Microsoft’sCopilot+ PCinitiative is concentrate first on support for AI with faster neural processing units ( NPUs ) . Copilot+ was first bring out on Qualcomm ’s Snapdragon X chipsets running Windows on Arm , promising full efficiency than Intel with good performance . So far , the upshot have been mixed but mostly positivist — with Apple ’s Arm - base M3 laptops retain their superior battery life even while being a bit dense .
The Asus Vivobook S 15 is another Qualcomm - based Copilot+ PC , derive in an one-time - school 16:9 aspect ratio for a wider laptop . It ’s fast and gets good shelling life , and it ’s moderately priced . If you ’re okay with the trend - bucking display , then it ’s a reasonable alternative in a15 - inch laptopmeeting the CoPilot+ specifications .
Specs and configurations
There are currently two configurations of the Vivobook S 15 , set out at $ 1,100 for a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus chipset , 16 GB of RAM , a 512 GB SSD , and a 15.6 - inch 3 K OLED display . For $ 1,300 list ( on sale for the same $ 1,100 ) , you get a Snapdragon X elect chipset and a 1 TB SSD .
That ’s a fair price for a well - equipped 15 - inch laptop , and it ’s like in Leontyne Price to most of the new Microsoft CoPilot+ PC laptops . It ’s about $ 100 more than theDell Inspiron 14 Plus 7441with the same Snapdragon X Plus chipset that does n’t have an OLED presentation . TheSamsung Galaxy Book4 Edgeis considerably more expensive , cost at least $ 1,500 for a Snapdragon X Elite and a 16 - inch 3 K OLED display , so at least $ 300 more .
Design
The Vivobook is within the Asus midrange laptop lineup , as oppose to the more premium Zenbook lineup — although that ’s not always reflected in pricing . The very goodZenbook 14 Q425 , for object lesson , can be had for well under $ 1,000 . Sometimes , Vivobooks provide good performance at lower prices . So , it ’s backbreaking to pigeonhole the Vivobook S 15 .
The rationality I fetch that up is because one thing I immediately comment was that the Vivobook does n’t experience as premium as most Zenbooks I ’ve review . In particular , the lid is quite bendable , and there ’s some give in the form and keyboard deck . Zenbooks run to be more rock - solid . It fall a bit behind some other Copilot+ microcomputer laptops like the Inspiron 14 Plus 7441 , theHP OmniBook X , and theLenovo Yoga Slim 7x .
Aesthetically , the Vivobook S 15 follows suit of clothes with so many other late laptops with very simple lines , single color mode ( in this suit , all black ) , and little or no chrome . As with almost all laptops today , the Vivobook is attractive enough but plays it safe . The Yoga Slim 7x has more type , while the Inspiron 14 Plus is even more nondescript . To say the Vivobook S 15 looks just OK seems average .
It ’s reasonably tenuous and lite , in note with most Copilot+ laptop computer . In fact , it ’s almost identical to the Inspiron 14 Plus . But it ’s larger , plainly , hand the 15.6 - column inch show and big top and bottom display bezel ( the side are quite thin ) . And the Vivobook S 15 looks very old - schoolhouse thanks to the 16:9 exhibit look proportion that makes it seem across-the-board and more rectangular ( because it is ) . I seldom review a laptop computer that ’s not 16:10 or 3:2 , and so the Vivobook takes me back a number .
Keyboard and touchpad
The keyboard has gravid keycaps and enough , select up most of the usable space on the wide keyboard deck . The numeric keypad , which is becoming anachronistic , is quite lowly and so the Vivobook leverage its wider frame for a keyboard that ’s comfortable to use . My biggest trouble with it is that the switch are a bit free and feel sort of wobbly to me . They also were n’t as alert as some , making it feel a piece mushy . Every other Copilot+ laptop computer I ’ve review has a undecomposed keyboard .
The touchpad was turgid enough and its clit were reasonably quiet . I ’d range it as standardised to most mechanically skillful touchpads I ’ve reexamine lately , but more and more laptops are travel to the immensely ranking haptic touchpads . Maybe it ’s all about price points , but only theDell XPS 13 9345has a tactile version among Copilot+ laptop computer I ’ve reviewed .
Connectivity and webcam
The Vivobook S 15 has self-colored connectivity , with a admixture of modern and bequest ports . cave in the Qualcomm chipset , we ’re seeing USB4 and not Intel ’s Thunderbolt 4 , but the two protocols are alike in amphetamine and capabilities . Then there ’s a microSD card reader , which some laptops have been skitter — although I always prefer a full - size time slot . Wireless connectivity is fully up - to - engagement with the in vogue Wi - Fi 7 .
The webcam is 1080p , which has become the new standard , and there ’s an infrared camera for Windows 11 Hello facial acknowledgment . The fast NPU with up to 45 tera trading operations per second ( top side ) exceeds the Copilot+ spec of 40 upside , and right now it supports Copilot+ feature article like enhanced Microsoft Studio Effects , Live Captions , andCocreator . The controversialRecallfeature , which was the standout when the Copilot+ PC enterprise was harbinger , remains on custody . Asus also include a master of ceremonies of utilities that might use the NPU to some extent , but it ’s hard to measure at this point .
Performance
accord to the Asus web site , Vivobook S 15 is supposed to equip either a Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus X1P-64 - 100 or the Snapdragon X Elite X1E-78 - 100 . However , my review unit of measurement arrived with the Snapdragon X Plus X1P-42 - 100 , a newer model that ’s been slipstreamed into the Snapdragon X Plus lineup . That ’s the slow Snapdragon X chipset , with eight cores running at 3.4GHz . That ’s per various on-line sources and not from Qualcomm ’s situation , which does n’t yet lean this model . It compares to the Snapdragon X Plus X1P-64 - 100 that we ’ve review , which features 10 cores running at 3.4GHz . Neither chipset has the two-fold - core cost increase of the faster Snapdragon X Elite chipsets . The X1P-42 - 100 also has the slowest Adreno GPU running at 1.7 teraflops ( TFLOPS ) , behind the 3.8 or 4.6 TFLOPS of the fast chipsets .
Surprisingly , the Vivobook S 15 was much fast than the Inspiron 14 Plus with the theoretically riotous Snapdragon X Plus chipset . The Vivobook was almost as fast as some Snapdragon X Elite machines . So that ’s knockout to understand . We do see , though , the encroachment of the slower Adreno GPU in the 3DMark Wild Life Extreme benchmark .
That intend the Vivobook S 15 will be very fast for productivity tasks , but it will be even slower than the already - slow Snapdragon X laptops for gaming and originative task . The alternative of chipsets is an leftover one for a laptop computer with a large OLED display that will be attractive to anyone wanting to use the laptop for photo or picture editing .
One matter we ca n’t yet determine is how well the Vivobook S 15 — or any other Copilot+ laptop computer — will perform at lean AI tasks . The on - board NPU is loyal as far as NPUs go , but those are mostly signify for move AI on - gadget and more expeditiously . distinct GPUs stay much quicker . The challenge , though , is in how to benchmark AI performance . Current tools are n’t quite there yet , exit us fret our heads .
Battery life
I ’ve include a bunch of comparison laptops here , because perhaps the most authoritative scene of the Qualcomm chipsets is that they ’re Arm - based and thus promise well efficiency than old Intel and AMD chipsets . As we can see , that ’s largely true — although the Intel laptop computer I ’ve include here have better - than - average battery life for the Intel Meteor Lake platform . Most Intel laptop computer get around eight hours in web browse and around 12 time of day of video iteration .
The Vivobook S 15 fits the pattern , getting very adept barrage aliveness in web browsing and even better in video iteration . At the same time , it ’s also clear that as you push the Qualcomm laptops harder , their relative efficiency drops off . That ’s demonstrated when running the demanding Cinebench 2024 multi - core psychometric test , although the Vivobook does reasonably well . TheApple MacBook Air M3remains the most efficient laptop computer , especially with more demanding task .
Display and audio
As mentioned above , the Vivobook S 15 has a wide 16:9 display , which has pretty much given means entirely to the taller 16:10 . If you want to check TV without blackened molding , then you ’ll like the OLED presentation . Of course , most people also want to get workplace done , and that ’s why tall presentation have become almost universal .
I ca n’t complain about the OLED board ’s quality , though . I have yet to review a laptop with an OLED video display that was anything less than awesome . The Vivobook ’s exhibit did n’t disappoint . It was very bright at 415 nits with the usual perfect black and an excellent contrast ratio of 28,230:1 . Colors were typically all-inclusive at 100 % of sRGB , 97 % of AdobeRGB , and 100 % of DCI - P3 , and colouring accuracy was just a haircloth above first-class at a Delta - E of 1.13 .
You ’ll roll in the hay this video display , especially if you watch a deal of video .
Audio was just all right , with two down - fuel speakers . practice headphones or an external speakers for anything more than YouTube TV .
A reasonably priced Copilot+ laptop if you want a larger display
Most Copilot+ laptop computer have been 14 inches or small , leaving out those look for a larger showing . There ’s a compromise in the 16:9 aspect proportion , so anyone who wants the good productiveness experience will be disappoint . It ’s great for media consumption , though .
carrying out is surprisingly good given the slower Snapdragon X Plus chipset , while barrage animation is dependable but not nearly the best . And the Leontyne Price is reasonably attractive , but again , not a standout . But for now , it ’s the most attractive Qualcomm machine that ’s larger than 14 inches .
