Asus VivoBook S15 – Is This Best Laptop For You

Shop the virtual or actual laptop aisles, and you’ll see more specialized laptops available than ever before, filling needs at various sizes, specs, and price points. Plenty of shoppers, though, just want a straightforward 15-inch
a notebook that can perform the role of an entry-level desktop at home and on the go. Ideally, it doesn’t break the bank, lasts long off the charger, and has the ports they need. The Asus VivoBook S15 ($699.99) checks those boxes and then some, delivering a nifty, slim design, a good selection of ports, long battery life, and reasonably speedy performance. It does all of this at a low price and without any major downsides, earning it our Editors’ Choice for budget-friendly desktop-replacement laptops.

A Pop of Color: Designing for a New Generation

The first thing you’ll notice about our review unit is its striking green color, officially called Gaia Green. It’s joined by Dreamy White, Indie Black, and Resolute Red as the color options, but no matter which you prefer,
it’s clear the fun palette is part of this laptop’s identity. Asus is aiming the S15 squarely at younger users (the marketing specifically mentions Gen Z multiple times), matching the color options with what the company sees as a creative, expressive generation.

Continuing this theme, the Enter key (shown below) is outlined in yellow, which is meant to represent, and I
quote, “overthrowing the old system and creating substantial change.” Asus: Welcome to the resistance.

However Asus marketing wants to flavor this look, the point is that this laptop is decidedly peppier-looking
then the average general-use system. Whether or not the target market responds to this approach remains to be seen, but that aside, I like the green color we received for review, while the black and white variants blend in a bit more if that’s what you’re after.

Asus offers only a single U.S. configuration of this laptop, with the color choice as the only option to specify when ordering. That means every VivoBook S15 model will be priced at $699.99 and includes the same
components as ours: a 10th Generation Intel Core i5-10210U processor, 8GB of memory, integrated Intel
UHD Graphics, and a 512GB M.2 solid-state drive.

The design isn’t all flash, either, with a pleasant aluminum alloy making up the chassis. This is a quality material for the price, adding a more luxe feel than entry-level laptops made of cheap plastic. Despite the sturdier material, the VivoBook maintains a reasonably portable weight for a 15-inches, at 3.97 pounds. (In practice, it feels a tad heavier than that, but the scale doesn’t lie.)

The notebook measures 0.63 by 14.1 by 9.2 inches, a thin and fairly compact footprint for slipping into your bag for a trip or daily commute. Between the color scheme and construction, it’s a pleasant laptop to hold and use, even if a 15-inch system is bulkier than the more portable options available today. (Worth noting: If the S15 appeals to you but you’d prefer a smaller size, there’s also a new 14-inch VivoBook S14.)

Display, Ports, and the Rest

Of course, the larger 15.6-inch display you get with the bigger model could make the size worthwhile. The
the display offers full HD (1,920 by 1,080) resolution and features thin bezels, which raises the screen-to-body
ratio to 88 percent and is more pleasant to look at than the usual thick plastic borders you get on most budget
laptops.

There isn’t anything fancy going on with this panel beyond those specs and the thin bezels, which is fair enough at the price point. The screen size is roomy enough for real multi-window work, especially if you find 13.3-inch displays too cramped. Those who need a touch screen will need to look elsewhere, as one’s not offered on the VivoBook.

Aside from its yellow Enter key, the keyboard is pretty standard. The keys have 1.4mm of travel, resulting in a
pretty comfortable typing experience overall, and the keyboard includes a full number pad. The touchpad is a
bit more pedestrian, with a plasticky feel and audible click. Still, it pans smoothly and the full press is responsive, which is all you need. One bonus is a built-in fingerprint reader in the top right corner of the pad,
which allows for fast and secure sign-in once you set up Windows Hello.

Rounding out the rest of the build is a healthy port selection. On the right side, you’ll find two USB 2.0 ports and a microSD card reader, while on the left there is one USB 3.0 port, a USB-C port, and an HDMI
connection. There’s no Thunderbolt 3 port on this laptop, but you can only complain so much about a budget build.

Performance Testing: A Competent Everyday Laptop

For the sake of performance comparisons, I gathered a batch of competitive laptops. Some of these are other
15-inch machines, while others are similarly priced or equipped 13- and 14-inch models, to show you what you can get for around the same price. The table below contains their names and core specs.

It’s worth noting some price discrepancies here. For example, the 15-inch version of the Microsoft Surface Laptop 3 is worth including, but the particular unit we reviewed was a pricey $1,699. As such, it will perform better here, but you can get a configuration that costs hundreds less.

Outside of that, these laptops fall within the same price range, demonstrating a variety of prices and sizes. The
Dell Inspiron 14 7000 (7490) is our current top pick among ultraportables, down slightly in size from the
VivoBook S15 but a strong competitor nonetheless. The Dell Inspiron 13 5000 (5391) is even smaller, but since it’s priced right in line with Asus’ machine, it’s useful to see what you can get for the same amount of money. Finally, the Lenovo Yoga C740 (15-Inch) gives us a glance at a competing 15-inch convertible. Aside from the Inspiron 13, these machines are all more expensive than the VivoBook, which may end up making the Asus look even better.