ASUS VivoBook S15 (S510U) Review: Portable 15-incher on Budget
ASUS VivoBook S15 S510U
RM 3299.00
Pros
- Good build quality
- Thin and lightweight
- IPS 1080p display
- Decent keyboard with white LED backlit
- Decent trackpad with fingerprint scanner
- Wide range of IO ports
- Good performance
- Excellent cooling
- User upgradable
- Great value
Cons
- Flimsy plastic underneath keyboard
- Abysmal 480p VGA webcam
- Noisy fan
- 4 GB RAM option only
Build Quality & Design
Light Weight & Minimalist Design
Taking the VivoBook S15 out of the box, I am surprised that this 15.6-inch laptop felt as light as many other 14-inch laptops. In terms of the design, I must say it is taking quite a number of design cues from the ZenBook series, for instance, the aluminium alloy lid with the brushed hairline finish. Even though ASUS did not categorize the VivoBook as an ultrabook, nevertheless, at the weight of 1.5 kg and 1.79 cm thin, I would say this is at the borderline of being an ultrabook.
The bottom panel is colour matched with the rest of the body to retain the luxurious look and feel. Despite the chassis itself is made of plastic, the overall fit and finish are top notch.
There’s a wide selection of ports on the S15. On the right:
- 3.5mm headphone/microphone combo jack
- USB-C port (USB 3.1 gen1)
- HDMI 1.4 port
- USB-A port (USB 3.1 gen1)
- Charging port
On the left:
- 2x USB-A (USB 2.0)
- SD card reader
- LED indicators
NanoEdge Display
Open the lid and we are greeted with the NanoEdge display with its ultra-narrow 7.8 mm bezel. Even though the display is 15.6-inch, however, the overall size of the laptop felt a lot like a regular 14-inchers. If you have previously held back to purchase 15.6-inch laptops because of the large size, perhaps ASUS has the answer for you.
The display comes with Full HD 1920 x 1080 pixels resolution which is great for multi window & multitasking. Thanks to the IPS panel, viewing angle and colour reproduction on this laptop is excellent. In order to reduce display glare, ASUS has implemented the matte surface on the display. I personally am not a fan of anti-glare displays because text and images generally don’t look sharp on it. On the bright side, there is less screen glare and the display is less prone to smudges.
Located above the display is the abysmal 480p VGA quality webcam. It’s 2017 and yet we’re still haunted by 480p webcams. The microphone is sitting right beside the webcam, so the microphone sounds just right.
Besides, the screen hinge felt solid and robust. Just that you can’t perform a single handed lid opening stunt here because of the laptop being too light weighted.
Backlit Keyboard & Precision Touchpad
ASUS VivoBook S15 has an island style chiclet keyboard with 4 levels of backlit brightness. The key travel is shallow but not to the extent of ultra short actuation distance. Each key press is discernable and precise but I don’t like the feel of hollowness whenever you bottom out the keys. Part of the reason is due to the thin and flimsy plastic being used for the keyboard deck.
The 5-inch touchpad supports Windows 10’s precision touchpad and multi-gesture input up to 4-finger gestures. Finger tracking is accurate, especially for scrolling and gestures. The click mechanism felt alright to use but since the switch is located at the bottom of the touchpad, the further you move up, the harder it is to click. Meanwhile, it was reported that the first batch of the VivoBook S15 had a minor sticky click issue which has been addressed in the later batches. Still, ASUS will honor the warranty in case you’re experiencing the aforementioned problem.
At the top right corner of the touchpad is the fingerprint scanner that works with Windows Hello security login feature.
Frankly speaking, even entry level smartphones come with fingerprint scanner nowadays, and I sincerely hope that more laptop manufacturers would implement a fingerprint scanner in their laptops.
Moderate Speaker Quality
The stereo speakers are mounted at the front while firing downwards. It is designed in a way that the sound bounces upward from the table. To be honest, the speakers don’t sound all that impressive because of the dull and flat sound profile. Not to mention when your arm is blocking the sound when you’re typing. Nonetheless, the stereo pair can go really loud without having any distortion issues.
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