United States
United Kingdom
India
Deutschland
France
Canada
España
Belgium
Netherlands
Poland
Sweden
България
Australia
Italia
中国
日本[Video Review] MSI Summit E16 Flip Evo A12M – MSI has done a great job
MSI Summit E16 Flip (12Ux) in-depth review
Quite frankly, the Summit brand is very young, since it has been only a couple of years before it first appeared on the mobile computer scene. However, MSI shows great attention to detail, which gives all Summit devices the good first impression they need.Furthermore, it is interesting that it appears as a premium product, but it is not that expensive, which is great for everybody. Today's laptop in particular comes in two configurations. It is called the MSI Summit E16 Flip, and our unit is the Evo version, which lacks a dedicated graphics card. On the other hand, being part of the Evo p[...]
Pros
- 2x Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 6E connection, and a MicroSD card reader on board
- M.2 PCIe x4 Gen 4 support
- Thin aluminum body
- PWM-free display (AUO B160UAN01.J (AUOA9DA))
- Good battery life
- 100% sRGB coverage and accurate colors with our Gaming and Web design profile (AUO B160UAN01.J (AUOA9DA))
- 165Hz refresh rate with quick pixel response times (AUO B160UAN01.J (AUOA9DA))
- IR and fingerprint Windows Hello login
Cons
- 65W charger is a limiting factor on the Evo model
- Memory is soldered to the motherboard (but works in quad-channel mode)
MSI Summit E16 Flip (12Ux) - Specs
- HDD/SSD
- up to 2000GB SSD
- M.2 Slot
- 1x 2280 M.2 PCIe 4.0 x4 See photo
- RAM
- up to 32GB
- OS
- Windows 11 Home, Windows 11 Pro
- Battery
- 82Wh, 4-cell
- Body material
- Aluminum
- Dimensions
- 358 x 258.55 x 16.85 mm (14.09" x 10.18" x 0.66")
- Weight
- 1.90 kg (4.2 lbs)
- Ports and connectivity
- 2x USB Type-A
- 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps)
- 2x USB Type-C
- Thunderbolt 4, Power Delivery (PD), DisplayPort
- HDMI
- 2.0
- Card reader
- MicroSD
- Ethernet LAN
- Wi-Fi
- 802.11ax
- Bluetooth
- 5.2
- Audio jack
- 3.5mm Combo Jack
- Features
- Fingerprint reader
- Web camera
- FHD
- Backlit keyboard
- Microphone
- Speakers
- 2x 2W, Stereo Speakers
- Optical drive
All MSI Summit E16 Flip (12Ux) configurations
The Summit series of notebooks has so far never disappointed, delivering quality designs and an overall premium feel that doesn’t have a premium price tag, which can be pretty important in a market that sees laptops go up in price with every passing year. Let’s see if this Alder Lake-powered Summit E15 Flip Evo can live up to the legacy of its predecessors.
[Intro]
Since this is an Evo model, you rely on the integrated graphics, but the Evo treatment also means that the CPU is pushed to the limit of its 65W power adapter. MSI treats you well with the unboxing experience as well, giving you a dedicated MSI Pen, so artists and designers better be on the lookout for this device.
[Design]
The laptop is made of 100% aluminum alloy and employs a glass display cover, which is great for lid durability. However, we see some flex from the base, albeit it’s nothing dramatic. The appearance seems to be focused pretty heavily, as the matte black finish paired with the sleek MSI branding makes for a great-looking notebook. What we like to see is a portable weight of 1.90 kg and a profile of 17 mm.
[Input devices]
Finally, we see a NumPad, especially when it’s complemented by a comfortable keyboard with long key travel and clicky feedback. It also has a backlight and the keys themselves are large enough. The touchpad is covered in glass as well and when paired with the 165Hz displays offers a very good experience.
[Ports]
The I/O is well populated, with two Thunderbolt 4 ports, two USB Type-A 3.2 (Gen. 2) ports, an HDMI 2.0 port, a switch for the camera, a MicroSD card reader, and a 3.5 mm audio jack.
[Display]
There are two display options, with a 16:10 aspect ratio and a 165Hz refresh rate. Both of them use IPS panels with either a FHD+ or a QHD+ resolution, of which we tested the former option. In short, the display offers good angles, but the brightness uniformity is out of bounds on the entire right side, which might interfere with the accuracy of the colors. Otherwise, the panel has 100% sRGB coverage and reaches a dE value of 1.2 with our Design and Gaming profile.
[Battery]
The laptop packs a heavy 82Wh unit which lasts for 12 hours and 30 minutes of Web browsing, or 12 hours and 9 minutes of video playback. This is when the laptop is paired with the Core i7-1280P which is the worst-case scenario.
[Performance]
The Core i7-1280P squeezes as much as possible from its 28W power limit, outperforming all of its competitors in the weird thin & light productivity market. The iGPUs will struggle against offerings with discrete graphics, however, nothing is stopping you from getting a non-Evo laptop, which can come with either an RTX 3050 or a 3050 Ti, capped at 40W.
[Teardown and Upgradeability]
Despite the large footprint, there are only 7 Phillips-head screws that you have to undo. Doing so reveals soldered LPDDR5 RAM, with up to 32GB of it, and only one SSD slot that fits Gen 4 drives.
[Cooling]
There are no changes in cooling between the Evo and non-Evo models, with four heat pipes, two fans, and two heat spreaders. Interestingly the fans are in the middle, with the pipes wrapping around them.
Compared to the only other laptop with the Core i7-1280P, the Prestige 15, once again, from MSI, it performs worse, dropping its wattage and clock speeds in the long run of our stress test. This is due to the 65W adapter, which doesn’t supply enough power.
Comfort is okay, with the hotspot being located at the left side of the base, right around the WASD keys. It maxes out at 43.8°C.
[Verdict]
While limited by its charger, the Summit E16 Flip still outperforms its competitors from Lenovo, ASUS, and Acer. We would recommend also taking a look at the non-Evo model, as the possible performance increase might warrant taking a hit to the battery life. The advantages of RTX Graphics should also be considered, if you plan to do any Creator work on the laptop.
