ASUS ExpertBook B7 Flip: Premium Laptop for Executives

Choosing a laptop usually involves a couple of considerations. We would primarily consider both the size and the specs first, while other considerations might still be a key aspect but generally those features are “nice things to have”. So I am really surprised to see that ASUS has created an entire product line that mainly focuses on the business sector with their ExpertBook series. And what we have today is one of their more premium model: ASUS ExpertBook B7 Flip. Let’s take a closer look on what exactly made this laptop towards businesses and enterprises.

What’s Inside: No Frills, Just Business

Unboxing the B7 is fairly straightforward, once you open it, you’ll be greeted with the actual unit, it’s 65w USB type-C charger, a microHDMI to Ethernet dongle and finally some documentation for your shiny new laptop.

One comment though: I actually saw the product page of this laptop and saw that an optional pen can be purchased and how I wish that they would just include it as I find having a pen more productive in an office scenario.

Design: Slim and Minimalist

Before I get more detailed on this unit, I would just like to commend ASUS on giving this business notebook a 16:10 aspect ratio as the extra workspace is definitely a big plus especially for those who work with Excel all day.

Going back, The ASUS ExpertBook B7 is a slim 14-inch laptop that is only 18mm thick while weighing in at 1.43kg. It is on the lighter side which is nice yet it feels solid thanks to its Magnesium-Aluminum alloy chassis. Opening the laptop tilts the keyboard by a bit for a better typing experience while allowing more air to be sucked in for better cooling. Overall I liked its brushed top and minimalist design. Well-suited for those who are looking for a non flashy design but still has a “cool” factor to it. For the display, It features an IPS panel that is rated for 100% sRGB with a total rated brightness of 500 nits. We have no way of confirming this right now but overall it gives off a nice color with decent brightness whether you are indoor or outdoor. The display itself is also touch enabled and you can flip the laptop 360 degrees if ever you plan on jotting down notes or drawing images to be shown off to your bosses or clients. Webcam included is a standard 720p cam that should be more than enough for your corporate calls and conference.

The keyboard has a nice feel to it and you could easily adjust to its layout. It is also illuminated, good for those late night work while the numbers 1 to 4 have a different keycap which I’ll talk more about later. The touchpad on the other side works great but attracts fingerprint smudges like crazy. It is also very wide as compared to a standard one but how I wish that they made it taller as I’m having a hard time with vertical navigation. Lastly, the B7 features the ASUS NumberPad where an illuminated numpad would appear over the touchpad. Getting used to takes time but would greatly help on those number crunching sessions once you are accustomed to it.

Performance: Still on 11th Gen

The unit that we have sports an 11th gen Intel Core i7 CPU, with 8GB worth of DDR4 memory and a 512GB SSD storage. I do feel that out of the box, the 8GB RAM is barely enough in today’s standard but luckily, ASUS designed this laptop with upgradeability in mind as it uses 2 SODIMM slot for its layout so you could potentially run 64GB of memory if that is your cup of tea.

I won’t be doing an in depth benchmark here as the CPU itself is more than enough to handle any work related task you throw at it. Not that you’ll be needing a super powerful laptop to do some spreadsheets and meetings anyways. If you plan to game on this machine then you are out of luck unless you game on lower resolution. Even mainstream eSports titles are having a hard time on its native resolution even on a low setting. Valorant for example gets an average FPS of 53 FPS but we are getting frequent dips to low 20s which makes it unplayable on certain team fights. Dota 2 on the other hand records around at 38 FPS for its average with occasional drops to mid 20s during team fights. Battery wise, the ExpertBook B7 packs a 63Whr battery that lasts 7 hours on my Youtube playback loop with 5 extra tabs and a 50% brightness and volume. A little bit far from their 12hr claim but still decent enough to handle an entire work day without charging.

Ports and Other features: Things Businesses should consider

The ExpertBook B7 offers multiple I/O ports despite its slim form factor. So it shouldn’t be a problem regardless of how many devices you plan to plug in your laptop. On the left side, you got a pair of Thunderbolt 4 ports, an HDMI 2.0 port, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, a Micro-HDMI Ethernet connector and a 3.5mm audio jack. Over at the other side, we got another Type-A port, the volume and power switch. A smart card reader (no way to test this one out), a sim tray (which is a dud on our unit), a mini DP for another display and finally a Kensington lock. How I wish though that they included an SD card reader instead of having a volume switch.

Features wise, the ExpertBook B7 is really banking on these three categories; Office experience, Durability and Security. Starting with the first one, this laptop, besides offering a touch enabled flippable display, features two way noise canceling technology with a dedicated mute button so you could easily jump into any conversations that you are currently engaged with. It also has an user status indicator which lights up when you are in a meeting. I also mentioned a while ago that the keycaps for numbers 1 to 4 are slightly different as these keys feature the exclusive ASUS ExpertWidget wherein technically you can map different functions on these keys potentially increasing your productivity.

Durability is also something separates the B7 different from the other laptop. It passes MIL-STD 810H certification and is torture tested so we are guaranteed that this laptop will be tough on any scenario. According to ASUS, besides the drop and shock test, they also do port and keyboard testing, hinge testing and finally temperature test to name a few. Another thing where the B7 shines is in its security features. ASUS employs what they call “Enterprise-grade Security” that includes a mix of software and hardware based security features to protect its users. These include TPM 2.0, Fingerprint scanner, Windows Hello facial recognition, physical webcam shield, Kensington lock and finally the ASUS PrivateView. I do like how it limits the viewing angle but on the other hand, I am kind of torn since it defeats the purpose of getting an IPS display if you’re just gonna be limiting your viewing angle.

Conclusion, Price and Availability

Right now, getting any ExpertBook laptops is a little bit tricky as you need to ask specifically for it under these selected dealers and availability might still vary. Price wise, I was told that this would retail around 80,000 PHP which is a little bit expensive for my taste. But if ever you can get your hands on one, then the ExpertBook B7 Flip is an interesting laptop that offers decent performance with business focused features like its durable design, 360 degree flip with touch enabled display, AI noise canceling and lastly security features like TPM 2.0, fingerprint scanner and webcam shield.