Combining a tablet and gaming notebook into one ultra-thin device is exactly what ASUS achieved with the ROG Z13 Flow. This device wants to be the gamer’s tablet by offering performance unlike anything you’ll find on the market in another tablet form. Sure, you can spend the same money on maybe an iPad Pro with a M chip but, while Apple Silicone is great, the platform is quite limited when it comes to blockbuster games.
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So ASUS took a 13-inch tablet, slapped an AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 into it and called it the Flow Z13. In most scenarios, the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 is an incredible chipset. It includes the Radeon 8060S GPU in it making it a fantastic option for games.
Up to now, the Flow Z13 was barred down with NVIDIA RTX hardware. I remember reviewing the Flow Z13 two years ago with an NVIDIA chip and back then, it wasn’t all too great. You would have to attach an external GPU to the device to make it anything worthwhile. With this AMD chip, that isn’t the case. But more on the actual power and performance in a bit.
For all accounts, the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 is a nifty product. It is a two-in-one hybrid piece of tech with a 500 nit, full HD 13-inch display that is actually quite bright and vivid. The bright display combats the nasty glare you get from the glossy screen which is there because it is a touch screen panel with ASUS Pen 2.0 support,
ASUS says the panel includes Gorilla Glass 5 with DXC coating to reduce glare on the panel. It works. While there is clearly some glare and gloss here, the coating sort of muds it out with a milky-like film over it and helps with reflection. More so than 99% of OLED panels and other touchscreen displays I review.
The hybrid design of this notebook means the keyboard is detachable thanks to the magnetic pins on the bottom. Unlike the ZenBook Duo OLED’s keyboard, this version does not have a battery and cannot be used without clipping it onto the tablet. Key travel is decent and the touchpad is a good size for getting around. The keyboard also has zone RGB which you can tweak in the ASUS Armoury Crate.
The tablet is then its own device. When the keyboard is attached, it acts as a cover for the display. This is handy but then again, will likely result in scratches over time due to the keyboard touching the screen. I know, it has Gorilla Glass 5 but name one device on the market that has Gorilla Glass 5 and won’t get scratched by particles rubbing up and down when stuck in between two surfaces.
The display tablet thingie then houses all the tech and ports. You’ll find two USB-C ports on the left-hand side with an HDMI 2.1 port and the charging port which kind of looks like a mini-DisplayPort. There’s also a nifty MicroSD card slot near the bottom of the same side. I remember the original model had this tucked away under the kickstand.
On the right-hand side, there’s a power button, volume rocker and a quick settings button that opens up the ASUS ScreenXpert app. Here, you can press the button and gain access to shortcuts like the keyboard layout, changing the performance mode of the device and even launch the Armoury Crate. There’s also a USB Type A port on the right-hand side too.
What’s missing on the device from a port perspective is just an Ethernet socket. I would have liked to see a larger SD card slot instead of a MicroSD card slot here too. Just for versatility and to cover both larger and smaller cards.
On the back of the tablet there’s a 13MP camera that compliments the front-facing 5MP camera found above the screen. You’ll also find a cool glass window at the back that gives you a peek at the device’s motherboard. There’s RGB around it which you can toggle to add a bit of flair to something you’ll never see because it is at the back of the display. I turned it off anyway.
In terms of the dimensions, you’re looking at quite a heavy device here. The ASUS ROG Flow Z13 weighs 1.2Kgs which is expected given its heavy metal outer shell and thick glass screen. There’s also an added layer of metal on the kickstand that opens and closes so you can prop the display up. The entire device measures 30cm in length, 20cm in height and is 1.49cm thick.
I don’t think the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 will win me over from a design point of view. It was too clunky for my liking. I know it is a powerful product with gamer aesthetics but the usability of the device was a problem, for me. Opening the keyboard and pulling out the stand to get it into position was cumbersome. They don’t move in fluid motion and were incredibly ridged. You need two hands for almost every action here. It makes quickly opening the tablet more like “let me put everything down so I can put this on the table and get it into position.
I reckon ASUS should ship this with a non-keyboard cover. Similar to the iPad Smart Covers. You a quickly flick the iPad to remove the cover and fold the stand at the back to act as the kickstand. This needs something lightweight like that for sure. Even if you sacrifice the keyboard for the ease of use as an optional attachment.
At first, I was excited for this tablet. I had high hopes that everything on paper would translate to some crazy performance. But sadly, while it does deliver great benchmark results, it fails to beat most RTX 40-Series notebook GPUs. While the stats show it does beat the RTX 4070 notebook chip, you also need to consider the price of this Z13 and the amount of money you’re paying to get slightly better performance. You might as well just get an RTX 4070 notebook.
Don’t get me wrong here, I am not knocking on the Z13 as being a weak device. It is very capable and showcases the true potential of the Halo Strix tech, but if you’re a gamer and you’re not interested in the hybrid aspect here, you’re better off with a notebook that comes in with a larger display and more power options. If you’re happy with paying more for pretty much the same, then this device is for you.
Basically, this AMD chip has a remarkably robust desktop-like CPU build with an out of this world GPU for today’s standards. I dare say this could be the next-generation of mobile GPU performance. However, it all relies on other factors to deliver the performance and the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 just doesn’t bring those factors. Mainly because it wants to be a thin and lightweight tablet device rather than a beefy and heavy gaming notebook. I would love to see this tech running in a notebook and not so constrained by the laws of physics.
Apart from that, the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 does get loud with fans whirling away during most of the day. Temperatures maxed out at 95C which is the thermal cap for this chipset. Again, the lightweight design here is pushing everything to the limit so much faster than a notebook would.
The battery was quite decent here. I got around 90 minutes off battery charge during actual gaming which kind of puts this device on par with a Steam Deck. This means you can prop the display up and game away for over a good hour with 50% screen brightness without worrying about charging. This was tested while running the system on battery saving mode.
Lastly, the speakers were okay. They are loud but quite flat. They kind of get muzzled out a bit by the high-pitched fan but you’ll learn to adapt to them. They are fairly good for watching movies, shows and listening to music.
Overall, I didn’t hate the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 but I kind of feel like it is a missed opportunity for something great. ASUS has this incredible GPU and it really does perform very well, and then they take it and slap it into a tablet hybrid device that has its own limitations and premium price tag because it is trying to be something that gamers don’t want.
I mean do you? Do you as a gamer want a tablet device that comes with a clunky kickstand, removable keyboard, loud fans and a touchscreen? And you’re paying more for it than any other notebook with more performance. I don’t know about you but I would take a simple notebook with a screen and a keyboard that is more affordable and accessible.
But I hope ASUS does great things with this AMD tech now. I could see it being quite a powerhouse in an ROG ally. Let’s hope they put it to good use because this Z13 just isn’t it.
ASUS ROG FLOW Z13
Summary
The ASUS ROG Flow Z13 has the GPU to set a new standard for portable gaming but it barred down by its desperate need to be a tablet hybrid notebook that quite frankly, I don’t think anyone wants.
