Are you looking for a cheap laptop that can handle basic tasks and casual entertainment? If yes, you may want to check out the Asus Vivobook 15. It is a thin and light laptop that offers a lot of value for its price. But is it worth buying? Let’s find out in this review.
Design and Build Quality
The Asus Vivobook 15 has a sleek and solid design. It has a silver plastic chassis that weighs only 3.7 pounds. It is lighter than some of its competitors like the Acer Aspire 5 and the HP 15. The lid has a subtle texture that adds some flair to the otherwise plain surface. The screen bezels are thin, especially on the sides, and they have a faux carbon fiber covering that looks snazzy and feels nice to the touch.
The keyboard is one of the best features of the Asus Vivobook 15. It has a full layout, including a numeric keypad, and the keys are well-spaced and responsive. The trackpad is also large and smooth, and it has a built-in fingerprint scanner for easy and secure login. The only downside is that the keyboard is not backlit, which can be a problem in low-light situations.
The Asus Vivobook 15 has a generous selection of ports, including:
- Two USB 2.0 ports
- One USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port
- One USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port
- One HDMI port
- One audio jack
- One microSD card reader
- One Ethernet port
It also has a webcam and a microphone, but the quality is not very impressive.
Display and Sound
The display is where the Asus Vivobook 15 falls short. It has a 15.6-inch Full HD screen with a resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels, but the panel is a TN (twisted nematic) type, which is known for its poor color, contrast, and viewing angles. The screen looks dull and washed out, and the colors shift dramatically when you tilt or move the laptop. The brightness is also low, making it hard to see in bright environments.
The sound quality is better than the display, but not by much. The Asus Vivobook 15 has two bottom-firing speakers that produce clear and loud sound, but lack bass and depth. The sound can also get distorted at high volumes. You may want to use headphones or external speakers for a better audio experience.
Performance and Battery Life
The Asus Vivobook 15 is powered by an Intel Core i3-1005G1 processor, which is a dual-core chip with a base speed of 1.2 GHz and a boost speed of 3.4 GHz. It also has 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB of SSD storage. These specs are decent for basic tasks like web browsing, word processing, video streaming, and light gaming, but they may struggle with more demanding applications like photo or video editing.
The Asus Vivobook 15 also has an Intel UHD graphics card, which is integrated with the processor and shares the system memory. This means that the graphics performance is not very impressive, and you can only play older or less demanding games at low settings. For example, you can play Minecraft at 60 fps, but you may have to lower the resolution and the graphics quality.
The battery life of the Asus Vivobook 15 is also disappointing. It has a 37 Wh battery, which is smaller than the average for laptops of this size. According to Asus, the battery can last up to 10 hours, but in reality, it can only last around 5 hours of mixed usage. This means that you will have to carry the charger with you if you plan to use the laptop for a long time.
Price and Availability
The Asus Vivobook 15 is available in India for a starting price of ₹33990.00. You can buy it from online retailers like Amazon2 or Asus’s official website. You can also compare it with other laptops in the same price range using the table below:
| Model | Processor | RAM | Storage | Graphics | Display | Battery | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Asus Vivobook 15 | Intel Core i3-1005G1 | 8 GB | 128 GB SSD | Intel UHD | 15.6-inch FHD TN | 37 Wh | ₹33990.00 |
| Acer Aspire 5 | Intel Core i3-1115G4 | 4 GB | 256 GB SSD | Intel UHD | 15.6-inch FHD IPS | 48 Wh | ₹35990.00 |
| HP 15 | AMD Ryzen 3 3250U | 4 GB | 1 TB HDD | AMD Radeon | 15.6-inch HD SVA | 41 Wh | ₹33990.00 |
Conclusion
The Asus Vivobook 15 is a budget laptop that has some strengths and some weaknesses. It has a stylish and solid design, a great keyboard, a fingerprint scanner, and a variety of ports. It also supports Wi-Fi 6E, which is a plus for future-proofing. However, it also has a poor display, a mediocre sound, a low-end performance, and a short battery life. If you are looking for a cheap laptop for basic tasks and casual entertainment, the Asus Vivobook 15 may be a good option. But if you are looking for a laptop with a better display, a faster performance, and a longer battery life, you may want to look elsewhere.
