Ever since it was inntroduced way back in 2012, Microsoft's Surface Pro line-up of hybrid laptops has not only popularized convertible portable PCs, but also shown that it's possible to have the power of a full-blown PC in a device that has the portability of a tablet.
But even as the Surface Pro has itself gotten better over subsequent iterations, it has also provided 'inspiration' to other Windows OEMs to do their take(s) on the 2-in-1 PCs. And the latest addition in this increasingly popular category of portable PCs is the Transformer 3 Pro from Asus.
From a solid metallic body to the classic snap-on detachable keyboard, the Transformer 3 Pro is every bit a premium convertible. And with an Intel Core i7 CPU and 16GB of RAM, it's mighty powerful too. But even though all of this sounds like a terrific overall package, does Asus' convertible manage to beat the Surface Pro 4 at its own game? More importantly, does that make it a value for money proposition at a price tag of Rs 1,44,990.
The answers await on the other side of our full review of the Asus Transformer 3 Pro.
Much like all hybrids, the Asus Transformer 3 Pro comprises two distinct sub-modules - the tablet (with all the hardware components inside) and the detachable cover keyboard. Let's talk about these in a bit more detail, one by one.
Crafted out of aluminium-magnesium alloy, the Transformer 3 Pro looks and feels every bit as premium as it is. The facade of the tablet is largely taken over by a 12.6-inch LED-backlit WQHD touchscreen display of 2880x1920 pixel resolution. A thick Black border runs around the entire display, but it isn't as bad-looking as one may think.
The top left corner above the display has an Asus logo. Move along to the center, and you'll see two cameras. One of them is a regular 2MP unit for video calls (or selfies, if doing that with a tablet is your thing), while the other one is an infrared (IR) camera that supports Windows Hello-based biometric authentication and uses facial recognition to log you in. Other than that, the top edge of the display also has a dual-array microphone. The tablet has a stereo speaker setup (powered by Harman Kardon), with a 2W unit situated each on the left and right side of the screen.
Coming to the sides, the left has the following ports (from top to bottom) - USB 3.0 (1), HDMI (1) and USB Type-C 3.1 Thunderbolt (1). The USB Type-C port also acts as the power port and supports fast charging. Other than this, there's just a tiny LED indicator beside the power port. As for the right, it consists of the following (again, top to bottom) -- 3.5mm combo audio jack (1), volume rocker and a multi-format card reader slot.
A power/sleep button is situated on the top right, with the rest of it being largely bare. Last but definitely not the least, the bottom side has a groove along most of its length. At its center is a Pogo connector, which interfaces with the Pogo pins on the touch keyboard to establish connectivity.
Flip the Transformer 3 Pro, and you'll see a soft-touch all metal back. A 13MP rear camera is situated on the top right corner. But the rear is not a single sheet of metal. The lower half of the back is actually an integrated metallic kickstand (with a shiny Asus logo in its center). It has a stepless mechanical hinge that can open up to a 155-degree angle, allowing you to adjust the Transformer 3 Pro as per your liking. The underside of the kickstand has some regulatory information printed on it, while a harman/kardon logo is printed on the rear side facing the back of the kickstand.
Now let's talk about the other important sub-module -- the Transformer cover keyboard. Done in a dark tone of Grey, the cover keyboard has a soft-matte finish that feels great. The keyboard is backlit, so typing in the dark isn't an issue either. Below the keys is a (fairly) large glass trackpad that supports for Windows-based multi-touch gestures.
During our testing, we found the keyboard to be really good. The keys provide ample feedback and have appreciable travel distance. The trackpad is really nice as well. But the only thing we didn't like about the Transformer cover keyboard is that its magnetic connection with the tablet is rather flimsy. Every time we lifted the tablet up with the cover keyboard secured to it, the latter fell off.
As for the overall design and build quality, we found the Asus Transformer 3 Pro to be mostly great. We say 'mostly,' because we couldn't help but notice the fact that this 2-in-1 gets scratched pretty easily. Given that the Transformer 3 Pro costs a whopping Rs 1,44,990, we think Asus could've done a little better at this.
Display
Asus Transformer 3 Pro comes with a 12.6-inch LED-backlit WQHD display of 2880x1920 pixel resolution. Having a 3:2 aspect ratio, the touchscreen display is ideal for browsing the web and working on documents. But those are not the only things it's good for.
Over the course of our testing, we found the Transformer 3 Pro's display to be really impressive. With up to 121% of sRGB (and 85% NTSC) colour gamut, the screen's colour reproduction is almost spot-on and the hues are vivid. Viewing angles are striking as well.
With a pixel density of around 275ppi, Asus Transformer 3 Pro's screen renders everything from textual content and images to 4K videos and games with crisp detail. So whether it is content creation or consumption, the Transformer 3 Pro's display is going to be perfect.
Performance
Solid design doesn't mean anything if it isn't backed by equally solid hardware. Thankfully, the Asus Transformer 3 Pro is crammed with powerful innards that do its premium construction full justice.
Delivering power to the convertible is a sixth generation 2.5GHz Intel Core i7-6500 CPU, paired with a substantial 16GB of LPDDR3 RAM. There's also 512GB of SSD storage for storing all your important documents.
During our testing, the Transformer 3 Pro powered through everything we threw at it with little to no effort. Whether it's multi-tabbed browsing in Google Chrome, heavy multitasking (using a combination of universal Windows apps and desktop applications) or 4K video playback (both streaming and local), the 2-in-1 handles everything without breaking a sweat. Even mildly-heavy games like Shank 2 and PS2 games running via an emulator work great. So whether it's work or play, the Transformer 3 Pro is ideally suited for both.
As for audio playback, we found the output from the Transformer 3 Pro's Harman Kardon powered dual-stereo speakers to be rich. The speakers are appreciably loud and the audio doesn't get distorted even at higher volume levels.
Asus Transformer 3 Pro can easily play 4K video content (both local and streaming). And watching the same on its pixel-dense display is great. Running Windows 10 Home, the 2-in-1 supports Windows Hello-based biometric authentication using a front-mounted IR camera (as mentioned before). During our testing, we found this feature to be reliably good. It doesn't work everytime, but is really fast when it does. Other standard connectivity options like Wi-Fi and Bluetooth also work as they should, with no issues at all.
Before wrapping things up, a word about the battery life is in order. The Asus Transformer 3 Pro comes with a 39Wh battery. And while it's good, it's definitely not the 'All-day' stuff that Asus claims it to be. Over the course of our usage, the battery lasted just about 4-5 hours with moderate use. This involved a little bit of music/video playback, few hours of web browsing and maybe an hour of gaming. So if you plan on using this thing for long stretches of time, we'd advise carrying the power adapter at all times.
Verdict
While Microsoft's Surface Pro (series) will always hold the distinction of popularizing full Windows-powered tablets that can do double duty as laptops, it's no longer the only one in the market. And even though the Surface Pro 4 is a great device in its own right, the Asus Transformer 3 Pro simply offers more at the same price of Rs 1,44,990.
But the hybrid isn't without its shortcomings, including average battery life and less-than-perfect build quality. To sum things up, go for the Asus Transformer 3 Pro without thinking once, if you can keep it safe from dings/scratches and don't mind the slightly less battery life. But if you can't sacrifice those things, the similarly-priced but a little less powerful Surface Pro 4 is the way to go.
A power/sleep button is situated on the top right, with the rest of it being largely bare. Last but definitely not the least, the bottom side has a groove along most of its length. At its center is a Pogo connector, which interfaces with the Pogo pins on the touch keyboard to establish connectivity.
Now let's talk about the other important sub-module -- the Transformer cover keyboard. Done in a dark tone of Grey, the cover keyboard has a soft-matte finish that feels great. The keyboard is backlit, so typing in the dark isn't an issue either. Below the keys is a (fairly) large glass trackpad that supports for Windows-based multi-touch gestures.
During our testing, we found the keyboard to be really good. The keys provide ample feedback and have appreciable travel distance. The trackpad is really nice as well. But the only thing we didn't like about the Transformer cover keyboard is that its magnetic connection with the tablet is rather flimsy. Every time we lifted the tablet up with the cover keyboard secured to it, the latter fell off.
As for the overall design and build quality, we found the Asus Transformer 3 Pro to be mostly great. We say 'mostly,' because we couldn't help but notice the fact that this 2-in-1 gets scratched pretty easily. Given that the Transformer 3 Pro costs a whopping Rs 1,44,990, we think Asus could've done a little better at this.
Display
Asus Transformer 3 Pro comes with a 12.6-inch LED-backlit WQHD display of 2880x1920 pixel resolution. Having a 3:2 aspect ratio, the touchscreen display is ideal for browsing the web and working on documents. But those are not the only things it's good for.
Over the course of our testing, we found the Transformer 3 Pro's display to be really impressive. With up to 121% of sRGB (and 85% NTSC) colour gamut, the screen's colour reproduction is almost spot-on and the hues are vivid. Viewing angles are striking as well.
With a pixel density of around 275ppi, Asus Transformer 3 Pro's screen renders everything from textual content and images to 4K videos and games with crisp detail. So whether it is content creation or consumption, the Transformer 3 Pro's display is going to be perfect.
Solid design doesn't mean anything if it isn't backed by equally solid hardware. Thankfully, the Asus Transformer 3 Pro is crammed with powerful innards that do its premium construction full justice.
Delivering power to the convertible is a sixth generation 2.5GHz Intel Core i7-6500 CPU, paired with a substantial 16GB of LPDDR3 RAM. There's also 512GB of SSD storage for storing all your important documents.
During our testing, the Transformer 3 Pro powered through everything we threw at it with little to no effort. Whether it's multi-tabbed browsing in Google Chrome, heavy multitasking (using a combination of universal Windows apps and desktop applications) or 4K video playback (both streaming and local), the 2-in-1 handles everything without breaking a sweat. Even mildly-heavy games like Shank 2 and PS2 games running via an emulator work great. So whether it's work or play, the Transformer 3 Pro is ideally suited for both.
As for audio playback, we found the output from the Transformer 3 Pro's Harman Kardon powered dual-stereo speakers to be rich. The speakers are appreciably loud and the audio doesn't get distorted even at higher volume levels.
Before wrapping things up, a word about the battery life is in order. The Asus Transformer 3 Pro comes with a 39Wh battery. And while it's good, it's definitely not the 'All-day' stuff that Asus claims it to be. Over the course of our usage, the battery lasted just about 4-5 hours with moderate use. This involved a little bit of music/video playback, few hours of web browsing and maybe an hour of gaming. So if you plan on using this thing for long stretches of time, we'd advise carrying the power adapter at all times.
Verdict
While Microsoft's Surface Pro (series) will always hold the distinction of popularizing full Windows-powered tablets that can do double duty as laptops, it's no longer the only one in the market. And even though the Surface Pro 4 is a great device in its own right, the Asus Transformer 3 Pro simply offers more at the same price of Rs 1,44,990.
But the hybrid isn't without its shortcomings, including average battery life and less-than-perfect build quality. To sum things up, go for the Asus Transformer 3 Pro without thinking once, if you can keep it safe from dings/scratches and don't mind the slightly less battery life. But if you can't sacrifice those things, the similarly-priced but a little less powerful Surface Pro 4 is the way to go.
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