ASUS ROG Flow Z13: Console-like tablet for gaming

In today’s fast-paced and dynamic world, where mobility is key,

the importance of portability in devices cannot be overstated. Whether it’s smartphones, tablets, or laptops, the ability to carry our digital lives with us has become an essential aspect of our modern existence.

Portability empowers us to stay connected, productive, and entertained, no matter where we are. And that’s exactly what the ASUS ROG Z13 Flow promises. So how does it perform for gaming on the go? We find out.

Design

The ROG Flow Z13 comes with the same 13-inch display as the Flow X13, but since this is a tablet you get a detachable proprietary keyboard and with it, you easily achieve that laptop experience. The keyboard connects via a set of pins and a couple of magnets that snap the accessory firmly into place.

The keyboard can also be used flat or prop it up to go for angled typing which is easier for your hands and wrists. Typing is easy and actually silent, but it’s got a rather small trackpad.

Although since the tablet is touch-enabled, you can easily click on stuff directly without even using the pad.

But going back to the main device itself, the power button with fingerprint scanner is on the right-hand side together with its volume rocker, a single USB (2.0) Type A port, and a 3.5mm audio jack. On the opposite side you get a USB Type C that supports Thunderbolt 4, DisplayPort 1.4, and also for charging the tablet. Apart from that, there’s the proprietary port for the XG Mobile unit – ASUS’s external GPU.

 

At the top you’ll see the ROG branding flanked by exhaust vents, while speaker grille are found at the lower corner on both sides.

Now, at the rear, things get more interesting. You have this stand that flips out to make the device stand for laptop use or even as a tablet. The kickstand is versatile in a way that it can offer different orientations using the device.

A rear camera is seen at the upper right corner but images it produces are decent at best. It’s also got this nice pattern and texture that make the device look sleek and a rear camera at the upper right corner but it’s nothing special

There’s even a microSD card reader making things easier for everyone especially for content creators like us. I would prefer it better if it had mini SD reader, tho.

But to further kick things up a notch in the design department, it’s got this see through part that lets you peek into the inside of tablet and is even lit in RGB for that added gamer vibe which is pretty neat.

At just 1.1kg, the Flow Z13 has heft to it, but really not bad for a tablet. Its 12mm thin form factor makes bringing it around easy and without fuss.

Display and multimedia

For its 13.4-inch display, you can choose between a Full HD resolution with 120Hz or a 4K resolution at 60Hz. What we have here is the Full HD model and gaming on its 120Hz refresh rate is a treat.

And with up to 500 nits of brightness, the display ensures vivid and vibrant visuals even in well-lit environments. We noticed that this brightness level not only improves visibility but also enhances overall gaming experience by bringing games to life better.

Another impressive aspect of the display is its Pantone-validated colors. This certification ensures that the colors reproduced on the screen are accurate and true to life. Whether you’re gaming, editing photos, or watching movies, you can trust that the colors you see on the ASUS ROG Flow Z13’s display are as intended by the ones who made them.

Adding to those, Dolby Vision is a dynamic HDR technology that optimizes each frame of content for improved contrast, brightness, and color accuracy. This means that when watching supported movies or TV shows, you’ll experience enhanced details in both bright and dark scenes, resulting in a more immersive viewing experience.

The ASUS ROG Flow Z13 also offers adaptive-sync support, which synchronizes the display’s refresh rate with the frame rate of compatible games, reducing screen tearing and providing a smoother and more fluid gaming experience.

To complete the multimedia experience, the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 is equipped with dual speakers that support Dolby Atmos audio technology. The inclusion of AI noise cancellation further enhances the audio experience by reducing background noise during voice calls and video conferences, ensuring clear and uninterrupted communication.

Performance

Powering the device is the 12th Gen Intel Core i7-12700H Processor, a high-performance CPU that ensures smooth gameplay and efficient multitasking. With its high clock speeds and advanced architecture, this processor provides the necessary horsepower to handle demanding games and resource-intensive tasks.

Complementing the processor, the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 is equipped with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 GPU. This graphics card offers excellent gaming performance, delivering stunning visuals and smooth frame rates for modern games.

But to further enhance gaming performance, the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 can be paired with the ASUS ROG XG Mobile external graphics, which houses an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 GPU. This powerful combination simply takes gaming performance to a new level, delivering more crunching power for graphics and performance.

By attaching the ASUS ROG XG Mobile to the ROG Flow Z13, you can enjoy higher frame rates, smoother gameplay, and improved visual fidelity. The RTX 3080’s ray-tracing capabilities bring realistic lighting, reflections, and shadows to your games, enhancing immersion and delivering stunning graphics.

In terms of memory, the laptop features two 8GB RAM modules, providing a total of 16GB of fast and efficient memory. This ample memory capacity allows for smooth multitasking, ensuring that you can run multiple applications simultaneously without experiencing any significant performance degradation. True enough, our experience was fast and smooth during our time with it.

For storage, the laptop offers a 512GB SSD. This storage solution provides fast read and write speeds, allowing for quick boot times and snappy application loading.

When combined, the powerful CPU, capable GPU and external GPU, sufficient memory, and fast storage of the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 create a gaming performance powerhouse.

Gamers can enjoy smooth gameplay, high frame rates, and stunning visuals in their favorite games wherever you are.

Battery

With its battery, this gaming laptop offers a balance between performance and endurance, ensuring that you can enjoy your gaming sessions or complete tasks on the go without constantly worrying about battery life.

While the exact battery life may vary depending on usage and system configurations, you can expect the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 to deliver several hours of usage on a single charge.

We were able to average around 4-5 hours of continuous gaming sessions and this is particularly beneficial for players who prefer to play games or work on their projects away from a power outlet, whether it’s during travel or in situations where access to electricity is limited.

Price and final thoughts

This particular configuration for the ASUS ROG Flow Z13 is priced at PhP 109,995 and that’s without the external GPU. Add that in and be prepared to shell out another PhP 80K – PhP 90K.

The ASUS ROG Flow Z13 excels in gaming performance with its powerful processor, capable graphics card, ample memory, fast storage, and its portable design.

This laptop offers an immersive and seamless gaming experience, allowing you to fully enjoy the latest titles with impressive visuals and smooth gameplay wherever you are.

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Vintage Electric Tracker Review

02/14/2020

The past decade alone has seen a lot of technological advancements when it comes to mobility or transportation. Electrification of vehicles is one thing — ditching the traditional petrol-guzzling engine in favor of a motor and packs of batteries. It has been transforming the automotive space since it offers power without the need to burn fuel. 

Using the same technology, it has now come in smaller forms like electric scooters and e-bikes and there’s actually a wide selection in the market right now. 

Although for those who want something that has a lot of character in it, something that will make passersby give a second look, and something that channels that classic pursuit of speed, then Vintage Electric might have something for you.

This is the Tracker. 

Design

Let’s not kid ourselves. You’ll get this primarily for its design. That overall retro vibe with its cruiser-style frame and classic headlamp brings so much character and attitude that it already says a lot about the owner.

You have a hydroformed aluminum frame that supports its nicely styled battery in between your knees, hub motor at the rear wheel, leather seat, rise handlebar, and pedals for when you run out of juice, for example.

The Tracker stands on 26-inch wheels which easily let you pick up speed and are nimble enough to worm your way through traffic when needed. On the other hand, reliably slowing you down are hydraulic disc brakes. 

Vintage Electric calls this color Indy Red which also has that vintage vibe going on. There’s also Graphite Blue as an alternative. 

As a helpful tool , it comes with a small digital counter on the left handlebar that displays all the needed information. Details for speedometer, odometer, battery life, and its five power modes are all compiled in one easy-to-read panel. 

Plus, it’s LED headlamp automatically turns on when it gets dark. That’s pretty cool but I think I’d personally prefer to have a dedicated switch for the headlamp.  

Performance

Alongside the right grip is a thumb throttle that makes the bike launch and is pressure-sensitive so it’s basically like a regular accelerator. 

Both levers control the front and rear hydraulic disc brakes and what’s noteworthy is that the rear employs regenerative braking. This means whenever you brake, unused power is returned back to the battery so you conserve more energy to take you further. 

The five power modes that range from 1-5 are basically your transmission and dictate how fast its 750W hub motor will propel you — the greater the number, the faster you go. I’ve had it set at Race Mode (Level 5) on open roads and it can really push you forward in almost an instant. 

The company says it can go up to 36mph (60kph) and I was able to sustain a speed of exactly 50kph during my ride. 

Okay, numbers aside.

Riding the Tracker in an urban setting is what it’s made for and you can feel it as soon as you get on. It’s very convenient to use, feels like an ordinary bicycle without the sweat from having to pedal, and gives you a bit of a confidence boost because, well, you’re riding a nice-looking bike!

I’ve even had a guy come up beside me just to confirm that it runs on battery and commented that it can even accelerate faster than his own underbone. 

Battery Life

The 720-watt hour battery can go up to 50 miles (80km) in one single charge. This is, of course, depending on your riding style. If you’re always on Race Mode, your distance will be cut shorter. Riding conservatively, on the other hand, will yield more mileage. 

Once the battery has been exhausted, plugging it to a regular wall socket for three hours will be enough to fully charge the bike and bring it out for another ride. 

Creature Feature

Here in The Modern Creatures, we’d like to present a Creature Feature highlight for our reviews to focus on something particular that makes the product more desirable — something that makes it stand out from its competition and worth buying. 

Now, the Vintage Electric Tracker doesn’t come cheap with what it offers, but what makes it worth buying, for me, is the experience when you ride it. Apart from being just a regular electric bike, you feel like you’re riding a piece of history — a fusion of past design and technology of the future sort of thing. 

On top of that, it’s reliable and can reach decent speeds when you need want it.

Conclusion

While it’s true that for the price of almost PhP 400K you can buy a decent motorbike with a lot more power, the Vintage Electric Tracker is for someone who just likes to go for that casual, laid-back cruise downtown and look great while doing so. This electric bicycle from the California-based company basically lets you relive the time when motorcycle racing was at its purest and offers a great amount of fun to bring around. 

If I were to compare it to movies, it’s not the best film that’s showing on the block, but it’s definitely a feel-good movie that will leave a smile on your face during and even after watching it. 

 

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