ASUS VivoBook S15 (S532FL) Review: The Daily Driver You Need

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ASUS is one of the tech companies that is known for making laptops and good ones. Among the various laptop series it has, the VivoBook series is a popular one and it recently saw the introduction of the VivoBook S15 (S532FL). The laptop has a number of attractive features: the ScreenPad 2.0 as a secondary display, vibrant colour options, Intel Core i7 processor, and lots more.

I got to use the laptop for over 3 months and surprising or not, this one’s the first-ever laptop I have reviewed. Hence read on to find out how my journey with the laptop has been like and whether or not it is an option worth spending your penny on.

ASUS VivoBook S15 (S532FL) Review: Design

The ASUS VivoBook S15 is a laptop that follows a minimal design and this is one of its attractions. There is a simple ‘ASUS VivoBook’ branding on the lid, that too, in the right corner, making room for nothing but simplicity. It comes in three colour options: Transparent Silver, Punk Pink, and Moss Green and I got to use the silver one. The metal-body device looks chic in the silver colour that suits the people who like going for the basics. The other two colours are funky and add a pop of colour to your laptop experience.

Once you open the laptop, it has a display and a keyboard. The main USP of the laptop is the trackpad that also doubles as a secondary display, which the company calls ScreenPad 2.0. The display has pretty thin bezels on both right and left sides while the top and bottom ones are relatively more. The top bezel has the HD web camera and the bottom bezel has another ‘ASUS VivoBook’ branding, much like seen on the MacBooks, under which there are the twill-inspired vents for the speakers and cooling system. On the keyboard, you get the HARMAN Kardon branding that supports the audio for the VivoBook S15.

As for the ports, the right side has the majority of them; there is the DCIN port for charging, an HDMI port, one USB Type-C Gen 3.1 port, one USB Type-A Gen 3.1 port, an audio jack, and a microSD card reader. The left side has two USB 2.0 ports. The laptop carries a weight of 1.8kgs and while it is pretty easy to carry it even with one hand, it isn’t really a lightweight product. It supports the ErgoLift hinge that allows for easy usage and typing. While I didn’t feel much difference due to the hinge’s mechanism, it sure did make my typing smooth.

Overall, the VivoBook S15 doesn’t include a lot of elements and this is the main reason why I liked the design.

ASUS VivoBook S15 (S532FL) Review: Display

The VivoBook S15 features a 15.6-inch Full HD LED-backlit NanoEdge display that supports an aspect ratio of 16:9 and a screen-to-body ratio of 88%. While the bottom and the top bezels are significantly visible, the sides bezels are pretty less and this makes the viewing experience quite a good one.

The VivoBook S15 was my companion majorly for work and I watched some good amount of videos too. The display experience was more than decent. The colours were bright and detailed. The brightness levels are apt too and you get the Night Light feature, which when enabled, will reduce the blue light emitted in the night to avoid the eye strain.

ASUS VivoBook S15 (S532FL) Review: ScreenPad 2.0, Keyboard

The laptop has the foremost highlight as the ScreenPad 2.0, which is its small second screen. ASUS took the cue from the high-end  ZenBook Pro 14 and the ZenBook Pro 15 and brought the secondary display in the mid-range VivoBook series. The display allows you to perform several other tasks right from the comfort of your hands since the placement is where your hands are placed while using a laptop.

The ScreenPad 2.0 has a 5.65-inch Full HD IPS touchscreen display and if you disable it, the ScreenPad 2.0 will act like a normal trackpad to help you carry out the tasks. The secondary display is a welcome and refreshing attempt for multi-tasking and ease of usage. There are various apps such as Number Key, Handwriting, Quick KeySide Xpert, Spotify, Google Chrome, and more that you can access via the mini display. While I liked using some of the apps and websites via the second display, it wasn’t of much use to me. Hence, the addition will intrigue everyone but only a few will be able to make use out of it. Another problem I faced with the ScreenPad 2.0 is that it is prone to accidental touches while you type on the keyboard. This can bother you at times. The trackpad is a smooth and easy-to-use one and supports various gestures such as right/left swipes to go back and forth, swipe up to view the previous windows opened in the background, four-finger tap to summon the menu bar and so on.

As for the backlit keyboard, the usage was quite decent throughout my reviewing period. The space between the keys is adequate and gliding my fingers to type (writing summed up my entire usage) was a delight. However, its backlit nature didn’t really help me work through the times when I had my lights off and wanted to use the device. Plus, the keyboard is slightly reflective, hence, more or less light on it can make the usage slightly difficult.

ASUS VivoBook S15 (S532FL) Review: Specifications, Features

The ASUS laptop comes with a 15.6-inch Full HD+ LED-backlit display and is powered by Intel Core i7 processor with NVIDIA GeForce MX250. It also comes in an Intel Core i5 processor variant. It is equipped with 8GB of DDR4 RAM (expandable up to 16GB) and 512GB PCIe SSD storage. It comes with an IR HD camera with facial login support and has ASUS SonicMaster stereo audio system and sound by HARMAN Kardon. Additionally, it supports Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, fast charging, and runs Windows 10 Home.

ASUS VivoBook S15 (S532FL) Review: Performance, Battery

I used the ASUS VivoBook S15 for more than 3 months and it became my go-to device for work or leisure, considering I was working from home. I have been using a MacBook for a year and since then I have refrained from using a Windows device. However, the ASUS VivoBook S15 ensures ease of usage and in no time I adapted to it.

From writing innumerous articles to keeping more than 5 tabs opened in Chrome, my usage was pretty smooth. I mainly used the laptop for writing, research, watching videos, and more often than not, all the tasks were easy to perform. Minors lags did occur but the frequency wasn’t worrisome. Gaming was decent too with graphics and gameplay being smooth. However, my laptop wasn’t used much for gaming. Among others, the audio quality is the one that proved to be a drawback. The audio output wasn’t high and I wasn't impressed. 

As for the battery, this is another aspect that didn’t impress me much. The laptop was able to work its way through the various tasks thrown at it for just 6 to 7 hours on a single charge. While it may sound decent, having used a 2015 MacBook Air with a battery life of a day on a single charge proves otherwise. I had to charge the laptop at least twice a day to be able to use it throughout the day. Having said that, fast charging was decent and it charged the device is almost an hour. As for connectivity, it was pretty easy but over a period of time, I faced some automatic Wi-Fi disconnect issues. Additionally, the Windows 10 Home experience was pretty decent too and usage appeared smooth. The laptop comes with McAfee software and it was bothersome addition. The frequent pop-ups and reminders to renew its subscription proved annoying.

ASUS VivoBook S15 (S532FL) Review: Verdict

The ASUS VivoBook S15 (S532FL), starting at Rs. 66,990 is an option that allows you to perform the daily tasks you would want your laptop to do. There is the ease of usage, the design is attractive, the colour options are good, and gaming is decent too. However, the battery life was an issue for me since I expected more from the device. 

Nonetheless, the VivoBook S15 proves that the ASUS VivoBook series is an option you can always rely on and go for and if the aforementioned battery backup is sufficient for you, the laptop is for you.

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