Customer Ratings & Reviews

Over the years, I’ve tested a lot of premium laptops, and ASUS is one brand that continues to impress me. This time around, I got my hands on the Zenbook A16 with the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme processor, and it’s easily one of the most well-rounded laptops I’ve used for both productivity and entertainment. It’s clearly built for people who want a large, immersive display and strong performance without giving up portability. So, let’s get into what the Zenbook A16 brings to the table. Specs as tested: Processor: Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme RAM: LPDDR5 48GB Graphics: Qualcomm Adreno Display: 2880 x 1800 (3K) 120Hz OLED Touchscreen Storage: 512GB SSD One of the first things that stood out to me was the color—I absolutely love the Zabriskie Beige finish. It gives the laptop a clean, premium look that feels a bit different from the usual options. On top of that, the portability is seriously impressive. At just 2.87 lbs. and about 0.65 inches thin, this 16-inch laptop is surprisingly easy to carry around. Whether you’re commuting, working remotely, or just moving from room to room, it doesn’t feel bulky at all. You’re getting a large display for multitasking without sacrificing that lightweight feel. The display is easily one of the highlights here. The 16-inch 3K OLED touchscreen is beautiful and vibrant, with rich colors, deep blacks, and excellent contrast. Everything just looks better on it. Powered by the Qualcomm Adreno GPU, visuals feel smooth and polished across the board. For productivity, that means crisp text and a comfortable viewing experience during long work sessions, plus the added convenience of touch. For entertainment, it really shines—movies and shows look cinematic, with sharp detail and colors that pop. And even though this isn’t a gaming-focused machine, it can still handle light gaming surprisingly well. I was able to run Horizon Zero Dawn at 1080p smoothly without any hiccups, which was a nice bonus. Performance is another area where this laptop really delivers. The Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme processor paired with 48GB of LPDDR5 RAM makes everything feel fast and responsive. Multitasking is effortless—I had multiple apps, browser tabs, documents, video calls, and even some light photo and video editing running at the same time, and it never felt like it was slowing down. It’s the kind of performance that just stays out of your way and lets you get things done. Battery life is also a big win here. The 70Wh battery, combined with the efficiency of the Snapdragon platform, easily gets you through a full day of work with room to spare. And when you do need to recharge, the fast charging is super convenient—getting up to 50% in about 30 minutes makes a real difference when you’re short on time. The 512GB SSD keeps things running fast, with quick boot times and snappy file access. That said, this is probably the one area where some people might run into limitations. Since the storage isn’t upgradeable, 512GB can fill up pretty quickly if you’re working with large files, media libraries, or games. It’s manageable, but you’ll likely end up relying on cloud storage or an external drive over time if you’re a heavier user. Ports: USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A SD Card Reader HDMI 2.1 2 x USB 4 Type-C Audio combo jack Overall, this is the kind of laptop that just fits seamlessly into your daily routine. It’s powerful enough to handle demanding productivity, efficient enough to last all day, and immersive enough to double as a great entertainment device when you’re ready to relax. Aside from the fixed storage, everything else feels thoughtfully designed and well-executed. If you’re looking for a sleek, future-ready laptop that can handle both work and downtime without compromise, the ASUS Zenbook A16 is an easy recommendation.

I've been using the ASUS Zenbook A16 for just under a week and it's already replaced my old machine as my main work laptop. That decision usually takes me a lot longer. The Ceraluminum chassis is insane. I've owned plenty of laptops and can't remember one that felt this good in hand. The matte finish is smooth in a way that's hard to describe until you touch it and by the way, a 16-inch laptop this powerful has no business being this light. There's a bit of screen wobble if you go looking for it, but nothing that worries me. I can toss this in a backpack without feeling like I packed a brick. The Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme is the real story. Apps open almost instantly, and I've run AI-heavy PowerPoint and Excel sessions with several tasks processing at once while the laptop barely seemed to notice. My benchmarks came in at 3,202 single-core, 27,295 multi-core, and 37,654 OpenCL. That's crazy. Good amount of RAM too, so no slow launches, no fans blasting because I opened one more spreadsheet. I live mostly in the Microsoft ecosystem, so I can't vouch for every specialized Windows app, but the ARM chip hasn't caused me a single problem. Copilot+ works fine. I just don't see the appeal of locking myself into one AI system, and it's not why I'd buy this laptop. The 16-inch 3K OLED display is gorgeous, with deep blacks and text sharp enough that I can fit more on screen for photo editing and document work without squinting. It's a touchscreen too, but who needs that? The keyboard is comfortable and doesn't make me change how I type. The touchpad is excellent and maybe a little too big. I sometimes have to reposition my wrist to right-click in the lower corner. My real gripe is the missing number pad. A 16-inch laptop has room for one, and I'm in spreadsheets constantly. Battery life hasn't been a worry across normal workdays, and the machine stays cool and quiet even under heavy workload. I haven't heard the fans kick on the way they do with Intel or AMD laptops. Gaming was the frustrating part. Cloud gaming through Xbox Game Pass worked, but my 140GB download of Modern Warfare III wouldn't launch offline. I didn't have time to troubleshoot, so I can't say for sure it was the laptop's fault, but it reminded me why I prefer consoles. The performance is there for gaming; the software support needs to catch up. The six speakers are good for a laptop, the webcam and mic handle video calls fine, and the ports cover HDMI, USB-C, USB-A, and an SD card slot. Both USB-C ports sit on the left, though, so charging from the right side isn't an option. The 512GB SSD is the biggest hardware letdown on a machine this capable. Business users, creative pros, and heavy multitaskers should love this thing. Gamers may want to wait for better ARM support unless they're comfortable troubleshooting or streaming. The missing number pad, small SSD, and left-only USB-C are annoying, but they don't come close to outweighing what this laptop gets right.

This Asus UX3607 is literally one of the best laptops I’ve used in my ~38 years, and I’m a pretty big x86 fan. When ARM first came to a couple of extremely limited/lame devices, I thought for sure that it would never amount to much. In just the last couple years, I went from thinking it was a possible ultraportable/ultra power efficient option for a mid/low performance device, to now seeing it with my own eyes, that x86 has a real competitor on their hands. (In everyday computing with multiple tabs open, and a few different open applications, flipping around between them is SO fast and snappy) Build - Top notch build quality, I haven’t seen many Windows devices that match this overall fit/finish/and impressive weight all working in an extremely attractive and light package. Like seriously, how did they get this thing so light and slim while still looking great and performing amazing! The keyboard is quite good, and the backlight has great brightness for typing in the dark. Performance - The unfortunately named X2E-94-100 is an awesome chip. It lays some absolute smackdown to every other mobile chip I’ve used, and it does it while remaining fairly cool (other than in cinebench) The GPU doesn’t measure up to the CPU though, while its still quite good for an iGPU, it’ll need to have better drivers or something to really compete with the competitions solid current gen iGPUs. (I ran FH6 benchmark just for fun, actually ran at 68fps on very low with FSR, but the biggest issue was the massive frame dips that you can see in the included chart from the benchmark, not playable at all) Screen - the OLED in this unit is STELLAR, gets so bright, the colors just pop like crazy, and its 2880x1880 and 120hz! Looks so great and is so smooth, and the touchscreen is a great addition too, even though I do not use it much. Memory/storage - the LPDDR5x is crazily clocked at over 9500MT/s, and even in the current RAMmageddon prices, you’re getting a very sizable 48GB! They skimped a bit on size with the 512GB SSD, but at least it's a speedy Samsung OEM unit. (peaked at almost 6.9GB/s reads and around 5.7GB/s writes in crystal disk mark) If you’re looking for a premium feeling Windows device that can get around the *very few* caveats of ARM with Windows, and you do not need a pile of GPU, this Asus will work great even for the most power hungry users while remaining a fairly good value!

After being a little disappointed with the first generation of Snapdragon CPUs, I'm a lot happier with this X2 Elite Extreme. The 48GB of RAM also makes it a pretty great local LLM powerhouse. As an extra bonus, this thing can even game a bit. Overall, it's a great laptop in a small package and I'm quite happy with it as a development machine. Setup is as easy as any Windows setup. It's annoying. But you aren't going to get any better with a different Windows laptop. It'll take a long time to update. It'll require a Microsoft account. It's not fun but it's necessary. When you're finally done, you're ready to go, though! Bloatware is pretty much non-existent. I didn't have to remove McAfee or Norton or any other extras installed by ASUS. This laptop did have Microsoft 365 in 3 languages I removed (and for whatever reason, each one takes a really long time to uninstall). But other than that and a couple of links in the start menu (Adobe Promotion, WhatsApp, Dropbox and LinkedIn), there just wasn't any bloat. Performance has been really good. Especially for such a small/thin/lightweight laptop. The combination of a new generation of Snapgragon CPU and Windows on ARM not being super brand new anymore really shows. Things respond snappy. Things run quickly. Multitasking is great with the 48GB of RAM. This is a development machine for me and it's specced really well for that. With a nice pool of memory, running local AI models was definitely an interest and I'm happy to report positive results. Using Quallcomm's GenieX software, you can pull any GGUF model from huggingface and run it more optimized for their CPU/GPU/NPU. Running Qwen3.6 35B at about 14 tokens per second felt really quick and easy to use for coding assistance or general chatting. I still have a lot of testing to do with more agentic workflows but I was very happy with my initial AI testing. Copilot still feels pretty meh. It runs faster on this system but it's not the computer. It's just the model and the software wrapped around it. It feels very generic and bland and I prefer my own models instead. Having a key on my keyboard doesn't make me want to use it more, especially when pressing that key takes a few seconds to load or isn't consistent. I hope Windows stops trying to push the Copilot+ computer thing and just accepts including it as a small extra thing since that's all it currently is and I don't for see that changing any time soon. Gaming was a little more surprising to me because it does a decent job without any dedicated NVidia or AMD GPU. It has it's own Ardreno X2-90 GPU and it seems to do a pretty good job even with whatever CPU translation is required for more games these days. For my tests, I used Cyberpunk 2077 like I always do and didn't expect it to blow me away. You're not going to be running it at ultra raytracing but you can pull off high settings with respectable (and very playable) frame rates without raytracing. If you really need raytracing low settings, you can expect fps around 30 which is still pretty good. I would say it's best to not expect great raytracing performance but for me (and most people I've talked to), that's not a huge concern. I also threw in a test of Satisfactory and got around 80 fps on ultra settings. So while gaming is not a primary focus of this machine, you can definitely take some breaks from work with most modern games with some small setting concessions. The build quality is quite good. The laptop is small, thin and lightweight and feels well made. You don't get a plastic feeling behemoth here. It's sleek. The keyboard feels nice to type on (I'm typing this review on it as we speak). The trackpad is huge and feels good to use when you need to use it but I have noticed some false positives of my palm. Hopefully I can clear those up with some software tweaks or settings. Speakers sound good but it's a laptop so you're not rocking the house or anything. Battery life will depend on what you're working on. I would say, heavy and intensive use, you can probably get through a workday. But with just light use, my battery is currently at 85% and Windows says I have about 14 hours left. So if you're just doing some light browsing and text editing, you'll get plenty of time away from the plug. All in all, this is a great laptop. It's nice to look at and can do a lot of work while staying alive through all of it without a plug. It can let you take breaks for some gaming and run local LLM models quickly. I'm a big fan of what it has to offer and am glad ARM on Windows finally feels good to use. If you're looking for a fast and energy efficient laptop that probably costs less than similar offerings by AMD and Intel, give this one a good look.

I have a kid headed off to college who has been eyeing my laptop, so for this reason I found myself taking a jump from my current touch screen laptop to the ASUS Zenbook A16. This review is based on a week of use both at work and in my home office.  TL:DR - This Zenbook gives other top line productivity focused laptops some strong competition. The build is sleek, refined looking, while still being robust without being heavy. The performance for productivity tools is top notch, not bogging down and not blowing through battery life. The OLED touchscreen monitor may be the best laptop touchscreen you've ever seen and the processor took every big task I threw at it without even the slightest lag. Pros: I love the keyboard weighting and layout. The keys are soft, quiet, and the perfect weight. The design is a great mix of sturdiness and polish so it looks and feels high quality. This may be the first time I've ever considered laptop speakers a pro, and while these still have opportunities for depth, they aren't bad. I can fill a medium sized bedroom room with music, or watch a movie without headphones and still enjoy the audio quality.  The ASUS control panel puts key settings and functionality controls in one spot for quick setting adjustments. This may be the best laptop on the market for power consumption versus performance.  Cons: Being really picky, I wish the screen would lay flat or have a tablet mode versus go to ~140 degrees. The volume booster setting is complete garbage, and takes speaker performance back down to being flat and overdriven. In the box is the Zenbook, instructions, and power cable. Setup is fantastically quick, no bloatware to load, just the normal Windows workflow and optional ASUS registration. Moving on to the performance, starting with the obvious, this OLED immediately grabs your attention at 3k resolution, 120Hz refresh rate and 500 nits brightness. The A16 build spec is such that you don't have to trade off battery life for brightness or touchscreen response for graphics performance. The real estate is well used, with a large touch pad, decent key spacing, and adequate ports around the perimeter (HDMI, 2 x USB-C Thunderbolt, audio jack, USB-A, and a card reader). The built in camera and microphone perform well for video conferencing, and the camera resolution (1080p) far exceeds expectations. Note that this is all packaged into a laptop that weighs in under 3 lbs. The Qualcomm ARM-based Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme chip is a powerhouse for energy efficiency and AI tasks, since this isn't really a gaming build, I ran a web based stress testing tool to see if I could find performance gaps because I could not get this laptop to bog down when running macros while using 3d printing software. During the stress testing I found was that if I had the keyboard backlight on full power, the keyboard got hot and the laptop base had a small amount of heat but zero signs of processor stress (lag, apps not responding or crashing) or what I consider to be unacceptable levels of overheating. What surprised me was there was almost no fan noise. When I turned off the keyboard lighting the heat was reduced and the laptop cooled relatively quickly once I stopped the stress test. Bottom line, the entire package screams quality, efficiency, and a build that doesn't back down to your toughest multi-tasking needs. This laptop gives me the confidence to run a 3d print render while working on an excel workbook and chatting up the Copilot+ AI tool and not think twice about crashing any of the applications. 

Design & Build Quality The design of this Zenbook is genuinely impressive. The laptop lid is the thinnest I’ve ever seen, and the entire machine is remarkably slim without feeling fragile. Despite its thin profile, it includes all the essential ports: HDMI, two USB C ports, USB A, an SD card slot, and a headphone jack. It’s refreshing to see a thin-and-light laptop that doesn’t sacrifice usability. The build feels premium, and the minimalist aesthetic gives it a sophisticated look that stands out without being flashy. Setup Experience Setup was straightforward and similar to other Windows laptops. One thing I don’t love — and this is a Windows issue, not an Asus one — is how Microsoft forces you to sign in with a Microsoft account. There’s no obvious option to create a local account. I read online that skipping Wi Fi might allow it, but I was already past that point. Once setup was complete, the Zenbook updated the OS quickly and was ready to go. Display & Audio The OLED display is stunning. It’s noticeably brighter than my external monitor, and the colors are incredibly vibrant. Even simple tasks look better on this screen. The thin black border adds to the modern feel, and watching YouTube or Netflix is genuinely enjoyable. The display is also a touchscreen, which is a nice bonus even though I don’t find myself using it often. The speakers are surprisingly good for a laptop this thin — clear, loud enough, and not tinny. Performance Performance on this Zenbook is excellent. Every application launches quickly with no noticeable delay. I opened more than five apps at once to push the Snapdragon X2 and 48GB of RAM, and it still ran smoothly. Apps actually open faster than on my all in one desktop with an Intel Core 7 150U, which was a pleasant surprise. For everyday productivity, multitasking, streaming, and general use, this laptop feels fast and responsive. Keyboard & Usability The keyboard is well-sized with large, easy-to-read lettering. The three-level backlighting is bright and clear — noticeably better than the backlit keys on some of my other laptops, which can be hard to read in dim lighting. The trackpad is smooth and responsive, and the overall typing experience is comfortable. Battery Life While I’m usually near an outlet when using a laptop, the battery life on this Zenbook has been solid. The efficiency of the Snapdragon chip definitely helps, and casual use doesn’t drain the battery quickly. Final Thoughts Overall, the Asus Zenbook is an outstanding laptop. It’s lightweight, beautifully designed, fast, and equipped with one of the best displays you’ll find in this category. I haven’t found a single thing to nitpick — it simply performs well across the board. I would recommend it to anyone looking for a sleek, modern laptop that delivers excellent performance without unnecessary bulk.

--- SETUP --- The Zenbook A16 was easy to set up. Plug in and let it charge while you are installing updates and adjusting your settings. For me, it was a 30 minute setup after all upgrades. --- PERFORMANCE AND EXPECTATIONS --- This laptop has stood out to me and those around me in more than one way. I carried it around for work, which for me, meant walking to different rooms and being asked to sit away from electric outlets. That’s when I discovered how well the battery lasts. After a full workday of 8 hours, the laptop didn’t require constant charging. I left the work day with about 20% of the battery life left. One day, I forgot to charge it overnight. A quick 30 minute charge got me up to 50% and that was enough for another recharge during lunch. I brought it with me on gamenight with some friends. As soon as I took it out, people made comments about how nice it looked. A friend of mine carried it and she immediately noticed how light it felt. Compared to my actual work laptop, it is lighter, yet bigger. Though this isn’t a gaming laptop, it still works to host games like Jack Box Party Pack. Choosing games was made easier because of the touchscreen, which works very well. Using this laptop for editing in CapCut Pro was very exciting. Though I usually work from home when editing, using it while traveling surprised me because it has an extra large touchpad. This allows me to have extra scrolling space when watching videos to make cuts or edits. Face log in is a feature I enjoy. This way, I don’t have to remember passwords often. This computer also has a feature where it detects if you are nearby or leaving, allowing the computer to respond by becoming active or inactive. Works well for me in my office space that doesn’t have a lot of people circulating about. --- APPROVAL --- Overall, this laptop is one of the best laptops I have used for work and light play. It has officially replaced my previous personal model and I will be using it often when traveling.

The ASUS Zenbook A16 stands out with a great combination of Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme processor, 48GB RAM, 1TB SSD and a 16" 3K OLED touchscreen, all packed into a laptop weighing under 3 lbs. This is my first laptop with 48GB RAM, and naturally I was curious to see what I could do with all that memory beyond my normal productivity apps. I started playing around with my Adobe content creation software (Firefly) along with Copilot and my usual work applications to see how far I could push it. Having used both Intel and previous-generation Snapdragon Copilot+ PCs, I was particularly interested in the new X2 Elite Extreme. The first-generation Snapdragon laptops impressed me mostly with battery life and power efficiency. With the X2 Elite Extreme, Qualcomm seems to be pushing much harder on performance and AI while still keeping the efficiency advantage of the Snapdragon processor. What Stood Out Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme + 48GB RAM: The 18-core Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme comes with an 80 TOPS NPU for AI workloads. The 48GB RAM is what caught my attention right away. I typically have Teams, multiple browser windows, Excel, PowerPoint, ChatGPT, Claude, and Copilot open at the same time, and 48GB gives you plenty of room for this kind of multitasking. I also used my Adobe content creation software to put a little more load on the system instead of just testing Office applications. Content creation is where the extra memory starts to make more sense, especially when you are working with larger photos or video files while still having other applications running in the background. This is the kind of use case where I would rather have 48GB than the 16GB that is still common on many premium laptops. The 80 TOPS NPU gives the laptop a lot more dedicated AI processing capability. Features such as Windows Studio Effects, Live Captions and other supported AI functions can run on the NPU instead of putting everything on the CPU. For me, that is the real value of the NPU supported AI features can run in the background while I continue working on everything else. Interestingly, while monitoring the NPU in Task Manager, I rarely saw utilization go beyond about 25% during my normal mix of productivity and background AI applications, which suggests there is still plenty of room for more demanding AI workloads. 16" 3K OLED Display The 2880 x 1800 OLED touchscreen with a 120Hz refresh rate is easily one of the highlights of this laptop. The vibrant colors and sharp text make it great for reviewing dashboards, presentations, photos and watching videos. The 120Hz refresh rate also makes scrolling through webpages and documents noticeably smoother than a regular 60Hz display. I really like the larger 16-inch screen for productivity. There is enough screen space to keep two applications open side by side without immediately looking for an external monitor. It is very useful when working on PowerPoint, Excel, dashboards or Adobe content where the extra screen real estate makes a difference. The OLED display also complements the content creation side of this laptop. Photos and videos look great on the 3K screen, and having a touchscreen is handy for quick navigation. Lightweight Design For a 16-inch laptop, the weight is probably the biggest surprise. At under 3 lbs, it feels more like carrying a 14-inch ultrabook than a traditional 16-inch laptop. I travel quite a bit and usually like having a larger screen or a portable monitor, but I don't like carrying a 4-5 lb laptop + monitor around. The A16 gives me both. The Zabriskie Beige finish is also a nice change from the typical gray or black laptops I currently own, and it gives the laptop a sleek, premium look. AI, Productivity and Content Creation The combination of the 80 TOPS NPU and 48GB RAM is what makes this laptop more interesting to me than just another thin Copilot+ PC. For normal productivity, 48GB is probably more than most people need today, but once you start adding content creation, AI applications and heavier multitasking, that extra memory becomes useful. For my use, this is a good combination for Teams, Office applications, Copilot, browser-heavy workloads and Adobe content creation. The full-size SD card reader is another nice touch as I am constantly transferring photos and videos from my Drone and Osmo. Connectivity and Ports • 2x USB 4 Type-C • USB-A • HDMI 2.1 • Full-size SD card reader • 3.5mm audio jack • Wi-Fi 7 • Bluetooth 5.4 I like that ASUS kept the HDMI, USB-A and full-size SD card reader. I travel with enough adapters already, so having these ports built into such a thin laptop is definitely useful. Things to Be Aware Of This is still a Windows-on-ARM laptop, so I would check compatibility if you rely on older or specialized software. I couldn't get my 4 year old canon laser printer to run on this laptop due to driver compatibility issue. Mainstream Windows applications have come a long way on Snapdragon PCs, but there are still some legacy applications and games that may not work exactly the same way as they do on an Intel or AMD laptop. The newer Adreno graphics make this much more capable for gaming than the first-generation Snapdragon PCs, but I am still using this primarily for productivity, 3D design software and video editing software. Overall Impression The Zenbook A16 has a great balance of performance, display size and portability. It’s a powerhouse for productivity, multitasking, content creation and AI applications. What impresses me the most is that ASUS managed to put all of this into a 16-inch laptop weighing under 3 lbs. For someone who travels frequently, wants a large OLED display and runs a mix of productivity, Copilot and content creation applications, this is a very compelling laptop.

I first used a Windows ARM laptop a couple of years ago when Qualcomm released its first Snapdragon X Elite chip. Back then, I thought it was a promising start, but there were still some software compatibility issues, and battery life couldn't quite match the competition. Fast forward to the new ASUS Zenbook A16: with the new Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme chip, ASUS has made a 16-inch laptop so thin, light, and powerful that it's almost beyond belief. It's basically a perfect mix of design, weight, performance, and battery life, which is an increasingly rare thing given the skyrocketing costs of computer components these days. However, I do have concerns about the long-term durability of the unique "Ceraluminum" material that ASUS used for this laptop. === PROS === - This is, without question, the most lightweight 16-inch laptop I've ever seen or used. I almost didn't believe it when I opened the box. It weights just 2.6 pounds, which is lighter than most modern 14- and 15-inch laptops. - The design and build quality of the Zenbook A16 are mostly excellent. The light "Zabriskie Beige" color resists fingerprints, but to me, it's not as sleek or professional as a black or gray laptop. The hinge feels strong and the display is easy to open with one hand, but there is a bit of screen wobble. Amazingly, there is basically zero flex to the keyboard -- it is very solid when you push down - The display is beautiful. It's an OLED with a 2880×1800 resolution and 120Hz refresh rate. Colors are rich and vivid with a 100% DCI-P3 color gamut. It gets very bright, up to 1100 nits in HDR content. The 120Hz refresh rate makes scrolling through documents, webpages, and photographs feel seamless with no lag. This particular model also features a touch screen. - The trackpad is large and very good given its mechanical diving-board design. It's not too hard to press and has a satisfying click. You can click about two thirds of the way up the trackpad, while the top third doesn't click. - The specs of this laptop are almost unrivaled at this price point. The Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme is an incredibly powerful chip that uses unified RAM with 228 GB/s of memory bandwidth. Paired with the powerful Adreno X2-90 graphics chip and the massive 48 GB of RAM, you have yourself a powerhouse of a laptop for pretty much any type of productivity work. This laptop is perfect for photo and video editing, assuming your preferred software is ARM compatible. I have not encountered any compatibility issues in the applications I use (Adobe suite, Blender, Gimp, Microsoft Office, and others). - Battery life is seriously impressive. In my testing, I was able to get roughly 10 hours of battery life (emails, Word documents, video calls) with the screen brightness around 50% and putting the laptop in "whisper" mode. I probably could have managed a couple of hours more if I reduced brightness even further, but the A16 will easily get you through a full work day. - The A16 has a decent selection of ports, with two USB-C ports, one USB-A port, and an HDMI 2.1 port. There's also a full size SD card reader. The laptop also supports Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, so the connectivity here is relatively future-proof. - The speakers are decent, but they are not up-firing (they are placed on the bottom of the machine, so sound is directed down towards your desk or lap). The speakers sound fine, especially when the laptop is placed on a flat surface. But I did notice some distortion at loud volumes, and the speakers seem just a bit "tinny" or flat to me. - The laptop charges via USB-C and not some proprietary barrel charger. It also includes a very powerful 130-watt USB-C charger. === CONS === - The "Ceraluminum" material is what makes the laptop so lightweight, but as soon as I unboxed it, I noticed a glaring defect. On the top of the laptop near the "Asus Zenbook" logo is a shiny/oily looking spot where the Ceraluminum material doesn't appear to have been properly applied (or maybe some sort of coating rubbed off during shipping). It looks like a large smudge or fingerprint mark that won't go away no matter how I try to clean it. Not a huge deal, but it's doesn't give me much confidence in how well this material will hold up over the years. I've included some pictures. I reached out to ASUS about this issue but I never received a response. For this reason alone, I have to deduct a full star from my rating. - I don't understand why ASUS doesn't include haptic trackpads in more of its laptops. The mechanical trackpad on this A16 is nice enough and gets the job done, but it pales in comparison to the haptic trackpads used on other premium laptops. Haptic trackpads are more durable, allow for customization, and allow you to click anywhere on the trackpad (even the very top). The mechanical trackpad here just feels outdated and not very premium. - This model of the A16 only includes 512 GB of storage, which seems like the bare minimum these days. Luckily, it uses a standard M.2 SSD that can be easily upgraded. - The OLED display is stunning, but it is very glossy and is a fingerprint and dust magnet. - I love that the laptop charges via USB-C, but only the left side of the laptop has USB-C ports. So depending on where your power outlet is located, you might have to reach the cord around to the opposite end of the laptop. === OVERALL === The Zenbook A16 is an incredibly powerful and lightweight laptop, but I was disappointed to see the defect in the Ceraluminum material on a brand new machine. This certainly makes me question how well the laptop will hold up over the years. It seems like it might easily scuff or scratch during normal use, which is a shame for a laptop that is otherwise excellent. I've contacted ASUS support about this defect but have not received a definitive response or resolution. I also wish ASUS would have included a haptic trackpad -- maybe in next year's model. If you're considering this laptop, you may want to try and see it in-person before purchasing so you can get a feel for the color and Ceraluminum material -- if you constantly place your laptop in a bag without a sleeve, maybe this isn't the best choice. If cosmetic defects or wear don't bother you, then the Zenbook A16 is hard to beat.

Battery Life- Amazing Speed- Lightning Fast Display- Beautiful OLED, with High resolution

I did my homework before choosing the ASUS Zenbook A16 because I wanted three things: a lightweight laptop, a fast and powerful processor, and long battery life. So far, this Zenbook has delivered on all three. First, the setup was easy. It walked me through everything without making the process feel endless. I also appreciated that it allowed me to skip steps I didn’t want to complete right away so I could use it faster. What surprised me most was the weight. My previous laptop had the same size 16-inch screen but weighed almost 5 pounds. This one weighs only about 2.6 pounds. Yes, I actually weighed it because I couldn't believe the difference! But don’t let the lightweight design fool you. There is plenty of power under the lid. The Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme was one of the reasons I chose this laptop. In researching it, I learned that it’s an 18-core ARM processor with speeds up to 5.0 GHz, designed to handle everything from everyday work and streaming to gaming, graphics-heavy tasks, and AI processing using the NPU without having to rely as heavily on external data centers. Battery life was another big selling point. I haven't pushed it to its limits yet, but I read that it can get around 11–12 hours with gaming or mixed use and potentially 18+ hours with lighter productivity. The long battery life will be especially nice for traveling and watching videos in the car without constantly having to recharge it. The 3K OLED touchscreen is beautiful. The bezels on the sides are small, and everything looks crisp, clear, and bright. As my eyes are getting older, I really appreciate a great display! I also always choose laptops with touch screens. And I prefer a larger screen because when I'm traveling and don't have my second or third monitor available, I want enough screen space to comfortably display multiple windows. The keyboard is comfortable, with keys that are ample-sized for my medium-sized fingers, and the touchpad is incredibly smooth "like butter." I do miss having a dedicated number pad on the right side of the keyboard, but I'm sure I'll adjust quickly. I also like the overall finish. Mine is Zabriskie Beige, which has subtle pink overtones. The surface feels smooth and, for the most part, does a nice job resisting fingerprint smudges. Another small design detail I noticed is the rubber padding on the bottom of the laptop along the front and rear. It doesn't just keep the laptop from sliding around on a desk; it also raises it slightly to allow airflow underneath. One of the biggest reasons I was attracted to this particular laptop was the selection of ports. My current laptop only has USB-C ports, which means I have to keep an adapter handy. The Zenbook A16 has HDMI 2.1, which is especially important to me when I'm giving presentations and need to connect to a projector, two USB4/Thunderbolt 4 ports (one used for charging), and a mic/headphone jack on the left. On the other side, there's a USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 port and a full-size SD 4.0 card reader. Thank you, ASUS, for remembering that people still use more than USB-C! Sound quality has also been quite good. I'm pleased with it when watching videos or listening to Spotify, and on Zoom calls, the built-in webcam, speakers, and microphone have allowed me to see, hear, and be heard clearly without needing anything extra. My one disappointment is the hinge. The screen doesn't open completely flat, nor does it fold all the way back 360 degrees. For a touchscreen laptop, I would have liked that additional flexibility. Overall, I'm very pleased with the ASUS Zenbook A16. It's remarkably lightweight without feeling like ASUS sacrificed performance, screen size, battery life, or connectivity to get there. For someone like me who takes a personal laptop almost everywhere I go (hair salon, the gym, work, etc.) and doesn't want to carry around a brick anymore, it checks a lot of boxes.

This is an impressive laptop. Asus is a solid company that made its original mark in the industry by producing some of the best gaming motherboards in the world. Since that start, they have branched into more products and have built some of the best gaming (ROC) and business (Zenbook) laptops around. I have an older Zenbook that’s still among my favorite computers. The Zenbook A16 powered by the newest Snapdragon X2 Elite processor is a major win in that long line. This is a nearly perfect laptop. It has a premium build, with a fresh color and a Ceraluminum finish that looks attractive, feels great, and adds durability. At under 3 pounds, it is exceptionally light. Its specs and performance are among the best available, and it offers a strong port selection, including a full-size SD card slot—finally. The OLED touch screen is stunning, the sound quality is well above average, and battery life exceeds 10 hours. The Snapdragon X2 Elite is Qualcomm’s second-generation flagship processor, and it is blazing fast. Windows 11 on ARM64 has improved significantly since its debut, and most compatibility and performance issues are now largely resolved. However, some older legacy programs and drivers may still have problems, especially machine-level device drivers for older printers and certain games, both old and new. That said, this laptop is not meant to be a high-end gaming machine. The Qualcomm Adreno graphics outperform every processor-based graphics system I have used, but they cannot match top dedicated graphics solutions. If that level of gaming performance is what you need, you will have to carry one of those bulky, heavy, power-hungry gaming laptops. The only issues I found are relatively minor. The beige keyboard looks and feels good, but its white lettering makes the small, shifted characters difficult to read, especially those on the number keys, even with the backlight set fairly high. My only other concern was the read/write speed of my external SSD. The ports are USB 4 rather than Thunderbolt, since Thunderbolt is an Intel technology. Even so, the speeds I achieved were slower than on several older computers, including a first-generation Snapdragon laptop. Asus chat support was helpful and knowledgeable, but we never found a solution. I fully expect this issue will be resolved in future updates. The bottom line is that is an excellent laptop. Fast, lightweight, and a pleasure to use and look at. It’s premium in all regards, and Asus is a great company. I can certainly recommend it.

If you’re looking for a big-screen laptop that doesn’t feel like lugging around a brick, the 2026 ASUS Zenbook A16 makes a serious case for itself. Combining ARM-powered efficiency with a stunning OLED panel, it’s built for anyone who needs desktop-level multitasking and all-day battery life in a ultra-portable package. After putting it through its paces with everyday workloads, streaming, and heavy browsing, here is my honest take on how it performs in the real world. Design & Display ⚬ Build: The unique beige finish gives it a clean, matte look that keeps smudge marks at bay. For a big 16-inch laptop, it's amazingly light and effortless to carry around. ⚬ Screen & Sound: The 3K OLED touch display is the highlight—vivid colors, deep darks, and smooth 120Hz scrolling. The built-in speakers produce clear, rich audio that easily fills a room. Performance & Battery ⚬ Speed: Packed with the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme chip and 48GB of memory, it handles heavy multitasking, endless tabs, and photo editing without slowing down or running hot. ⚬ Battery: Outstanding efficiency means you can leave the charger behind and get through a full day of standard use with power to spare. The Takeaway ⚬ The Good: Stunning screen, lightweight chassis, snappy performance, and great battery life. ⚬ The Drawbacks: The 512GB drive is small for a high-spec machine, and it's built for productivity rather than heavy 3D gaming. Verdict: An excellent premium daily driver if you want a large, gorgeous screen in a portable package.

Love my new laptop so far. It is super light and super fast while operating and easy to set up and install new apps.

The speed of this computer is unbelievable. I'm really enjoying using this laptop for my college classes. 10/10

I was very intrigued with the first generation of snapdragon chips. The Laptop I had was pretty decent it had a good battery life and was pretty good for basic stuff. But this laptop with the new chip takes it completely to another level. Its so incredibly fast and fluid. I have had no issues with any of the programs I typically use. Everything so far has run great. Battery life is amazing I can easily go a couple of days with the type use I do without having to charge. The laptop is incredibly well built , looks great and is incredibly light. Which makes it easy to carry around. Hinge is easy to open and The OLED screen looks amazing. There is so much to like on this laptop its light and well built, runs incredibly well and has great battery life. My one and only gripe is that even though this is a 16 inch laptop the keyboard does not take advantage of the space and is a little bit cramp. I have gotten used to it, but at first I was hitting keys accidently, but that is the only issue I have found with this laptop. All in all if you need a laptop that is fast, efficient, light and looks great than this is it for you.

The Asus Zenbook A16 is a well-built, great-performing, high-end laptop featuring the new Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme Qualcomm ARM processor. It runs Windows 11 on ARM, which is my only real issue with this system. If you are familiar with the limitations of Windows on ARM and your workload is compatible with it, I would highly recommend this system. The processor is amazing, with more than enough performance, RAM, and storage. Overall, this is a great machine with very few tradeoffs, and I would definitely recommend it. The Zenbook A16 is extremely lightweight while still being well-built. The chassis is sturdy, with no noticeable flex when opening or closing the laptop, typing, or using the trackpad. It also has a good selection of connectivity options, including an HDMI 2.1 port, two USB 4 Type-C ports, an audio jack, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, and an SD card reader. Considering that many laptops now come with only two USB-C ports and an audio jack (if you're lucky), the A16 offers a great selection of ports and connectivity options. The large, multitouch trackpad feels good to use, with almost no flex or excessive "clickiness." It also includes touch controls for launching applications or controlling various system functions. Battery life is absolutely amazing, largely thanks to the Snapdragon processor and the efficiency of the ARM architecture. You can leave this thing unplugged all day without any issues, and when it is time to charge, it does so very quickly. My only real issue, as I mentioned earlier, is Windows on ARM. Beyond the usual problems with Windows bloatware, the constant annoyances and aggravations of modern Windows, and Microsoft's insistence on cramming AI into everything, there are also some tradeoffs when using applications that aren't natively compiled for ARM. Some older applications simply won't work, while others that do work can have a significant performance difference when running on an ARM processor. My recommendation is to make a list of all the software you normally use for your particular workload and verify whether there is a native ARM version available. If there isn't, check how well the application works under Windows on ARM before making the switch. If a program you rely on doesn't work and it's something you can't do without, this may not be the right laptop for you. Otherwise, if everything works with your particular workload, this is a great system with very few compromises, and I would highly recommend it.

Love it................................................

The 2026 Zenbook A16 is a beast of a productivity machine with a spectacular large display but weighs no more than many 14-inch laptops. The Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme CPU places this device among the top performant options on the market right now, making this laptop suitable for all road-warrior productivity other than high-end gaming. My favorite feature of this Zenbook is its display. The combination of OLED and high pixel density provides the viewer with extreme clarity, luscious colors, and of course, absolute blacks. It is a pleasure just to look at it. Of course this is a touch display, so that one can use fingers to scroll, resize, and select. This is a real luxury feature for me. Also, it does not seem to be well advertised that the display does support the use of a stylus with MS Pen Protocol 2.0 and above. I was able to pair an old stylus I had with the Zenbook, and it works swimmingly. So there are multiple ways to interact with the display: trackpad, mouse, hands, and stylus. The light weight makes this easy to carry around. The ceramic/aluminum alloy that makes up the base and the top is very light but also very rigid, so that I don’t feel this laptop is fragile at all. I like how the case feels as well, nothing cheap and plasticky at all, although I know that has been a criticism by some. The keyboard is good. A bit soft for my taste, but opinions differ. I could spend hours typing with this machine and not feel fatigued. The keyboard base has no real flex, and spacing of the keys is comfortable. The trackpad is also fine, and it is mechanical, not haptic. I have gotten used to using tap gestures, however, and I almost never use “clicks”, so that not being able to click the top portion of the trackpad does not matter to me. Ports are plentiful, including USB charging. As a photographer, I really appreciate the inclusion of a full-sized SD card slot. I would refer you to professional reviews regarding the performance of the Snapdragon Extreme CPU. Of course, on this machine my daily routine flashes by without a hiccup. I have encountered no X86 software incompatibility at all. Most of the time the Zenbook is completely quiet, but the fans do come on quietly from time to time. In fact, if there is any downside in having a top-tier chip, it is that more heat will be generated and more power consumed. There is a huge battery in this device, and a 130-Watt charger is provided to recharge it, which is quite bulky. This is the kind of computer I wish I had had when I was in school. Depending on a student’s workflow, I could imagine typing most notes but having the flexibility of drawing diagrams and mathematical notations. I would not suggest using a device like this for written notes only, but notating PDF’s would be a distinct possibility. I recommend this computer very highly, as it combines power and performance with an outstanding display and light weight.

I have had quite a few laptops over my too many years, but this is both one of the best as well as the most balanced ones I have used. Full stop. Honestly, I was surprised. It is well-built, has very good specs and performs very well, across the board. I think it excels with productivity and creativity, but does equally well you just want to sit back and relax. The build is fantastic. Compact, light, and easily portable (especially for the size), yet I have no concerns about durability. Solid, with a very good in hand feel. Part of this is the materials choice, which is some ceramic aluminum hybrid they call Ceraluminum. It is hard to describe, but it is matte and smooth and different. It looks good too. I would like to see this more in the space. As for looks, I like it. Clean. Plain. Modern. Smooth corners. The beige is unique (both in color and name, Zabriskie Beige), and frankly, works. Kind of surprised that I feel this way but give me this over boring silver or gray. That said, give me this design and materials in a blacked out matte black look and this would be the absolute perfect laptop for me. The OLED display is another highlight here for me. It is beautiful. Great size and resolution, solid 120Hz refresh rate, OLED, and very small bezels. Colors are vibrant and accurate, it has those OLED inky blacks, and there is defined contrast. Everything is crispy, and detailed, be it text, media, or the occasional game. Just a pleasure to use as a daily driver. I love the build and display, but the specs of this laptop are perhaps the biggest draw for me. The SOC design really delivers here. The GPU works well for what it is, and I suppose some may want more, but that is not what this really designed for. The CPU is powerful and efficient, and the 48GB of DDR5 RAM is a real-life advantage especially in this market. It is nice to have no concerns and be covered here, at purchase. The 512TB SSD is a bit of a miss, (understandable, sort of, given the market) but at least it can easily be upgraded, be it with new hardware later or with hardware you carry forward from a previous build or use. I think it is all a nice mix of performance, efficiency, cost, and upgradeability. This is all nice, but how does it translate into performance? TLDR, the hardware delivers. I could not really be happier. It easily handles my day to day, which is a blend of office, video, calls, messaging, content creation, content consumption, random AI tasks, and imaging work. Often all at the same time. Even my tab problem is…no problem. It even handles some light gaming rather well, despite that not being its purpose. Simply put, everything is fast, smooth, and responsive, generally, and especially for my workflow. It does this mostly quietly, but sound does get noticeable when you really push the system. It does also need to be noted that while ARM compatibility has greatly improved, if you need older or niche software, be sure to check to see that will be a concern. Further, ports are quite good. You get 2 x USB 4 Type-C, 1 X USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A, 1 HDMI 2.1, a SD Card Reader (really nice to see), and an Audio Combo Jack. I would have liked to see the USB-C split 1 per side for convenience’s sake, but that is personal thing. Regardless, I think most would be covered and happy here. I like the keyboard. Backlit. Good key travel. It is responsive, feels nice to type with, and I found it quick to get used to. The trackpad is mechanical, not haptic, but large and “good.” Nothing special, but also nothing you will notice. Battery life has been good for me. Of course this will depend on use case, but I think it should easily last the day for most people. I have no concerns going forward, and the charging speeds remove any battery anxiety for me. Ultimately, I think this is a fantastic laptop, and I really like it. It is a great size, while still portable, well built, and has a beautiful display. It’s well spec’d, while being efficient, but most importantly to me, it performs. Well. It is nearly perfect for me, with only a few minor things here and there I would prefer to change. On some level, I see this as the Windows equivalent to an Apple MacBook. Similar architecture, similar performance, with Windows. And more ports. And OLED. LOL. I think for all that you get, there is great value here. Just be sure about your use case and needs, both hardware and software, and ASUS, please give me this exact laptop in matte black.