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06 Nov

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MSI Summit E16 Flip Review: Stepping Up to Compete

November 6, 2021
Posted by Samson

MSI Summit E16 Flip sits on a table.

MSI Summit E16 Flip

RRP $ 2,299.00

"The MSI Summit E16 Flip is a decent laptop for content creators, if only it was a little cheaper."

advantages

Solid build quality
Attractive aesthetics
Strong productivity performance
Excellent IPS display with 120 Hz refresh rate
Very good keyboard

disadvantage

Too expensive
Battery life is mediocre
Small touchpad

I really liked the MSI Summit E13 Flip, especially the modern aesthetics, excellent battery life, and solid performance. It turned out that MSI can make an excellent productivity-oriented 2-in-1 convertible for the popular gaming laptops, even if the price was a bit steep.

MSI has a larger version of the device, the Summit E16 Flip, which not only expands the 16:10 display from 13.4 inches to 16 inches, but also adds a separate GPU via Nvidia's GeForce RTX 3050. It has a similar look and feel, but is more aimed at developers who can take advantage of the extra power of a GPU for applications that can use it, like Adobe's Creative Suite.

I tested the top-end Summit E16 Flip with a Core i7-1195G7 CPU and the RTX 3050, which has a retail price of $ 2,299. The three available models only differ in their RAM and storage, whereby the test device with 32 GB RAM and a 2 TB SSD is the top model. As with the 13-inch model, the Summit E16 Flip is a bit pricey – but I enjoyed the machine enough to justify the investment.

draft

Rear view of the MSI Summit E16 Flip. Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

Like its smaller brother, the Summit E16 Flip has a slim, completely black case with just a few rose gold accents in an MSI logo on the front and along the beveled edges on the lid and touchpad. The larger model doesn't have the cropped chassis and lid corners of the 13-inch model reminiscent of the HP Specter line, including the Specter x360 15, but the rose gold and black color scheme still hints at HP's machines .

The lines of the 2-in-1 are simpler, with a slightly angled edge along the back of the case and a steeply angled keyboard deck. It's an elegant overall look that is not overrated and is more eye-catching than the HP Envy x360 15, which is also available in black but has a deliberately minimalist design. As with the smaller version, MSI also notes the use of the golden ratio (1.68) when designing the dimensions of the laptop.

The display bezels of the 2-in-1 display aren't tiny at the top and bottom, so the overall dimensions of the Summit E16 Flip are a bit excessive. It's almost as wide as the Specter x360 15, but over an inch deeper thanks to the taller display and larger bezels. However, it's thinner at 0.67 inches and slightly heavier at 4.4 pounds compared to the Specter x360 15 at 0.79 inches and 4.23 pounds. The Summit E16 Flip is also deeper than the Envy x360 15 with its 16: 9 display, while again it's thinner and slightly heavier compared to the Envy’s 0.72 inches and 4.11 pounds.

MSI Summit E16 Flip folded back. Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

Overall, the Summit E16 Flip is a large convertible 2-in-1, but not unexpected considering it's a large and tall display. You won't want to hold it in your arm to ink, but that's typical of larger 2-in-1 devices.

The Summit E16 Flip is made from CNC machined aluminum, which fits its premium character. Accordingly, the entire chassis is torsion-resistant, without the lid (as shown on the 13-inch model), the keyboard deck or the case's underside sagging. It is slightly on par with the Specter x360 15 and is ahead of the Envy x360 15, which had a bit of keyboard flex.

The Summit E16 Flip is a very well made laptop. The hinge can be easily opened with one hand, which is unusual for convertible 2-in-1s, and holds the display in its four positions – clamshell, tent, media and tablet. It also supports the keyboard deck at an angle for a more comfortable typing experience and improved airflow.

On the left is a full-size HDMI port and two USB-Cs with Thunderbolt 4 (one of which is for charging).

Two USB-A 3.2 ports, a 3.5 mm audio jack and a microSD card reader on the right side of the MSI Summit e16 Flip.

Connectivity is a strength. On the left is a full-size HDMI port and two USB-C with Thunderbolt 4 ports (one of which is used for charging) and two USB-A 3.2 ports, a 3.5mm audio jack and a microSD card reader on the right.

Given the usefulness of this 2-in-1 for creatives, a full-size SD card reader would have been desirable. The latest in Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2 offer fast wireless capabilities with the right router.

power

MSI Summit E16 Flip folded back in a tent fold. Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

The Summit E16 Flip uses a 28-watt 4-core / 8-thread Intel Core i7-1195G7, which is a fast chip, but it's still intended for thin and light laptops rather than portable powerhouses. This is in contrast to the 45-watt Core i7-10750H with 6 cores and 12 threads in the HP Specter x360 15 and the 8-core / 16-thread AMD Ryzen 7 5700U in the HP Envy x360 15.

Then there are clamshell laptops like the Dell XPS 15 and MSI Creator Z16 that use the latest 8-core / 16-thread Core i7-11800H CPUs that are significantly faster – though it's not entirely fair, these portable ones Compare workstations with a Convertible 2. in 1. My performance expectations for the Summit E16 Flip have been lowered despite everything.

According to our benchmarks, the Summit E16 Flip's performance was strong for productive work, but mixed for creative endeavors. Note that MSI provides a utility to switch from "balanced" to "powerful" modes and this made a noticeable difference in some of these results, but not enough to warrant analysis. If you need a little more power, you can switch the 2-in-1 to overdrive.

The MSI Summit E16 Flip balances CPU and GPU performance very well.

The Summit E16 Flip performed well in Geekbench 5 and beat the Specter x360 15 in both the single and multi-core tests, but lost in the multi-core test against the blazingly fast AMD Ryzen 7 CPU in the Envy x360 15. In our Handbrake test, which converts a 420MB video to H.265, the MSI couldn't compete with any of our comparison devices except for the LG Gram 16, which uses a slower Core i7, but it wasn't much slower than the Specter x360 15. The same applies to Cinebench R23, another CPU-intensive benchmark. The Summit E16 Flip scores exceptionally well in the PCMark Complete test, and its values for essentials, productivity and content creation are also good for the CPU class.

One surprising result was Pugetbench, which uses Adobe Premiere Pro to handle a number of demanding video editing tasks and can use both the CPU and GPU to speed up performance. Here the Summit E16 Flip achieved an excellent score of 552, which was significantly higher than all the others except for the Dell XPS 15 (which beat it) and the MSI Creator Z16 (which dominated this benchmark). MSI coordinated the CPU and the GPU excellently to achieve a good performance in this practical test.

The Summit E16 Flip is not the fastest notebook in the 15- and 16-inch class, but it is fast enough for a convertible 2-in-1. It's faster overall than the HP Specter x360 15, and while the HP Specter x360 16 was announced with a 35-watt H-series CPU, the details are sparse – it could be another solid competitor, but we won't know until we i have compared it. Either way, the Summit E16 Flip is a 2-in-1 device that can handle your demanding productivity tasks, but not handle demanding creative workflows that are CPU intensive.

Laptop	Underdog bench 5	Cinebench R23	Budget bank	Handbrake (Seconds)	PCMark 10	3DMark time spy	Fourteen days (1080p epic)	Civilization VI (1080p Ultra)
MSI Summit E16 Flip (Core i7-1195G7)	1607/6096	1589/5344	552	175	5681	4138	52 fps	62 fps
HP Specter x360 15 (Core i7-10750H)	1237/5013	1102/5492	339	160	4676	2325	54 fps	60 fps
HP Envy x360 15 (AMD Ryzen7 5700U)	1198/6790	1258/8131	185	116	5419	902	20 fps	N / A
Dell XPS 15 OLED 2021 (Core i7-11800H)	1544/7692	1513/9979	509	101	6024	4540	50 fps	73 fps
MSI Creator Z16 (Core i7-11800H)	1540/7625	1444/9615	738	103	6486	6322	59 fps (1200p)	92 fps
LG gram 16 (Core i7-1165G7)	1573/5454	1394/4137	N / A	213	4827	1390	13 fps	n / A

The Summit E16 Flip is equipped with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 GPU, an entry-level graphics chip. It does well in the 3DMark Time Spy test, not too far behind the RTX 3050 Ti in the Dell XPS 15 and well ahead of the GTX 1650 Ti in the HP Specter x360 15. When testing the performance in some popular games, I found the Summit E16 Flip at 1080p or 1200p and moderate graphics settings a competent performer.

Fortnite reached 52 frames per second (fps) at 1200p and epic settings, behind the Specter x360 15 but ahead of the XPS 15 and competitive with the MSI Creator Z16 (with an RTX 3060). In Civilization VI, the Summit E16 Flip hit 62 fps at 1080p and ultra graphics, slightly ahead of the Specter x360 15 and behind the XPS 15 and Creator Z16, but not by much. MSI's 2-in-1 hit 43 fps at 1200p and high graphics, way behind the XPS 15 and Creator Z16, and it dropped from there as the resolution and graphics settings went up.

In Battlefield V, the Summit E16 Flip finally ran at 49 fps at 1200p and medium graphics, again clearly behind the XPS 15 and the Creator Z16, but still playable. Even at 1600p and ultra graphics, the Summit E16 Flip achieved 30 fps.

As long as you agree to the graphic quality limitation, you can play modern titles at 1080p or 1200p. It's not a gaming laptop, but it's not a bad entry-level device.

Close up on the MSI Summit E16 flip display. Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

I criticized the Summit E13 Flip for its poor calibration, with colors and gamma that were far away. I noticed this when I was doing my tests and before I pulled out my colorimeter. With the display of the Summit E16 Flip, which looked very bright, with dynamic and natural colors and deep blacks, there were no such problems. And the large 16-inch display has the productivity-friendly 16:10 aspect ratio with a sufficiently sharp QHD + resolution (2,560 x 1,600). I really enjoyed using the display while doing my tests.

I was not wrong with my impressions. According to my colorimeter, MSI picked an excellent IPS panel for the Summit E16 Flip and calibrated it much better. First, it was very bright at 482 nits, well above our 300 nit threshold. The colors were much wider than the average premium display at 89% of AdobeRGB (most displays are around 72%) and 100% of sRGB (with 95% close to average).

I discovered by accident that the display supports a refresh rate of 120 Hz.

The colors were also accurate with a Delta E of 1.12 (1.0 or less is considered excellent). The contrast of 1,140: 1 was above our threshold of 1,000: 1. This is much better than the IPS display of the HP Envy x360 15 with 270 nits, 71% Adobe RGB and 95% sRGB with an accuracy of 1.06 (slightly better) and a contrast ratio of 900: 1. Of course, the HP Specter x360 15 with its OLED display had even wider colors at 99% AdobeRGB and 100% sRGB, with an accuracy of 1.21 and an ink-black contrast ratio of 426,180: 1.

In an interesting twist, I discovered quite by accident that the display supports 120 Hz, although this is nowhere mentioned in the literature I received with the test device. I tried running Assassin's Creed Valhalla which wouldn't run properly and in the settings I noticed that the game was set to the non-native 60Hz by default.

Lo and behold, I could switch to 120 Hz if I wanted to. I checked the display settings and there it was, set to 120 Hz by default. I didn't notice anything prior to this discovery, but when I switched back and forth between 60Hz and 120Hz I found that things went a little smoother. So that's another plus point for the display, which MSI should advertise more prominently.

Close-up of the webcam of the MSI Summit E16 Flip. Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

Overall, the Summit E16 Flip's display is great for productive work, with more than wide and accurate colors and contrasts that make black text stand out on a white background. It's also good enough for developers who might want a slightly larger AdobeRGB color space but could certainly get their job done with this 2-in-1. It's an excellent display that justifies the Summit E16 Flip's higher price tag.

The sound was surprisingly quiet, even at maximum volume. The mids and highs were clear and comfortable, and there was even a hint of bass, but it just wasn't a lot of volume. It's good audio for Netflix and the like, but you should do this in a quiet setting. Headphones are needed when you need to drown out background noise.

Keyboard and touchpad

MSI Summit E16 Flip Keyboard and Pen. Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

Like the smaller model, the Summit E16 Flip also has an excellent keyboard. It has a lot of space and large keycaps, even if you tuck in the small numeric keypad on the right. The switches offered a lot of spring travel with 1.5 mm, a light touch and a snappy mechanism. My only complaint was that the floor movement was a little softer than I like, but that's nits. I would rate this keyboard at the top of the list with the best, including versions of the HP Specter and Dell XPS lines.

But I have a bone to pick with MSI. There's plenty of room on the palm rest for a huge touchpad – that's one of the advantages of a taller display. And yet a tiny, wide-format touchpad is built in, which leaves almost an inch of free space at the top and bottom.

Dell used this space with the XPS 15 and equipped one of the largest touchpads that you will find on a Windows computer. The E16 flip touchpad is fine for what it is, with a smooth surface, reliable support for Windows multitouch gestures thanks to Microsoft Precision touchpad support and firm but quiet buttons. But it's so tiny.

Tablet mode and stylus on the MSI Summit E16 Flip. Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

MSI contains its active pen in the box and can be magnetically attached to the housing or cover of the Summit E16 Flip. It supports 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity with tilt and is charged via USB-C. Although the 16-inch 2-in-1 is quite unwieldy in tablet mode when you place it on a surface and use it for drawing or taking notes, the pen works admirably. The touch display also responded.

A fingerprint reader provides Windows Hello support on the palm rest. As with most fingerprint readers today, it was quick and reliable. MSI has also implemented some options to turn off the webcam for privacy reasons. You can either press a key on the keyboard or flip a physical switch to electronically turn off the webcam so that hackers can no longer take advantage of it.

I prefer this to the physical sliders and those other manufacturers use. HP developed the concept with its Specter x360 13 and Specter x360 15, but has since moved to physical covers that are controlled by keyboard keys.

Battery life

MSI Summit E16 Flip sits on a table. Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

MSI put 82 watt hours of battery into the case of the Summit E16 Flip, which is close to the 83 watt hours of the HP Specter x360 15 and significantly more than the 51 watt hours of the Envy x360 15. I didn't have spectacular battery life with a large, high-resolution display expected.

What I got was longevity that may or may not last a day's work depending on the workload. In our web browsing test, the Summit E16 Flip lasted eight hours, which is below the 10 hours we'd like to see in this test. While the Specter x360 15 only lasted 6.2 hours with its OLED display, the Envy x360 15 lasted a more impressive 11 hours. That puts the result of the Summit E16 Flip into perspective.

In our video test, which repeats a local Full HD Avengers trailer, the Summit E16 Flip achieved 10.75 hours, an OK result compared to the Specter x360 15 with just 6.5 hours and the Envy x360 15 with 13 , 65 hours.

The battery life of the MSI Summit E16 Flip is only mediocre.

I also ran the Summit E16 Flip through the PCMark 10 Applications battery test where it reached nearly 8.5 hours. Again, that's less than the 10 hours we saw in this benchmark, which best approximates battery life to productivity. The Specter x360 15 was significantly lower with 5.5 hours and the Envy x360 15 was again significantly stronger with 12.5 hours. The Summit E16 Flip lasted 2.25 hours in the PCMark 10 gaming battery test, which is roughly average. This test seems to measure how hard a laptop is working on battery life, rather than reflecting total battery life.

Overall, the battery life of the Summit E16 Flip is only mediocre. As I said earlier, it may or may not get you through a full day of work, and I suspect it won't if your workflow is above average. Take your charger with you when you're on the go.

Our opinion

The MSI Summit E16 Flip is a nice-looking and well-built 2-in-1 convertible with an outstanding 16-inch 16:10 display. It's big and inconvenient like a tablet, but that's to be expected with such a large display. It's an admirable work machine for productivity and can handle entry-level creative tasks too. The keyboard is very good, but the touchpad is way too small given the space available.

MSI made one of the better large format 2-in-1 convertibles you can buy. If you're looking for a flexible machine that can handle serious jobs, the Summit E16 Flip should be on your list.

Are there alternatives?

The Specter x360 15 is a solid alternative, although it is getting on in years. Its 45 watt CPU and separate GPU perform well, and the OLED display is excellent. You will also save some money.

The new Specter x360 16 is likely to be another good alternative, although its 35-watt CPU is unlikely to offer much better performance. But you have an OLED display option and a display that is just as big and expansive. However, we don't know much about the machine, including the price.

Finally, if you don't need a 2-in-1, the Dell XPS 15 is a solid choice. It has an even better build quality, an even better display, and its performance is better for developers. They pay similar prices for the same configurations.

How long it will take?

The Summit E16 Flip is solidly built and should be productive for years. Its components are modern and cutting edge, including the fastest WiFi you can get, and it should keep up with Windows 10 – and Windows 11 – for as long as you need it. The one-year warranty remains disappointing at this price.

Should you buy it?

Yes sir. You'll love the looks and performance of the Summit E16 Flip – just be prepared to charge it.

Editor's recommendations

09 Sep

Blog

MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo Review: A Nice 2-in-1, At a Price

September 9, 2021
Posted by Samson

MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo sits on the tabletop.

MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo

RRP $ 1,900.00

"The MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo does almost everything right – except for the price."

advantages

Modern and attractive aesthetics
Thin and light
Excellent keyboard and touchpad
Great battery life
Solid productivity performance

disadvantage

Lid is a bit flexible
Display is badly calibrated
Too expensive

When looking for a convertible 2-in-1 laptop, MSI might not be the first brand that comes to mind. It's best known for its gaming laptops, but the company makes several other lines of laptops aimed at general consumers and business users. For the latter, MSI offers the Summit line, including the new Summit E13 Flip Evo 2-in-1, which offers a 16:10 display and an extremely attractive design.

I tested the high-end configuration, which costs $ 1,900 and includes an 11th generation Intel Core i7-1185G7 and a 13.4-inch IPS display in a productivity-friendly 16:10 aspect ratio. It immediately convinced me with its aesthetics and left a clear impression of quality. At a higher total price and without cheap basic equipment, however, the attractiveness remains limited.

draft

My first impression of the Summit E13 Flip Evo was that it bears a clear resemblance to the HP Specter x360 14. At least that's the case with my Ink Black version; the impression is not as pronounced with the Pure White color scheme.

I say this because the Summit E13 Flip Evo has case and display corners that are cut off at angles similar to the Specter x360 14, and the various edges of the laptop (including around the touchpad) are a familiar rose gold color. It's easy to tell the difference between the laptops, but it seems that MSI has adopted some aesthetic concepts from HP.

This does not apply to functionality – unlike the HP, the MSI does not have a USB-C port, which is conveniently placed in a corner. Regardless of its inspiration, the Summit E13 Flip Evo is a beautiful laptop with modern lines and attractive colors that add up to an overall elegant design. MSI makes a lot of the golden ratio (1,618) used to proportion the laptop, and I can't fault its math.

What I can criticize, however, are the large display bezels, which detract from the otherwise modern look. They're bigger at the top and bottom than they could be, and that makes the 13.4-inch laptop with its 16:10 display a little deeper than necessary. It's only a fraction of an inch away from the Specter x360 14 with its larger and taller 13.5-inch 3: 2 display, though it's a bit thinner at 0.59 inches compared to the HP's 0.67 inches.

The MSI is only slightly heavier at 2.98 pounds than the HP at 2.95 pounds. It's larger in width and depth than the Dell XPS 13, which also uses a 13.4-inch 16:10 display, and the Dell is slightly thinner at 0.58-inches and lighter at 2.64-inches. Part of the added depth of the Summit E13 Flip Evo is due to the convertible 2-in-1 hinge, but even so, MSI could have made this laptop a smaller laptop with a little more attention to the bezels.

The construction of the Summit E13 Flip Evo is certainly top notch as it uses CNC machined aluminum to carve the lid and chassis from individual blocks of metal. The lid bends only slightly when you press it lightly and the LCD becomes distorted in the process. However, the bottom chassis and keyboard deck are solid and give the laptop a solid feel overall. Thanks to the lid, it's not as stiff as the HP Specter x360 14 or Dell XPS 13, but it is close. The hinge allows the lid to be opened with one hand, but it also makes it a little wobbly when you move the laptop.

At that price point, the Summit E13 Flip Evo is expensive in its $ 1,900 configuration. It's worth the premium given the high-end design of the laptop, but most users will likely be put off by the high-end price. The $ 1,600 configuration with 16 GB of RAM and a 512 GB SSD is cheaper and on par with the competition. The Specter x360 14, for example, currently costs $ 1,460 for the same configuration as the $ 1,600 Summit E13 Flip Evo, but with a Core i7-1165G7 versus the MSI Core i7-1185G7. So it's $ 140 cheaper, but it also has a smaller processor.

With an identical configuration, the Dell XPS 13 costs almost exactly the same price at $ 1,620. MSI is asking too much to upgrade to 32GB of RAM, which most users in this class won't need.

Connectivity is good for a very thin and light laptop, with a USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port and two USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 ports with Thunderbolt 4 on the left and a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 port ( no Thunderbolt 4) with a 3.5mm audio jack and a hidden microSD card reader on the right. Wi-Fi 6E – the Summit E13 Flip Evo is the first laptop with the latest Wi-Fi 6E standard that supports an exclusive 6 GHz band – and Bluetooth 5.2 ensures wireless connectivity.

power

MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo easel, foldable, sitting on the tabletop. Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

In the Summit E13 Flip Evo, MSI activates the full 28 watts of the 11th generation Intel Core i7-1185G7 and theoretically promises the best possible performance of the chip. However, according to our benchmarks, the 2-in-1 does not necessarily jump to the top among similarly configured laptops.

In Geekbench 5, the Summit E13 Flip Evo was in the midfield. MSI includes a utility to tune performance versus fan noise, and it made a modest difference in some tests. For example, the Geekbench score jumped to 1,519 single-core and 5,310 in performance mode. The utility also improved the laptop's Handbrake Score, which measures the time it takes to encode a 420MB video as H.265, from 207 to 178 seconds. Both values are more competitive. The utility made less of a difference in Cinebench R23 and PCMark 10. In the last-mentioned benchmark, the notebook was in the midfield across all included tests, including Essentials (web browsing etc.), productivity (Office apps etc.), and Creation (video coding and more).

Overall, the Summit E13 Flip Evo was a fast laptop for its configuration, which included 32GB of RAM and a fast 1TB SSD, but it wasn't dominant among the Intel machines. As mentioned above, the $ 1,600 base configuration comes with 16 GB of RAM and a 512 GB solid-state drive. A model with 8 GB of RAM and less storage is not offered, which puts it behind its competitors.

In any case, the MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo will be fast enough to keep up with demanding productivity workflows, but it won't please creative types who crave a laptop that can handle CPU-intensive tasks. For this you need an AMD Ryzen 5000 series chip, an M1 MacBook or a larger 45 watt Intel laptop.

	Geekbench (single / multiple)	Handbrake (Seconds)	Cinebench R23 (single / multiple)	PCMark 10	3DMark time spy
MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo (Core i7-1185G7)	1352/4891	207	1360/4392	4872	1751
Dell XPS 13 (Core i7-1185G7)	1549/5431	204	1399/4585	n / A	1380
HP Specter x360 14 (Core i7-1165G7)	1214/4117	236	1389/3941	4728	1457
Lenovo Yoga 9i 14 (Core i7-1185G7)	1532/5415	207	1435/4409	4800	1648
Asus ZenBook 13 OLED (Ryzen7 5800U)	1423/6758	124	1171/7824	6034	1342
MacBook Pro 13 (M1)	1707/7337	n / A	1487/7547	n / A	n / A

Like all laptops with Intel's built-in Iris Xe graphics (and AMD machines with Radeon graphics), the Summit E13 Flip Evo doesn't pretend to be a gaming laptop.

Its 3DMark Time Spy Score is inconspicuous and it only managed 26 frames per second (fps) at 1080p high settings in Fortnite. With the Epic graphics switched on, this dropped to 19 fps.

Close up on the MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo laptop screen. Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

I love seeing so many new devices with larger displays, especially in different sizes and form factors. The Summit E13 Flip Evo is such a laptop with a 13.4-inch 16:10 display in Full HD + resolution (1,920 x 1,200). That's the only choice that's unfortunate – I'd love to see a higher resolution display option.

Subjectively, the display seemed to me well suited for productivity tasks, as it was very bright and with good contrast, so that black text popped out of the white background (as an author, this is one of my most important display attributes). The colors seemed fine when looking at the display alone, though I did notice that things were a little out of place in color compared to some of the other laptops I had lying around.

This is where my colorimeter came in. So the display has some good and some not so good features. As I said, the panel appeared to be bright, at 471 nits (well above our 300 nit threshold), and the contrast ratio was 950: 1 – just below our preferred ratio of 1,000: 1. The colors matched at 73% AdobeRGB and 97% sRGB the average of the premium laptop (not creative). All of this is good enough for a machine in the Summit E13 Flip Evo's class.

The color accuracy was not so great with a disappointing DeltaE of 3.94. That explains my subjective impression. Gamma (how light or dark an image or video is displayed compared to the original) was also extremely poor at 1.4. I usually don't mention gamma as most laptop displays measure the 2.2 standard. However, the MSI's display is way too bright, which I noticed again when using the laptop.

Close up on close up of the screen and bezels of the MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo. Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

It is possible that my device was poorly calibrated and could be repaired by anyone with the right tools – not many people have access to a colorimeter to do their own calibration. But it detracts from the experience of using the laptop including watching videos where the poor gamma has an impact. Creators will also find it too imprecise for their needs.

The sound was fine, with enough volume from the two down-facing speakers to enjoy a YouTube video without distortion when it was all the way up. The mids and highs were clear, but there was no bass. You will need a pair of headphones to enjoy Netflix and listen to music, but otherwise the sound quality is average for the class.

Keyboard and touchpad

Close-up of the trackpad and keyboard on the MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo. Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

The keyboard of the Summit E13 Flip Evo is characterized by excellent spacing and large keycaps with legible lettering and three useful levels of constant backlighting. The layout is standard for the most part and I was up to speed in no time. I enjoyed the 1.5mm of travel, especially considering the light switches that didn't cause fatigue. Floor motion was a bit soft, and I prefer the crisper HP Specter range of keyboards, but overall I found MSI's keyboard comfortable for longer tips sessions (like writing this review).

The touchpad was large and medium in size, but there is more room on the keyboard deck for a larger touchpad. It supports Microsoft's Precision touchpad drivers and responded well to Windows 10's multitouch gestures. The buttons were clicky and quiet, which is a nice combination. Apart from the fact that it would be a bit bigger, I have no complaints.

The active MSI pen is included in the scope of delivery and is attached magnetically to the lid or housing of the laptop. It supports 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity and tilt and is conveniently charged via USB-C. I found it to be as good a Windows Ink experience as any other modern 2-in-1 device I've used. The touch display also responded. An infrared camera and face recognition as well as a fingerprint reader on the palm rest offer Windows 10 Hello passwordless support. Both were quick and reliable.

Close up of the trackpad, keyboard, and fingerprint scanner on the MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo. Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

Interestingly, MSI has built a switch on the side of the laptop to electronically turn off the webcam. This is the same mechanism that HP used in some older Specter 2-in-1s, such as the Specter x360 13 and Specter x360 15. HP has since moved on to placing a key on the keyboard that closes a physical shutter over the webcam , but it's interesting that this is something else that MSI apparently borrowed.

I prefer the electronic version because it turns off the webcam completely and doesn't let hackers take advantage of it. The keyboard also has a button to turn off the microphone, another welcome privacy feature.

Battery life

MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo sits on the tabletop. Mark Coppock / Digital Trends

MSI packed 70 watt hours of battery into the Summit E13 Flip Evo, which is a lot for a 13-inch laptop. In combination with the Full HD + display, I expected a good battery life.

That's exactly what I saw, starting with our web browsing test, where the 2-in-1 lasted about 11 hours. This is a strong score that surpassed the seven hours of the HP Specter x360 14 (an OLED display was used in our test device, so that's not a really fair test) and the Dell XPS 13 Full HD + with around 8.5 hours. In our video looping test using a local Full HD Avengers trailer, the MSI achieved 16 hours, which is also a good value. The XPS 13 only lasted 12 hours, the Specter x360 14 was well behind with 10 hours.

I also ran the PCMark 10 Applications battery test which got the Summit E13 Flip Evo to reach 13.5 hours. The Specter x360 14 ran for nine hours and the XPS 13 for 10.75 hours in this test, which makes the MSI's score impressive. In the PCMark 10 gaming battery test, which stresses the CPU and GPU, the Summit E13 Flip Evo scores 2.5 hours better than many laptops – although this test seems to demonstrate how hard a laptop runs on battery power instead of directly testing battery life .

Ultimately, battery life is a strength of the Summit E13 Flip Evo. It runs all day, leaving some time for evening work or Netflix bingeing. You don't have to worry about taking your PSU with you unless you really put a load on the processors.

Our opinion

The MSI Summit E13 Flip Evo is a useful addition to the stable 13-inch convertible 2-in-1. It's fast, has a long battery life, and looks great. The lid is a bit flexible and a bit expensive in its high-end configuration, but I found it to be a comfortable laptop for real world use.

The problem is that there are a lot of competitors. The MSI is as good as most of them, just make sure you choose the right configuration to avoid spending too much.

Any alternatives?

The HP Specter x360 14 is a great alternative. It's not that fast (at least without activating the performance mode), but it has a spectacular 13.5-inch OLED display with a 3: 2 aspect ratio. It's almost as expensive as the MSI when configured with the OLED display, but it only comes with a maximum of 16GB of RAM compared to the Summit E13 Flip Evo's 32GB.

The Dell XPS 13 is another great option if you don't need a 2-in-1. It's just as fast, has good battery life, and is better built – there's a reason it tops several best-of lists.