In a nutshell: Asus says the new ROG Flow Z13 is the world's most powerful gaming tablet. A claim that's hard to argue, given that its lightweight aluminum alloy shell can house up to a 14C/20T 12th-gen Core i9-12900H processor and an RTX 3050 Ti. Asus hasn't revealed the price for what will presumably be quite an expensive 2-in-1 that's set for release sometime in Q1/Q2 this year.
The ROG Flow Z13 bears a striking resemblance to the Microsoft Surface Pro. However, the former's powerful internals and aggressive design make it the more compelling option in terms of form and function. Arriving later this year, Asus will be offering this 13.4-inch gaming tablet in three flavors.
The base model packs a 12C/16T Core i5-12000H and Iris Xe graphics, while the mid-tier variant comes with a 14C/20T Core i7-12700H / RTX 3050 GPU combo. Only these two versions offer a 120Hz refresh rate for their 1,920 x 1,200 IPS touchscreens, whereas the top-spec variant is limited to 60Hz for its 3,840 x 2,400 touch display.
All three versions have adaptive sync, stylus support and can be had with up to 16GB LPDDR5 RAM. However, the base and mid-spec models feature 512GB of NVMe storage, which goes up to 1TB in the top-spec version.
Despite its gaming premise, Asus has also made the Flow Z13 productivity-friendly, with a 16:10 display and plenty of connectivity options, including Thunderbolt 4 and microSD support across all models.
There's also a dedicated slot to connect external GPUs via Asus' proprietary ROG XG mobile interface. This feature probably does more than others in justifying the Flow Z13's ROG branding and aesthetic, while the fairly lightweight 1.1 kg / 2.42 lbs shell with an anti-fingerprint coating, 12mm thin profile, detachable keyboard and 170° kickstand greatly add to its portability.
Asus notes "All day power" for this 2-in-1's 56WHr battery, though, it'll likely chew through that in a couple of hours during an intense gaming session. Better to have it plugged in for maximum performance via the 100W Type-C adapter that will also juice the tablet up to 50 percent in 30 minutes. Expect the ROG Flow Z13 to cost a premium when it arrives later this year.