A big privilege and challenge of the work I do is that I get to travel quite a bit. Sometimes it’s for an entire week, while other times it’s for just a few days. Despite having gone on many such trips, it’s still always a challenge figuring out my tech loadout for each one. That wasn’t the case for my latest two trips as the ROG Flow Z13 (2025) simplified things for me.

You see, I no longer have the bandwidth to game as much as I did in my youth. But every now and again, I get the urge to zone out, stay in the moment, and just press buttons. This is why I’m always excited about PC gaming handhelds. It’s a category that I’m keeping my eye on and one that still has plenty of room to grow.

But it’s these ‘portable’ AAA gaming machines that have complicated my tech loadout quite a bit. They’re not exactly compact and I’ve had to expand and retool my carry-on setup because of them. Unfortunately, I don’t always find time to play during these trips. So, they end up essentially, becoming dead weight. 

Then, a few things happened that led to me taking the ROG Flow Z13 on the trips with me. First, the MacBook I use for work started to show signs of aging. I had to start getting used to using Windows again. Soon after, the ROG Flow Z13 came into my life.

Simplifying my tech loadout for travel

My tech loadout has varied somewhat over the last year and a half of my work travels. For instance, I’ve carried a different laptop on nearly every trip. Whatever I was reviewing at the time, that’s what I ended up carrying. 

Then, there’s the usual two to five smartphones– an iPhone, main Android, and whatever else I’m reviewing or need to take sample and/or comparison photos of. I’ve also started carrying a tablet for each trip. Save for one trip where I carried an 11-incher, I have mostly settled with the iPad Mini 7 as my main travel tablet. 

Then there are the essential accessories like powerbanks, power bricks, cables, and more. Most of which are Anker things which I will talk about more in detail in a separate article. 

Only after packing the essentials do, I decide if I will bring with me a PC gaming handheld or not. Deciding whether to do so or not depend on a number of factors. These include how hectic the schedule is, how long the flight is, do I have a lengthy layover, and what not. 

In 2025, I’ve mostly sacrificed gaming and have just gone with a media-consumption loadout. The urge to push buttons hasn’t been as much. Additionally, the laptops I’ve reviewed of late aren’t geared towards gaming, so I didn’t even bother playing on them. 

Everything changed when the ROG Flow Z13 (2025) arrived. Everything’s an exaggeration, but it did simplify my tech loadout for travel. With it, I left behind the PC gaming handheld and just carried a Bluetooth controller instead. 

Like carrying a gaming console

I got the ROG Flow Z13 roughly a couple of days before one of my work trips. So, outside of setting things up and installing some games, the first time I actually used it was during the first night at the hotel. 

In my excitement, I posted the setup on my IG story – the ROG Flow Z13 hooked up to the hotel TV via HDMI and neatly tucked to the side, Steam Big Picture mode on and controlling everything with the GameSir Super Nova controller. 

I belatedly realized that I looked like someone geeking out about connecting a ‘gaming laptop’ to the hotel TV. What I failed to communicate due to my overeagerness to post is to fully explain what’s at the heart of it all– the ROG Flow Z13 which is, in fact, a gaming tablet and not a laptop.

This was SO COOL.

Why does that distinction matter? With laptops the engine of it all is located underneath the keyboard. The bulk of the heft is situated there. Meanwhile, with the tablet, all that processing power is packed right behind the display. This means the ROG Flow Z13 is literally just a slab with a kickstand whereas a regular gaming laptop has more of a clamshell like form factor. 

The slab form factor means a keyboard that can be taken away. This opens up the ROG Flow Z13 to a variety of stances for various ways of content consumption methods. More on that later. 

Unique form, unexpected power

Let’s first focus on its main draw– gaming. 

Do a quick look-up of the ROG Flow Z13 (2025) and you’ll learn that it’s billed as “the most powerful PC gaming tablet.” That’s a unique proposition made possible by what’s at the heart of the machine– the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor. 

What the processor with a mouthful of a name allows is high performance gaming without the need for a dedicated GPU. That’s virtually unheard of. If you look at the spec sheet, you’ll see that the Flow Z13 (2025) only has integrated graphics. Usually that’s the tell that the machine you’re looking at isn’t built for demanding gameplay. 

The Ryzen AI Max+ 395 processor bucks all of that as it has been tested by many other reviewers to deliver a gaming performance akin to having an RTX 4060 GPU. That’s nothing to scoff at. An RTX 4060 is better than the PS4 and Xbox One and can somewhat be comparable to the PS5 and Xbox Series S. 

We’re not the benchmarking type so if you’re skeptical, just check out this video from Digital Foundry and extensive benchmarks by Gadget Pilipinas. 

Current gen console level for travel

Not needing the GPU made the form factor possible. The processor is able to pump out enough power to deliver quality gaming while keeping it a PC gaming tablet. This is the true evolution of the Flow Z13. 

Previously, the Flow Z13 needed to be hooked up to the ROG XG Mobile. It’s ROG’s own eGPU that I admittedly thought was fascinating when it was first introduced with the ROG Flow X13. The novelty got the better of me. In practice, it can be a clunky set-up. While the 2025 edition of the Flow Z13 can still be hooked up to the latest ROG XG Mobile, it’s no longer a “need.” 

This is why I was geeking out so much. I practically traveled with a machine that’s smaller than the PS5 but can appropriate its performance especially with the right settings. 

And the kicker is that it’s not just a gaming machine. It’s great for work and all kinds of video viewing. 

Work and chill machine 

Stromile Swift highlights, anyone?

Having a machine that can handle play, work, and chill time is such a boon for travel. Whether I choose to carry it around or make it my home-base machine, the ROG Flow Z13 (2025) is great for any and all of these. Its versatility is off the charts. 

The ROG Flow Z13 (2025) generally won’t leave you wanting for ports but I wish they could fit in a full-size SD card slot in the next one.

I typically don’t do much on my laptop anymore. I’ve developed a personal workflow where I can get a lot of work done just on a foldable smartphone and/or a tablet. Having the ROG Flow Z13 made me excited to make it as my main work machine though. 

I do a lot of typing, and the keyboard feels great to type on. There’s more than enough click, and the travel feels satisfying despite the overall footprint feeling thin. 

However, I wish that outside of the POGO Pins, it can also be connected via bluetooth. That would have unlocked a few other setup possibilities for it. 

I need to catch-up on Season 2 of Shangri-la Frontier

With the keyboard removed though, the ROG Flow Z13 becomes this really chill video viewing machine. It’s great for watching the regular 16:9 videos. 

솔직하게, si, c’est moi. Si, c’est moi, si, c’est moi. Yes, it’s STAYC Isa.

But stand it up and it becomes this oversized K-Pop fancam viewing machine. It’s not out of this world or anything but you gotta admit it’s pretty darn cool. 

Still pretty hefty 

While it’s a 13-inch tablet, it still has a fair amount of bulk and heft. Carried with the keyboard, it weighs a little over 1.2Kg. That really isn’t a lot on its own but on the first trip down, I stupidly decided to carry it along with its pretty hefty power brick with a tote bag. 

It wasn’t any flimsy tote bag but a pretty rugged one. The problem was more with weight distribution. In addition to the aforementioned, that day I also carried my Sony a6500 along with a couple other phones. These contributed to the weight significantly which isn’t great for a sling or shoulder bag.

Whipped it out at an airport lounge too and got a good bit of work done. This was the second trip and carried it on a backpack this time.

The ROG Flow Z13 (2025) is best carried on a backpack. Totes, Messenger bags are fine but will cause some strain after some time. Keeping this in mind, I decided to buy a shoulder-pad reinforcement as I’m bullish about not carrying a backpack anymore. 

I didn’t make the same mistake on my next trip. I left behind the hefty power brick and instead decided to carry the Anker 140w GaN charger. It’s good enough to charge and power the device at a respectable speed tdp when gaming. 

Is the ROG Flow Z13 (2025) your GadgetMatch?

Personally, the ROG Flow Z13 (2025) fits seamlessly into my lifestyle. It’s a perfect match for the kind of work, chill, and play loop I throw myself into. 

The AMD Ryzen AI+ 395 processor powering this machine is promising. It’s already impressive as it is, but it’s bound to get better over the years. I’m excited for its potential and what other possible form factors it can manifest into in the near future. 

It’s a SuperSwipe for me but its USD 2799.99/ PhP 174,995 price makes it a little tough to recommend. I can think of a few other ways to spend that sum that would satisfy my personal work, chill, and play loop in a different way on a platform I’m more comfortable working on. So, for now, it’s objectively just a Swipe Right.

Still, it’s a unique device. There’s literally nothing quite like it in the market right now that offers the same overall package. That’s why it deserves the GadgetMatch Seal of Approval. 

ROG Flow Z13 specs

• CPU: Up to AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 with Radeon 8060S Graphics
• Display: 13″ ROG Nebula Display (2560×1600, 180Hz/3ms touchscreen)
• Memory: Up to 128GB LPDDR5X-8000
• Storage: Up to 1TB PCIe Gen4 SSD
• Connectivity: WiFi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
• I/O: 2x Type-C USB4 (DP 2.1 + PD 3.0), 1x Type-A USB 3.2, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x microSD (UHS-II), 1x 3.5mm audio jack
• Battery: 70Wh
• Dimensions: 30 x 20.4 x 1.29~1.49 cm
• Weight: 1.2kg (without keyboard cover)