ASUS Chromebook Flip C436 Review

October 7, 2020 at 9:43pm
By Jason Stettner

It’s been great to be able to check out the Asus Chromebook Flip C436, a two in one that offers both a traditional laptop experience and a touch screen tablet one as well. This definitely achieves its goal in either regard. This was my first experience of the Chrome OS, and that was interesting. It’s very much a streamlined offering, meant for casual use and light work.

With that, it’s a tad odd how much of an overkill some of the specifications are here. Nothing I was able to throw at it really stressed the device, then again there isn’t necessarily a whole lot available on the OS that could really do so. I’m not trying to be negative at all about what’s available, I do understand and appreciate the niche this option falls into. For those that want something straight forward, swift and snappy this will be for you.

It allows you to enjoy good quality visual experiences whether you’re watching a video, lightly browsing the web or getting some work done. Doing so comfortably while seated somewhere, at a desk or lounging around. With the two in one focus, it can be adjusted for the situation’s need which is great. The hinge didn’t make any sound and worked perfectly.

This device provides a 14” FHD(1920x1080p) display with a 16:9 ratio. There’s an 85% screen to body ratio so that basically presents a 4.9mm thin side bezel and a 7mm bottom bezel. It’s incredibly thin, being more about the screen and less about the casing which was cool to the touch itself. The nice shell comes in Aerogel White and Transparent Silver. The case has a unique shine to it, definitely an interesting aesthetic choice in that regard. It’s also super light being 2.58lbs so it’ll be fairly easy to hold with a single hand in most situations.

This is a basically silent running laptop, I never heard any noise even after hours of usage. This is great as I expect quiet in a modern piece of technology. Again, nothing really did push it so this was expected. It’s also cool after that time period, only lightly warming. The keyboard was solid for the most part, I really don’t have any issues to note.

It could have perhaps been a little softer to the touch, but it gets the job done and is one of the better keyboards I’ve used. It is also backlit for those darker times, and it has an integrated fingerprint sensor. The touchpad portion could have been a bit nicer to the touch. It didn’t feel quite as fancy or nice to in comparison to the keys. When it comes to the audio I was fairly impressed, it packed a punch and felt full. It was loud, clear and delivered what I had desired in that regard. It’s also certified by Harman Kardon and has a 3.5mm headphone jack.

When it comes to the webcam I was thoroughly disappointed. Considering the price of the device and the increased need for a good camera on your devices in recent times this one just doesn’t provide anything of quality. It’s 720p at a low FPS and it just looks horrible when used. I wasn’t impressed needless to say, for a premium device the camera quality should be better and I’m holding all laptops or similar devices to this standard.

Interfaces wise there are minimal plug-in options. There are two USB 3.2 Type-C ports, the previously mentioned audio jack and a MicroSD card slot. It’s good to see the newer type of USB standard being pushed, at the same time I somewhat struggled to find cords to use on it for some devices so I’m not even all the way there yet. Just something to keep in mind if you have traditional USB devices, you’ll need a dongle or something of that sort. By doing so, that helped in making it incredibly thin.

Now it’s time for some deeper technical specifications on this one. There are two processor options including the Intel Core i5-10210U (1.6GHz quad-core 6MB cache) and the i3-10110U (2.1GHz dual-core 6MB cache) from which I had the latter available within the device I got to use. The memory is either 16GB or 8GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 with storage capacity options of NVMe 3.0 x 2 M.2 SSD at 512GB, 256GB or 128GB.

Those are some fairly heavy options for what you’re doing on this. It turns on essentially instantly, everything is insanely snappy and you won’t face any performance problems. This notes up to twelve hours of battery life and it was fine in that regard, I didn’t notice anything really draining it too heavily. It also has Bluetooth 5 support and Wi-Fi 6. It has the connection points it needs from a wireless sense, and some heavy duty internal components.

When it comes to gaming I couldn’t do my typical benchmarks since you’re reliant on whatever the Google Play Store has for Chrome OS and it’s pitiful quite honestly. That aside, you can run Google Stadia from the browser and it’s great. I do wonder why they don’t have an app included, for integration sakes that would make complete sense. It just shows a disconnect as you should be having that app pushed on there to help build an awareness for Stadia, as most users will never even know you have the option. I enjoyed playing DOOM and Dead by Daylight on that service.

The other streaming option supported as an app was Xbox Cloud Gaming (previously known as Xbox Project xCloud). It ran beautifully well and looked great, except the controller input didn’t work properly at all. I’ve never faced that issue on any other Android device prior. So it’s unplayable, I did ask the loaner for support and never heard back on this issue. A shame, as Stadia in combination with Xbox Cloud Gaming could have been a killer game combo for this device.

The Conclusion

The ASUS Chromebook Flip C436 is a premium, quality offering with more power than I knew what to do with on the Chrome OS. It really did feel like overkill for what tasks you could achieve. That does mean it’s super snappy. It’s still a generally well designed product, it fits a niche and feels like the top of the barrel in that regard. It seems somewhat pricey, and I don’t typically consider cost too much when putting together reviews. So keep that in mind.

It does bring quality audio, a great visual display and a comfortable form factor. It’s very light, comfy to use and has that two in one combo. Enjoy it as a tablet, or use it as a laptop. The choice is entirely up to you, and it’ll work efficiently in either case. It was great to be able to give this a whirl, and to experience what it has to offer.

It’s always fun to play with different types of tech, and I could see this being very helpful. It fits into a particular niche quite well, and I could see myself finding this handy for light browsing or certain types of work. It’s good for mobility, or being used in a set space. Definitely interesting. I will give a final note that I have a high level of trust within the Asus brand.

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Asus Chromebook Flip C436 Review product loaned by Google tested with Games, Video and Streamed Content. Games; Worldcraft, Stadia, Xbox Cloud Gaming

Rating Overall: 7.5