ASUS Vivobook S15 (Qualcomm) Review: Premium looking laptop with long battery life and smooth performance
The Vivobook S15, powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chip is paired with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM. I used the laptop for a week, with decent usage for everyday tasks, and here is my honest review of the laptop.
ASUS has been pulling up the premium laptop market in India, and recently the company has unleashed the new Vivobook S 15 OLED with Copilot + PC in two variants- one which is powered by a 12th Gen Intel processor and another which is powered by a Snapdragon X Elite processor. I reviewed the variant with an Intel processor a while back which is a great premium machine, and in this review, we will be talking about the Vivobook S15 which is powered by the Qualcomm Snapdragon processor. Here is our detailed review to let you know if this laptop is worth buying or not.
Design
The ASUS Vivobook S15 looks cool with its sleek look and premium design. It features an all-aluminium chassis that looks and feels sturdy. Its minimal yet shiny 'ASUS Vivobook' branding on the lid catches the light at certain angles.
Furthermore, with just 14.7mm thickness, this slim laptop is one of the more portable 15-inch options available in the Indian market.
The laptop's full-sized keyboard is certainly a plus point along with its dedicated number pad, which has squeezed to give more space to another key (just like the other Intel-powered variant)- which makes long typing sessions smoother and easier.
Although the aluminium body gives a luxurious feel, the plastic bezel around the display gives a less sturdy display to the device- reducing the premium aesthetic.
Display, Audio and connecting ports
Display
The 15-inch 3K OLED display of the Vivobook S15 is the main attraction of the laptop, offering deep blacks and vibrant colours with excellent contrast. With the 120Hz refresh rate, the laptop certainly gives a smooth scrolling experience and the glossy panel remains legible even in bright outdoor settings with minimal glare.
However, the lack of touchscreen functionality and HDR support may disappoint the user (like me) as we have a number of laptops from brands like HP, Dell, Lenovo, and more- which come with the touch display, at this price point.
Speaker
The dual-speaker system on the laptop has been co-engineered with Harman Kardon- and does the job appropriately. I watched movies on Netflix, Disney+ Hotstar, and more. Also, has a good playtime with music on YouTube- where clarity was my priority and was justified. Although the speaker grid is located at the bottom, the sound isn't suppressed, as it delivers clear audio with a decent punch but could use more loudness.
Hence, for those who are looking for a good sound experience on the laptop, without any use of external speakers or headphones, then this laptop does justify the requirements.
MyASUS app
The MyASUS app includes a Volume Booster feature to amplify the sound without noticeable distortion- which is an add-on point- for an enhanced play experience. It further supports Dolby Atmos surround sound- which means, this speaker has been designed for a good audio experience without worrying about sound distortion.
Processor: Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite
The Vivobook S15 is equipped with the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite chip and is further paired with 16GB of LPDDR5X RAM. Although I used the laptop for a week, with heavy live gaming, and social media browsing. This combination further ensures a swift and efficient performance for everyday tasks, from browsing and document editing to streaming and media playback.
The laptop fan operates silently even during intense multitasking. Also, the user gets the option to switch between Fan Speed Profiles, including Full Speed and Performance modes. By choosing the option, you can optimise the performance of the device manually. The laptop's ability to quickly resume sleep makes it a convenient choice for busy professionals.
- AI Tools and Windows Optimisation
- Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC platform
The Vivobook S15 takes advantage of AI-powered features like Microsoft’s Copilot+ PC platform, and it further introduces tools like Live Captions for real-time audio transcription and Cocreator for image editing.
Live Captions
The Live Captions feature works well for English but is less accurate for Hindi, while Cocreator will enable creative inputs when working with images. Furthermore, StoryCube will help the laptop owner to organize media files into searchable categories. Certainly, this laptop is feature-rich and these tools could add value to the user.
Gaming
I must mention that I wanted to play some high-end games on the laptop, but I couldn't do it, because of the time constraints. But this machine, which comes with a powerful processor could handle many highly graphic games without any trouble.
The laptop comes with decent thermal management, which helps in maintaining a stable temperature even during long gaming sessions and prevents the device from overheating.
Battery
This is great! I have to say it because, for a week, I charged the device twice- while using it moderately. It comes with a 70Wh battery which stands out and could last for 8-9 hours without any trouble.
About the charging, this laptop can charge up to 85 per cent faster than the usual laptops. Also, it certainly comes with impressive standby time as well, with minimal battery drain when the laptop is not in use.
It is a must to mention that the battery performance will totally be based on the specific settings and usage patterns. But overall, Zenbook S15’s battery is certainly reliable and could last for a day with decent usage.
Verdict
The ASUS Vivobook S15, powered by Qualcomm is a great machine, which performs flawlessly, without any heating issues. I did my binge-watching, typing, zoom meetings, video conferencing, and more- which was smooth enough. On the battery front, the device lasted for a day of heavy usage. But when we speak of the price point, at Rs 1,24,990, the Vivobook S15 is a strong contender in the high-end Windows laptop, but the touch display could be a missing point as we have competitors offering this feature at half the price. Also for video conferencing, the camera quality is great, making it a good device for meetings.
But, if you are looking for a strong-headed device with gaming capabilities and decent battery life, then this could be considered (specifically for long-term investment) for personal as well as professional usage.
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