ASUS has launched the Zenbook S 16 their latest offering in the Kenyan market and it is the successor to the Zenbook S 13 OLED which was launched in April last year. The laptop manufacturer also launched the Zenbook DUO in May this year.
When I first interacted with the Zenbook S 13 I was fascinated about its performance considering how slim it was and with the Zenbook S 16 Asus have continued with this tradition of making super slim laptops that will blow you away.
Design
The Zenbook S 16 is super thin with its thickest point being just 1.3 cm and weighs all of 1.5 kg. It comes with a machined aluminum chassis which makes the laptop feel very sturdy.
The lid is made up of a plasma ceramic aluminum material which according to Asus enhances wear resistance, corrosion protection, hardness, and lifespan. The lid has a matte finish which gives the laptop a premium look and features the ASUS monogram.
Despite the laptop having an aluminum chasis, the lid opens with ease and when it opens up, it lifts the backside of the base from the ground. This helps in cooling the laptop as well as tilting the keyboard which makes it easier to type.
The bezels around the screens are as thin as possible. On matters security, the FHD IR camera supports fast and secure face login with Windows Hello.
The Asus Ergo touchpad is wide at 150.3 x 99.5 mm which offers a 40% increase in touch area compared to the previous model. The ErgoSense touchpad supports multitouch gestures in Windows, this means that you can use three- or four-finger shortcuts to launch frequently used applications or functions. It has a smooth glass surface with anti-fingerprint coating that handles swipes and taps well.
The keyboard comes with white/blue backlighting has three available levels which can also be automatically adjusted via a sensor.
Zenbook S 16 comes with two Thunderbolt 4 connections which support fast charging, 4K external displays, and up to 40 Gbps data transfer. It also has a single USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port and a HDMI 2.1 port which is useful in case you want to use an external display. It also rocks a 3.5mm headphone jack for the audiophiles. It also rocks a SD card reader on the right side of the device which has a maximum transfer rate of over 250 MB/s.
Display
The Zenbook S 16 comes with a 13.3-inch OLED display with 3K (2,880 x 1,800) resolution and a 120Hz Refresh Rate. They also have an aspect ratio of 16:10 and a 0.2 milliseconds response time. The high response time ensures smoother fast-paced action scenes, low-latency gameplay. They have a maximum brightness of 550 nits which is adequate for any lighting condition.
The screen is certified for eye care by TÜV Rheinland and SGS with 70%-lower blue-light emissions. This ensures that your eyes will not get strained during those long working hours behind the keyboard.
The screen supports HDR content but as usual, you’ll have to activate HDR mode manually in the Windows. It also has Dolby Vision and is Pantone® Validated, ensuring accurate color and high dynamic contrast settings.
Performance
Zenbook S 16 rocks a Ryzen™ AI 9 HX 370 Processor which is a 12-core part with support for up to 24 threads and it runs at a maximum boost frequency of 5.1GHz. When it comes to memory, it has to 32GB of RAM and up to 2TB of SSD storage. The CPU also has a neural processing unit (NPU) which is designed to accelerate AI tasks. The NPU is more powerful and can reach 50 TOPS, which meets the minimum requirement for the Microsoft Copilot+ standard which stands at 40 TOPS.
According to Asus, the Ryzen AI accelerates multitasking, enhances real-time video quality, boosts productivity, fosters collaboration. The Windows Copilot helps to enhance users’ productivity and streamline their Windows
experience. From finding files to controlling your computer, Copilot offers a range of features to simplify your
daily tasks.
Sound
The laptop rocks six Harman Kardon speakers which produce high quality sound which is enhanced by a Dolby Atmos system. This includes two high-frequency tweeters and four low-frequency woofers that bring powerful,
immersive and crystal-clear sound.
Battery Life
The Zenbook S 16 comes with a 78 Wh lithium-polymer battery which gave me about 10 hours of usage before needing to recharge. It comes with a 65W fast charging adapter and reaches 60% within roughly 49 minutes and got to 100% at about an hour and 20 minutes.
Conclusion
The laptop comes with a sleek design, build quality, OLED screen not to mention the sound. It is a definite buy if you a looking for a super slim and sleek laptop with good battery life that definitely gets the job done. The laptop is not yet available in the Kenyan market, but you can preorder the Zenbook S 16 here.
