After days of using the Asus ROG Flow Z13 from 2025, I think it’s still pretty bad

Not much has changed between the new CES-announced model of Asus’ relatively powerful 13.4-inch tablet-with-a-detachable-keyboard and ROG Flow Z13 I reviewed when the first game came out, and unsurprisingly, my opinion hasn’t changed much either. I like the idea and the execution, but it still feels impractical and it’s not the first thing I’d think of grabbing for anything other than the occasional PC game where I want something with a bigger screen than my steam deck.

It’s still smooth and generally well designed, plus Asus have improved a few aspects. For example, the touchpad is bigger, the keyboard travel is slightly deeper, the webcam is better and now supports Windows Hello, there are now quad-channel speakers, the optional XG Mobile eGPU connects Thunderbolt 5 instead of a proprietary connector, and more.

The model I used included the brand new one AMD Ryzen AI Max Plus 395 a Radeon 8060S processor with integrated graphics – the Z13 previously used Intel processors – and a 1600p IPS touchscreen that runs at 60Hz or 180Hz.

But like its predecessor, it’s a bit heavy for its size. That’s to be expected given the tank-like build, and the keyboard is also heavy. However, it retains a full range of connections, including HDMI and a micro SD slot.

The Z13 comes in two models – the $2,199 one I looked at, and the cheaper $1,999 model, which differs by processor – it uses a lower-end Ryzen AI Max 390 with fewer CPU and GPU cores. The upcoming versions of the updated XG Mobile it will feature mobile versions of Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 or 5080 GPUs and has a cool translucent chassis design.

Flux in hand

Since the chips won’t be available until later this year (sometime before June), the Z13 I used still had early-stage OS and firmware, so I didn’t benchmark or test it for battery life ( Asus estimates it will last 10 hours) and it’s possible that some minor issues I had will be fixed by the time it ships.

Although I like the feel of the new keyboard — I’m typing on it now! — the newly added RGB backlight is not nearly bright enough. It’s fine if you’re in a completely dark environment, but I’m sitting in the dark with Chrome open and the white screen makes the backlight useless unless you’re staring directly down at it. The keyboard is quite firm, but like many of these devices, it’s not comfortable to use on your lap – when the stand is extended, you need quite long thighs to accommodate it – so its firmness can become somewhat of an issue. However, the firmness helps when it’s tilted on a desk.

The magnets hold the keyboard section to the tablet at the top and bottom long edges, whether closed or open, and are quite strong. I put it on a metal desk and found it surprisingly resistant to movement. It clung heavily to my iPad when I piled them on too.

Quad speakers with Dolby Atmos support sound pretty good. The screen looks pretty good and Asus provides the usual calibration profiles – I didn’t test it because display performance can be sensitive to BIOS and other firmware. It only supports HDR for video (Dolby Vision), not games, but even that is in theory because I couldn’t get anything to confirm that DV works. It looked good; the P3’s color space coverage helps, and the tonal gamut seemed correctly mapped, but you can only do so much with 500 nits of peak brightness, especially on a non-OLED screen.

Enlarge the image

However, performance aside, the ROG Flow Z13 remains a fairly niche device and may appeal to people who want something more powerful and upgradeable (via an external GPU) than Surface Pro for games and creation.