ASUS Zenbook S 16 OLED Review: Everything you’d want on a 16-inch laptop
AI laptops are emerging at breakneck speeds, and one of the quickest brands to commit to the AI era is none other than ASUS. For this year’s Zenbook cycle, the Taiwan-based brand has put AI-readiness at the forefront, with the Zenbook S 16 OLED (UM5606) boasting AMD’s Ryzen AI processor at its core.
We were grateful to have the chance to get our hands on the Zenbook S 16 OLED. And, after using it for a little over a month, we can easily say it’s one of the better 16-inch laptops you can get right now.
Price and Specifications
If you’re thinking of getting the Zenbook S 16, just know it isn’t going to be cheap. These, after all, are rivals to Apple’s MacBook Pro line which demands ASUS to pull out all the stops in order to sway consumers over.
That being said, we can assure you that your RM7,999 investment will be money well spent in the long run. Large memory-storage configurations are commonplace in this era of AI laptops, and it’s no different here. You’ll get expansive 32GB of LPDDR5X RAM paired with a 1TB SSD.
Powering the laptop is AMD’s heralded Ryzen AI 9 HX370 processor with Radeon 890M integrated graphics, which we’ll get into in a moment. Here’s the rundown of our unit.
| Processor | AMD Ryzen 9 AI HX370 |
| GPU | AMD Radeom 890M |
| RAM/Storage | 32GB LPDDR5X, 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD |
| Display | 16″ ASUS Lumina OLED, 3K (2880×1800), 120Hz, 500nits (peak), Touch Screen, 100% DCI-P3, Pantone Validated, VESA Certified Display HDR True Black 500 |
| Battery | 78WHrs |
| Wi-FI and Bluetooth | Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be), Bluetooth 5.4 |
| Weight | 1.5kg |
| Ports | 1x USB 3.2 Type-A, 2x USB 4.0 Type-C, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x SD 4.0 card reader, 1x 3.5mm audio jack |
Ceraluminum scores perfect ace
Flip open the box to your Zenbook and you’re immediately greeted with the first star of the show – Ceraluminum. No, this isn’t some extraterrestrial mineral stumbled over by ASUS, nor does it have anything to do with Michael Cera.
According to ASUS, Ceraluminum is, in essence, aluminum that has undergone a ceramization process, transforming the aluminium into ‘high-tech ceramic.’ We’re not exactly sure what defines ‘high-tech ceramic,‘ but the end product on the Zenbook S 16 OLED is a lovely combination of ruggedness and elegance.
Adding to that are the exquisite colour choices of Zumaia Gray and Scandinavian White. The one you’re seeing here is the latter.
Ceraluminum aside, ASUS has made the unique choice of placing the cooling vents facing upwards on the chassis. These geometric grilles are located above the keyboard, right at the base of the display. I’d hate to burst your bubble if you were a silly boy like me who thought those were speakers. As it turns out, nope, cooling vents.
There’s also a massive trackpad that seems to have endless borders, which I adore. It also doubles as a brightness and volume slider when you run your fingers vertically on the right and left edges respectively.
Above all, I was mega impressed by how light this 16-inch offering is. It’s not often you can call a laptop of this size portable, but at approximately 1.5kg, it’s definitely something you can sling in your backpack while enduring an hour’s ride standing in the LRT. It helps that the power adapter isn’t one of those bulky rectangular types too.
ASUS Lumina is great, yet again
What’s not to love about ASUS’ Lumina OLED displays? They’ve concocted a proven formula that has become a staple across several of their models now, from the Zenbook S 13 OLED last year to the Vivobook S 14 OLED of this year.
It has all the qualifications to show for, including 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut and VESA Certified DisplayHDR for True Black 500. This all adds up to punchy, vibrant visuals perfect for colour-reliant tasks like photo and video editing, graphic design, or anything to do with creative multimedia.
*Ahem ahem* Of course, it’s also wonderful for movie bingeing and content streaming in all its 16-inch OLED glory (which was what I mainly used it for).
By the way, the Zenbook S 16 OLED keeps to a 16:10 aspect ratio that gives it more of a squarish display. It offers 3K resolution – more specifically, 2880×1800 – and has dynamic refresh rates up to 120Hz.
A bonus is that the displays are touch screen, and, by virtue of that is compatible with the ASUS Pen 2.0. It’s responsive, no doubt, but inefficient to use because the Zenbook lacks the 180-degree hinge needed for it to lay flat on the table.
Runs like a well-oiled machine
General Performance
Circling back to the Zenbook’s main centrepiece, the Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor is at the forefront of AMD’s push towards AI-centric laptops. It’s been getting raves of good reviews so far, but Intel’s Core Ultra and Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite processors are not to be overlooked.
The Zenbook is a Copilot laptop, meaning it comes with a dedicated Copilot key for instant access to Microsoft’s generative AI chatbot. We did have a go at it, albeit using the free, limited-period version. Here’s where we’ll need to give a full disclaimer: if you’re searching for benchmarks for these Ryzen AI processors, you’ll likely find more luck elsewhere.
My workloads generally do not require demanding software to begin with. I can vouch that it will run productivity tools and twenty over Chrome tabs simultaneously, but that’s what you would expect after pumping almost RM8,000 on a laptop anyway.
As for our brief Copilot experience, the chatbot does take some time to generate a response compared to a certain OpenAI counterpart. Even then, the answers seem a bit iffy and you’ll probably feel more secure through the good ol’ Google Search route.
Gaming Experience
Where most of my joy came from in terms of processing capability is through my gaming experience. The Zenbook performed flawlessly with low- to medium-spec games, and by these I’m referring to my trusty comfort games of Counter-Strike 2 and Road 96.
As for my experience with Counter Strike, I’ve not had the game run this smooth ever since they overhauled it from CS:GO to CS2 which made it unplayable on my dingy personal laptop. This provided a lag- and stutter-free walk down memory lane which I thoroughly indulged in.
As for Road 96, this isn’t a game that’s too demanding (if you’re unfamiliar with this title, it’s in similar style to Firewatch), but still needs the juice for some scenic renders. Overall, the game ran as smoothly as melted butter and had me completely immersed in the storyline, which means to say there weren’t any severe hindrances that took away from the experience.
Ports
In terms of functionality, rest assured you won’t be left stranded. The Zenbook, despite its paper-thin form factor, comes with a slew of I/O ports at the ready.
On the left edge, you’ll find two USB Type-C 4.0 ports, one HDMI 2.1 port, and a 3.5mm audio jack. On the right, there’s a single USB Type-A port and an SD 4.0 card reader.
Batteries that go on, and on, and on…
To top it all off, the Zenbook has the legs to last through an entire workday. At least for me, battery life was never an issue despite a full day of nomadic working. I never found myself stranded and desperate for a plug; on the contrary, I was very much confident with the 78Wh battery they’ve somehow fit in the chassis.
To give you some numbers, I consistently managed to squeeze out a minimum of 9 hours in Balanced Mode before batteries dropped to the 10% red zone. Just to clarify further, there was no downtime or off-screen time in between, as I made it a point to have at least one YouTube video running in the background at all times. Safe to say, you can expect at least 9 hours of screen time on the Zenbook, provided your usage is similar to mine.
Verdict: Pretty darn good
All things considered, ASUS’ latest Zenbook S 16 is an exquisite machine. Not only in terms of its power, but also on the aesthetic front with its dapper new Ceraluminum overalls. In short: that’s AMD’s renowed Ryzen AI chip, a gorgeous OLED display, and reliable all-day battery life, all rolled into a snazzy new outfit.
At RM7,999, we won’t blame you if you’re hesitant to cash in on the Zenbook. However, if you do decide to take the plunge, we’re convinced you’ll be a proud owner for years to come.
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