My Review of MSI Summit E14 Flip Evo

MSI Summit - New kid on the block

A few months ago, I was looking to make a purchase decision for a 2 in 1 laptop. I was considering 2 in 1 from either Lenovo, HP or Dell. So, I went to the mall and hope that I can check some of these laptops. To my disappointment the laptops are not on stock and only available for pre-order. Tried my luck on the MSI Store and got to view some of the latest MSI Offering. MSI take on 2 in 1 laptop - MSI Summit E14 Flip EVO. Got to check the laptop specs and found it comparable to the brands I mentioned but also having some unique features.

The good news - the laptop is on stock. I decided to pull the trigger and make the purchase.

a laptop computer sitting on a table with a cell phone and a cell phone

PROS

✅ Solid build quality

✅ Good ports selection

✅ Windows Hello face and fingerprint

recognition

✅ Integration of Tile tracker

✅ Inclusion of Tobii aware

CONS

⛔ Fingerprint magnet

⛔ Refresh rate stuck at 60Hz

⛔ Battery life could be better

I got the core i5-1240p version with 16gb LPDDR5 4800Mhz and 512gb NVME Gen4 for storage. If you're interested on the full specs, you can visit MSI website. The laptop was packaged inside a nice-looking black box w/ MSI design and logo. There were some nice freebies such as MSI branded wireless mouse, active pen and a laptop backpack. I opted to exchange the backpack for MSI laptop sleeve instead. The pen has 4096 level of sensitivity and can be charged via its USB-C.

a mouse pad pad with a mouse and a mouse pad

Packaging and Freebies

Freebies- MSI Active Pen, mouse and laptop sleeve

An 85W USB-C charging brick is included. You can also use PD charger rated at > 65W if you need a more portable power brick you can bring when working outside. The available ports are quite generous. I appreciate that MSI still included HDMI port aside from the 2 thunderbolt ports. BTW if you want to use the USB type C to connect to a monitor, you'll need a cable that is USB3.2 DP Alt mode capable or any thunderbolt (3 or 4) cable. Another feature worth mentioning is the Type-A USB3.2 port has power sharing feature. When enabled any device connected to the port can be charge even if the laptop is on sleep, hibernation or shutdown. There is also a micro-SD card reader.

a laptop computer with a laptop and a laptop

Left side ports: HDMI 2.1(4K@60hz) 2x Thunderbolt 4, Right side ports: audio jack, micro-SD card reader, camera shutter, Type-A USB3.2 Gen2

Port Selection - MSI did not skimp on ports

The Summit E14 Flip Evo has a bright 500 nits max QHD+ IPS panel 16:10 aspect ratio. The display is bright, and colors appear vibrant. The only downside is the 60hz refresh rate. A 90hz panel would have been better. In any case scrolling with the touch display is fast and responsive and the bright screen should present no problem when working on a sunny environment.

Display - Golden Ratio

According to MSI the 16:10 screen size is perfect and calls it the golden ratio.

Because this is a 2 in 1, the screen can swivel up to 360°. You can set to 3 positions - laptop, tent and tablet mode. The hinge is rigid with just enough stiffness. Tent mode is best use if you're work involves doing customer presentation. Speaking about presentation you can also use the MSI active pen as a pointer which is a nice feature.

Chassis and Hinge - Built like a tank

The chassis and hinge seem to be made from aluminum w/ no observe flexing or screen wobbling.

Webcam - Security plus AI

If you do a lot of zoom meetings the webcam @ 2MP w/ FHD resolution feature AI noise cancellation and quadruple mic for better audio quality. The webcam is IR camera which support windows hello face recognition. This makes log-in more secure and convenient. There is a fingerprint sensor below the arrow keys if you prefer this log-in method.

Trackpad - wished it was haptic

I like the design and layout of the keyboard as I prefer keys with some spacing in between. The key travel is also good with just the right clicky sound. Keyboard backlit has 3 levels. Trackpad is generous in size @ 10cm x 7.5cm with the multi-finger gesture works flawlessly. Only thing that annoys me on the trackpad is the left and right click which is a bit clunky. Not a flaw just nitpicking.

Trackpad scrolling is accurate and supports multi-finger gesture.

MSI Center Pro is already installed but needs updating to latest version.

Intel 12th Gen - Lots of power in the hood

I bought the laptop mainly for day trading, writing blogs and programming. The core i5-1240p is not the most powerful Intel P series chip but its 4 performance cores, 8 efficiency cores and 16 hyperthreading cores should provide sufficient power for heavy and light loads. The laptop can handle decent gaming but don't expect high FPS and max-out setting. The iGPU - Intel Iris XE is not suitable for performance gaming.

MSI Center Pro - Power, Fan Control & more

MSI Center Pro is where you can change the laptop power mode and also check on fan speed, CPU, ram and disk usage. When connected to the power brick I normally use High Performance, and when on battery I choose balanced or super battery depending on the workload. The app can also control the fan speed. To create the fan profile, click the setting button on the High-Performance mode. For the fan mode there are 3 options - auto, cooler boost and advanced. I set the fan speed to max at 70% which is around 3,300 rpm. Setting the fan to 90%-100% may result in loud fan noise.

a screenshot of screen of computer interface

TILE app can display a map showing your device location.

Intel Unison - a better iTunes alternative

The MSI Summit has the Microsoft app Journal pre-installed. If you're into note taking apps like me this app is convenient to use and the MSI pen works well with the app. Another app that is worth noting is Intel Unison. I'm an iPhone user and struggle a lot transferring my photos to my windows pc. With unison the iPhone can pair via Bluetooth with the Summit and transferring of files and photos is now a breeze. The unison app is an exclusive for Intel Evo certified laptops.

Screen blurs when user in not in front or someone else is looking.

Tobii Aware and TILE - Extra goodies

My favorite feature of the MSI Summit E14 Flip Evo is the inclusion of Tobii aware. This app provides an extra layer of security and privacy. Tobii aware when enabled would blur the screen when it senses someone is looking. Another neat feature is the warp mouse pointer. It works when you have connected a 2nd screen it tracks your eye movement between the laptop and monitor. It automatically places the mouse cursor to the screen you are looking, now that is really cool.

Misplaced your laptop, no worries the built in TILE tracker can locate your laptop within Bluetooth range. Install the TILE app on your iphone or android phone and click the find button. The laptop would then beep raising alert if in case somebody took it.

a laptop computer screen that is blurred

Battery, Price, and Conclusion

The battery endurance of the MSI Summit E14 Flip EVO as advertised by MSI is 10 hours. My average usage lasts me 6 hours. Battery endurance could be better considering the capacity of 72Whr is more than enough to power the laptop above 10 hours. I would not fault MSI here as the battery efficiency highly depends on CPU power draw. Intel 12th gen CPU battery efficiency is sufficient but not great. For my workload, 5 to 7 hours of battery while working outside is adequate.

Should you buy the MSI Summit E14 Flip EVO? If security and privacy is on your top list of must have features, the MSI Summit E14 Flip EVO got you covered. For the price of ₱79,995($1,455) the MSI Summit is on the expensive side but considering all value-added features I can say the price is worth it and highly recommended for professional and student alike working on technical, business and creative fields.