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If Ikea had a tech section, the VivoBook S15 -- with its sleek, simple design and splash of bold color -- would be the poster child.
The silver model we received also has its own flair, sporting a bright-yellow trim and a smooth, faux-aluminum deck. The tiny stippled dot texture and vibrant color reminded me of a Roy Lichtenstein painting. There is also something undoubtedly Scandinavian about the VivoBook S15: If Ikea had a tech section, the VivoBook S15 -- with its sleek, simple design and splash of bold color -- would be the poster child.
But that's not the only reason to get excited about the VivoBook. The ErgoLift, the clever elevated hinge introduced on the ZenBook S, makes a pleasant return. This time, the back of the keyboard tilts upward at a 3.5-degree angle. This offers a more comfortable typing experience and improves audio and heat management.
At 14.2 x 9.6 x 0.7 inches, the VivoBook S15 is relatively compact for a 15.6-inch laptop. It has a similar footprint to the sleek Lenovo Ideapad 530s (14.1 x 9.6 x 0.6 inches) and is significantly smaller than the Acer Aspire E 15 (15 x 10.2 x 1.2 inches). The VivoBook S15 is also lightweight, at 3.7 pounds. Again, that matches the Ideapad 530s (3.7 pounds) and is much lighter than the Aspire E 15 (4.9 pounds).
The VivoBook S15 has a good selection of ports for a laptop this slim, but I wish it had Thunderbolt 3 input.The left side of the laptop holds two USB 2.0 ports, a microSD card slot and LED indicators for charging and battery status.On the right side, you'll find a DC jack, a USB 3.1 port, an HDMI port, a USB Type-C port and a headphone/mic combo jack.
It's a shame that such a colorful laptop has this dull a display. The VivoBook S15's 15.6-inch, 1080p display is sharp and bright, but it disappoints in the color department.When I watched a trailer for the upcoming mystery flick Bad Times at the El Royale, the opulent furnishings in the majestic setting were crystal clear, and I could even make out the thin pinstripes in Jon Hamm's dapper suit.But at the end of the first trailer for the upcoming Captain Marvel film, the red and blue in Brie Larson's suit looked dull as fire raged around her. And although the skin tones and white balance were accurate, the sci-fi effects didn't glow with the same richness of color that you'd find on a higher-quality panel.
The VivoBook S15's display can reproduce only 68 percent of the sRGB color spectrum, which is worse than even the Lenovo Ideapad 530s (72 percent) and the Acer Aspire E 15 (74 percent) -- two laptops with particularly dull displays. The mainstream laptop average is 89 percent.Topping the mainstream-laptop average (242 nits) with a maximum brightness of 257 nits, the VivoBook S15's display should be visible outdoors, even on a sunny day. The Ideapad 530s' 255-nit display was slightly dimmer, and the Aspire E 15's 200-nit screen wasn't anywhere near as luminous.
The Asus VivoBook S15's island-style keyboard offers a comfortable typing experience, thanks to tactile keys and an innovative elevated hinge, which make up for faults like shallow key travel.With 1 millimeter of travel, the VivoBook's keys are shallow for a 15-inch laptop. (We prefer key travel of at least 1.5 mm.) However, the keyboard has several things going in its favor. The keys are well spaced and generously sized, apart from a slightly undersized number pad -- that's right; there's a number pad. And despite the low travel, there is a pleasant springiness to the keys.
What greatly improves typing on the VivoBook S15 is the laptop's elevated ErgoLift hinge, which tilts the back of the keyboard toward you at a 3.5-degree angle. That's a gentler gradient than the one on the ZenBook S, but my wrists still appreciate the natural typing position offered by the gentle slope.
Unsurprisingly, I sped through the 10fastingers.com typing test, achieving 119 words per minute with an accuracy rate of 95 percent. Those figures match my speed and accuracy typing averages.

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