ASUS VivoBook S15 (S531) Hands On, Quick Review: All About the Colors

ASUS VivoBook S15 (S531) Hands On, Quick Review: All About the Colors

The VivoBook S15 gets more colorful!

ASUS refreshed its colorful, millennial-friendly VivoBook S15 series with a sleeker design and more vibrant color choices for the S531 series. There’s no question ASUS is looking to infuse the notebook line with more style, and wants to put the VivoBook line at the same level as the more expensive ZenBook line visually.

The 2019 VivoBook S15 refresh also gets a better MX250 discrete GPU option, a backlit keyboard, and an IR camera for secure log-ins.

We got our hands on a unit and check out some of the differences between last year’s S530 and S531:

More vibrant colors to choose from

While the VivoBook S15 (S530) kicked off the vibrant design aesthetic with its vibrant color accents on the laptop’s sides, the S531 pulls it off differently with its anodized aluminum lids. For the S531’s aluminum lid, you have five color choices: Moss Green, Cobalt Blue, Punk Pink, Transparent Silver, and Gun Metal.

All five colors have an accent color for the lid’s trimming. In the case of the Punk Pink color, you have Moss Green accents to compliment the vibrant hue.

Instead of the typical ASUS branding dead center on the lid, the S531 has a smaller ASUS VivoBook branding on the right side.

Familiar design cues make a comeback

Like its predecessor, the S531 also comes with an ErgoLift hinge that tilts the laptop by 3.5 degrees for a more comfortable typing position.

The S531’s keyboard has the same full-sized layout and 1.4mm key travel but adds backlighting for improved productivity in dim lighting conditions. In addition, the S531’s keyboard top plate is now made of aluminum compared to polycarbonate with its predecessor.

The S531’s port layout is the same with last year’s model: Two USB 2.0 ports and MicroSD card reader on the left, and combo headphone jack, USB-C 3.1, HDMI, USB 3.0 and power adapter on the right.

For the audio side, the S531’s speakers are tuned by Harman Kardon, while ASUS’ SonicMaster surround sound tech is still present.

Sleeker bezels with new tricks

ASUS managed to trim down the bezels further with the S531. This time, the NanoEdge bezels are now 5.2mm thin, giving the S531 a higher 88% screen-to-body ratio. You get the same 15-inch Full HD display panel with the S531, though ASUS added an IR camera in addition to the HD webcam for secure face log-ins.

Internals you’d expect in a mid-range laptop

You have the same internals on the S531 compared to its predecessor: up to 8th-generation core i7 processor, up to 16GB RAM, and up to 512GB SSD and 1TB HDD (or a combination of both). For the S531, you get an upgrade on the GPU department with an MX250 discrete GPU.

The unit we have here comes with a Core i7-8565U processor paired with 8GB RAM, MX250 Discrete GPU, 512GB SSD, and 1TB HDD. For the S531, there will be a Core i5-8265U option for those who are looking for a more affordable option.

Keeping the lights on is a 42wH 3-cell lithium-polymer battery, which is bigger compared to the cell found on the S530. ASUS updated the quick charging feature on the S531: this time, you can juice it up from zero to 60% in 49 minutes.

That’s it for our quick review of the S531. ASUS will be announcing the pricing and availability soon, so stay tuned to the site for updates.

ASUS VivoBook S15 (S531) Specs

  • Intel Core i7-8565U processor
  • 8GB DDR3 2133MHz SDRAM
  • Intel HD Graphics 620 Integrated GPU
  • NVIDIA MX250 Discrete GPU
  • 15-inch Full HD display
  • 512GB PCIe Gen 3 x2 SSD
  • 1TB HDD
  • HDMI, USB 2.0, USB 3.1 Gen 1, USB-C, Combo headphone jack, SD card slot
  • Fingerprint scanner, backlit keyboard, MIL-STD-810G certified
  • 3-cell 42Wh battery

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