Asus VivoBook 15 X512FL [X512FL-EJ088] (90NB0M96-M01060)

Riot of colours

Asus never ceases to please with diverse laptops, in each of which it tries to bring its own zest, like an ultra-thin case, bold colours, or just-released processors. What's even cooler is that the VivoBook series models always strike an excellent balance between price and features. Thinking about updating the 2019 line, Asus decided to play with colours, so in addition to the strict blue and grey models, the new VivoBooks are sold in red, orange, purple and gold cases. Moreover, not only the lid is painted, but also some decorative elements like the side edging. Perhaps such a riot of colours is not the best solution for an office laptop, but it looks at least fresh.

Slim and light

Nothing in the appearance of the model betrays its low-cost, outwardly it subtly resembles the previous generation of MacBooks with a thin frame around the screen, a black keyboard and a light silver base. The case, though plastic, is easy to confuse with aluminium. Asus calls the VivoBook 15 an everyday laptop with the weight and compactness of an ultrabook. And they are not disingenuous, in terms of weight it is one of the lightest models (1.75 kg) in its class.

Eight-thread Core i5 and 256 GB SSD

Quite performant components were hidden in a thin body: a Core i5 processor with 4 physical and 8 virtual cores, 8 GB of RAM (expandable up to 12), a 256 GB SSD and a GeForce MX250 graphics card. This is enough for office tasks, and the graphics card will even allow you to play not too demanding toys of recent years. The 15-inch IPS display also left a pleasant impression — it has high detail, a decent level of contrast and maximum viewing angles.

Fast charging and backlit keyboard

In addition to this, the model received fast charging, (60% in 49 minutes), a full-sized backlit keyboard, a pair of very decent speakers and a special display hinge that slightly raises the laptop when the lid is opened. So it heats up less. The most surprising thing is that the VivoBook S15 does not have any frank jambs that spoil the overall picture. We can only criticize the weak colour reproduction of the display (54% of the sRGB space), but for an office machine this is not particularly critical. Well, I would like more third-generation USB ports. But thanks for USB-C.