ASUS maintains a strong foothold in the Indian PC market and is introducing compelling innovations. The company’s focus on bolstering raw specs is evident, particularly through the surge in laptops equipped with OLED displays. This strategy sets them apart, especially for consumers seeking laptops geared towards content consumption.
A cornerstone of ASUS’s budget-friendly lineup, the Vivobook, receives a 2023 upgrade. The Vivobook 15 OLED flaunts a sleek, lightweight design housing the latest Intel Core i5 CPU, an OLED screen, a 50Whr battery, and more. We have been using this machine as our daily driver for the past two weeks and here’s our full review.
ASUS Vivobook 15 OLED X1505 Specifications:
- Processor: 13th Gen Intel Core i5-13500H
- Graphics adapter: Intel Iris Xe Graphics
- Memory: 16GB, DDR4 (3200 MHz)
- Display: 15.6-inch 16:9, 1920 x 1080 pixels, OLED, matte panel
- Storage: 512TB NVMe M.2 PCIe 3.0 SSD
- Connections: 2 x USB 3.2 gen 2 (Type A), 1 x USB 3.2 (Type C), HDMI 1.4, 1 x USB2.0 (Type A), 3.5mm audio jack
- Networking: Wi-Fi 6 (802.11b/g/n/ac/ax) (2×2), Bluetooth 5.0
- Battery: 50Wh Lithium-Polymer (3 cells)
- Operating System: Microsoft Windows 11 64 Bit
- Camera: 720p, with Privacy shutter
- Additional features: Speakers: Stereo, Keyboard: 6-row chiclet, Keyboard Light: Yes
- Weight: 1.7 kg
Design
The Asus Vivobook, primarily targeted at students, was originally positioned in the price range of INR 25,000 to INR 70,000. However, it has now been repositioned at a higher tier. Our review device, the ZenBook 15 OLED X1505VA model it at the upper end of this pricing spectrum. Despite featuring top-tier components, this laptop maintains a sleek form factor, measuring a mere 1.99 cm in thickness and weighing around 1.7kg.
Crafted with Asus’s signature alloy build, the laptop captivates with its robust structure and premium tactile experience. The display lid exhibits balanced weight distribution and introduces a touch of sophistication with the relocated Asus insignia. Regardless of the chosen color variant, the laptop boasts a matte texture, fortified with Asus’s Antimicrobial Guard Plus to combat bacterial and viral threats.
Our two-week long review period affirmed the laptop’s durability, and capability of enduring extended usage periods. The display assembly remained steady without any wobbling tendencies, a common concern with ultraportable laptops. The chassis design incorporates ample space below to facilitate enhanced ventilation, ensuring optimal thermal management even within the ultraportable category. The Vivobook 15 OLED proves its resilience, validated by its Military-grade US MIL-STD 810H durability certification and eco-conscious EPEAT Silver recognition, both of which you don’t find that easily in other laptops of the same value.
Connections
When it comes to connectivity, Asus has adopted a contemporary approach, as reflected in the choice of ports on the Vivobook 15 OLED. On the right side of the laptop, you’ll find a full-size HDMI 1.4 port, which is accompanied by two USB Type-A ports, a USB Type-C port that support the PD protocol, a barrel connector, and a 3.5mm combo jack. Additionally, a USB 3.2 Type-A port is located on the left side along with ample cutouts for ventilation.
Notably absent is an Ethernet port for wired internet connectivity and additional USB Type-C slots for connecting peripherals.
Software
The Asus Vivobook 15 OLED arrives with the Windows 11 Home OS pre-installed, delivering a contemporary and intuitive interface right from the outset. Furthermore, it includes the Microsoft Office 2021 suite out of the box, ensuring immediate productivity.
During the initial setup, several pre-installed Asus applications are readily available. One of these is the “Asus Battery Health Charging,” which oversees power and battery management, contributing to the device’s battery longevity. Another application, “Smart Audio,” empowers users to tailor audio input settings for an enriched auditory experience. Additionally, the “Splendid” application is present, offering tools to manage display profiles, optimize Wi-Fi roaming, and more, thereby elevating the overall laptop experience.
Keyboard & Touchpad
The Asus Vivobook 15 OLED boasts a 6-row layout, wherein some rows have been modified to accommodate a complete numpad. The keys are thoughtfully positioned, maintaining a comfortable gap between them to facilitate efficient typing. Meticulously fine-tuned key pressure and responsiveness culminate in a seamless typing experience, especially once you adapt to the arrangement.
Enhancing usability, the keyboard is backlit, allowing you to tailor the brightness level as per your preference. There is a neat design touch with the main enter key getting a small racing stripe that certainly adds character.
Turning attention to the touchpad, the Vivobook 15 OLED integrates a generously proportioned touchpad that exudes a premium tactile sensation. With a full numpad already present on the keyboard, the virtual numpad is replaced by a fingerprint sensor nestled in the upper-right corner of the touchpad, contributing to secure and convenient authentication.
Display
The VivoBook 15 OLED distinguishes itself with its display, a highlight of this laptop. While Asus had formerly reserved OLED panels for high-end laptops, the brand now extends this display technology to more budget-friendly price ranges.
Sporting a 15.6-inch 16:9 screen with a 1920×1080 pixel resolution, the laptop gets minimal side bezels and a slightly larger upper bezel to accommodate the integrated webcam with the privacy shutter.
OLED displays are celebrated for their vibrant colors and deep blacks, and this 15.6-inch panel upholds that reputation, delivering mesmerizing visuals. The display achieves a commendable level of brightness, peaking at 600 nits. It’s Pantone-calibrated and VESA-certified, guaranteeing precise color reproduction. Encompassing the entire DCI-P3 color gamut, it becomes an optimal choice for content creators. For enthusiasts of streamed content, the display also embraces the full Dolby suite, including Dolby Vision, for an enhanced viewing experience.
Asus’s Splendid Display technology reappears in this model, enabling users to tailor color and crucial display settings. Despite the Pantone certification ensuring accurate colors out of the box, this feature remains available for further adjustments, although most users will likely find it unnecessary.
Performance
The VivoBook 15 OLED offers diverse configurations; our reviewed model is equipped with the 13th Gen Intel Core i5-13500H, part of Intel’s latest upper-midrange processors, featuring 4 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores. Paired with this CPU is 16GB of onboard LPDDR4 3200MHz memory, expandable up to 24GB, and a 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD storage.
Graphics-wise, the VivoBook 15 OLED relies on integrated Intel Iris Xe graphics, embedded within the processor. Our unit featured a 512GB WD-manufactured NVMe M.2 PCIe 3.0 SSD, with capacity upgrade options beyond 2TB. Storage performance is impressive, boasting average read speeds reaching 5,000MB/s and write speeds within the 2,000MB/s range.
Battery
The VivoBook 15 OLED (X1505) excels in battery performance. Despite its compact size, it features a substantial 50Wh 3-cell battery. In tests, with all network peripherals active, it lasted around 5 hours. However, in Airplane mode, it impressively extended to 8 hours.
Moreover, basic fast charging is supported. Using the provided fast charger, about 60% of the battery can be charged in under 49 minutes.
Asus Vivobook 15 OLED Review – The Verdict
Our assessment of the Asus VivoBook 15 (X1505) is overwhelmingly favorable. The laptop showcases the remarkable craftsmanship synonymous with Asus, offering both a premium design and a lightweight build despite robust hardware. The standout feature is the OLED display, which is particularly appealing to creative experts and content hungry individuals. With top-tier hardware like the latest Core i5 CPU, 16GB RAM, 512GB PCIe 3.0 storage, and MIL-STD 810H rating, the VivoBook 15 delivers remarkable performance for its INR 74,990 price tag.
