One thing I love about Asus is that it always pushes the boundaries when it comes to contemporary PC form factors. The company’s dual-screened Zenbook Duo fascinates me to no end, its unique Ceraluminum build material is genuinely second-to-none, and it continues to advance forward with its lineup of 2-in-1 tablet computers, too.
One notable tablet within Asus’ portfolio is the Z13 — a powerful slab with beefy internal components, robust cooling, and a detachable keyboard cover. Last year, my colleague Craig Donaldson gave his impressions on the machine, describing it as “the most fun [he’s] had testing a new device in a long time.”
Fast-forward several months, and I have a new special version of the Z13 stationed on my desk: the Z13-KJP, a $4,000 USD / $5,000 CAD powerhouse bundle designed together with Japan’s Hideo Kojima-founded Kojima Productions. Here are my own impressions after testing out this unique collaborative effort for myself out in the real world.
The Asus ROG FLow Z13-KJP is available for pre-order in the United States and Canada starting February 24th, with deliveries expected to start on March 3.
- Brand
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Asus
- Storage
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1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD
- CPU
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AMD Ryzen Al Max+ 395 Processor
- Operating System
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Windows 11 Home
- Battery
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70WHrs
- Ports
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1x 3.5mm audio jack, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A, 2x USB Type-C, 1x micoSD slot
A high-end Copilot+ PC gaming tablet from Asus, designed in collaboration with Japanese video game designer Hideo Kojima. The Z13-KJP comes bundled with a keyboard cover, a custom carrying case, and Death Stranding 2.
The ROG Flow Z13 experience with flair from Kojima-san
Lots of fanfare and extra goodies are bundled into this package
The main star of the show within this bundle is, of course, the Z13-KJP tablet PC, and it’s a rather uniquely styled piece of equipment. When compared to the existing Z13, which went for an understated black color tone, the Z13-KJP mixes things up with a blend of copper, gold, and black hues, while being built from a mix of both CNC-milled aluminum and carbon fiber. The outer shell has been designed by Kojima Productions artist Yoji Shinkawa, and it features vent laser etching, a bold typeface with text sprawled across the chassis, and a visually interesting pattern design.
This Kojima Productions-inspired design language extends well beyond the tablet itself. The detachable RGB keyboard cover (which comes in the box) uses custom keycaps and fonts, with prominent Republic of Gamers and Kojima Productions logos visible when its lid is shut. The 200W power adapter features its own artwork, and Windows 11 is tweaked to display a custom splash screen, boot-up sound, Armoury Crate theme, and desktop wallpaper. Put together, the overall motif is well executed without feeling superficial.
Personally, I’m a fan of the look, with its unique stylization and its eye-catching decennium gold colorway.
In addition to the tablet and the keyboard cover, the ROG Flow Z13-KPJ is also bundled together with a bespoke hard-shell carrying case, which ships in a creamy white color with branding of its own. Also in the box is a small grab bag of goodies, including a flight tag, a sticker collection, and a thank-you card. Lastly, to round out the deal, the bundle also comes with a digital copy of Death Stranding 2: On the Beach — a 2025 action-adventure video game, which, naturally, was developed by Kojima Productions.
Now, as ever with art, appreciation for the design of the Z13-KJP is a subjective matter. Some may find the aesthetic to be a bit gaudy, while gaming fans will likely marvel at the attention to detail on display here. Personally, I’m a fan of the look, with its unique stylization and its eye-catching decennium gold colorway. Even if I had no knowledge or appreciation for Kojima Productions and Kojima-san’s outsized influence within the gaming industry, I’d still prefer the way the Z13-KJP looks over its duller non-special-edition sibling.
Asus’ ROG Flow Z13 is a monstrous tablet PC
A stylish gaming PC by day, and a productivity powerhouse by night
Let’s get the obvious out of the way: the ROG Flow Z13-KJP is large and in charge. Sharing the same basic dimensions, weight, and footprint as the standard Z13, this isn’t a dinky tablet by any means. For reference, the unit measures in at 118.23 x 80.51 x 5.73 ~ 5.90-inches (300.3 x 204.5 x 14.56 ~ 14.99 cm), and weighs roughly 3.79 Ibs (1.72 Kg) with its keyboard cover attached.
In other words, at least in a vacuum, the Z13-KJP is a chunky bit of kit. That being said, when you consider the amount of powerful tech housed within the device, the dimensions suddenly teeter on impressively svelte. The PC is powered by the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395 CPU, with a dedicated AMD XDNA NPU capable of 50 TOPS (this allows for Copilot+ certification and support for various Microsoft-developed AI features). On the GPU side, meanwhile, the unit comes with integrated Radeon 8060S Graphics.
In practice, this computational setup is as highly capable as you’d expect.
In its default configuration, the Z13-KJP ships with a 1TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD, which can be physically removed from the device and replaced with any other SSD of the same size. Memory clocks in at 128GB of LPDDR5X RAM, while the internal battery measures in at 70Whrs. Other key specifications include Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, an 8-megapixel rear camera, a 5-megapixel webcam, Windows Hello support, a 13.4-inch 2.5K 16:10 LCD touchscreen display capable of 180Hz dynamic refresh, digital pen compatibility, and a wide array of I/O ports.
In practice, this computational setup is as highly capable as you’d expect. When tested, I got a Geekbench 6 CPU benchmarking score of 2,706 (single-core) and 15,782 (multi-core), as well as an OpenCL GPU score of 52,782. No matter what I’ve thrown at the PC, it’s barely broken a sweat. In truth, I’m not the most hard-core of hard-core gamers out there, but I did load up Steam with some AAA titles for testing purposes, and frame rates and resolutions were smooth and sharp, respectively. The 180Hz refresh rate display definitely makes a difference here, allowing for much smoother gameplay than would otherwise be the case.
Asus built a Surface Pro on steroids
The ROG Flow Z13 is to a Surface Pro what a Mack truck is to a sedan
If it wasn’t already clear, the ROG Z13-KJP is essentially a heavily souped-up Microsoft Surface Pro with some added aesthetic flair to boot. The unit’s tablet-style form factor, its magnetically-adhering keyboard cover that lifts up onto the lower bezel for angled typing, its removable SSD, and its free-flowing kickstand all evoke the Surface, but everything is bigger, burlier, and more powerful with the Z13-KJP.
Of course, gaming is the primary focus of the device, but all this extra processing grunt (paired with a microSD UHS-II card slot, a 3.5mm headphone jack, 2 x USB Type-C 40Gbps ports, 1 x USB Type-A 10Gbps port, and an HDMI 2.1 port), make this a productivity powerhouse all the same. For creative work — whether it be photo editing, video editing, CAD modeling, or otherwise — the Z13-KJP simply screams. The unit can even be further powered up via a sold-separately XG Mobile external GPU, or by connecting it to any number of other third-party eGPUs via USB4.
For creative work — whether it be photo editing, video editing, CAD modeling, or otherwise — the Z13-KJP simply screams.
I do find that my Surface Pro 12-inch’s kickstand is of higher quality than the one Asus has designed, capable of slightly more articulation and feeling more premium during actuation. The rubberized power button, volume rocker, and Command Center (quick settings) buttons are also a bit on the mushy side on the Z13-KJP, and I really wish the keyboard cover’s touchpad was of the haptic and not the diving board variety. To be fair, these are small complaints overall, but they’re worth mentioning given the high price of entry.
While you’re giving up on some of the portability and sheer elegance of the Surface Pro by opting for the Z13-KJP, this is offset by a more powerful charging system, a liquid metal vapor chamber, second-generation Arc Flow Fans for cooling, much more capable silicon, and an impressive 180Hz touchscreen with variable refresh rate (VRR) — a worthy trade-off depending on personal needs.
Windows 11 is both a pro and a con
Microsoft’s flagship PC operating system is a work in progress
Lastly, to touch briefly on software, the Asus ROG Z13-KJP ships with Windows 11 Home out of the box. Much has been said about the current state of Windows in terms of its performance, stability, heavy-handed approach to AI, and advertising and telemetry practices, but the good news is that Microsoft has vowed to fix “pain points” within the operating system over the course of 2026.
Even with the current issues plaguing the desktop OS in mind, I would still describe Windows 11 as being more of a strength than a weakness. Aside from having access to the vast array of PC-exclusive game titles and platforms, the PC platform also facilitates much of the creative and productivity work capabilities I mentioned earlier.
Asus additions like the Armoury Crate dashboard and ROG GameVisual are appreciated for the hardware control options they provide, while I’m less enthused by the presence of nagging McAfee Antivirus software included out of the box. I do appreciate that the Z13-KJP leverages much of Windows 11’s capabilities to the maximum, including Dynamic refresh rate (for automatically switching display update speeds) and Dynamic Lighting (for natively controlling the keyboard cover’s RGB lights.)
I do appreciate that the Z13-KJP leverages much of Windows 11’s capabilities to the maximum…
We also know that Microsoft is working to bring the ASUS ROG Xbox Ally Series’ Xbox Full Screen Experience (XFSE) mode to non-handheld form factors in the coming months, which will only add to the Z13-KJP’s gaming prowess. Soon enough, it’ll be possible to properly traverse Windows with a gamepad, and to game without background services running amok, which should allow for even more performance to be squeezed out of the tablet once live.
With the ROG Z13-KJP, Asus and Kojima Productions have created a very cool, very performant tablet computer. I can’t get enough of its unique design language, and it fits just about every tech spec I’d want in a portable gaming rig and productivity workstation into a (relatively) compact package. The aesthetics and the extra paraphernalia included within the package are a love letter to gamers, and the unit’s Surface Pro-esque form factor very much speaks my language. This bundle isn’t a cheap one, but it sure is a well-realized one.
This device was provided to Pocket-lint by Asus.