After days using the Asus ROG Flow Z13 2025, I think it’s still Pretty Nichey

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

It’s still slick and generally well designed, plus Asus has improved it in many aspects. For example, the touchpad is bigger, the keyboard travel is a little deeper, the webcam is better and now supports Windows Hello, it now has quad-channel speakers, the optional XG Mobile eGPU connects Thunderbolt 5 instead of a connector owner and more.

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

But like its predecessor, it is a bit heavy given its size. That’s to be expected given the tank-like build, and the keyboard is also on the heavy side. It maintains a full set of connections, too, including HDMI and a micro SD slot.

The Z13 comes in two models — the $2,199 one I looked at and a cheaper $1,999 model that differs in processor — uses a lower-tier Ryzen AI Max 390 with fewer CPU cores and GPU. Upcoming versions of the refresh XG Mobile it will incorporate mobile versions of an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 or 5080 GPU and has a cool translucent chassis design.

A flow in hand

Since the chips won’t be available until the end of this year (sometime before June), the Z13 I used still had early stage operating software and firmware, so I didn’t benchmark it or test the battery life (Asus estimates that it will last 10 hours), and it is possible that some small problems I had will be solved by the time of shipment.

While I love the feel of the new keyboard – typing now! – The newly added RGB backlight is not bright enough. It’s fine if you’re in a totally dark environment, but I’m sitting in the dark with Chrome open and the white screen makes the backlight useless unless you’re looking directly at it. The keyboard is quite rigid, but like many of these devices, it is not comfortable to use on your lap – when the kickstand is extended, you need long enough thighs to fit it – so its rigidity can become a bit debatable. However, the stiffness helps when it is tilted on a desk.

The magnets hold the keyboard section to the tablet along the top and bottom long edges, both closed and open, and are quite strong. I put it on a metal desk and found it surprisingly resistant to movement. It’s firmly attached to my iPad when I hide it too.

The 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 in theory, because I couldn’t get anything to confirm that DV was working. It looked good; the P3 color space coverage helps and the tonal range looks correctly mapped, but there’s only so much you can do with a maximum brightness of 500 nits, especially on a non-OLED screen.

Enlarge the Image

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