In a fast-paced world fraught with deadlines and gridlocked traffic, achieving a reasonable—never mind a perfect—work-life balance seems almost an impossible dream.
Professionals always emphasize the need to achieve an ideal balance between work and recreation. But is that actually attainable or simply wishful thinking?
The answer depends on how optimistic or cynical one is. But what remains as fact is that with the right equipment, one can realistically skew the balance towards a more favorable one.
And there is one device that many of us just can’t live without. (And no, it’s not a smartphone.) It’s the equally ubiquitous laptop—that piece of equipment that has the potential to singlehandedly transform one’s computing experience, whether you’re crunching numbers on a spreadsheet or binge-watching the newest series on Netflix.
The ASUS Vivobook Pro 15 OLED is one such machine.
The form factor
The Vivobook Pro 15 OLED does not overwhelm you with flash. Instead it soothes you with an understated elegance from its sleek and streamlined shape and its silky matte finish. A unique design element is the engraved-silver rendition of the branding on a thin, raised trapezoidal plate. The Quiet Blue colorway lives up to its name by its subtle calming effect. (Psychologists and interior designers often recommend blue for its calming effect on the brain.)
People don’t purchase a 15.6-inch notebook expecting a featherweight product, so it’s not surprising that the Vivobook Pro 15 OLED weighs in at 1.8kg—not exactly light but certainly far from heavy.
The interface and connectivity
Flipping over the lid—and feeling the smooth hinge at work—reminds me of opening a Mercedes-Benz door. You know it’s heavy but the hinges work their magic and lets you shut the door (or the lid) with a satisfying solidity despite a light touch. And like a German car, the ergonomics of the Vivobook Pro 15 OLED is top notch. The screen opens to a full 180 degrees, opening up a host of possibilities for both movie viewing or presentations.
The power button conveniently doubles as a fingerprint scanner. Like the lid operation, you get a smooth and satisfying tactile feel from the generously sized touchpad. Above it is the chiclet backlit keyboard that offers more space for even the biggest (and clumsiest) hands. The aesthetics and feel of the keys are impressively premium.
On the bezel above the screen is an FHD Webcam (with 3D noise-reduction) to improve image quality in low-light conditions. It even has a built-in lens cover to protect you from prying eyes.
There is an abundance of ports to satisfy even the most demanding users. On the right, you’ll find the power connector, USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port, HDMI port, USB-C port, microSD card reader, and 3.5mm headphone jack. The left side houses two USB 2.0 ports. These allow the Vivobook 15 Pro OLED to easily output to a 4K display, connect to storage devices, or expand connections.
That brilliant OLED display
I’m an editor who works with layouts for print and for websites, as well as with videos; hence display quality is crucial for me. I also like to be able to enjoy streaming shows when the hunger for entertainment and relaxation strikes. Fortunately, the Vivobook Pro 15 OLED has the hardware to deliver.
It starts with the cinematic 16:9 aspect ratio, afforded by the expansive 15.6-inch 120Hz OLED HDR display, which in turn supports a stunning 2880×1620 resolution and 600 nits of brightness. And in case you didn’t know, the Vivobook Pro 15 OLED is the world’s first laptop with a 120Hz OLED display.[i]
For professional artists—and discriminating movie viewers—ASUS offers up a screen that’s certified VESA DisplayHDR 600 True Black and Pantone Validated, with an ultrawide color gamut of 100% DCI-P3. This is nothing less than color and image vibrancy and accurancy to the highest level.
To further heighten the immersive visual experience, ASUS fitted the Vivobook 15 Pro OLED with an audiophile-quality Harman Kardon-certified Dolby Atmos sound system.
Under the hood
If the ASUS Vivobook 15 Pro OLED were a car, it would be a BMW M5—an elegant and luxurious sedan that’s as fast and powerful as a Ferrari.
Powering this Vivobook is a high-powered processor, the AMD Ryzen 7 5800H. It runs on 16GB of RAM with a 512GB SSD. It also has a dedicated graphics card – NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050, no less – to further enhance visuals and overall performance. RAM-heavy applications such as 3D rendering, video editing, and even intense gaming become a smooth, swift, and seamless pleasure—even when you’re multitasking.
Of course, with great power comes great cooling needs. In this regard, the Vivobook 15 Pro OLED is equipped with ASUS IceCool Plus thermal technology, enabling it to operate at max levels without breaking a sweat.
Bundled ProArt Creator Hub
Content creators, rejoice! The ASUS Vivobook Pro 15 OLED comes with ProArt Creator Hub software, which allows you to choose fan profile, recalibrate the display color, and create task groups to open multiple apps simultaneously.
The ASUS Vivobook Pro 15 OLED (M6500) superbly blends stunning display quality with benchmark-setting performance. And at a price point of P74,995, it’s not as pricey as you’d expect from a laptop with its capability.
All things considered, achieving that perfect work-life balance might be as easy as booting up the Vivobook Pro 15 OLED.
[i] Based on currently available 15.6” 2.8K 120 Hz OLED laptop displays as of March 2022.
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