Due to MSI basing its design on the Golden Ratio, the MSI Summit E16 Flip is a distinctive 2-in-1 laptop made for creatives that stands out from the competition. The device’s 360-degree hinge enables tablet use or upright support, and the bundled MSI Pen, which magnetically connects to its side, makes it simple to sketch or take notes. Overall the MSI Summit E16 Flip is a superb all-rounder for individuals searching for a professional laptop that stands out from the pack.
Two minute review
The MSI Summit E16 Flip is a business laptop designed for video creators that features a 2-in-1 design, an Intel Core i7 processor, an Nvidia RTX 3050 laptop GPU, WiFi 6E, a PCIe Gen 4 SSD, and a 16-inch QHD+ display. Using the device’s 360-degree hinge, you can use it as a tent or rotate the screen completely around to use it as a tablet. Digital artists no longer need to carry along a separate graphics tablet because of the MPP 2.0 technology and the award-winning MSI pen with 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity.
As MSI created the Summit E16 Flip with creators in mind, the gadget includes lots of connectors including two full size USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a MicroSD card reader and an audio jack. During times when you are not video conferencing, there is also a fingerprint sensor and webcam lock switch on the side (opens in new tab). The tiny numpad to the left of the keyboard and the trackpad both feel a little crowded, but the backlit keyboard makes it easy to use in low light.
Pricing and availability
Depending on how much storage and RAM you require, MSI sells the Summit E16 Flip(opens in new tab) in three different configurations (A11UCT-015, A11UCT-019, and A11UCT-026) on their website. The first ships with Windows 10 Home, a 1T NVMe SSD and 32GB of LPDDR4X RAM for $1,999 (around £1481), the second ships with Windows 10 Pro, a 1TB NVMe SSD and 16GB of LPDDR4X RAM for the same price and the third also ships with Windows 10 Pro but comes with double the RAM and storage with 32GB LPDDR4X and a 2TB NVMe SSD for $2,299 (around £1,703). All three versions, however, support Windows 11 updates and come equipped with a laptop GPU from Nvidia, the GeForce RTX 3050.
Design
The MSI Summit E16 Flip stands out from the competition by basing its design on the Golden Ratio, unlike other business laptops that have similar designs and compete solely on specs. There are subtle allusions to the Golden Ratio throughout the entire laptop, from the gold trim around the trackpad and screen to the golden MSI logo on the tablet’s lid. This is most noticeable in the 16:10 aspect ratio display, which even has a Fibonacci Sequence as its default wallpaper.
The MSI Summit E16 Flip stands out from the competition by basing its design on the Golden Ratio, unlike other business laptops that have similar designs and compete solely on specs. There are subtle allusions to the Golden Ratio throughout the entire laptop, from the gold trim around the trackpad and screen to the golden MSI logo on the tablet’s lid. This is most noticeable in the 16:10 aspect ratio display, which even has a Fibonacci Sequence as its default wallpaper. The Summit E16 Flip has a full size illuminated keyboard with 84 keys while being little over 14in wide. MSI had to make some sacrifices, too, in order to fit the numpad on the right side. Although there is a second enter key directly next to the arrow keys, the number keys, the arrow keys, and the right shift key are all somewhat smaller. A fairly modest trackpad with a golden border and a fingerprint reader are located underneath the keyboard.
Hardware
The Summit E16 Flip ships with an Intel Core i7 (1195G7) processor clocked at 2.9GHz that can be overclocked to 5.0GHz Single Core Turbo with Intel Turbo Boost Max 3.0 and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 3050 laptop GPU with 4GB of GDDR6 because the gadget is primarily intended for creators. As for connection, the Summit E16 Flip includes an Intel Killer AX1675 (2×2) wireless adapter that supports Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2.
The device’s touch-sensitive 16-inch QHD+ display can recognize 10 separate touch inputs. By utilizing the MSI Pen that is supplied, the display boasts 4,096 levels of pressure sensitivity and MPP2.0 technology. The MSI Pen won a prize for the best computer peripherals and accessories at CES(opens in new tab) last year in addition to being MSI’s first stylus. While the Summit E16 Flip’s 360 hinge enables you to flip the display entirely around and use it like a giant notepad for drawing, inking, and taking notes, you can still use the pen when in laptop mode.
Even with a gadget this small and light, MSI was able to fit an 82Whr battery inside, which the company claims can last 11 hours on a single charge. With the brightness reduced and the device operating in performance mode, we were able to gain just under eight hours of battery life during our real-world testing. But, the relatively compact fast-charging 90W power adapter can prolong the Summit E16 Flip’s life by 2.5 hours with just a 15-minute charge if you run out of juice while you’re out and about.
Performance and in use
The Summit E16 Flip provides more than enough power for most creative jobs, including editing pictures, working with 4K video, designing and modeling in 3D, and more, thanks to its 11th generation Intel Core i7 CPU, Nvidia RTX 3050 laptop GPU, and PCI-E Gen 4 SSD. While you can complete simpler creative tasks while using this device, heavier workloads will probably require that it be plugged in.
In our testing, we discovered that the Summit E16 Flip is a highly quick and responsive gadget for working in an office and accessing the web in general. Even if the keys are a little mushy, they still have a respectable amount of travel and the backlit keyboard was sufficiently light for working at night in dimly lit settings. The smaller right shift key did take some getting used to, and we found the right number keys to be functional but not ideal for individuals who routinely use spreadsheets. Similar to the keyboard, the trackpad worked effectively and was plenty large, although considering the size of this laptop, it could be a little taller given the space it has between it and the keyboard.
Two buttons are located at the base of the MSI Pen that comes with the package, and there is also a Bluetooth button on the back that may be used as a remote control while presenting presentations. While you can write and draw on the screen with the MSI Pen on the Summit E16 Flip without pairing it, doing so will let you customize the functionality of its top button and use it to manage PowerPoint(opens in new tab) presentations by moving to the next slide with one click and returning to the previous slide with two clicks. If you choose, you can modify what the top button performs when pressed once or twice by pushing and holding the button until the MSI Pen Control software appears.
Conclude
You need a laptop that supports styluses. The MSI Pen, which magnetically attaches to the side of the Summit E16 Flip laptop, is included with the device, but since it supports Microsoft Pen Protocol 2.0 (MPP 2.0), you may also use an other stylus (such the one from the Microsoft Surface(opens in new tab)) as a backup.
You want even more screen for your cash. Since the Summit E16 Flip’s 16-inch QHD+ display has a 16:10 aspect ratio, you’ll have even more screen space to work with without having to choose a larger tablet.
