The ASUS Vivobook S15 is the company’s first Copilot+ PC model and the first to have the ARM-based Snapdragon X Elite processor to enable the laptop to process AI tasks on the device.
For the moment the Copilot+ PC AI features offer a lot of promise – there’s not a whole lot you can do for now – but you do have the platform that will serve you well into the future when these features flourish and mature.
The ASUS Vivobook S15 has a sleek look with 14.7mm thickness and a weight of 1.42kg.
The laptop has a stunning Lumina OLED 15.6 inch display with a resolution of 2880 x 1620. But it’s not a touch screen.
It would have been nice to be able to interact with the screen but instead you get a MacBook like experience where everything is driven from the keyboard and trackpad.
There is a lot of room to move with a screen of this size so when you’re not working it makes an excellent backdrop to view your content.
On the audio side, the system has been tuned by Harman Kardon with impressive results so the sound can match the quality you’re getting from the screen.
Under the hood is the Snapdragon X Elite processor with 32GB RAM and a 1TB SSD (solid state drive).
The keyboard is wide and extensive and even includes a numerical keypad on the right side.
This threw us off centre a little bit when reaching for the backspace and shift keys on the right side.
Personally, we would have preferred more space either side of the keyboard and the regular keyboard centred on the device. There is, after all, a row of numbers at the top of the keyboard.
The keyboard has blue LED backlighting which, with the silver keys make it less than ideal to read the letters on the keys at times.
The lid has a sculpted shape on the back edge near the hinges and can open up to lie flat on your desktop and to make it easier to view when you’re holding the laptop in your arms.
On the connectivity side, there is a HDMI port, two USB-C ports, a micro SD card slot and a headphone jack on the left edge.
On the right, you’ll find two USB-3 ports capable of 5Gbps transfers.
On the back and on the base of the laptop there are vents to keep things cool. It did such a good job, we never heard the fans once.
Performance wise, the ASUS Vivobook S15 easily held its own with speeds somewhere between an Intel i7 and i9 processor – so not too shabby.
Like we saw with our Surface Pro review recently, the S15 runs the ARM-based Snapdragon X Elite processor and there may be some compatibility issues with certain applications.
But for the most part the ASUS Vivobook S15 was a solid companion to get us through our workload which included running Microsoft Word, Adobe Photoshop and the Edge browser.
Microsoft has Prism which can act as a translator so that more apps will run on ARM despite being designed for Intel architecture.
Apple had a similar application called Rosetta which made it possible for applications written to run on the Intel-based Macs to run on Apple’s own silicon.
If gaming is your central focus, then the ASUS Vivobook S15 is not the product for you.
Gamers can still enjoy some titles but there are some games that won’t work because of the ARM-based architecture.
Graphics performance is OK for most tasks but slightly below the level required to offer a complete gaming experience. ASUS has other products just for you.
With AI, there is plenty of functionality thanks to the Copilot+ PC platform which includes Translation for up to 44 languages in real time for people talking near the computer or on video calls.
Cocreator can turn your doodles into works of art but without a touchscreen you have to rely on the trackpad or mouse.
Another AI feature – Recall – which is like your computer’s photographic memory to help you remember what you saw on your PC, was removed just before the official launch and can now be accessed through the Windows Insider program.
ASUS has also included a range of exclusive software to help customers us AI in their daily lives.
These include ASUS StoryCube – an AI-powered digital asset-management tool, which can automatically organise photos and videos.
ASUS AI Noise Cancellation leverages a deep-learning database to reduce background noise in meetings and calls, for clear audio.
ASUS Adaptive Dimming can recognise when a user looks away and dims the screen, which helps to maintain power consumption.
The laptop will be automatically locked when the user moves away. And it will unlock when the user return to ensure greater security.
The ASUS Vivobook S15 has a 70 Watt hour battery which a Zeus says can OfferUp to 18 hours of battery life.
We found this was more like 16 hours for us using it as our daily driver for our work and being constantly connected to wi-fi. And that’s still respectable.
The ASUS Vivobook S15 is available now and is priced at $2,699. It’s available from the ASUS E-shop, JB Hi-Fi, Harvey Norman and Officeworks.
VERDICT
The ASUS Vivobook S15 is a great starting point for customers looking to purchase their first Copilot+ PC and enjoy the benefits of AI as it improves in the months and years to come. On top of that the laptop can easily power you through your work and provide a high quality entertainment experience as well.
