A computer gaming tablet? Recipe for disaster, it seems. Big, power-hungry, and underpowered. ASUS has changed all this with the ROG Flow Z13. Throw away your preconceived notions about tablet or portable gaming because this machine does not play; it obliterates. Prepare to be amazed (or broke), for ASUS have crammed serious firepower into a very slick package. Niche engineering? Absolutely. Worth it? Let’s find out.
Design and display: Not exactly stealthy
Not only does the Z Flow 13 take inspiration from the Surface Pro; it stitches its essence into a fever dream of any gamer. Picture this: something akin to a warped Surface Pro with sharp angles emblazoned with cyberpunk glyphs and a peek-a-boo window revealing the pulsing heart of rgb lights.
ASUS
Not your average tablet
ASUS ROG Flow Z13 (2025)
The ROG Flow Z13 dares to differ by straddling that thin line between a power gaming laptop and a go-anywhere workstation. Yet, the innovative spirit highlights two downfalls: one comes with the almost dissatisfaction induced by the keyboard; the other is the price tag that will probably weep your wallet dry.
Pros
- Nice screen
- Surprisingly good performance
- Customizable shortcut button
- Decent battery life for productivity
Cons
- Expensive
- Flimsy keyboard
- Big power brick
- Loud fans in turbo and performance modes
$2,300 at Best Buy
Say goodbye to flimsy tablets! Powerful and packed with connectivity, the ASUS Z13 comes in a surprisingly sturdy body at just 0.6 inches. Port party, anybody?! Dual USB 4 Type-C for lightning-fast transfers, a classic USB-A for legacy devices, a full-size HDMI 2.1 to blast visuals onto a big screen, 3.5-mm audio jack for connecting headphones, and a microSD card reader for expanded storage! With this lineup, your gaming tablet just got supercharged and is now your mobile video editing powerhouse to crunch projects anywhere.
Feast your eyes on the ASUS 13.4-inch 2.5K IPS display, a visual playground with a blistering 180 Hz refresh rate. Colors explode with vibrancy and accuracy due to near 500-nit brightness and Pantone validation. Prepare for immersive visuals regardless of your task. And the sound? In an oxymoron of sorts, punchy speakers churn out crisp audio from an impossibly compact shell, being short on bass only because physics still has to be taken into account.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget
Pogo pins located along the bottom of the display open the way for its folding keyboard. The dream ends there. Deservedly, undermined by having to support the tablet’s substantial weight, its setup cemented a huge minus for the keyboard. It does make a fine choice on a proper desk: balance this beast on your lap, and the keyboard is all too willing to collapse. Then come the most infuriating accidental mouse clicks in the world. Such a bitter blow, because the keys? Lovely! Responsive and eager to bounce right back. Just imagine: you’re flung into your couch, game loaded, ready to chill out… the only thing standing between you and this plan is a cursor going haywire. What a soul-sucker.
Performance
Forget discrete graphics cards. This machine boldly features ASUS packing Force AMD Ryzen AI Max APU- either the 390 or the amped Max+ 395. That means a maximum of 32 cores and stogy 128 GB of unified RAM. However, you are 32 GB in our review device. Makes everyday tasks fold at its feet and smacks out any random video edits. This is not power; this is portable workstation-cum-dominance.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget
The days are gone for the bulky ol’ rigs. The Z13 puncheswayabove its weight in the gaming arena. We are talking about smooth and satisfying gameplay on very demanding titles. Cyberpunk 2077 at 1080p Ultra? Literally 93 fps. Control with Epic presets? 70 fps on the fluid side. Ray tracing in Cyberpunk 2077 did bring that down to 45 fps-the reality of pushing cutting-edge tech. But unless youreallyhave to feature raytracing in the newest AAA blockbuster, the Z13 becomes a seriously potent portable gaming partner on the road.
Think about the power settings of a laptop: they could be a double-edged sword. If left on full power in public, the turbo boost will trigger a fan-noise symphony-inappropriate and for the wrong reasons-so drawing the curious eyes of people. Imagine me nearly screaming over the thunderous sound of the cooling system just to talk to someone seated on my couch.
Battery life
Sam Rutherford for Engadget
Battery life of the Z13 really is a bit of a tale of two extremes. In the very ordinary setting, under the endurance of the PCMark Modern Office test, it lasted for a good six hours and 54 minutes. Being a rather respectable afternoon companion, it is not really an all-day marathon runner. The trade-off? Make sure there is an inspector gadget power adapter within your reach at all times.
Planning an unplugged session with the Z13? Hold on, because the game time is like one blink and gone deal: two hours, maybe. In my League of Legends: Teamfight Tactics test, the Z13 died after just two matches-age; barely enough time to even start climbing before the low battery warning was flashing like a neon sign. And keep in mind; TFT does not, in any way, push the graphical envelope.
Wrap-up
Unleash instant action: On the right side of the ROG Flow Z13 is the secret weapon-a programmable button ready to launch your favorite app with a single click. Customize your command center and empower it at the touch of a finger.
(Sam Rutherford for Engadget)
Forget everything you think you know about gaming tablets. The ASUS ROG Flow Z13 isn’t an end-means device; it’s a chameleon. Imagine a world where your powerhouse gaming rig transforms into a creative workstation in seconds. That is the world where the Z13 exists. This is not another run-of-the-mill ROG laptop decked out in flashing lights; rather, it’s a wolf in sheep’s clothing. Slam through video edits, and crush spreadsheets, then just pop in a microSD card and become a filmmaker. That brilliant color-accurate display will instantly ferry you into another sphere, gaming or creating. Best of all, even without a dedicated graphics, the Z13 will laugh back at demanding games. This is no ordinary tablet; it is a revolution.
The Flow Z13 is two steps behind because its flaws are unforgiving. Firstly, the detachable keyboard is a feeble one: it is an inconvenience when on a perfect flat surface and quickly becomes a hurdle once you stray away from it in any way. A plus is on a desk; painful is on your lap as you wrestle hard just to record a click.
But the real knockout? It is the price. Z13, at $2,100 and could reach $2,300 in our testing, is aiming at competing against an ROG Zephyrus G14 that sports a legit RTX 3070. It’s payingmoreand gettinglessfor its performance, which trade stability for a nice tablet design. For the buyers on a budget, this is not just a hard sell-it’s a firm rejection.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget
The ROG Flow Z13, in a way, shakes me gently into affection; I, too, want to harbor some respect toward its brave design and proud swagger. But somehow, it is an odd one out in my eyes. The only time a niche user would actually find real use for this machine as a true laptop replacement is if he had the most hyper-specific needs. And then comes the nasty wake-up call called the price, which awakens one to the realization that its charms are in full view but impractical.
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