Meet the Asus ROG Flow Z13, the world’s most powerful gaming… tablet?

Around this time last year, we got to take a look at the Asus ROG Flow X13, a 2-in-1 convertible gaming laptop that packed some seriously strong hardware under the hood. However, that was still technically a laptop because the keyboard was attached to it via the 360-degree hinge. This year, Asus are taking things up a notch with the ROG Flow Z13, a fully kitted out Windows gaming tablet. If its hard to wrap your head around what exactly this is, picture the Microsoft Surface Pro—on steroids.

The ROG Flow Z13 is basically a very powerful Windows tablet. It comes with up to an Intel Core i9-12900H processor with 16GB of rapid LPDDR5 RAM on board and up to a 1TB NVMe SSD. The ROG Flow Z13 will also be able to play most games as it comes with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti graphics card. But to really get the frame rates pumping, you can also plug it to an external GPU enclosure via the proprietary Asus XG Mobile eGPU kit. You’ll essentially be able to go from solid entry level portable gaming tablet to a full-on gaming laptop just like that.

Its display is quite interesting too. Asus have given the ROG Flow Z13 a 13.4-inch, 16:10 IPS display that can be configured with either a 4K resolution and 60Hz refresh rate, or a FHD resolution with a 120Hz refresh rate if you prefer. It comes with a 100% coverage of the sRGB colour gamut, has adaptive-sync and is pantone validated too. Crucially though is that there’s a MUX switch under the hood, which means that while gaming you can turn off the integrated graphics, ensuring that you’re getting as much as possible of the graphics card to the display. Behind the display meanwhile is a kickstand, allowing you to prop up the ROG Flow Z13 while using it. Just above the kickstand is a rear ‘window’ too with Aura Sync lighting.

Elsewhere, you’ll find the detachable chiclet keyboard with RGB lighting. The whole thing is made of CNC-milled metal with an anti-fingerprint coating too. In the I/O department, you’ll find a 3.5mm audio jack, the aforementioned XG Mobile Interface port, a USB-A port, a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port, a Thunderbolt 4 port as well as a microSD card reader. Above the display is an 8MP 720HD webcam while the speakers are a 2-speaker stereo with Dolby Atmos. Keeping the lights on is a 56WHr Li-ion battery and you’ll be able to charge the thing with a 100W USB-C charger. It weighs just 1.18kg too, making it arguably one of the most portable gaming machines around.

The Asus ROG Flow Z13 is being marketed as a ‘one device, infinite play’ solution by Asus, and it’s easy to see why. You can bring just the tablet around if you’re just at home watching some Netflix, or you can plug in your keyboard for when you need to work at home or in the office. And then once you feel like playing some games, you can either use the internal RTX 3050 Ti for some light gaming or the odd eSports title, or plug in an Asus eGPU so that you can play the latest and greatest triple-A games.

One thing’s for sure though—it won’t be cheap. Remember that ROG Flow X13 from last year we mentioned earlier? It costs a whopping RM13,499 for the bundle with the RTX 3080 external GPU when it launched in Malaysia. Of course, you could get it without the eGPU too, which drops it to a more respectable RM6,499. Despite that, it’s still a very interesting product, and is one many gamers will want to see available for sure. There’s no final word just yet on pricing and availability though we understand that it’ll be made available in the first half of 2022.