The already-excellent ASUS Flip CX5 is getting a higher-spec version

We’ve reviewed the ASUS CX5 (the 15-inch version) and in most ways, it is a fantastic machine. The 11th-gen Intel Tiger Lake Core i3 has more speed than nearly anything we’ve every tested, the 8GB of RAM is plenty, and the 128GB of NVMe storage allows the user plenty of fast, local storage to use. With the white-on-black aesthetic, a 15.6-inch FHD screen, a fantastic backlit keyboard, and a spacious glass trackpad, there’s a whole lot to like in the ASUS CX5 package.

More specs, please

It would seem that ASUS isn’t content with leaving well-enough alone, however, and they are delivering a spec bump to the lightning-fast CX5 that puts it more in-line with the recently-available CX9 and CX5400. Both of those devices come with the even-faster Tiger Lake Core i7 chips and, perhaps most importantly, the updated Intel Xe integrated graphics as well.

Taking a cue from those higher-end siblings, the updated CX5 looks to be coming in a much higher trim, sporting an 11th-gen Core i5 processor and 16GB of RAM to go along with all the other trimmings we just mentioned. For most people, I still think the original Core i3/8GB/128GB version is more than enough horsepower. For those of you interested in gaming with Steam on Chromebooks later in the year, this new option may be of great interest.

Between the faster processor, the far-superior GPU, and the extended RAM, this version of the CX5 will be a rock-solid gaming machine once Steam arrives on Chrome OS. We’re still a little ways out from that reality, but all signs point to it arriving before the end of 2020. When it does, devices like this updated CX5 will be in a far better position to leverage the new abilities Chrome OS will provide for gamers.

The listing for this new spec showed up on Google’s own Chromebooks page, but there is no date attached. Instead, we only see a message up top that states this Chromebook will be available soon at retailers. That could mean anything from next week to next month, so if this is the Chromebook of your dreams, I’d take this news with a side of patience. While it would bode well for ASUS to get this on shelves before college students are buying a laptop to head off to school, we have no indication that it will be available by that time. We’ve reached out to ASUS for comment and will update if/when we hear back. Until then, we wait; knowing that this is simply one of many fast, quality new Chromebooks on the near horizon.