In terms of great cooling, stunning design and materials, pleasing display in terms of color and sharpness. The Vaio Z (flip model) is value for money. All three Vaio Z flip model configurations have 13.3″ WQHD 2560 x 1440 IPS displays that support pen and touch. They run on Intel 6th generation Skylake platform and have 28 watt dual core CPUs with Intel Iris 550 graphics.
The standard model has the 2.9 GHz Core i5-6267U, while the middle and top models have the 3.3 GHz Core i7-6567U. The top model has 16 gigs of RAM while the other two have 8 gigs of RAM (LPDDR3 1866 MHz). They have fast PCIe SSD drives (256 gig for the bottom top and 512 gig for the top model), Intel 8260 dual band WiFi 802.11ac with Bluetooth 4.1. A front 720p and rear 8MP camera are standard on all models.
The Vaio Z flip model is a light yet rigid aluminum and carbon fiber laptop with the unique Vaio Flip 2-in-1 convertible design we first saw in 2013. There’s a back panel behind the display that splits in two via a nicely enclosed and protected hinge that runs horizontally across the back.
The design allows you to flip to tablet/tent/presentation mode without having the keyboard face outward or against a table. For those who dislike 360 degree hinge designs like the Lenovo Yoga series, this is a plus. The design proved durable enough in the lessbexpensively engineered Sony versions, so we expect it to hold up nicely here. The machine is quite thin at 0.66″ (same as the 2.8 lb. Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Yoga ).
Basic information:
Display – 13.3″, 2460 x 1440 WQHD IPS display with touch and N-Trig digitizer for pen. Intel HD 550 integrated graphics. HDMI port with VGA dongle adapter in the box.
Battery – 4 cell, 56 Whr Lithium Ion rechargeable.
Performance – 2.9 GHz Intel Skylake Core i5 and 3.3 GHz Core i7 CPUs available. 8 or 16 gigs DDR3 RAM (soldered on board, not upgradeable). 256 or 512 gig M.2 PCIe NVMe SSD drives available.
Size – 8.47 x 12.76 x 0.66 inches. Weight – 2.95 pounds.
Camera – 720p webcam and 8MP rear camera.
Audio – Built-in stereo speakers, mic and 3.5mm standard stereo headphone jack.
Networking – Intel 8260 dual band WiFi 802.11b/g/n/ac and Bluetooth 4.1.
Software – Windows 10 Home and Professional editions available.
Expansion and Ports – 2 USB 3.0 ports, HDMI, 3.5mm audio and SD card slot. VGA dongle adapter included.
It’s hard not to lust for the Vaio Z flip model–it’s everything the Sony Vaio Flip could have been if money were no object. The materials are top notch, the display is lovely looking, the pen is included in the box and it works very well for both notes and art.
The machine is modern and gorgeous looking. Performance is above that of competing Ultrabooks thanks to the 28 watt Intel Skylake Core i7 and Iris graphics. If your workload runs heavy and you find most low voltage laptops can’t keep up, but you don’t want to move up to heavier and larger 15″ laptops like the Dell XPS 15 and 15″ Retina MacBook Pro , this and the likely upcoming refreshed 13″ MacBook Pro are your best bets. That is, if you can afford it.
