Hands-On: Perfect Weekend with the Vivobook 13 Slate OLED

Jun 1, 2023

As an outdoor activities enthusiast, choosing the right laptop has always been a struggle for me. Many laptops I’ve owned in the past were not as compact as I wished. They also didn’t do so great outdoors — the screens weren’t bright enough, the speakers weren’t impressive, and with the traditional clamshell form factors, they could only be used either on a table or on my lap.

When I first heard about the ASUS Vivobook 13 Slate OLED, I thought it might work very well for me. Then I found out that the new 2023 version promises all the benefits of the previous generation while offering many useful improvements, such as more power.

When I finally got a chance to try it out, I thought my weekend camping trip would be a perfect way to find out if it's indeed a good solution for outdoorsy people like me. And it passed the test with flying colors! Read on to find out why.

When I finally got my hands on the new Vivobook 13 Slate OLED, the first thing that I noticed was its modern, cool, and uncompromising look. With the matte 0° Black body and lid and all the contrasting-colored accents and aesthetics typical of the Vivobook line, it had that somewhat rugged and youthful feel to it. I quickly noticed all the orange details on the chassis, including the accents on the top side of the laptop’s back (below the cover stand) and the striped orange design of the pen holder placed on the side of the cover stand. Then, when I opened it up, I discovered the orange Escape key and the striped design of the Enter key to match the pen holder’s pattern.

The 13.3-inch laptop came with a cover stand and a detachable ASUS ErgoSense keyboard that doubles down as a screen cover, both in black with leather-like texture, giving the laptop a stylish, modern look.

In my hands it felt very light and quite thin. The feel was more reminiscent of a tablet than a laptop.

I propped it on my desk by opening up the cover stand and unfolding the keyboard, revealing the 13.3-inch OLED screen. When I turned it on, the colors of the screen just popped! The image quality was way beyond what I expected. After all, it is a top-notch OLED panel with VESA DisplayHDR™ True Black 500 certification and it’s Pantone® Validated for professional-grade color accuracy. I could see what a difference all of those specs make: The colors were vibrant and bright, and the blacks were deep. It was a visual wonder of a screen.

Before packing it up to leave the office for the weekend, I quickly logged in to check the email and make sure if I have installed all the software I might need during the trip. I did so by using my face only, thanks to the IR camera face recognition tech built into this laptop. I opened up the Vivobook in a laptop mode and replied to an email by typing on the ErgoSense keyboard. This was a very satisfying affair, thanks to plenty of key travel. The touchpad was very precise and comfortably sized as well.

The laptop came with a USB® Type-C charger and an ASUS Pen 2.0 that could be conveniently placed inside the dedicated loop on the side of the cover stand.

Excited to check this bad boy out in more detail during my weekend camping trip, I closed it up, packed it into my backpack, and left the office.

Anyone who has ever packed for a camping trip will tell you that space is money. Bringing everything one needs while trying to fit it into as little a package as possible and avoiding carrying a heavy weight around is always a challenge. Every gram and centimeter of space in the backpack matters. Packing was the first instance when I truly appreciated the Vivobook 13 Slate OLED.

I quickly realized that thanks to the fact this laptop is charged through its USB-C® port, I only needed to bring one charger for both my phone and the laptop. I am also in the habit of bringing my power bank with me at all times, and I was surprised to find out I can use it to power up the Vivobook.

I skipped the laptop sleeve that I usually use, which was another way to save space. My mind was calm and I felt confident that the laptop would be alright because its durability has been tested to U.S. military standards.

Before finishing up the packing at night for the following day’s outing, I plugged the laptop in for charging to ensure I have a full battery charge, and out of curiosity I checked the battery status. It was at nearly 50% when I plugged it in. I left to go about my before-sleep rituals, and when I came back to check on the laptop 40 minutes or so later, it was fully charged.

I unplugged it, wrapped up the charger, attached both covers, then put it in my backpack before heading to bed. The compact body of the laptop comfortably slipped into the dedicated compartment of my backpack, with plenty of space to spare. Its weight was barely noticeable. I packed the laptop itself, along with its stand cover and the ErgoSense detachable keyboard, the ASUS Pen 2.0 and the charger, and went to bed.

The big day was here. With all the camping equipment in the car trunk and the laptop resting in my backpack, I left my apartment to head for the campsite.

After arriving around noon, we quickly set up the camp and while my partner was preparing a meal, I took the laptop out to test it.

Perfect for Entertainment

As the food was being served, I set up the laptop on the camping table. Since the space on the table was limited, I decided to detach the keyboard cover and use the laptop as a propped-up tablet. The stand was firm and allowed for adjusting the viewing angle to best suit our positions.

The touch input was very smooth, with high precision and quick response time. With a few taps, I logged in via the IR camera face recognition method, connected to my phone’s WiFi hotspot, then opened the browser and typed in the website address for a streaming platform via the on-screen keyboard.

With a bowl of tasty soup in hand and the laptop on the table, we started watching a movie to entertain ourselves while eating. The movie we were watching looked amazing on the vivid ASUS Lumina OLED screen. The colors popped, and the high resolution of the screen allowed for a very detailed image. And most importantly, the image was very clear in less-than-perfect viewing conditions, with sunlight all around.

It also sounded great. The quad-speakers with multi-dimensional Dolby Atmos sound did an amazing job of providing us with clear, loud, and deep sound.

The combination of extraordinary visuals and the clear sound caused us to get immersed in the movie so much that we barely noticed as two hours passed and the movie ended.

After the meal, I packed up the laptop again to avoid leaving it in the unsecured campsite, and we left for a few hours-long hike. Once again, I barely felt the laptop’s weight on my back.

Handy Productivity Tool

Tired after hiking, my partner and I retired in the camping chairs to rest. I checked my phone to discover an urgent email that required an immediate response that arrived in my inbox while I was hiking and without connection.

I took the Vivobook 13 Slate OLED out of my backpack and opened it up on the table in laptop mode to reply.

After a short online call with my colleague, I needed to review some marketing materials. I picked up the laptop, detached the ErgoSense keyboard, and took it in my hands to look through the documents. I returned to the email app, typed up my response via the on-screen keyboard, and finally replied to the email.

When the work was done, we could relax again. My partner and I started chatting about our plans for next week's trip. We were discussing the groceries shopping list. To not forget what we needed to buy, my partner grabbed the laptop that was now lying on the table, turned it to portrait mode, then took the ASUS Pen 2.0 out of its holder, opened up the note-taking app, and jotted down a shopping list for the next trip. The pen input was smooth, accurate, and satisfying. The pen comes with swappable tips with varying hardness levels to suit everyone’s preferences.

Browsing, Reading, Shopping, and More

When that was done, I left to prepare our tent for the night, only to return and see my partner holding the laptop and browsing the internet. First, in landscape mode, she caught up on her social media, then scrolled through some websites to do online shopping.

While she was doing that, I mentioned an article I read recently. To show her what I was talking about, I took the laptop from her, and opened up the news I was referring to, then handed it back. She switched to portrait mode to read it comfortably.

We stayed chatting and passing the laptop between us, showing each other interesting products, news and videos. Then we propped it up on the table again and played music in the background for a while.

Whole-Day Companion

The laptop entertained us for the whole day, with a few hours' break for the hike, on a single charge. When we woke up the next day, there was still about 20% of charge left.

Since we had some free time and the laptop was still on, we watched a couple of online videos while sitting in the tent, holding the laptop in our hands. Its lightweight body allowed us to watch a few videos in that way, without effort.

When it was time to prepare to leave the campsite, I closed up the still-on Vivobook 13 Slate OLED, slipped it into my backpack, and went ahead to take down the tent and all other gear and loaded it into our car's trunk, then left the campsite to return home.

The ASUS Vivobook 13 Slate OLED proved to be a great solution for those who, like me, need a versatile, compact laptop that will provide entertainment while on the go. It has an impressive display and speakers that make watching movies outdoors a pure pleasure — no matter if during the day or at night. The multiple usage modes this detachable laptop offers make it a tool suitable for all sorts of casual activities.

After spending a weekend with this device, I consider it to be a perfect choice for those frequently on the move — those who value freedom and versatility and want a stylish laptop that provides enough power for daily tasks and exceeds expectations by providing amazing imagery and sound. And all of that is available with an attractive price tag!