ASUS ExpertBook B7 Flip (B7402FEA) review: A flagship corporate laptop with a rugged chassis


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Corporate business laptops are a rather specific category with their own requirements, which, as

usually higher than for conventional models.ASUS ExpertBook B7 Flip is one of the most &#8220;stuffed&#8221; in this sense, ultraportable laptops. It received a fairly lightweight and practical case of increased reliability with reinforced hinges, ports, dampers for the motherboard and splash protection for the keyboard. In addition, it has a number of features important for the corporate segment: the PrivateView function for limiting screen viewing angles, a permanent MAC address of the network card, a physical webcam shutter and some specialized software. The laptop is equipped with a large number of connectors for this size. The display is bright, with natural colors, and the hardware provides a high level of performance in work tasks. Moreover, the laptop can work all day without recharging. Enterprise laptops are never cheap. ASUS ExpertBook B7 Flip in the configuration that we had in our review is already on sale at68 000 UAH.

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5 Reasons to Buy ASUS ExpertBook B7 Flip (B7402FEA):

  • Compact and reliable case with reinforced elements of increased reliability;
  • nice IPS touch screen with viewing angle limitation function called “PrivateView”;
  • a large number of connectors;
  • long battery life;
  • up-to-date hardware and high performance in work tasks

2 reasons not to buy ASUS ExpertBook B7 Flip (B7402FEA):

  • Do you need a laptop for graphics or gaming?
  • very high price.

Fast passage:

  1. What is in the box?
  2. What does the ASUS ExpertBook B7 Flip (B7402FEA) look like and what are the design features?
  3. Is it convenient to use a laptop?
  4. How good is the screen?
  5. What about performance, battery life and sound?
  6. In the dry residue

What is in the box?


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ASUS ExpertBook B7 Flip (B7402FEA) is packaged ina box made of the usual mustard-colored cardboard. True, the shape is not quite familiar, with cut corners. Contents may vary depending on configuration. In our case, the box contained the laptop itself, a power supply of a standard size for such laptops with a power of 65 W with a Type-C connector, a removable power cable, a Micro HDMI to LAN adapter and documentation. The kit may also include a proprietary ASUS Pen.

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What does the ASUS ExpertBook B7 Flip (B7402FEA) look like and what are the design features?


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The ASUS ExpertBook line is corporatelaptops designed for business use. So the requirements for such models are higher than for conventional models. This applies to both technical features and design. Two years ago we reviewed the ASUS ExpertBook B9450, the hero of today's review, the ASUS ExpertBook B7 Flip (B7402FEA) has a lot in common with it. This is an ultraportable convertible laptop with a touch display. The body is made of magnesium-aluminum alloy, dark blue in color with a rough matte finish. Unlike the ZenBook line, ExpertBook B7 Flip looks more discreet, concise and practical. On the outer cover there are ASUS and ExpertBook logos, next to which there is an LED that displays the current state of the user: it is automatically turned on during conference calls or manually activated by pressing the Fn+1 keys. According to ASUS's plan, it signals that you should not be distracted now.


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All ports are reinforced with stainless steel brackets. USB Type-C can withstand 15,000 connection-disconnection cycles, all others - 5,000.


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ASUS official render

The laptop is quite compact and thin, but the setThe connectors are very good. On the right side there is a full-size USB 3.2 Gen 2 with data transfer speeds up to 10 Gbps, a volume control, a power button with an integrated fingerprint scanner, a Mini DisplayPort output, a Kensington Lock slot, a Smart card reader and in some cases a storage tray. nanoSIM. There are configurations that support 5G.


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On the left are two Type-C Thunderbolt 4 with supportPower Delivery and DisplayPort, HDMI 2.0b, 3.5mm audio combo, LEDs and Micro HDMI on LAN with a fixed MAC address, which is important in some large corporate networks:


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Behind are the openings of the cooling system andhinges. Hinges reinforced with thicker steel brackets and large screws are used. They are claimed to withstand over 30,000 flip cycles.


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Ahead there is only a cutout for more convenient opening of the laptop:


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There are many ventilation holes at the bottom, rubber feet (the rear one is solid for almost the entire width of the laptop) and a pair of speakers that are located in front at an angle to the horizontal surface:


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Considering &#8220;ultraportable&#8221; Classlaptop, it cannot be said that the frame around the screen is record thin. On top there is a large amount of everything: a pair of microphones, an LED indicator, a webcam with a mechanical shutter, an infrared camera to identify the owner of the Asus ExpertBook B7 Flip and a proximity sensor, thanks to which the laptop can automatically lock when the owner leaves, or activate when he returns.


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Additionally, it should be said that for greaterFor reliability, there are rubber motherboard shock absorbers inside that protect against physical shock. And a honeycomb-shaped structure under the work surface so that it does not sag under hand pressure. Overall, the laptop meets military standards. MIL-STD-810H, withstands pressure on the lid and bottom panel of 28 kg without damaging the display, 18 shocks at 40 g for 11 ms while on, a drop from a height of 120 cm while on, and can also operate at high and low temperatures. This is how all these design features look on official ASUS renders:


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Laptop lid and work surfacethey really don't push through at all. And in general, the build quality and materials are at a very high level, as it should be in enterprise-class devices. The weight of the laptop is 1.44 kg, so it is quite comfortable to carry it with you every day.

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Is it convenient to use a laptop?


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The display unit of the ExpertBook B7 Flip rotates on360°, so the laptop can be used in different modes, including tablet or presentation. 360° ErgoLift hinges are used, which in classic laptop mode slightly raises the back of the working surface, so that the keyboard is at a slight angle to the surface.


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The keyboard's dimensions and layout are typical formodern ultrabooks. It does not have an additional number pad, and the top row of function keys is reduced in size. This row ends with buttons for turning on microphones, PrivateView mode, PrtSc and Delete. Home, End, PgUp and PgDn are duplicated with arrows through Fn. Both Shift are long, Enter is &#8220;one-story&#8221;. Of the interesting features, 1, 2, 3, 4 are additionally highlighted, for which some additional functions can be configured using proprietary software.


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The buttons have full travel 1.5 mm, which is mainly characteristic of models with a larger display diagonal. They operate quietly and softly, and have a white backlight. The keyboard is water-resistant and can withstand up to 78cm3 of liquid. Of course, this doesn't mean you need to spill coffee on your laptop. But the keyboard will withstand occasional splashes.


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The touchpad is quite wide, but it could have beenmake it higher: the free area of ​​the working surface allows. Although in practice everything is fine: it is sensitive enough to be comfortable to use without having to connect a mouse. The so-called NumberPad is used: using the touch button in the upper right corner, the touchpad is converted into a touch-sensitive digital pad. The touchpad also has a built-in NFC module. Once you have placed your FIDO2 NFC security key, you can sign in to Windows using your Azure AD account without a password.


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How good is the screen?


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ASUS ExpertBook B7 Flip uses touchIPS display with a diagonal of 14 inches and a matte finish. Which is quite rare in touch models. The aspect ratio is 16:10, the resolution is 1920x1200 pixels (but there is also a configuration with 2560x1600). The declared maximum brightness is 500 cd/m², standard frequency: 60 Hz. The screen has 100% coverage of the sRGB color space and is Pantone certified. There is also a Private View feature that narrows the viewing angles to 45°, which can be useful for working with personal information in crowded places. Due to technical features, even with PrivateView turned off, the viewing angles are somewhat narrower than usual with IPS. With the function activated, information at an angle is indeed almost impossible to read.


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Otherwise, there are no complaints about the screen:The picture is pleasant, with natural color and sufficient brightness. Measurements using a colorimeter showed that the maximum brightness almost reaches the declared value: 475.892 cd/m², black field brightness - 0.162 cd/m², and static contrast &#8211; 2938:1. The screen actually has a coverage very close to the sRGB color space, all other indicators are also close to the reference values:


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What about performance, battery life and sound?

ASUS ExpertBook B7 Flip (B7402FEA) usesIntel 11th Gen Tiger Lake processors. We received a configuration with Intel Core i7-1195G7. The processor is manufactured using the 10nm SuperFin process technology, includes four cores and supports Hyper Threading 8 threads. The base frequency can be from 1.3 to 2.9 GHz, depending on TDP. In our case, the TDP is 28 W, so the base frequency is 2.9 GHz. In Turbo Boost mode, the frequency can reach 5 GHz. The graphics accelerator is exclusively built-in Intel Iris Xe, which includes 96 execution units, and the maximum frequency can reach 1400 MHz. RAM &#8211; 32 GB DDR4-3200 MHz in dual channel mode. The laptop has 2 RAM slots, so it can be upgraded to 64 GB. Wireless interfaces: Wi-Fi 802.11 ax (Wi-Fi 6) and Bluetooth 5.2.


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ASUS ExpertBook B7 Flip (B7402FEA) is orientedexclusively for office tasks and the corporate segment. When working with documents, mail, instant messengers, a browser with a bunch of tabs, Photoshop and other tasks that are not very demanding on the graphics subsystem, the laptop has no problems. In benchmarks, the results are appropriate: quite high (especially considering the laptop format) in processor tests. And average in graphic.


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PCIe Gen4 x4 is used as a driveNVMe v1.4 SSD for 1 TV, model Samsung PM9A1. Claimed read speeds of up to 7000 MB/s and write speeds of up to 5100 MB/s. Although the laptop itself only supports PCIe3.0x4.


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SSD speed is limited by capabilitiesbus connections. The drive demonstrates data read and write speeds of no more than 3400 MB/s, which is the maximum performance for PCIe Gen3 x4:


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The ExpertBook B7 Flip uses a newAdvanced Hybrid Cooling System (AHCS) with three heat pipes and an Arc-Flow cooling fan with 86 blades and a metal plate. Compared to the previous generation CO, it is claimed that overall performance has increased by 55%, airflow has been increased by 17% and platter area has been increased by 39%. In the renderings you can see what it all looks like:


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At low loads, the fan is not audible at all.At maximum noise, yes, but very quiet. The case is almost not heated. The AIDA64 stress test shows that at maximum load for the first minute and a half, the processor heats up to about 90 °, there is a slight decrease in performance. Then the cooling system adapts, the temperature of all components decreases, and the laptop runs stably at maximum performance.


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ASUS ExpertBook B7 Flip (B7402FEA) does notfocused on games, but it was interesting to try. DOOM 2016 and Ghostrunner run at about 27-30 FPS at minimum graphics settings. Accordingly, conventional tanks, CS:GO, Starcraft 2, Dota will work without problems.


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The laptop is equipped with a 63 Wh battery, ASUSpromises up to 12 hours of battery life. Even during the review of the ASUS ExpertBook B9450FA, the line impressed me with its autonomy. The ExpertBook B7 Flip also proved to be hardy. At medium brightness and a typical workload of document work, typing, basic photo editing, a tabbed browser, instant messengers and a suite, the laptop lasted a full day.

The laptop's stereo system is not very powerful, whichtypical for ultraportable laptops. There are very few low frequencies. But for movies and video quality and volume is enough. There is a separate Dolby app for customization.


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To configure the ASUS ExpertBook B7 Flip, there isseveral branded applications. The main one is the general MyASUS for all laptops of the manufacturer. With it, you can install system updates, monitor the system and make some settings. Modes for performance, charging, operation of the function row of keys, enable AI noise reduction for both microphones and reproduced sound, etc.


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Additionally, more specialized for corporateASUS Business Manager segment. It is designed to monitor and administer laptops, including USB interface blocking, BIOS, registry, system recovery and storage of confidential information in an encrypted partition of the drive and File Shredder for complete, permanent removal of selected files.


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ASUS ExpertWidget is responsible for configuring additional functions on Fn + 1, 2, 3, 4 combinations:


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in dry residue. Three things to know about ASUS ExpertBook B7 Flip (B7402FEA).

  • The ASUS ExpertBook B7 Flip is an ultra-portable business laptop with a rugged, rugged design and additional enterprise features.
  • The laptop configuration is suitable for comfortable work with office tasks, but not for graphics work.
  • Can work full time without recharging.

Specifications ASUS ExpertBook B7 Flip (B7402FEA)

Display
14 inches, 1920&#215;1200, 16:10, IPS, touch, matte finish, PrivateView

Dimensions
320&#215;234.2&#215;18.9 mm

Weight
1.44 kg

operating system
Microsoft Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (upgrade to Windows 11)

CPU
Intel Core i7-1195G7 (Tiger Lake, 10 nm SuperFin), 4 cores/8 threads, 2.9-5.0 GHz

Ram
32 GB DDR4-3200 MHz

Graphics
Intel Iris Xe

Storage device
SSD 1 TV NVMe PCIe

Communications
Wi-Fi 6(802.11ax) (Dual band) 2*2 + Bluetooth 5.2, LAN with fixed MAC address

Connectors
2xThunderbolt 4 (with support for DisplayPort and Power Delivery), 2xUSB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, Display Port, HDMI 2.0b, RJ-45 (via micro HDMI), Smart card, 3.5 mm audio, nanoSIM (optional)

Camera
HD+ IR camera for owner identification, webcam shutter, proximity sensor

Battery
63 Wh, 3-cell