Ever since Sony sold it’s once coveted brand VAIO in 2014 to a private equity fund, the line has managed to sustain it’s premium products and premium name, offering high-end specs and design to everything they’re currently churning out. The company’s latest VAIO Z flip model is no exception, a superb 2-in-1, with a super sleek design and powerful guts.
Vaio Z Flip Design
The Vaio Z line offers three versions — the VAIO Z, a standard thin and light notebook; the VAIO Z Canvas, a Windows 10 tablet that pairs with a bundled Bluetooth keyboard; and the VAIO Z flip model, a 2-in-1, which we are reviewing. There’s also the VAIO S, which is a sturdier version of the VAIO Z notebook.
The VAIO Z flip model has a 180-degree hinge halfway down its display, which enables the screen to flip and close over the keyboard. It’s apparent that VAIO put their best engineers to it’s design. The aluminum body and black carbon edges make the Z feel especially solid.
Another nice design touch is the Z’s ability to flip the display over while in notebook mode, leaving it propped up for presentations or drawing. A release switch centered at the display hinge enables the switch to tablet mode, where the display secures with magnets. Finally, the Vaio Z Flip measures a generous 12.76 x 0.59-0.66 x 8.48 inches and weighs in at 2.96 pounds.
Design & Build Continued
The VAIO Z flip has a very accurate 13.3-inch touch impact resistant tempered display with 10 touch points and 2560 x 1440 resolution. Suffice it to say, it’s slick. It has bottom mounted speakers which sound really good.
Port wise, the Z is outfitted with a ton of ports and buttons, including a standard USB 3.0 port, a full-sized USB 3.0 with charge, an AC Adapter input, SD card reader, an HDMI port, a dual audio jack, and a dedicated volume rocker for tablet mode. The display has a physical Windows key, also for tablet mode, and the AC adapter adds another full-sized USB for charging.
The backlit keyboard has well-spaced keys, with a good amount of snap when pushed. The body lends to some very comfortable typing. The large, textured trackpad sits centered underneath the keyboard, and has to be one of the best usable and functional trackpads around. Again, no surprise with the VAIO line.
Performance, Battery and Pen
The VAIO Z flip comes with either a sixth-gen Intel Core i5-6267U processor (4MB Cache, up to 3.30GHz) or a sixth-gen Intel Core i7-6567U processor (4MB Cache, up to 3.60GHz), and either 8GB or 16GB of LPDDR3 1866MHz RAM. Storage options include either a 256GB or 512GB PCIe SSD.
All configurations have Intel Iris Graphics 550, which sets the Z apart with a super speedy and powerful GUI. The Core i5 unit ships with 64-bit Windows 10 Home, while the others ship with 64-bit Windows 10 Pro.
The Z is a powerful machine, and it does a good job of keeping the unit cool. And while the fan is a little loud, it’s efficient, and rarely runs for more than a few seconds at a time.
The VAIO Z Flip also comes with a 2-in-1 combo pin. The N-trig stylus flows especially well on the display, with minimal latency. The pen is accurate, and does a great job with straight lines. The pen also has two buttons, with one serving to quick launch OneNote with a double press, and the other to launch the VAIO Clipping Tool with the same.
Battery-wise, The VAIO Z flip sports a 58 Wh lithium-polymer battery, and it provides good life at a little over 4 hours. Additionally, Windows 10 improves its battery performance, thanks to its robust power management tools.
Bottom Line
Starting at $1,799, the VAIO Z Flip is not the cheapest on the market, but you get a lot with it, namely the “best in show” design, the 2-in-1 pen and the Iris graphics. The Z is suited for luxury buyers who want style with function. Personally, we love the device, and would choose it over many of the higher end 2-in-1 devices, including the Surface line. The VAIO Z flip starts at $1,799, and you can purchase it Click Here.
