ROG Flow Z13 (2025) review: Where portability and gaming collide – and it works

Note: This review was first published on 29 April 2025.

The world of gaming laptops often feels locked into traditional form factors. Imagine thick, chunky designs that prioritise power over portability. However, ROG’s newest Flow Z13 is a great example of ASUS’ gaming sub-brand’s continuous drive to push boundaries and innovate. By merging the flexibility of a tablet with gaming laptop performance, ROG has genuinely crafted something uniquely different, albeit with certain caveats and peculiarities that might not be for everyone.

First impressions matter, and it’s difficult not to feel intrigued when holding up the Flow Z13 for the first time and getting struck by its unconventional design. Is it a gaming laptop first? Or a tablet? It seems to want to straddle the fine line between both. Compared to its predecessor that we reviewed from way back in 2022 (read it here), 2025’s version gained some baby fats and is now 1.49cm at its thickest and heavier at 1.2kg. But it still remains remarkably portable; for a device capable of serious gaming, the manageable size is surprisingly refreshing.

While it has gained some girth and no weight reduction since the original Flow Z13, ROG has made some smart and good quality of life improvements design-wise. The rear panel now adopts a cleaner, subtler design and the familiar windowed section featuring customisable RGB lights remains (yay for RGB fans). The built-in kickstand is robust and reassuringly sturdy, flipping out smoothly, although somewhat annoyingly accessible only from one side. Nonetheless, it's stable enough to comfortably support the tablet, even under rigorous touchscreen gaming sessions.

The detachable keyboard is excellent and is possibly one of the tablet’s standout features. Connected magnetically to the base just like its predecessor, the keyboard provides a comfortable incline for typing or gaming on your lap but needless to say is most comfortable when used on a desk. ROG certainly didn’t compromise the keyboard’s quality either, as I find the layout well thought-out and key travel pretty good. The trackpad is responsive as one would expect but thought the buttons a bit too stiff for my liking.

There’s also a generous selection of I/O ports here, although their placement feels awkward – no thanks to its tablet form-factor. With two USB-C ports, a USB-A, HDMI, and even a microSD slot available, connectivity isn't an issue. However, their positioning on the sides alongside the volume and power buttons can occasionally feel cumbersome when plugging in peripherals like headphones. Charging can be handled through USB-C, though peak performance and faster charging demand the bulky 200W proprietary charger provided.

Yet, the true intrigue of the Flow Z13 lies in the silicon powering it – the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor. Appearing on a tablet (or even a laptop) for the first time, this unusual 16-core chip has specifications that one would typically find in small desktops. It’s not going to top the charts for raw performance, but it certainly holds its own where it counts thanks to its powerful integrated GPU: gaming.

Check out the CPU’s full specs below.

Now, I know integrated graphics often provoke scepticism from serious gamers, but the AMD Radeon 8060S GPU challenges these preconceived notions. With 40 GPU cores and shared system memory, the graphics performance is surprisingly good. Running Cyberpunk 2077 at the Flow Z13’s native 2560x1600 resolution nets 166fps at Medium settings (with AMD’s FSR enabled). I could even play Shadow of the Tomb Raider (58fps) and Total War: Warhammer III (63fps) comfortably at Medium settings, without FSR switched on. The coolest (and geekiest) feature of the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 chip is that it allows you to tweak the dedicated GPU VRAM allocation from the onboard 32GB DDR5 memory. So for instance, increasing the GPU’s memory from the default 4GB to 16GB (and leaving 20GB of memory to the system) could net you some extra frames in certain games or allow you to turn up the graphics settings – especially with AMD’s Frame Generation enabled. There’s a bit of trial and error to play around with.

Gaming cynics will probably still scoff at these numbers, and trumpet how traditional gaming laptops with their more powerful discrete GPUs (like the RTX 5090-powered Razer Blade 16) still lead the way with their sheer gaming horsepower. Yes, that’s true. But framing the Flow Z13 purely around raw gaming power misses the value proposition provided by the Radeon 8060S: good gaming performance without sacrificing versatility and mobility. This tablet challenges the traditional gaming laptop blueprint with its portability, lighter weight and ease of handling than even the thinnest gaming laptops. For those frequently on the move, I dare say the convenience and flexibility offered by the Flow Z13 are unmatched.

Then there’s the exceptional thermal management too. Unlike conventional laptops where it can get uncomfortably hot near the top of the keyboard, ROG has ingeniously designed intake vents at the rear and exhaust vents along the top edge, away from contact with your hands. Consequently, the Flow Z13 remains comfortably cool and remarkably quiet, even under sustained load. During standard productivity tasks, the device barely emits any noticeable noise.

Battery life has also been improved over the original Flow Z13. Now equipped with a larger 70WHrs battery and a more power-efficient CPU, the new Flow Z13 scored a better-than-expected 10.5-hour score in the Procyon Office Productivity tests. It was never going to beat the ultraportable laptops in battery life and that’s okay. But it certainly edges most gaming laptops, and the Flow Z13 should be more than sufficient for the standard productivity tasks or video watching while away from power sockets.

Still, the ROG Flow Z13 isn't flawless. For one, its S$4,399 price tag can be prohibitive even if it comes with 32GB of RAM and 1TB SSD storage. For comparison, 2022’s Flow Z13 launched at S$2,998. The argument here is that the new Flow Z13 comes with a more superior CPU (and iGPU) and today’s computing world is vastly different. But it’s still difficult to not wonder if ROG could have pegged the price down further, even if by a little.

Then there’s the speakers. While adequate, is found left wanting at higher volume. This is one of the few times where I highly recommend pairing the tablet with a pair of good earphones or headphones. Finally, if you strip away the mobility advantage of the Flow Z13 then there’s a compelling to wait out for gaming laptops powered by the upcoming GeForce RTX 5060 Laptop GPUs, which are bound to offer better gaming performance at a much lower cost and maybe even at a slim form factor.

But all of that does not detract from the fact that the ROG Flow Z13 is an audacious, innovative experiment that largely succeeds. I do think it represents a genuine evolution in portable gaming as a 2-in-1 gaming device, thanks in large part to AMD’s great mobile silicon. It certainly won’t satisfy everyone, particularly hardcore gamers and I don’t think that’s the point or focus of ROG here anyway – it has the Zephyrus and Scar laptops for those audiences. But for gamers prioritising portability, thermal performance, and overall versatility, the Flow Z13 is a compelling – albeit niche – device in a market too often defined by incremental innovation.

The ROG Flow Z13 (2025) GZ302 is available for purchase at ASUS e-store for $4,399. Click here to buy.

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