Asus had its ZenBook and VivoBook laptops out nearly at the same time. The pros and cons of Asus VivoBook S15 are discussed below in the post.The ZenBook felt more like a premium branded laptop while VivoBook seemed like a budget-oriented version of their ZenBook model. But it isn’t anywhere near truth.
VivoBook S15 is an impressive example of computer hardware engineering in its own way. Though being a budget-oriented affordable model, Asus managed to have a 15.6’ Full HD display in the formfactor of 14” with very thin bezels and weight of just 1.7 kg. The trick behind it is reducing the bezels, using li-po battery in metal unibody chassis and discarding the VGA port. Doing all this, they managed to create enough space to add in an HDD including the M.2 SSD. It can be considered with both SSD and HDD with max of 512GB SSD and 2TB HDD resulting in total of 2.5TB storage.
Asus VivoBook S15 (S530) Specs
- 6-inch Full HD 1080p IPS panel, Anti-glare coating
- Intel Core i3-8130U/Core i5-8250/Core i7-8550
- Intel HD Graphics 620 + 2GB NVidia GeForce MX 150
- 4/6/8/12/16 GB DDR4 RAM
- 128GB/256GB/512GB M.2 SATA3 SSD + 2TB/1TB/500GB HDD
- USB 3.1 Gen1 Type A, HDMI, USB 3.1 Gen1 Type C
- SD card reader, 3.5mm combo jack, USB 2.0 Type A
The Asus VivoBook S15 came just with 4GB of RAM. Asus allows you to bump the RAM up to 16GB. You will fall in love with the device once you start getting used to it. It comes with fast fingerprint sensor. We have been familiar with this sensor in smartphones and the transition to the laptop is just great. You might wonder why it took so long? It’s really thin despite the size of its display. You would also appreciate how cool it runs. It won’t hurt you palm or lap even on continuous pacing through the tasks.
Pros and Cons of Asus VivoBook S15 (S530)
If you are tech enthusiast, you might know that no device is perfect. You have to cut some corners to fit all pocket with specifications that everyone loves to have. Some of the pros and cons you can have with Asus VivoBook S15 are listed below.
Pros
- 6” Full HD IPS display with 178º viewing angle
- Smaller form factor that is 18mm thin and only weighs 1.7 kg
- Comes with both SSD and HDD
- Has NVIDIA GeForce 940MX GPU with 2GB GDDR5 memory
- Improved cooling solution
- Li-po battery with 3X longer lifespan and fast-charging capability
- Fast fingerprint sensor
- Full-sized backlit keyboard with 1.4 mm key travel
- Sturdy build quality
- Good performance
Cons
- VGA webcam only
- Two of the USB ports are still USB 2.0
- Relatively small battery capacity
- Ships with just 4GB of memory
- Fingerprint sensor placement
Also Read: Pros and Cons of Asus VivoBook S14 (S430)
Conclusion
These are few of the pros and cons of Asus VivoBook S15. The machine is packed with powerful hardware with 8th gen Intel processor, and up to 16GB DDR4 RAM. For the graphics purpose, it is packed with 2GB NVIDIA MX150 graphics card. This is perfect option for a person who is always on the run, travelling. It has no trouble performing its tasks, the cooling system does great task in keeping the device cool.
The choice to have both an HDD and SSD configured into the system will help you with your storage issue. You can have a max of 2.5TB of storage (512GB SSD and 2TB HDD).
ASUS uses a VGA webcam in an age when even cheap smartphones have front cameras that record video in 1080p. Two of the USB ports stuck in year 2000 with USB 2.0. After all, the USB 3.1 standard is backward-compatible with older USB standards.
The Asus VivoBook S15 is perfect companion for the travelers. Though the battery life is not great, it provides rapid charge feature that can charge your laptop from 0 to 60% in just 49 minutes which is just a great addon to the specification that are provided. Overall, it is a great laptop for the price it is offered.