{"id":1869969,"date":"2026-04-07T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-07T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1869969"},"modified":"2026-04-07T14:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-07T11:00:00","slug":"asus-zenbook-a16-review-a-surprisingly-light-and-powerful-16-inch-ultraportable","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1869969","title":{"rendered":"ASUS ZenBook A16 review: A surprisingly light and powerful 16-inch ultraportable"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/pkF63fz1lXrdfwswTKp25Q&#8211;\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyMDA7aD03NjI-\/https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/zenbook_a16-4_2459.jpg&#8221;]<\/p>\n<article id=\"article-b99501b4-61dd-42e5-9117-184e2bb1b705\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"mx-auto md:px-10 md:max-w-[1220px]\">\n<nav class=\"prestige-breadcrumb relative mx-4 md:mx-0\" aria-label=\"breadcrumbs\">\n<ol class=\"no-scrollbar overflow-scroll whitespace-nowrap text-battleship\">\n<li class=\"inline\">\n<li class=\"inline-block cursor-default last:pr-10 md:last:pr-20 font-bold\">Computing<\/li>\n<li class=\"inline-block cursor-default last:pr-10 md:last:pr-20 ml-2 before:mb-0.5 before:mr-3 before:inline-block before:size-2 before:rotate-45 before:border-r-2 before:border-t-2 before:border-battleship\">Laptops<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/nav>\n<div class=\"px-4 md:px-0 disclosure\">\n<div class=\"commerce\" data-pw=\"disclosure\">\n<div class=\"mb-7 flex items-center rounded-lg p-3 w-fit flex-col md:flex-row\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center self-start md:self-center mb-[10px] pb-[18px] md:mb-0 md:py-2 mr-3 border-b border-bob pr-1 dark:border-dolphin md:border-b-0 md:border-r md:pr-3 w-full border-batcave md:w-fit\"><span data-pw=\"disclosureLogo\" class=\"mr-2 size-5 md:size-6\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2023-09\/72819a70-4d9b-11ee-97ef-bc308af496e0\" alt=\"Engadget\"><\/span><span class=\"whitespace-pre-wrap lg:w-[86px] text-xs font-bold text-batcave dark:text-grey-hair md:text-sm\">Why you can trust us<\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"mt-[10px] [&amp;_p]:text-[12px] [&amp;_p]:font-[400] [&amp;_p]:text-batcave text-[12px] text-battleship dark:text-gandalf md:text-[13px] [&amp;_a]:text-batcave [&amp;_a]:underline dark:[&amp;_a]:text-grey-hair\">\n<p>Engadget has been testing and reviewing consumer tech since 2004. Our stories may include affiliate links; if you buy something through a link, we may earn a commission. Read more about how we evaluate products.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<header class=\"mb-4 px-4 md:mb-6 md:px-0\">\n<h1 class=\"layout-h1 my-2 font-bold leading-tight\">ASUS ZenBook A16 review: A surprisingly light and powerful 16-inch ultraportable<\/h1>\n<h2 class=\"my-2 text-[18px] font-light leading-5 md:max-w-[660px] md:text-[20px]\/[28px]\">Second time&#8217;s the charm for Qualcomm&#8217;s Snapdragon X2 Elite chips.<\/h2>\n<div class=\"flex-col items-start lg:flex lg:flex-row lg:items-center lg:justify-between mt-6\">\n<div class=\"relative md:mr-[10px]\">\n<div class=\"flex items-center\">\n<div class=\"flex mr-2\">\n<div class=\"shrink-0 cursor-pointer inline-block size-[42px] lg:size-[48px]\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt role=\"img\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"size-full rounded-full object-cover object-center shadow-[0_0_0_2px_#ffffff]\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/pm9NNYx6s2hTLTQZ6v82Dw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTgwO2g9ODA-\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/os\/creatr-uploaded-images\/2024-01\/7bf86900-aa5a-11ee-af37-00cf16fbdc05\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"inline-block\">\n<div class=\"w-max text-sm\/5 font-semibold lg:!flex flex items-center\">\n<div class=\"flex flex-col\">\n<div class=\"flex w-max items-center\">Devindra Hardawar<\/div>\n<p><span class=\"font-normal sm:before:inline-block\">Senior Editor<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"lg:hidden\">\n<div class=\"text-xs text-dolphin dark:text-shark md:text-sm\/5 pt-4\">\n<div class=\"inline-block\"><span class=\"mr-1 hidden lg:inline\">Updated<\/span><time datetime=\"2026-04-07T14:00:00.000Z\">Tue, April 7, 2026 at 2:00 PM UTC<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"ml-0 mt-4 flex items-center lg:ml-3 lg:mt-0\">\n<div class=\"ml-0 mr-2\">\n<div class=\"relative flex\">Add Engadget on Google<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"hidden lg:block\">\n<div class=\"text-xs text-dolphin dark:text-shark md:text-sm\/5 pt-4\">\n<div class=\"inline-block\"><span class=\"mr-1 hidden lg:inline\">Updated<\/span><time datetime=\"2026-04-07T14:00:00.000Z\">Tue, April 7, 2026 at 2:00 PM UTC<\/time><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"grid grid-cols-1 gap-x-8 lg:gap-x-0 mx-auto md:px-10 md:max-w-[1220px] md:grid-cols-[[main-start]_1fr_[main-end_right-start]_min-content_[right-end]] lg:!gap-x-8\">\n<div class=\"md:col-main\" data-i13n-boundary=\"true\">\n<div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"grid grid-cols-[[fullbleed-start_body-start]_minmax(auto,750px)_[body-end_fullbleed-end]]\">\n<figure class=\"relative col-body mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative overflow-hidden fig-image-round left-1\/2 w-screen -translate-x-1\/2 md:left-0 md:w-auto md:translate-x-0\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt class=\"object-cover object-center\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/WH.tHyM_vrgnWTsMxHkYyw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD03ODk-\/https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/uu\/api\/res\/1.2\/0PWh00EBJ0Cltugt11XnlA--~B\/aD0xNTg4O3c9MjUwMDthcHBpZD15dGFjaHlvbg--\/https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/zenbook_a16-4_2459.jpg\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-[0.875rem]\/[1.25rem] figure-caption mt-1 line-clamp-2 mt-2.5 md:mt-2 pr-2.5\">\n<div><span class=\"[&amp;_p]:inline\">ASUS Zenbook A16<\/span><span> (Devindra Hardawar for Engadget)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"grid grid-cols-article-mobile md:grid-cols-article lg:max-w-[750px] drop-cap\" data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">I went into 2025 incredibly amped to review ASUS&#8217;s 2.2-pound ZenBook A14, only to be disappointed by the lackluster performance of its Snapdragon X chip. I&#8217;m still a bit heartbroken, to be honest. But now ASUS is back with a revamped A14 and a larger 16-inch ZenBook A16, both of which sport new Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme chips. The A16 is slightly heavier at 2.6 pounds and 2.9 pounds, but it still competes with LG\u2019s Gram Pro 16. And thanks to Qualcomm&#8217;s new hardware, it&#8217;s actually speedy enough to compete with Intel and AMD ultraportables.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">Take everything I initially liked about the ZenBook A14 last year \u2014 its thin design and portability, its smooth &#8220;Ceraluminum&#8221; case and its bold OLED screen \u2014 stretch it out a bit, and you&#8217;ve got the ZenBook A16. There&#8217;s an understated beauty to its design that&#8217;s far more intriguing than ASUS&#8217;s mainstream notebooks, like the ZenBook 14 OLED from a few years ago, and it&#8217;s not trying as hard to impress as ASUS&#8217;s typical gaming notebooks. It&#8217;s similar to the company&#8217;s gorgeous Zephyrus G14 and G16 machines, which feel high-end without needing too much gaming bling.<\/p>\n<div class=\"commerce productModule [&amp;+.productModule]:mt-9 [&amp;+.productModule]:border-t [&amp;+.productModule]:border-dirty-seagull [&amp;+.productModule]:pt-2 [&amp;+:not(.productModule)]:mt-10 col-body\" id=\"c0f056f4-3d28-4760-a03d-f442c144084a\">\n<div class=\"mt-6 text-batcave @container\/p dark:text-grey-hair\">\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"relative mb-4 w-full overflow-hidden rounded-lg border border-grey-hair pb-[75%] @xl\/p:pb-[56.25%]\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image for the large product module\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 size-full bg-white object-contain @xl\/p:transition-transform @xl\/p:duration-300 @xl\/p:ease-in-out @xl\/p:group-hover:scale-110 @xl\/p:motion-reduce:group-hover:transition-none\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/uu\/api\/res\/1.2\/kMIIAb9RdtZRaSge4oAfUg--~B\/Zmk9c3RyaW07aD03MjA7dz0xMjgwO2FwcGlkPXl0YWNoeW9u\/https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/asus-rec_2067.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" height=\"720\" width=\"1280\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"absolute -right-0.5 bottom-0 rounded-bl-none rounded-br-lg rounded-tl-lg rounded-tr-none bg-white\/90 px-3 py-2 text-[10px]\/3 text-battleship\">ASUS<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mx-0 my-auto overflow-visible @xl\/p:grow\">\n<div class=\"commerce-score ml-4 mt-1 inline-block rounded-lg bg-white [box-shadow:0_4px_8px_0_rgb(0_0_0\/10%)] @xl\/p:ml-5 @xl\/p:mt-0 dark:bg-batcave float-right mb-3\">\n<div class=\"relative m-4 flex h-[77px] w-[62px] flex-col items-center justify-end gap-0.5 @xl\/p:h-[92px] @xl\/p:w-[72px] @xl\/p:gap-1\"><span class=\"commerce-score-val text-2xl\/7 @xl\/p:text-[32px]\/9\">85<\/span><span class=\"w-6 border-t border-solid border-t-battleship text-center text-xs\/5 text-battleship dark:border-t-bob dark:text-bob\">100<\/span><span class=\"whitespace-nowrap font-['Yahoo_Sans_Cond'] text-xs\/none font-medium text-battleship dark:text-bob\">Expert Score<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class>\n<h3 class=\"mb-1 text-xl\/[1.3] font-bold @xl\/p:text-2xl\/tight\">ASUS Zenbook A16<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"commerce-desc mt-2 space-y-6 text-base\/relaxed md:text-lg\/8 [&amp;_li]:ml-4 [&amp;_ol&gt;li]:list-decimal [&amp;_ol]:space-y-6 [&amp;_ul&gt;li]:list-disc [&amp;_ul]:space-y-6\">\n<p>The Zenbook A16 is the lightest 16-inch ultraportable we\u2019ve seen yet, and it\u2019s surprisingly capable thanks to Qualcomm\u2019s Snapdragon X2 chips.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col rounded-lg bg-marshmallow p-5 @xl\/p:flex-row dark:bg-batcave clear-right mt-5\">\n<div class=\"flex-1 border-solid border-dirty-seagull dark:border-charcoal border-b @xl\/p:border-b-0 @xl\/p:border-r-2 mb-6 mr-0 pb-6 pr-0 @xl\/p:mb-0 @xl\/p:mr-4 @xl\/p:pb-0 @xl\/p:pr-4\"><span class=\"space-x-2 text-lg\/6 font-bold uppercase\"><span>Pros<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"mt-2 pl-6 leading-relaxed @xl\/p:text-lg\/[30px]\">\n<li class=\"list-disc\">Surprisingly light<\/li>\n<li class=\"list-disc\">Polished design<\/li>\n<li class=\"list-disc\">Excellent OLED screen<\/li>\n<li class=\"list-disc\"> Tons of ports<\/li>\n<li class=\"list-disc\"> Big performance leap over X1 chips<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex-1\"><span class=\"space-x-2 text-lg\/6 font-bold uppercase\"><span>Cons<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"mt-2 pl-6 leading-relaxed @xl\/p:text-lg\/[30px]\">\n<li class=\"list-disc\">Potential Arm incompatibilities<\/li>\n<li class=\"list-disc\">Doesn\u2019t support all PC games<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mt-5\">$1,600 at Best Buy<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">What struck me first about the A14 last year remains the most intriguing aspect of the A16: It just seems impossibly light for its size. The model I\u2019m testing, which will also be sold at Best Buy, weighs 2.9 pounds due to its glass touchscreen cover. But you can also get a slimmer 2.6-pound version of the A16 at ASUS\u2019s online store.<\/p>\n<div class=\"col-fullbleed mb-4 bg-marshmallow pb-5 dark:bg-ramones md:invisible md:mb-0 md:h-0 md:overflow-hidden md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"py-2 text-center text-xs uppercase\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\">\n<div class=\"flex\" id=\"_R_15d9nam95feiv5tilbH1_\">\n<div class=\"flex size-full items-center justify-center bg-marshmallow text-center leading-3\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-body mb-4 hidden pb-5 dark:bg-ramones md:block\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\">\n<div class=\"flex\" id=\"_R_25d9nam95feiv5tilbH1_\">\n<div class=\"flex size-full items-center justify-center bg-marshmallow text-center leading-3\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">ASUS&#8217;s Ceraluminum material, which feels like a blend of ceramic and metal, also exudes quality and warmth when you hold it. There&#8217;s no shock of cold metal on your lap like you&#8217;ll find with most premium laptops, including Apple&#8217;s MacBook Pro. But it&#8217;s also just as sturdy as those machines, with no discernible creaks or flex when stressed. ASUS claims its Ceraluminum cases are also scratch and fingerprint resistant, and so far that seems to be true of my review unit after a few weeks of testing.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative col-body mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"ASUS Zenbook A16\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"580\" class=\"fig-image-round\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/LCUj4YVrgliCagsJOPM_Sw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU4MA--\/https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/zenbook_a16-5_4844.jpg\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-[0.875rem]\/[1.25rem] figure-caption mt-1 line-clamp-2 mt-2.5 md:mt-2 pr-2.5\">\n<div><span class=\"[&amp;_p]:inline\">ASUS Zenbook A16<\/span><span> (Devindra Hardawar for Engadget)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">The ZenBook A16&#8217;s stunning 16-inch 3K OLED screen is its defining feature, and it delivers everything you&#8217;d expect from OLED. Colors look bold and bright, and it offers inky dark black levels. It delivers an eye-popping sense of contrast you won&#8217;t find on most LCD screens (unless they have Mini LED backlights, like the MacBook Pro). Text appears crisp and sharp, and the large screen size does a great job of making video playback feel immersive (especially if you&#8217;re laying in bed, trying to catch up on <em>The Pitt<\/em>).<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">Personally, I&#8217;d still opt for the A14 because of the weight difference, but if you prefer big screens this is certainly one of the most intriguing options around. The A16 also has a full-sized SD card reader and HDMI connection, both of which the smaller model lacks entirely. ASUS also included a healthy amount of other ports, including two USB-C 4.0 connections, one USB Type A 3.2 port and a headphone jack. From a productivity perspective, you can certainly get a lot more done with the ZenBook A16&#8217;s connectivity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">The same holds true for Qualcomm&#8217;s new Snapdragon X2 Elite chips in the A16. Both the X2E94100and X2E96100 are 18-core chips with a single core boost speed of 4.7GHz, which is a big leap over the 8-core X1 chip in last year&#8217;s A14. The X2 Elite-equipped A16 also comes with a whopping 48GB of RAM, which feels downright luxurious given our current RAM availability crisis, as well as a new 80-TOPS NPU for AI workloads.<\/p>\n<div class=\"overflow-auto mb-2 col-body\">\n<table class=\"min-w-full text-left leading-tight\">\n<tbody>\n<tr class=\"table-th-border align-top\">\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">Geekbench 6 CPU<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">Geekbench 6 GPU<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">Cinebench 2024<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"table-th-border align-top\">\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">ASUS Zenbook A16 (Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite X2E94100)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">3,262\/20,808<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">43,849<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">98\/1,238<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"table-th-border align-top\">\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">ASUS Zenbook A14 (2025, Qualcomm Snapdragon X1)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">2,113\/10,316<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">9,603<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">96\/540<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"table-th-border align-top\">\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">Apple MacBook Air (M5)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">4,193\/17,270<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">47,656<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">N\/A<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"table-th-border align-top\">\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">Microsoft Surface Laptop (2024, Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">2,797\/14,400<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">19,963<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">123\/969<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">I immediately felt the difference in power when I booted up the ZenBook A16. The awkward sluggishness while browsing the web or perusing Evernote entries on the A14 was gone. Instead, the A16 always felt incredibly responsive and ready to work, like an eager puppy that never gets tired of playing fetch. Benchmarks also revealed the massive speed differences: The X2 Elite A16 scored 1,200 points higher in Geekbench 6&#8217;s single-core CPU test, and its multi-core performance was twice as fast.<\/p>\n<div class=\"col-fullbleed mb-4 bg-marshmallow pb-5 dark:bg-ramones md:invisible md:mb-0 md:h-0 md:overflow-hidden md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"py-2 text-center text-xs uppercase\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\">\n<div class=\"flex\" id=\"_R_1dd9nam95feiv5tilbH1_\">\n<div class=\"flex size-full items-center justify-center bg-marshmallow text-center leading-3\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-body mb-4 hidden pb-5 dark:bg-ramones md:block\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\">\n<div class=\"flex\" id=\"_R_2dd9nam95feiv5tilbH1_\">\n<div class=\"flex size-full items-center justify-center bg-marshmallow text-center leading-3\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">The comparison is a bit unfair, I&#8217;ll admit, because the A14 I reviewed last year was stuck with the most basic X-series Snapdragon chip, whereas the A16 touts Qualcomm&#8217;s latest and greatest hardware. That also makes the A16 a bit more expensive than last year&#8217;s A14: Best Buy lists it at $1,600, whereas the A14 initially sold for $1,100.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative col-body mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"ASUS Zenbook A16\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"626\" class=\"fig-image-round\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/TRa2YWLDnYYvvapynjvVmw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYyNg--\/https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/zenbook_a16-1_7570.jpg\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-[0.875rem]\/[1.25rem] figure-caption mt-1 line-clamp-2 mt-2.5 md:mt-2 pr-2.5\">\n<div><span class=\"[&amp;_p]:inline\">ASUS Zenbook A16<\/span><span> (Devindra Hardawar for Engadget)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">But at least the ZenBook A16 delivers the performance you&#8217;d expect for its price range. In the PCMark 10 Applications benchmark, it scored 17,264 points, which is 1,000 points higher than Dell&#8217;s Premium 16 (aka last year&#8217;s XPS 16) with Intel&#8217;s Core Ultra 7 255H chip. It&#8217;s also leagues ahead of the old ZenBook A14, which scored a meager 12,127 points.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">Benchmarks never tell the whole story, of course, but those huge performance gaps are the sort of thing you immediately notice in everyday performance. I was able to load up the ZenBook A16 with dozens of tabs, Evernote, 4K YouTube video streams and large Audacity jobs, and it never broke a sweat. Since it&#8217;s an ARM-based Snapdragon system, though, be aware older apps may run into issues, or fail to work entirely.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">That Qualcomm hardware also made gaming a major problem for the first generation of Snapdragon X Elite chips, which didn&#8217;t perform well and were also incompatible with games that required kernel-level anti-cheat. Updates to the Windows on Arm platform fixed the latter issue, and Qualcomm also launched its Snapdragon Control Panel to deliver faster driver updates. Now all Snapdragon X Elite chips can play <em>Fortnite<\/em>, <em>Roblox<\/em> and Tencent titles. Qualcomm claims that 90 percent of games will run on the Snapdragon Elite X2 chips.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative col-body mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"ASUS Zenbook A16\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"606\" class=\"fig-image-round\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/WLFvfn7ZuEgO5.DQQxybLg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYwNg--\/https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/zenbook_a16-2_4991.jpg\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-[0.875rem]\/[1.25rem] figure-caption mt-1 line-clamp-2 mt-2.5 md:mt-2 pr-2.5\">\n<div><span class=\"[&amp;_p]:inline\">ASUS Zenbook A16<\/span><span> (Devindra Hardawar for Engadget)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">And that includes demanding titles like <em>Cyberpunk 2077<\/em>. I was able to reach 80 fps in that game, while playing with medium settings in 1080p, along with enabling AMD&#8217;s FSR frame generation. This wouldn&#8217;t be my ideal way to play <em>Cyberpunk<\/em>, but it&#8217;s a sign that the ZenBook A16 can at least hold its own in gaming. Unfortunately, it wouldn&#8217;t load <em>Arc Raiders<\/em>, because there&#8217;s still no support for its anti-cheat tech. <em>Fortnite<\/em> launched just fine, though, and for some people that&#8217;ll be enough.<\/p>\n<div class=\"col-fullbleed mb-4 bg-marshmallow pb-5 dark:bg-ramones md:invisible md:mb-0 md:h-0 md:overflow-hidden md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"py-2 text-center text-xs uppercase\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\">\n<div class=\"flex\" id=\"_R_1ld9nam95feiv5tilbH1_\">\n<div class=\"flex size-full items-center justify-center bg-marshmallow text-center leading-3\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-body mb-4 hidden pb-5 dark:bg-ramones md:block\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\">\n<div class=\"flex\" id=\"_R_2ld9nam95feiv5tilbH1_\">\n<div class=\"flex size-full items-center justify-center bg-marshmallow text-center leading-3\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">But really, anyone buying the ZenBook A16 isn&#8217;t doing it to play shooters, you&#8217;re doing it to get one of the lightest productivity machines around. ASUS&#8217;s keyboard was comfortable to type on, though I would have liked to see more key depth akin to the Surface Laptop. Its trackpad is large and responsive, but it&#8217;s also mechanical, which means you can only click along the lower two-thirds. In this price range, I&#8217;d expect ASUS to use a haptic trackpad with full coverage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">The ZenBook A14&#8217;s battery life (18 hours and 15 minutes) was one of its truly impressive features. ASUS repeats history here with the A16 clocking in 21 hours and 35 minutes in our rundown test. That&#8217;s the immediate benefit of having a chip based on mobile ARM architecture. During my testing, the A16 drained down to 80 percent after around four hours of continuous work.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">Compatibility issues aside, the ZenBook A16 delivers just about everything I want in an ultraportable. It\u2019s got a gorgeous OLED screen and all of the ports you need. Qualcomm\u2019s Snapdragon X2 Elite chips also give it a much-needed power boost. And best of all, it&#8217;s one of the lightest and sleekest 16-inch Windows laptops I&#8217;ve come across. Just be prepared to pay a bit extra over other ultraportables for its slim size.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"md:col-main grid grid-cols-article-mobile md:grid-cols-article lg:max-w-[750px]\">\n<div class=\"no-scrollbar col-body mx-4 mb-8 mt-2.5 overflow-x-scroll whitespace-nowrap md:mx-0 md:max-w-[750px] md:overflow-x-visible\">\n<div class=\"mx-auto max-w-screen-sm\">\n<ul class=\"inline-flex text-xs md:text-sm\">\n<li class=\"mr-6\">About our ads<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<div class=\"grid grid-cols-article-mobile md:grid-cols-article lg:max-w-[750px] drop-cap\" data-article-body=\"true\">\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">I went into 2025 incredibly amped to review ASUS&#8217;s 2.2-pound ZenBook A14, only to be disappointed by the lackluster performance of its Snapdragon X chip. I&#8217;m still a bit heartbroken, to be honest. But now ASUS is back with a revamped A14 and a larger 16-inch ZenBook A16, both of which sport new Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme chips. The A16 is slightly heavier at 2.6 pounds and 2.9 pounds, but it still competes with LG\u2019s Gram Pro 16. And thanks to Qualcomm&#8217;s new hardware, it&#8217;s actually speedy enough to compete with Intel and AMD ultraportables.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">Take everything I initially liked about the ZenBook A14 last year \u2014 its thin design and portability, its smooth &#8220;Ceraluminum&#8221; case and its bold OLED screen \u2014 stretch it out a bit, and you&#8217;ve got the ZenBook A16. There&#8217;s an understated beauty to its design that&#8217;s far more intriguing than ASUS&#8217;s mainstream notebooks, like the ZenBook 14 OLED from a few years ago, and it&#8217;s not trying as hard to impress as ASUS&#8217;s typical gaming notebooks. It&#8217;s similar to the company&#8217;s gorgeous Zephyrus G14 and G16 machines, which feel high-end without needing too much gaming bling.<\/p>\n<div class=\"commerce productModule [&amp;+.productModule]:mt-9 [&amp;+.productModule]:border-t [&amp;+.productModule]:border-dirty-seagull [&amp;+.productModule]:pt-2 [&amp;+:not(.productModule)]:mt-10 col-body\" id=\"c0f056f4-3d28-4760-a03d-f442c144084a\">\n<div class=\"mt-6 text-batcave @container\/p dark:text-grey-hair\">\n<div class=\"block\">\n<div class=\"relative mb-4 w-full overflow-hidden rounded-lg border border-grey-hair pb-[75%] @xl\/p:pb-[56.25%]\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image for the large product module\" class=\"mx-auto my-0 size-full bg-white object-contain @xl\/p:transition-transform @xl\/p:duration-300 @xl\/p:ease-in-out @xl\/p:group-hover:scale-110 @xl\/p:motion-reduce:group-hover:transition-none\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/uu\/api\/res\/1.2\/kMIIAb9RdtZRaSge4oAfUg--~B\/Zmk9c3RyaW07aD03MjA7dz0xMjgwO2FwcGlkPXl0YWNoeW9u\/https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/asus-rec_2067.jpg\" loading=\"lazy\" height=\"720\" width=\"1280\"><\/p>\n<p class=\"absolute -right-0.5 bottom-0 rounded-bl-none rounded-br-lg rounded-tl-lg rounded-tr-none bg-white\/90 px-3 py-2 text-[10px]\/3 text-battleship\">ASUS<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mx-0 my-auto overflow-visible @xl\/p:grow\">\n<div class=\"commerce-score ml-4 mt-1 inline-block rounded-lg bg-white [box-shadow:0_4px_8px_0_rgb(0_0_0\/10%)] @xl\/p:ml-5 @xl\/p:mt-0 dark:bg-batcave float-right mb-3\">\n<div class=\"relative m-4 flex h-[77px] w-[62px] flex-col items-center justify-end gap-0.5 @xl\/p:h-[92px] @xl\/p:w-[72px] @xl\/p:gap-1\"><span class=\"commerce-score-val text-2xl\/7 @xl\/p:text-[32px]\/9\">85<\/span><span class=\"w-6 border-t border-solid border-t-battleship text-center text-xs\/5 text-battleship dark:border-t-bob dark:text-bob\">100<\/span><span class=\"whitespace-nowrap font-['Yahoo_Sans_Cond'] text-xs\/none font-medium text-battleship dark:text-bob\">Expert Score<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class>\n<h3 class=\"mb-1 text-xl\/[1.3] font-bold @xl\/p:text-2xl\/tight\">ASUS Zenbook A16<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<div class=\"commerce-desc mt-2 space-y-6 text-base\/relaxed md:text-lg\/8 [&amp;_li]:ml-4 [&amp;_ol&gt;li]:list-decimal [&amp;_ol]:space-y-6 [&amp;_ul&gt;li]:list-disc [&amp;_ul]:space-y-6\">\n<p>The Zenbook A16 is the lightest 16-inch ultraportable we\u2019ve seen yet, and it\u2019s surprisingly capable thanks to Qualcomm\u2019s Snapdragon X2 chips.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex flex-col rounded-lg bg-marshmallow p-5 @xl\/p:flex-row dark:bg-batcave clear-right mt-5\">\n<div class=\"flex-1 border-solid border-dirty-seagull dark:border-charcoal border-b @xl\/p:border-b-0 @xl\/p:border-r-2 mb-6 mr-0 pb-6 pr-0 @xl\/p:mb-0 @xl\/p:mr-4 @xl\/p:pb-0 @xl\/p:pr-4\"><span class=\"space-x-2 text-lg\/6 font-bold uppercase\"><span>Pros<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"mt-2 pl-6 leading-relaxed @xl\/p:text-lg\/[30px]\">\n<li class=\"list-disc\">Surprisingly light<\/li>\n<li class=\"list-disc\">Polished design<\/li>\n<li class=\"list-disc\">Excellent OLED screen<\/li>\n<li class=\"list-disc\"> Tons of ports<\/li>\n<li class=\"list-disc\"> Big performance leap over X1 chips<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex-1\"><span class=\"space-x-2 text-lg\/6 font-bold uppercase\"><span>Cons<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<ul class=\"mt-2 pl-6 leading-relaxed @xl\/p:text-lg\/[30px]\">\n<li class=\"list-disc\">Potential Arm incompatibilities<\/li>\n<li class=\"list-disc\">Doesn\u2019t support all PC games<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"mt-5\">$1,600 at Best Buy<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">What struck me first about the A14 last year remains the most intriguing aspect of the A16: It just seems impossibly light for its size. The model I\u2019m testing, which will also be sold at Best Buy, weighs 2.9 pounds due to its glass touchscreen cover. But you can also get a slimmer 2.6-pound version of the A16 at ASUS\u2019s online store.<\/p>\n<div class=\"col-fullbleed mb-4 bg-marshmallow pb-5 dark:bg-ramones md:invisible md:mb-0 md:h-0 md:overflow-hidden md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"py-2 text-center text-xs uppercase\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\">\n<div class=\"flex\" id=\"_R_15d9nam95feiv5tilbH1_\">\n<div class=\"flex size-full items-center justify-center bg-marshmallow text-center leading-3\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-body mb-4 hidden pb-5 dark:bg-ramones md:block\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\">\n<div class=\"flex\" id=\"_R_25d9nam95feiv5tilbH1_\">\n<div class=\"flex size-full items-center justify-center bg-marshmallow text-center leading-3\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">ASUS&#8217;s Ceraluminum material, which feels like a blend of ceramic and metal, also exudes quality and warmth when you hold it. There&#8217;s no shock of cold metal on your lap like you&#8217;ll find with most premium laptops, including Apple&#8217;s MacBook Pro. But it&#8217;s also just as sturdy as those machines, with no discernible creaks or flex when stressed. ASUS claims its Ceraluminum cases are also scratch and fingerprint resistant, and so far that seems to be true of my review unit after a few weeks of testing.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative col-body mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"ASUS Zenbook A16\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"580\" class=\"fig-image-round\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/LCUj4YVrgliCagsJOPM_Sw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTU4MA--\/https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/zenbook_a16-5_4844.jpg\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-[0.875rem]\/[1.25rem] figure-caption mt-1 line-clamp-2 mt-2.5 md:mt-2 pr-2.5\">\n<div><span class=\"[&amp;_p]:inline\">ASUS Zenbook A16<\/span><span> (Devindra Hardawar for Engadget)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">The ZenBook A16&#8217;s stunning 16-inch 3K OLED screen is its defining feature, and it delivers everything you&#8217;d expect from OLED. Colors look bold and bright, and it offers inky dark black levels. It delivers an eye-popping sense of contrast you won&#8217;t find on most LCD screens (unless they have Mini LED backlights, like the MacBook Pro). Text appears crisp and sharp, and the large screen size does a great job of making video playback feel immersive (especially if you&#8217;re laying in bed, trying to catch up on <em>The Pitt<\/em>).<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">Personally, I&#8217;d still opt for the A14 because of the weight difference, but if you prefer big screens this is certainly one of the most intriguing options around. The A16 also has a full-sized SD card reader and HDMI connection, both of which the smaller model lacks entirely. ASUS also included a healthy amount of other ports, including two USB-C 4.0 connections, one USB Type A 3.2 port and a headphone jack. From a productivity perspective, you can certainly get a lot more done with the ZenBook A16&#8217;s connectivity.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">The same holds true for Qualcomm&#8217;s new Snapdragon X2 Elite chips in the A16. Both the X2E94100and X2E96100 are 18-core chips with a single core boost speed of 4.7GHz, which is a big leap over the 8-core X1 chip in last year&#8217;s A14. The X2 Elite-equipped A16 also comes with a whopping 48GB of RAM, which feels downright luxurious given our current RAM availability crisis, as well as a new 80-TOPS NPU for AI workloads.<\/p>\n<div class=\"overflow-auto mb-2 col-body\">\n<table class=\"min-w-full text-left leading-tight\">\n<tbody>\n<tr class=\"table-th-border align-top\">\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">Geekbench 6 CPU<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">Geekbench 6 GPU<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">Cinebench 2024<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"table-th-border align-top\">\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">ASUS Zenbook A16 (Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite X2E94100)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">3,262\/20,808<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">43,849<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">98\/1,238<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"table-th-border align-top\">\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">ASUS Zenbook A14 (2025, Qualcomm Snapdragon X1)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">2,113\/10,316<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">9,603<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">96\/540<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"table-th-border align-top\">\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">Apple MacBook Air (M5)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">4,193\/17,270<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">47,656<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">N\/A<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr class=\"table-th-border align-top\">\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">Microsoft Surface Laptop (2024, Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite)<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">2,797\/14,400<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">19,963<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<td>\n<p class=\"mb-2 mr-2 charcoal-color\">123\/969<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">I immediately felt the difference in power when I booted up the ZenBook A16. The awkward sluggishness while browsing the web or perusing Evernote entries on the A14 was gone. Instead, the A16 always felt incredibly responsive and ready to work, like an eager puppy that never gets tired of playing fetch. Benchmarks also revealed the massive speed differences: The X2 Elite A16 scored 1,200 points higher in Geekbench 6&#8217;s single-core CPU test, and its multi-core performance was twice as fast.<\/p>\n<div class=\"col-fullbleed mb-4 bg-marshmallow pb-5 dark:bg-ramones md:invisible md:mb-0 md:h-0 md:overflow-hidden md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"py-2 text-center text-xs uppercase\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\">\n<div class=\"flex\" id=\"_R_1dd9nam95feiv5tilbH1_\">\n<div class=\"flex size-full items-center justify-center bg-marshmallow text-center leading-3\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-body mb-4 hidden pb-5 dark:bg-ramones md:block\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\">\n<div class=\"flex\" id=\"_R_2dd9nam95feiv5tilbH1_\">\n<div class=\"flex size-full items-center justify-center bg-marshmallow text-center leading-3\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">The comparison is a bit unfair, I&#8217;ll admit, because the A14 I reviewed last year was stuck with the most basic X-series Snapdragon chip, whereas the A16 touts Qualcomm&#8217;s latest and greatest hardware. That also makes the A16 a bit more expensive than last year&#8217;s A14: Best Buy lists it at $1,600, whereas the A14 initially sold for $1,100.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative col-body mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"ASUS Zenbook A16\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"626\" class=\"fig-image-round\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/TRa2YWLDnYYvvapynjvVmw--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYyNg--\/https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/zenbook_a16-1_7570.jpg\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-[0.875rem]\/[1.25rem] figure-caption mt-1 line-clamp-2 mt-2.5 md:mt-2 pr-2.5\">\n<div><span class=\"[&amp;_p]:inline\">ASUS Zenbook A16<\/span><span> (Devindra Hardawar for Engadget)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">But at least the ZenBook A16 delivers the performance you&#8217;d expect for its price range. In the PCMark 10 Applications benchmark, it scored 17,264 points, which is 1,000 points higher than Dell&#8217;s Premium 16 (aka last year&#8217;s XPS 16) with Intel&#8217;s Core Ultra 7 255H chip. It&#8217;s also leagues ahead of the old ZenBook A14, which scored a meager 12,127 points.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">Benchmarks never tell the whole story, of course, but those huge performance gaps are the sort of thing you immediately notice in everyday performance. I was able to load up the ZenBook A16 with dozens of tabs, Evernote, 4K YouTube video streams and large Audacity jobs, and it never broke a sweat. Since it&#8217;s an ARM-based Snapdragon system, though, be aware older apps may run into issues, or fail to work entirely.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">That Qualcomm hardware also made gaming a major problem for the first generation of Snapdragon X Elite chips, which didn&#8217;t perform well and were also incompatible with games that required kernel-level anti-cheat. Updates to the Windows on Arm platform fixed the latter issue, and Qualcomm also launched its Snapdragon Control Panel to deliver faster driver updates. Now all Snapdragon X Elite chips can play <em>Fortnite<\/em>, <em>Roblox<\/em> and Tencent titles. Qualcomm claims that 90 percent of games will run on the Snapdragon Elite X2 chips.<\/p>\n<figure class=\"relative col-body mb-4\">\n<div class=\"relative\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"ASUS Zenbook A16\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"960\" height=\"606\" class=\"fig-image-round\" src=\"https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/WLFvfn7ZuEgO5.DQQxybLg--\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTYwNg--\/https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/zenbook_a16-2_4991.jpg\"><\/div><figcaption class=\"relative text-[0.875rem]\/[1.25rem] figure-caption mt-1 line-clamp-2 mt-2.5 md:mt-2 pr-2.5\">\n<div><span class=\"[&amp;_p]:inline\">ASUS Zenbook A16<\/span><span> (Devindra Hardawar for Engadget)<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">And that includes demanding titles like <em>Cyberpunk 2077<\/em>. I was able to reach 80 fps in that game, while playing with medium settings in 1080p, along with enabling AMD&#8217;s FSR frame generation. This wouldn&#8217;t be my ideal way to play <em>Cyberpunk<\/em>, but it&#8217;s a sign that the ZenBook A16 can at least hold its own in gaming. Unfortunately, it wouldn&#8217;t load <em>Arc Raiders<\/em>, because there&#8217;s still no support for its anti-cheat tech. <em>Fortnite<\/em> launched just fine, though, and for some people that&#8217;ll be enough.<\/p>\n<div class=\"col-fullbleed mb-4 bg-marshmallow pb-5 dark:bg-ramones md:invisible md:mb-0 md:h-0 md:overflow-hidden md:pb-0\">\n<div class=\"py-2 text-center text-xs uppercase\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\">\n<div class=\"flex\" id=\"_R_1ld9nam95feiv5tilbH1_\">\n<div class=\"flex size-full items-center justify-center bg-marshmallow text-center leading-3\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"col-body mb-4 hidden pb-5 dark:bg-ramones md:block\">\n<div class=\"flex w-full flex-nowrap justify-center\">\n<div class=\"flex\" id=\"_R_2ld9nam95feiv5tilbH1_\">\n<div class=\"flex size-full items-center justify-center bg-marshmallow text-center leading-3\">Advertisement<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">But really, anyone buying the ZenBook A16 isn&#8217;t doing it to play shooters, you&#8217;re doing it to get one of the lightest productivity machines around. ASUS&#8217;s keyboard was comfortable to type on, though I would have liked to see more key depth akin to the Surface Laptop. Its trackpad is large and responsive, but it&#8217;s also mechanical, which means you can only click along the lower two-thirds. In this price range, I&#8217;d expect ASUS to use a haptic trackpad with full coverage.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">The ZenBook A14&#8217;s battery life (18 hours and 15 minutes) was one of its truly impressive features. ASUS repeats history here with the A16 clocking in 21 hours and 35 minutes in our rundown test. That&#8217;s the immediate benefit of having a chip based on mobile ARM architecture. During my testing, the A16 drained down to 80 percent after around four hours of continuous work.<\/p>\n<p class=\"col-body mb-4 leading-7 text-[18px] md:leading-8 break-words min-w-0 charcoal-color\">Compatibility issues aside, the ZenBook A16 delivers just about everything I want in an ultraportable. It\u2019s got a gorgeous OLED screen and all of the ports you need. Qualcomm\u2019s Snapdragon X2 Elite chips also give it a much-needed power boost. And best of all, it&#8217;s one of the lightest and sleekest 16-inch Windows laptops I&#8217;ve come across. Just be prepared to pay a bit extra over other ultraportables for its slim size.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>[analyse_source url=&#8221;https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/computing\/laptops\/asus-zenbook-a16-review-a-surprisingly-light-and-powerful-16-inch-ultraportable-140000914.html&#8221;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[analyse_image type=&#8221;featured&#8221; src=&#8221;https:\/\/s.yimg.com\/ny\/api\/res\/1.2\/pkF63fz1lXrdfwswTKp25Q&#8211;\/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyMDA7aD03NjI-\/https:\/\/d29szjachogqwa.cloudfront.net\/images\/user-uploaded\/zenbook_a16-4_2459.jpg&#8221;] Computing Laptops Why you can trust us Engadget has been testing and reviewing consumer tech since 2004. Our stories may include affiliate links; if you buy something through a link, we may earn a commission. Read more about how we evaluate products. ASUS ZenBook A16 review: A surprisingly light and powerful 16-inch [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[226,63],"class_list":["post-1869969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-politics","tag-crawlmanager","tag-engadget-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1869969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1869969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1869969\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1869969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1869969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1869969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}