The day has arrived when a laptop can potentially answer your questions without you even saying anything, thanks to the ASUS Vivobook S 15 laptop. Building on the solid foundation of its predecessor, the ASUS Vivobook, this new model brings numerous upgrades. As part of the first Copilot+ PC wave, it boasts impressive onboard battery life, among other improvements. However, a few issues still linger that may deter the average user, especially if you want to use apps outside the optimized ecosystem.
A Powerful AI Tool
First off, before we jump into what the ASUS Vivobook S 15 laptop does, let’s pop the hood and check out what’s underneath. Technophiles will note that this PC is equipped with the ARM-based Snapdragon X Elite SoC, which boasts “45 TOPS NPU AI” computing performance. What this means is the AI functionality on the laptop — and the operating systems that power it — are as equal Copilots as the user and the machine itself are. What it means to me is, ‘The AI runs fast and smooth,’ but it is a little more technical than that.
The 45 TOPS NPU AI refers to ’45 trillion operations per second,’ which allows AI functionality like Live Captions to cater to the user, whether the content watched has it or not, in 44 different languages. This is a dream for users who are hard of hearing, elderly, or can’t speak Spanish, and it understands most of what is being said in real time. It may feel like wizardry, but this is also a work in progress, so the captions are not 100% all the time (especially during scenes where the speech is not loud enough or a speaker is speaking faster than the laptop can understand).
Currently, Microsoft Copilot+ PCs are only certified on the Snapdragon X platform, an ARM-based CPU similar to those found in most phones, rather than the usual X86 chips found in most laptops. However, X86 will be joining the Copilot+ range of PCs later in the year, and while that delay is disappointing, at least we have the Snapdragon X laptops for now. This also means that the ASUS Vivobook S 15 is one of the first to market under this new classification of laptops. As Windows resolves issues to certify Copilot+ for other PCs, the ASUS Vivobook S 15 remains a frontrunner in this race, making it crucial to understand its architecture.
A Dragon In Sleek Clothing
The ASUS Vivobook S 15 laptop comes in a sleek matte silver finish and features the ASUS VIVOBOOK branding just below a beautiful 15.6-inch OLED display. Unlike other ASUS offerings, there are no touch controls. The resolution is a solid 2,880 x 1,620, and the machine looks as good as advertised on the outside. It has an all-metal construction. This laptop looks good and isn’t afraid to show off when it’s open or closed.
However, I am baffled as to why the laptop not only has a coloured backlight for the keyboard but also a completely silver keyboard. This may be my problem, but the coloured keys, combined with the keyboard’s lighting, make it impossible to read the letters, and it feels as if they aren’t even visible. What doesn’t help is the font that adorns these keys. Although it is sleek and modern, a normal key font and colouring would have been more useful. This is reminiscent of the green Aspire Vero laptop, with its mirrored R key for ‘recycle.’ While cool in theory, it only confuses the user.
“At 1.47 cm thick and ~3.10 LBs, this is also an incredibly lightweight beast that can go anywhere computers are allowed without a problem.”
The design of the ASUS Vivobook S 15 laptop is remarkably well done (apart from my problems with the keyboard). The bezels that open and close the laptop are buttery smooth and make the laptop look thinner than it is. At 1.47 cm thick and ~3.10 LBs, this is also an incredibly lightweight beast that can go anywhere computers are allowed without a problem.
The ASUS Vivobook S 15 is well-equipped with plenty of ports for a 15″ laptop: 2x USB-C, 1x HDMI, 2x USB-A, an AUX port, and an SD card reader. Included in the box is an impressively powerful 90W battery charger, which can recharge the ASUS Vivobook S 15 to 30% in around 20 minutes after the battery is completely drained. The ASUS Vivobook S 15 can run for up to 18 hours, a feat once unthinkable for a Windows laptop. It is honestly impressive how long the ASUS Vivobook S 15 can go, and unless you are a marathon worker who avoids breaks, this is a laptop that should outlast you without needing frequent recharges.
Copilot+ PC + You
The main draw of the Vivobook S 15 is the inclusion of Copilot+. While I briefly touched on the usage of Live Captions before, it truly does feel like wizardry. I watched Shin Godzilla while turning off captions — and not understanding any Japanese — and it worked remarkably, except for in the areas where the speech was faster than the ASUS Vivobook S 15 could pick it up.
I then checked out the Windows Studio Effects added with Copilot+. While I couldn’t convince my friends to run a small Dungeons & Dragons encounter on a conference call, I was able to convince one of them to chat me up on video to test it out. The lighting effects read the room better than me, and the Vivobook S 15 had my back when it came to making me look better than usual. Applying these filters helped me avoid mirrors, but importantly functions better than I initially figured it would. Instagram filters be damned!
I then explored the Cocreator feature in Microsoft Paint. ASUS claimed Cocreator would complete my painting for me, and it did. However, since I’m not very artistic, it was obvious where the AI filled in for my two non-dominant hands. You can also describe your intended creation in a small text prompt to start an art project. Since I’m not very artistic, I drew a stick figure angel holding a puppy. Cocreator took over like a head chef, turning my simple drawing into beautiful artwork and relegating me to the role of dishwasher.
For basic Copilot+ functionality, the ASUS Vivobook S 15 can be a helpful companion while gaming. As I played The Elder Scrolls Online: The Gold Road, I was able to input key skills and abilities into Copilot+ (via text), and it provided solutions and suggestions that made my Dunmer Nightblade build more effective. Copilot+ handles Street Fighter 6 frame data well and answers hypotheticals like, “Will Ryu hit Ken with a Hadouken if Shoryuken is input .7 seconds earlier?” Copilot+ effectively answered that the Shoryuken would likely hit first because it executes faster. Despite the difference between a ranged and a melee attack, Copilot+ navigated the question and provided a solution without any issues.
Further, I tried asking the ASUS Vivobook S 15 to help me with a Magic: The Gathering Commander deck featuring the new ‘Nadu, Winged Wisdom’ Simic creature. The ASUS Vivobook S 15 gave me a wealth of ideas on how to run the commander and suggestions (outside of Lightning Greaves) on what cards to use. I will now run Greensleeves with Nadu, Winged Wisdom. Thanks, Copilot+.
“The ASUS Vivobook S 15 is a remarkable device.”
While the Copilot features are exciting, when I tried using the ASUS Vivobook S 15 as a regular laptop in apps not built for the ARM architecture, I ran into a few issues that persisted throughout most of my testing. While running Adobe Premier, the laptop was unable to run any online game (functionally). Lag spikes and really awful frame skips occur when running Path of Exile and Premier concurrently. Worse yet, Path of Exile, in general, runs terribly on the device where everything else runs incredibly smooth (after taking frame rates down from 60 to 30 and resolution down to 1920×1080).
This trend holds true for many online games, despite ASUS’s claim that the Snapdragon X Elite is 4% faster than Intel’s latest Ultra 7 H-series. In practice, unless the specific software is optimized for ARM this is not the case, and especially true when it comes to gaming. I’d recommend abstaining from playing load-heavy games on the ASUS Vivobook S 15, at least until they are optimized for ARM chips. Instead, use it as a companion to strengthen your builds. Throughout all these tasks, the ASUS Vivobook S 15 has never felt hot or needed to deploy its fan, which is quite impressive.
The ASUS Vivobook S 15 is a remarkable device. Where it falls short in poor keyboard design and the overall quotient of its hardware, it makes up for utility and general usefulness. However, the requirement to use the Snapdragon X platform, which limits the performance of many niche apps, may deter some users from choosing the new ASUS Vivobook S 15. But if you need a device that offers advanced assistance in new and exciting ways, the ASUS Vivobook S 15 can serve you well.
