Even after all this time, the Asus Chromebook Flip C302 still lives up to its reputation as a high-end device.
It has a bright screen, a smooth keyboard, and a stylish design that makes it just as easy to use as a tablet or a traditional laptop.
The term “premium Chromebook” didn’t make sense until the Asus Chromebook Flip came out.
Even though there were a few other Chromebooks in the same class before it, Asus showed the world how a high-end Chromebook should look and feel while still being fairly affordable for most people.
Holistic Review!
The Asus Chromebook Flip has set the standard for high-end devices like the Google Pixelbook.
It has a slim, lightweight body and a 2-in-1 design that makes it more versatile.
It also performs as well as flagship devices like the Google Pixelbook and costs less.
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It’s one of the best Chromebooks because of this, which is why it’s become such a popular Asus laptop.
Costs And What’s Available!
When it first came out, the Asus Chromebook Flip cost $649 (about £509 or AU$926).
It had an Intel Core m5 processor, 64GB of storage, and 4GB of RAM.
That was a very high price for a Chromebook, for sure.
But since the Asus Chromebook Flip has been out for a while, you should be able to find some great deals.
If you’ve been thinking about getting an HP Chromebook, the HP Chromebook 14 is slightly bigger and comes with an Intel Celeron N2940 processor, Intel HD Graphics 500, 4 GB of memory, and 32 GB of eMMC storage.
But it costs a lot less at $299 (about £234 or AU$426).
Design
The Asus Chromebook Flip has an all-aluminium body, just like the Asus Chromebook C100 before it, but this time it has an anodized finish instead of a brushed one.
It has a simple, clean look and folds up into a nearly symmetrical metal slab.
The original Chromebook C100 had a long, bar-shaped hinge, but the ZenBook Flip UX360 has a metal mechanism with many gears.
This laptop feels less like a toy because of these two smaller hinges, and it also looks like a normal notebook because of them.
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The Asus Chromebook Flip is one of the lightest Chromebooks on the market.
It weighs 2.6 pounds (1.19 kg), which is only 0.3 lbs more than the Samsung Chromebook Plus.
It’s also one of the first convertible Chrome OS computers you’ll want to use as a tablet, unlike the 3.3-pound (1.5 kg) Acer Chromebook R13.
Overall, the Asus Chromebook Flip C302 is just like every other unibody laptop made in the past few years that was inspired by the MacBook Pro.
But the straight edges, rounded corners, and thin frame of 0.9 inches (2.29 cm) make for a smart design that can compete with HP and Google’s more expensive models, but at a much lower price.
Android Apps On Tap!
Chrome OS devices are getting more and more likely to have a working tablet mode as Google keeps improving the way Android works with Chrome OS.
The Asus Chromebook Flip didn’t come with access to the Play Store when it first came out, so we had to switch to the Chrome OS beta channel to be able to download apps while we had it.
Asus has since fixed this, so now the device can run all Android apps from the Google Play Store.
At the moment, the hybrid Chromebook has everything it needs to go deep into the Android ecosystem.
We started up our favourite apps just like we would on any other Google tablet.
To our surprise, the hybrid Chromebook also has gyroscopes, which let us play games like Asphalt 8 that are controlled by movement.
Not everything about running Android apps is perfect, which is a shame.
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Many useful apps that we use on our phones don’t scale quite right on Chromebooks.
This means that the text on some apps is very small.
Also, you can’t use the Kindle app in full-screen mode while it’s in portrait mode.
Mobile apps are designed for a touchscreen interface, which doesn’t always work well with the Asus Chromebook Flip’s touchpad and keyboard.
Changing the hybrid to tablet mode is easy, of course.
We think that these problems were caused by the beta version of Chrome OS that we used to test it, which fixed some problems and made new ones.
Even with these problems, we’re glad we don’t have to look through the Chrome Web Store, which is full of fake apps and games.
What About Its Verdict!
The Asus Chromebook Flip is even more useful now that we can get apps from the Play Store.
We like using Android apps on the Asus Chromebook Flip in tablet mode just as much as we like using it as a regular Chromebook for long browsing and writing sessions.
The combination of Google’s two platforms means that we can finally use mobile apps along with Chrome OS’s main features.
