New Asus laptop means serious business

Enter the powerful laptop that’s always connected. The latest Asus Expertbook B7 Flip is the top of its class with a powerful internals, and built-in Wi-Fi 6 and 5G options to remain constantly connected.

Any professional who needs strong computing power in a laptop form factor needs to look at the B7 Flip. It offers some great features that the traditional business heavyweights don’t offer, like stylus touchscreen support, and the Asus NumberPad, which is transforms the trackpad into a Num Pad.

The laptop is created from a roughened matte black chassis that is coated with tiny sparkling dots, which explains its colour name: Star Black. The rough coating makes this laptop grippy, making it easier to hold and transport. 

Before opening the laptop, we had to admire the wide range of ports in such a slim notebook. It has two USB-A (3.2 Gen 2) ports and two USB-C (Thunderbolt 4) ports for new and old peripherals. One will never have the wrong display connection with the B7: it has Mini DisplayPort, HDMI, and Micro-HDMI ports, alongside video output over USB-C. This all translates to four ways a user can connect to displays and projectors. There’s also a 3.5mm headphone jack, and a Kensington Lock slot.

It features a slim-bezelled, 16:10, 14” touch screen display. It can also flip (as the name suggests) back onto itself to put the computer into tablet mode. The screen can be controlled with a stylus or touch. This helps it transform into a media powerhouse at night, with excellent Harman/Kardon audio to watch videos and play some light games.

The keyboard and trackpad are comfortable to use, with a satisfying amount of travel when typing and clicking. When the scene becomes darker, the backlit keyboard comes into its own. The trackpad also has a trick up its sleeve: it can turn into a Num Pad with the tap of a button.

This laptop is not just pretty to look at. It features an 11th Gen Intel Core i7 (i7-1195G7) processor, backed by 64GB of memory. To sweeten the deal, 1TB of blazing-fast PCIe 3.0 SSD storage makes this computer a serious multitasking machine.

All this power comes with cutting-edge connectivity options. We put an MTN SIM card into the side-mounted SIM slot and enabled 5G connectivity, at speeds of around 300Mbit/s. This does, however, put some strain on the battery, which reduces it by an hour from its typical 12-hour Wi-Fi only battery cycle. Wi-Fi 6 is also embedded in the device, making connectivity feel instant when connected to the latest Wi-Fi routers.

This connectivity is essential for video conferencing. The computer comes equipped with a 720p webcam, which has a built-in privacy shutter to block the lens when it’s not in use. Clearer voice is also enabled by a two-way AI noise-cancelling mic array. There is a mic-off button on the keyboard to complete the privacy focus.

Overall, the Asus ExpertBook B7 Flip is a great productivity device with strong performance, excellent privacy features, and a long-lasting battery life. The 1TB storage + 8GB RAM option is available from the Asus South Africa online store for R30,999.