This December, Asus will launch the Vivobook 13 Slate OLED, a Windows 11 tablet that comes with a detachable keyboard and stylus starting at $600. Asus is touting the Vivobook 13 Slate OLED as Microsoft's Surface Pro 8 and Surface Go 3 Windows 11 2-in-1, and is touted as the first Windows 11 tablet with an OLED display that is not available on the Surface Pro 8 and Surface Go 3. [Specifically, the Asus Vivobook 13 Slate OLED features a 13.3-inch 1080p OLED display with a 16:9 aspect ratio. It is advertised to achieve peak brightness of up to 550 nits and to cover 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. Certified for Dolby Vision and DisplayHDR True Black 500, the screen has a 70% lower blue light level than LCD screens, according to Asus. [Specs-wise, the $600 entry-level model has an Intel Pentium Silver N6000 system-on-a-chip processor, 4GB of memory, and 128GB of eMMC flash memory storage. Other configurations offer 8GB of memory and a choice of 128GB or 256GB of SSD storage. On the port side, there are two USB-C ports, a microSD card reader, a headphone jack, and an optional fingerprint sensor on the power button Windows 11 is included.

With a low-power mobile chip like the Intel Pentium Silver N6000, this Vivobook will not be able to match the power of the Surface Pro 8, which cannot be purchased with a CPU below the 11th generation Intel Core i5.

Power-wise, Asus' new Vivobook 2-in-1 is far more comparable to the Surface Go 3 with a weak mobile Intel Pentium Gold 6500Y or Intel Core i3-10100Y chip. This is because when we reviewed the Go 3, which we upgraded with an Intel Core i3 chip, 8GB of RAM, and a 128GB SSD, we found the performance to be underwhelming.

But while this Vivobook may not blow your socks off in terms of performance, it's still shaping up to be a better deal than the Surface Go 3. The Go 3 starts as low as $399, but that doesn't include the removable keyboard or stylus. No. Buying one of each from Microsoft along with the Go 3 is expected to run $629 or more; the Vivobook looks like a good deal in comparison, since you get the stylus and detachable keyboard at no extra charge, plus the added bonus of an OLED display.

Sound quality could also be quite good; the Vivobook 13 Slate OLED has quad speakers with Dolby Atmos, and Asus claims that the speakers are 3.5 times louder than a standard amplifier. The tablet also has a 5-megapixel front camera, a 13-megapixel rear camera, and a noise-canceling microphone. The unit comes with a removable keyboard and a magnetic back cover with kickstand. The cover stand has a 170-degree hinge.

As mentioned above, an Asus Pen 2.0 stylus is also included; using Microsoft Pen Protocol 2.0, the included pen is capable of up to 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity. The four interchangeable nibs mimic actual pencils. The pen can be charged through the aforementioned USB-C port.

As with all new Windows 11 laptops, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate is included free for one month. The laptop's Wi-Fi 6 feature lets you stream games from Xbox's subscription service, and Asus claims the device will run for more than nine hours on a single charge, but we'll have to get one for our own testing and review to see how true that is in a real-world environment. We will need to get one for our own testing and review. The company also claims that the battery can be charged to 60% in just over 30 minutes via USB-C.

According to today's announcement, there is much to like about the Asus Vivobook 13 OLED as a 2-in-1 laptop. Its low-power specs mean that it won't be suitable for gaming or other demanding tasks, but it should be powerful enough to stand alongside Microsoft's Surface Go 3. And of course, the OLED display promises deeper blacks, richer contrast, and more vibrant colors than non-OLED devices. The relatively affordable price of $600 for an entry-level model is the icing on the cake.