I am a YouTuber who has tested dozens of gaming laptops over the past couple of years. I've used pretty much all the top gaming laptops from the big brands. This one tops them all. No, it doesn't outperform all of them, it simply *outshines* them. (search "Flow X16 review Josh Cravey" for video review)
This is a one-of-a-kind, jack-of-all-trades device. It's also priced that way. Because there literally is nothing else like it on the market, so of course it's going to cost more than devices like the Zephyrus G15 or M16. I'd say personally for the extra value it provides, it is worth choosing over those machines.
Let's talk about the jack-of-all-trades features. While there are other Flow devices (X13 and Z13), this one is on a different level. First of all, you get the first 16" 16:10 MiniLED gaming display on the market. It goes up to 1100 nits. That is blindingly bright and is not found on OLED displays (and you don't have to worry about burn-in). It handles HDR content beautifully (you have to be in hybrid mode currently for it to work properly - thanks Windows), and the contrast is awesome thanks to the 512 local dimming zones and miniLED technology. You can turn local dimming on and off. Having it on all the time will reveal some blotchiness in gray/black windows, so it's best to leave this feature off when simply browsing/tasking. The color accuracy is top-notch (100% DCI-P3 and nearly 100% Adobe RGB). The 165Hz refresh rate is also buttery smooth and fast.
So not only is the display amazing, but YOU CAN TOUCH IT! Pen support works wonderfully in creative applications. Fold the screen back and you can use it like a drawing pad or like a giant iPad for scrolling through webpages in portrait view. Fold the screen into tent mode for better thermals and using it with a controller or external keyboard/mouse. This adds an awesome level of creativity and customizability to the device and for creators. Yes, it's a little heavy and not the most practical thing to use as a tablet, but the option is there and it's nice!
Speaking of options, it has good upgradeability. Open it up, and unlike many other thin gaming laptops, you can swap out both slots of RAM! 32GB is already plenty, but it's nice to see this finally being done in thin-and-lights. You can also add in an extra full-size M.2 SSD (I added a 2TB), and you can swap the Wi-Fi card. Oh and you'll see 3 FANS in there too! This is a unique feature of this device and contributes greatly to how cool/quiet it's able to be even with all these powerful components.
GAMING
Ok, so yes there are better performing machines out there, but they're chunkier, heavier, usually have a giant power brick, and don't include nearly as many premium features. That doesn't mean that the 125-watt RTX 3070Ti is a slouch though. This thing shreds through any game you throw at it. I'm currently playing CyberPunk at 1440p with nearly maxed out settings and DLSS, getting over 70 fps. That's a much better experience than you can get from something like an Xbox/PS5, and it's also about a 20-25% uplift over the RTX 3060 model.
FAN NOISE
This is part of what sold me the most on this laptop. The temperatures stay well within the spec of the components (70-80C on GPU and 80-90C on CPU under combined load) all while the fans are spinning at half the speed of comparable machines I've used. The 2022 Zephyrus G15 for example, is about twice as loud when gaming compared to this device. You can also very comfortably game in Silent mode or Performance mode, which performs surprisingly well. Oh and it's basically dead silent when you're not gaming, which many other brands are incapable of achieving.
BATTERY
The battery life is very dependent on drivers and the settings you configure. On battery, most things are automatically switched for you (Optimized/Eco turns the dGPU off, Panel Power Saver lowers the refresh rate, and you should lower the brightness/keyboard brightness for best results). I am able to comfortably get 7-8 hours doing basic tasks or 11 hours completely idle. Doing a little more demanding tasks averages around 5-7 hours, but this is far superior compared to anything from Intel.
You also get excellent performance on battery, about the equivalent of being in Silent mode while plugged in, which is still capable of gaming/content creation workloads.
PREMIUM FEATURES
So this laptop has a lot of cool extra things that set it apart from others in its class. The XG Mobile port for example, allows you to plug in an Asus external GPU for even more performance and future-proofing. The MicroSD card slot is nice for easy storage expansion, THE SPEAKERS ARE NICE! A few tweaks and they sound better than the Macbook 13" models, but not quite as good as 14"/16" Macbooks. Still better than any other brand's gaming laptops I've used. It also has a mux switch for when you want that extra bit of gaming performance (very helpful in competitive games like CS:GO), the webcam is alright in quality, but it does have Windows Hello for a quick sign-in experience. Armoury Crate gives you way more features for fan tuning/performance than other gaming laptop command centers. Also, the overall build quality is just nice. Magnesium alloy is lightweight while being much sturdier than plastic and quite fingerprint resistant. Hinges are also nicely constructed and don't feel wobbly. The keyboard is centered and wonderful to type on. The big glass trackpad is also very nice for super smooth gliding and scrolling.
CONCLUSION
So overall, this thing is now my daily driver. I've tested Lenovo Legions, MSI GE series, Razer Blades, HP Omens, and many more. This is by far my favorite of all that I've used. It may not be the "best" for everything, but everything it does, it does very well. And some things it does simply cannot be replicated by any other device. Gaming is awesome, content is beautiful on this display, the premium features add a lot to the experience, it's portable, battery life is good, it's touchscreen, you can use it as a tablet, it has lots of thermal/performance customization, it's quiet, you can swap RAM and add more storage, it just does it all.
I noticed some reviews saying it requires a bit of a learning curve, and if you don't know much about gaming laptops/Windows OS/swapping drivers/Armoury Crate, then yes, you will need to learn a bit to get the most out of this device. But there are plenty of resources out there (including my own on YouTube - just search "Zephyrus G15 optimization guide").
Anyways, if you're thinking about getting it - you won't regret it! There really is nothing like the ROG Flow X16 out there.