second on Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm, well shy of our 30-fps playability threshold.
Asus VivoBook 15 (2021) Battery Life
Depending on what you do with your laptop, the VivoBook 15 might not last as long. During our test of continuous Web surfing over Wi-Fi at 150 nits brightness and 5 hours 20 minutes into it, we found that this particular model only lasted 5 hrs before dying due to low battery life. This is well below all other budget laptops in an average use case where they can go up to 6:39 hours!
Asus VivoBook 15 (2021) Camera
In today’s world, one can never be too careful about security. In this case, the Asus VivoBook 15 is an excellent reminder to pick up an external webcam because video conferencing and chat apps make it easy for people from all over to join in on your conversations with ease of use that doesn’t require a phone or laptop screen.
The 720p camera on the smartphone is a major letdown. It produces low-resolution images that lack detail and clarity, even in bright light!
Asus VivoBook 15 (2021) Heat
The exhaust vent that runs the length of this laptop’s back edge coupled with three vents at the bottom was enough to keep it cool during our heat test.
The VivoBook 15’s cooling system is a hit with users. While the touchpad stayed at 72 degrees Fahrenheit, other parts of it got toastier and hotter than what we would consider comfortable for long-term use. The hottest spot on our unit was next to its rear vent which never exceeded 95°F–a great feat.
How to Asus VivoBook 15 Software and Warranty?
Asus doesn’t overload you with proprietary software or even much bloatware. There is no Candy Crush insight, for example; but it does offer a MyAsus app to provide information regarding your warranty and service options as well as access some system utilities through AudioWizard (a useful little program).
You can use the Asus app to tweak your hardware settings for either iOS or Android, including a tab that will offer deals on some apps like Adobe Suite. It also walks you through installing and connecting it with an account from their website which allows varying degrees of control over smartphones running iOS or Android operating systems (depending upon what they want).
The VivoBook 15 comes with a free and easy way to switch from Windows 10 S Mode, but you have the option of going back if full access is what you really need.
The Asus VivoBook 15 is backed by a one-year limited warranty. We put it through its paces in our Tech Support Showdown and Best & Worst Brands special reports to see how the company fares on general customer service measures.
Bottom line
The Asus VivoBook 15 is a sleek and stylish laptop but the performance just doesn’t cut it for $399. The display looks great in terms of an understated bezel experience until you turn on your computer because when that happens all light emitted from the screen goes away leaving behind dimmer colors with poor viewing angles.
The ErgoLift and the keyboard’s angle make for a nice experience, but it is undercut by how spongy those keys are.
The poor battery life of the VivoBook 15 is definitely its biggest drawback, but if you don’t need to lug your laptop around then that might not be much of an issue for some people. It’s also pretty heavy and bulky which may make it difficult or inconvenient depending on where in everyday usage one plan on using their computer at home versus working outside-of-work hours.
Conclusion:
This is not the laptop you want for gaming, but if your needs are more web-based and less graphically demanding, it’s an excellent option. Asus managed to pack a lot of power into this 15-inch machine without sacrificing battery life or weight. The Intel Core i3 processor paired with 8GB of RAM will make multitasking easy on Chrome tabs as well as other programs that don’t require heavy graphics requirements like YouTube videos running at 1080p or Twitch streams. If your needs are primarily web-based and low graphic intensive, then the VivoBook 15 might be perfect for you!
