Multimedia laptops are known for striking a balance between affordability and performance. These devices often have high-resolution screens for watching videos, are strong enough for light gaming, and are reasonably priced. Asus’ Vivobook series have followed this trend, and today we’ll look at the new K15 OLED series, which is surprisingly affordable.
In India, the Asus Vivobook K15 OLED series starts at roughly Rs. 47,000 and goes up to around Rs. 80,000. We’ll be examining a variation that sits halfway in the middle, using an AMD Ryzen CPU rather than the Intel CPUs has seen in most other variants. Is the Asus Vivobook K15 OLED worthwhile for your attention given the lack of competition for OLED laptops in this price range? Let’s have a look at what we’ve got.
Asus VivoBook K15 OLED (KM513) design
Because of the 15.6-inch display, the Asus VivoBook K15 OLED has a vast footprint, but it’s not notably bulky or awkward. It’s a little on the heavy side at 1.8kg, but that’s not awful for a laptop this size. The chassis has an excellent build quality, and the plastics are well-fitting and finished, with no undesirable flex or creaks. This model should also be available in Indie Black and Transparent Silver, according to Asus.
The OLED display is a significant attraction. The full-HD resolution, 600nit peak brightness, and 100 percent DCI-P3 color gamut support feature this 15.6-inch screen. Pantone, TUV Rheinland, and other organizations have certified the display for color fidelity and reduced blue-light emission, among other things. The display margins on the Asus Vivobook K15 OLED are small on the left and right and slightly thicker on the top and bottom. Above the screen is an integrated webcam, but it only has a 720p resolution. The lid provides adequate protection for the OLED panel, and while there is some flex, it has no discernible effect on the display.
One of the significant benefits of a 15.6-inch laptop is the availability of a full-sized keyboard with a numeric keypad. Coming from a smaller laptop, I had to retrain my muscle memory a little, as I kept pressing the wrong keys at first, but I got used to it after a few days. The keys themselves are adequately spaced and pleasant, but for a better typing experience, I wish they were slightly contoured rather than flat. The fluorescent green accents on the ‘Enter’ key are a lovely little touch. The arrow keys are also evenly spaced. A fingerprint sensor is located in one corner of the trackpad on the Asus VivoBook K15 OLED. It performs admirably while remaining unobtrusive.
When it comes to ports, there are lots of them. Two USB 2.0 Type-A ports are located on the left, while a USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A port, a USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-C port, HDMI 1.4 video output, a headphone jack, a DC power outlet, and a microSD card slot are located on the right. These ports should suffice for regular use, though I would have preferred more USB 3.0 ports than the two USB 2.0 ports and HDMI 2.0 instead, as the outdated v1.4 spec would have allowed for 4K 60fps output.
Specifications and software
The Asus VivoBook K15 OLED comes with an Intel or AMD processor. The Intel-based models start at Rs. 46,990, which includes an 11th Generation Intel Core i3-1115G4 processor. If necessary, you can upgrade to a Core i7 processor. In India, Asus only has one AMD-powered model on the market at this review, which has an AMD Ryzen 5 5500U CPU with integrated Radeon graphics. This model also comes with 8GB of RAM, a 256GB M.2 NVMe SSD, and a 1TB hard drive. Only a single 4GB module was recognized in the CPUz software out of the 8GB of RAM, indicating that the other 4GB is most likely soldered to the motherboard.
My equipment came with Windows 10. However, you can update to Windows 11 during the setup process. A trial edition of McAfee Livesafe and a fully licensed version of Microsoft Office Home & Student 2019 are among the preinstalled programs. The Asus launcher app, which also has a dedicated shortcut button on the keyboard, allows you to access all Asus programs. The software is a little clumsy but effective, with plenty of battery care, update, and display customization choices.
Performance and battery life
The bright OLED screen on the Asus VivoBook K15 OLED excels at video playing. Depending on adjusting the display, the blacks are deep, and the colors can appear incredibly vibrant. It’s important to remember that the glossy screen can cause reflections. The viewing angles are decent, although there is a slight color shift when viewing the screen off-axis, which is only noticeable with a white background.
The monitor supports HDR, but you must enable it in Windows to use it. Any highlight in an HDR movie is suddenly blown out when using the default picture profile. To get the appropriate balance, you’ll need to modify the HDR brightness slider in Windows’ display settings, as well as enable HDR streaming while on battery power. HDR videos looked a lot better after this. Even with the DTS software upgrades, the dual speakers sound good but not spectacular.
The Ryzen 5 5500U CPU was somewhat slower than the Ryzen 5 5600U CPU we recently tested in the Acer Swift X, which was understandable. The inbuilt Radeon GPU, on the other hand, isn’t powerful enough for demanding games. Fortnite could only be played at the display’s native resolution with low graphical settings. Games like Far Cry 5 were hardly playable at low graphics settings, and the key had to be decreased as well.
Conclusion
The Asus VivoBook K15 OLED (KM513) is a small and light laptop with a 15.6-inch screen ideal for media consumption. The Ryzen 5 CPU’s six cores provide plenty of processing power for multitasking and demanding applications. Gaming isn’t a strong suit for this laptop, so if that’s a priority for you, you’ll have to look at other possibilities. I wish Asus had included a full-sized card port instead of a microSD slot because the battery life is poor.
These devices often have high-resolution screens for watching videos, are strong enough for light gaming, and are reasonably priced. Asus' Vivobook series have followed this trend, and today we'll look at the new K15 OLED series, which is surprisingly affordable.
-
Design
-
Specifications and software
-
Performance and battery life
