ASUS C302 Review: A Compact 2-in-1 Chromebook

ASUS C302: At First Glance

Since releasing its first Chromebook in 2014, ASUS has gone on to be one of the most prolific Chromebook manufacturers of all time. To add to its Chromebook collection, ASUS started releasing compact convertible Chromebooks.

An example of an ASUS convertible Chromebook is the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302. The ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 is a compact 2-in-1 Chromebook that offers adequate performance for regular computing tasks.

Furthermore, this laptop is one of the few Chromebooks that offers 128 GB of local storage and multiple processor options. However, Chromebooks with such uncommon features are a bit more pricey than the standard Chromebook.

Specifically, as of the time I published this article in December 2021, the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 had a price tag of $399.99. With a good understanding of how much this ASUS Chromebook costs, let us now see if it is worth the price.

ASUS C302: Design, Dimension, and Weight

Chromebooks are better known for featuring boring designs due to their affordability. However, since the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 costs a bit more than the regular Chromebook, one would expect a bit of elegance in its design.

Thankfully, that is exactly what this Chromebook delivers. To give more details, the laptop features a sleek design that will make you almost mistake it for an Apple MacBook.

Just a glance at the exterior of this laptop, and you will be convinced it is worth considering. In fact, if you’ve been looking for a laptop you can flaunt, the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 will make you proud.

With all that being said, let us quickly discuss the design specifications of the laptop. The ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 features an aluminum chassis with a matte finish.

Moreover, this aluminum chassis is colored white and has a few silver accents around it. Following that, the laptop’s lid features an ASUS logo printed in stainless steel in the middle.

Also, you will find a Chrome logo in a colorful cyclic form at the top right corner of the laptop’s lid. All these little design specs are what add up to make this ASUS Chromebook look elegant.

Moving on, the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 features a glossy 12.5-inch display in the interior. This display comes with an FHD (1920 x 1080) resolution that allows it to deliver vivid and colorful picture quality.

Impressively, this 12.5-inch display is also made with an IPS panel. Hence, the contents of the display will stay vivid and accurate when viewed from different angles.

However, this laptop’s display is surrounded by somewhat thick bezels. On a positive note, an ASUS logo is finely printed at the center of the bottom bezel – adding to its elegance.

Also, at the top bezel, you will find an HD webcam. This webcam isn’t particularly good for taking pictures, but it is ideal for video calls.

Lest if forget, the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302’s 12.5-inch FHD display is a touchscreen display, as expected. I said “as expected” because all convertible laptops feature a touchscreen display.

Besides, the laptop’s display responds accurately and swiftly to touch input. Therefore, I can assure you that you won’t have issues with this laptop’s display.

Moving on, as a convertible laptop, the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 features a 360-degree hinge. Hence, you can use the laptop in four modes – laptop, stand, tablet, and tent modes.

On the downside, due to its compact size, this laptop features a minimal number of ports. On the left side of the laptop, you will only find two USB 3.2 Type-C ports.

Also, on the right side of the laptop, you will see only 2 USB 3.1 Type-C ports. Thus, the laptop lacks ports like an Ethernet port, Thunderbolt, and HDMI port.

That said, now let us take a look at the keyboard. The ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 features a backlit, chiclet-style keyboard.

This keyboard features black keys with white lettering on top. Furthermore, the keyboard offers an excellent typing experience thanks to its decent key travel of 1.4mm.

To be clear, key travel refers to the distance between a key’s resting position and the depth to which it dips when pressed.

That said, below the laptop’s keyboard, you will find a spacious touchpad in the center. This touchpad has a smooth surface, and it is very responsive. 

Interestingly, the touchpad also supports multitouch gestures.

Weighing 1202.02 g and measuring 304.8 x 210.8 x 12.7 mm, the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 is definitely lighter and more portable than most of its competitors. For example, this laptop is lighter than the Dell Chromebook 13, which weighs 1465 g and measures 328.4 x 229.3 x 17.78 mm.

Another example is the Lenovo ThinkPad 13 Chromebook, which weighs 1500 g and measures 307.5 x 212.1 x 15.5 mm.

In conclusion, the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 offers a design that is beautiful to the eye. Also, this laptop is more compact and lighter than most laptops in its category.

Therefore, I will be rating the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 a nine out of ten in this section of this review.

ASUS C302: Processor (CPU) Performance

For processor, ASUS offers two processor configurations for the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302. The first option is the 2-core Intel Pentium 4405Y processor.

This processor offers a base frequency of 1.50 GHz and 2 MB cache memory.

The second option is the Intel Core m7-6Y75 processor. This processor is also a 2-core processor, but it features more cache memory.

Specifically, the Intel Core m7-6Y75 processor features a 4 MB cache memory. If you’re wondering, more cache memory contributes to the overall improved performance of the Chromebook.

Moving on, the Intel Core m7-6Y75 processor comes with a base frequency of 1.20 GHz and a maximum frequency of 3.10 GHz. To be honest, the Intel Core m7-6Y75 is the best processor option for the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302.

This is because the processor features a maximum frequency and a higher cache memory. Thankfully, this review is based on the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 with the Intel Core m7-6Y75 processor.

With this processor, the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 will be able to handle day-to-day computing tasks speedily and effectively. To give more details, the laptop will do well when handling tasks like word processing, web browsing, and video streaming.

Unfortunately, I was unable to get benchmark test results based on the performance of the ASUS Chromebook C302 with this processor. This is due to the fact that most benchmark test tools are incompatible with Chrome OS, which runs on Chromebooks.

In conclusion, the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 offers multiple processor options. Also, with one of these processor options, the laptop is sure to deliver decent performance for daily computing tasks.

Therefore, I will rate the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 an eight in this processor review section.

ASUS C302: Memory (RAM) Performance

The ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 comes with 4 GB LPDDR3 RAM in its single RAM slot. Unfortunately, this single RAM slot is onboard, which means you won’t be able to upgrade the laptop’s 4 GB standard RAM.

On a positive note, you can purchase the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 with 8 GB or 16 GB RAM. The choice is all yours!

However, I don’t think you will need to get this laptop with higher RAM. This is because the standard 4 GB RAM is sufficient for daily computing tasks and even multitasking.

To give more details, with 4 GB RAM, the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 will be able to juggle between 15 chrome tabs conveniently without lagging. Also, multiple applications will be able to perform smoothly on the laptop without slowing down.

I was supposed to include benchmark test results based on the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302’s memory performance in this section. Sadly, I was unable to get the benchmark test results because Chromebooks don’t support most benchmark tools.

Notwithstanding, the laptop with 4 GB RAM offers adequate performance for multitasking. Hence, I will rate the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 an eight out of ten in this memory review section.

ASUS C302: Storage Options and Performance

In terms of storage, the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 features an eMMC storage type, as expected. Interestingly, this laptop offers a maximum storage capacity of 128 GB.

Having a Chromebook with up to 128 GB of local storage is something unusual. This is because Chromebooks aren’t particularly meant to save their files on their local storage.

So, most Chromebooks feature limited local storage space. If Chromebooks aren’t meant to save files on their local storage, so where are they supposed to save files?

The answer to that is Google Drive cloud storage. To be more specific, Chromebooks run on ChromeOS, which offers free 100 GB of Google Drive cloud storage.

Moreover, despite featuring up to 128 GB eMMC storage, the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 still comes with this free 100 GB cloud storage. Additionally, Cloud-based storage is an efficient and reliable storage option.

Also, as long as you are connected to the internet, there is no risk of losing saved files on cloud storage. To know how to activate the free Google Drive cloud storage on your Chromebook, you can follow the detailed guide in this link.

Impressively, despite featuring 100 GB cloud storage and up to 128 GB local eMMC storage, this ASUS Chromebook comes with a microSD card reader. Thus, you have about three storage options on the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302.

As we normally do at www.itechguides.com, I am supposed to include a CrystalDiskMark test result based on the laptop’s local storage performance. Unfortunately, because Chromebooks do not support the majority of benchmark test tools, I was unable to obtain the CrystalDiskMark test results.

Therefore, I will be rating the laptop based on its storage options. Hence, I will rate the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 a nine out of ten in this storage review section.

This rating is based on the Chromebook’s multiple and robust storage options.

ASUS C302: Graphics Card Performance

For the GPU, the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 comes with an Intel HD Graphics 515. This GPU offers a base frequency of 300 MHz and a maximum frequency of 1000 MHz.

However, the graphics card is an integrated GPU. Hence, it shares memory with the processor to perform graphics-related tasks.

As a result, don’t expect the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 to run graphics-intensive games or apps smoothly. Notwithstanding, the laptop will be able to smoothly play basic games like Candy Crush and Subway Surfer.

To further prove the graphics performance of this laptop, I will now share its results on a WebGL Aquarium graphic test. WebGL Aquarium graphic test is a web-based benchmark test that uses javascript to measure the graphics-rendering capabilities of a computer.

So, on this test, the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 was able to display 2000 fish at 50 frames per second (fps). Comparatively, the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 outperformed the Acer Chromebook R13, which was only able to deliver 2000 fish at 30 fps.

Before concluding this section, it is important to note that a high “fps” on the WebGL Aquarium graphic test indicated greater GPU performance.

In conclusion, despite featuring an integrated GPU, the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 still performed decently on a graphics-rendering test. Hence, I believe the laptop deserves nothing less than an eight out of ten in this section.

ASUS C302: Battery Life and Performance

One of the biggest advantages of a Chromebook is its battery life. Specifically, Chromebooks offer impressive battery life because they run on ChromeOS, which is a less demanding and power-efficient operating system.

That said, the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 comes with a 2-cell, 39 WHrs Li-Ion battery. According to ASUS, with this battery, this Chromebook should last 10 hours.

To verify if the ASUS claim is true, I will now discuss the laptop’s performance on a video playback test. This video playback test involves looping an HD video until the laptop dies.

So, on the video playback test, the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 lasted 8 hours and 52 minutes. Although this battery life isn’t on par with ASUS’ 10 hours claim, it is still impressive.

In fact, the battery life beats the category average of 8 hours and 3 minutes. Also, when compared to the Lenovo ThinkPad 13, the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 has longer battery life.

Specifically, on the video playback test, the Lenovo ThinkPad 13 lasted only 6 hours and 34 minutes.

All things considered, I will rate the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 a nine out of ten in this battery review section.

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

The ASUS Chromebook Flip C302 is a compact convertible laptop with an impressive design. Furthermore, this Chromebook features a sharp FHD touchscreen display that I believe everyone would love.

Also, the laptop comes with unusual but outstanding 128 GB local storage. Also, the laptop has outstanding battery life.

However, due to its compact size, the laptop comes with a minimal amount of ports. Aside from that, there is basically nothing to hate about this laptop.

Hence, if you are looking for a convertible Chromebook that offers compatibility and efficiency, I strongly advise you to purchase the ASUS Chromebook Flip C302.

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