In the world of premium laptops, thin-and-light designs often come with compromises, especially in performance and battery life. However, the Asus Zenbook S 16, powered by AMD’s cutting-edge Ryzen AI 300 series, is making strides to redefine expectations in this category. Priced at approximately ₹1,55,000, the Zenbook S 16 brings powerful specs, a stunning OLED display, and a sleek build, positioning itself as a strong choice for creators, professionals, and tech enthusiasts who demand top performance without the bulk. Let’s dive deeper into how this laptop stacks up and whether it’s worth the investment.
Design and Build Quality: Sleek and Futuristic
The Asus Zenbook S 16 is a triumph of engineering, combining a robust 16-inch display with an ultra-thin 1.1 cm profile and a weight of just 1.5 kg. It uses a unique “Ceraluminum” finish on the lid, a material that blends aluminium with ceramic, giving the laptop a premium, matte finish that’s both durable and visually striking. This treatment also contributes to the laptop’s durability while keeping it lightweight, and Asus deserves commendation for its innovation in material science.
The laptop’s design is not only stylish but also functional. With over 3,500 CNC-machined cooling vents in a geometric grille design, the laptop’s thermal efficiency is exceptional, keeping the device cool without compromising performance. Asus’s dual-fan and ultra-slim vapour chamber system ensures that the laptop maintains optimal temperatures even under heavy loads, and during testing, we noted that the Zenbook S 16 remained comfortable to use without excessive heating on the keyboard or palm rest areas.
The build quality is complemented by excellent ergonomics. The Zenbook S 16 feels balanced in the hand, and the hinge allows for smooth opening and closing while providing a stable display angle, whether you’re using it on a desk or your lap. Asus has nailed the form factor, making this laptop highly portable without sacrificing screen real estate.
Display Performance: Vivid Colours and Crisp Detail
The Zenbook S 16 boasts a 3K OLED display with a resolution of 2880 x 1800 pixels and a 16:10 aspect ratio, delivering vivid colours and deep blacks. Our tests confirmed 100% DCI-P3 colour accuracy, making this an ideal screen for photo and video editing. Asus claims a peak brightness of 400 nits, though in real-world testing, the display maxed out at around 314 nits, which may be a drawback for those working in bright environments where reflections can be an issue.
Despite this, the colour accuracy and contrast are top-notch, and the OLED panel enhances visual clarity, making it a joy to watch videos, work on graphic design projects, or simply browse the web. Touch response is precise, and the display supports stylus input, adding to its versatility for creators.
AMD Ryzen AI 300 Platform: Performance That Impresses
At the core of the Zenbook S 16’s capabilities is the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX370 processor from the Ryzen AI 300 series. Featuring 12 cores and 24 threads, this processor is built on AMD’s Zen 5 architecture with a combination of four Zen 5 cores and eight Zen 5c cores. With a base clock speed of 2.0 GHz and a boost clock of up to 5.1 GHz, this CPU delivers consistently smooth and powerful performance.
One of the standout components of the Ryzen AI 300 series is the AMD XDNA 2.0 NPU, which is capable of delivering up to 50 TOPS (trillions of operations per second), making it a formidable contender in AI and machine learning workloads. This means the Zenbook S 16 can handle tasks like image generation, computer vision, and other on-device AI processes more efficiently, setting it apart from laptops running traditional x86 processors.
Graphics Performance: RDNA 3.5 Brings Gaming and AI Graphics to Life
The Zenbook S 16’s Radeon 890M integrated graphics, based on AMD’s RDNA 3.5 architecture, performs impressively for an integrated GPU. Testing it across various benchmarks, including real-world and synthetic gaming tests, the GPU achieved frame rates that approach entry-level dedicated graphics cards, with games like Fortnite and Apex Legends running smoothly at medium settings.
Achieving around 50 FPS at 1080p with medium settings in games is impressive for a thin and light laptop, making the Zenbook S 16 a viable option for casual gamers or creators working with graphics-intensive applications. The integrated graphics performance also complements on-device AI processing, a growing area of demand for machine learning developers and multimedia professionals.
Battery Life: Strong Endurance for Work and Play
A high-performance laptop often sacrifices battery life, but the Zenbook S 16 balances power and endurance admirably. With its 78Wh battery, the laptop lasts up to 11 hours and 33 minutes on a video playback test. This is competitive for a device of this size and performance capability, making it feasible for a full day of work or long flights without needing to recharge frequently.
This level of battery efficiency is particularly impressive when considering the laptop’s powerful hardware, and it highlights AMD’s advancements in balancing performance and power consumption with the Ryzen AI 300 series.
Connectivity: Comprehensive and Future-Ready
The Zenbook S 16 provides an extensive selection of connectivity options. Equipped with 2x USB 4.0 Gen 3 Type-C, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, HDMI 2.1, a 3.5mm audio jack, and an SD card reader, the laptop caters to a range of peripheral needs, from monitors to external drives and audio equipment. The presence of USB 4.0 enables fast data transfer speeds, making it ideal for creators who frequently work with large files.
Wireless connectivity includes Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5.2, ensuring stable and fast connections for streaming, video calls, and file transfers.
Verdict: A Worthy Investment for Power Users
The Asus Zenbook S 16 is an impressive laptop that checks almost all the boxes for users seeking a powerful, lightweight machine for both productivity and creative tasks. Its Ryzen AI 300 platform brings cutting-edge AI capabilities, strong integrated graphics, and a smooth user experience, allowing the laptop to handle demanding workloads without breaking a sweat. The thoughtful design, from the unique Ceraluminum finish to the efficient cooling system, only enhances its appeal.
Though the screen’s brightness could be improved, especially for outdoor use, and the 16-inch size may limit portability for some users, the Zenbook S 16 excels in all other areas. It’s not just a thin-and-light laptop; it’s a powerful tool for professionals and creators who need reliable, high-performance hardware.