ASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606) Review — exquisitely premium

ASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606)

9

For a 16-inch laptop, the ASUS Zenbook S 16 is as thin and as light as they come. And also, with the Strix Point chip under the hood, it hides very formidable performance in its unassumingly slim design.

What's Good?

• Mindblowing attention to detail
• Ultra-thin, ultralight, yet ultra-practical
• Stunning ASUS Lumina OLED
• Surprising performance for a laptop this thin!
• Excellent battery life

What's Not?

• Limited key travel
• Could (probably?) be even faster

ASUS has always been a master of crafting elegant and powerful laptops, and the Zenbook S 16 is no exception. This sleek ultrabook is like a Zen garden for your desk, offering tranquility and productivity in equal measure. With its stunning OLED display, powerful AMD Ryzen AI processor, and a design that’s as smooth as a pebble in a stream, the Zenbook S 16 is a truly zen-sational laptop.

ASUS Zenbook S 16 — What’s Good?

Mindblowing attention to detail

As far as laptops go, the ASUS Zenbook S 16 is a work of art. Even details that usually warrant no more than a passing glance, are given meticulous attention. Just look at the cooling vents here. A total of 3522 CNC-machined holes precisely spaced out above the keyboard. But they don’t just look look amazing, they are also functional, improving air flow efficiency by 50%. The cherry on top is the ASUS monogram in chrome here, perfectly contrasting against the darker depth of the vents.

And that’s before we talk about the special Ceraluminum finish. ASUS essentially electrocuted aluminum in an electrolyte bath to create an oxide ceramic layer that’s more resilient than anodization, while also providing for a unique look and feel that only premium ASUS laptops have achieved thus far. The ASUS Zenbook S 16 comes in two colors — Zumaia Gray and Scandinavian White — the latter which you’re looking at here.

Ultra-thin, ultralight, yet ultra-practical

The ASUS Zenbook S 16 is one of the thinnest laptops you’ll ever find, coming in at just 11mm thin. And for a 16-incher, it’s also really light at just 1.5kg. And despite it being literally wafer-thin, ASUS still managed to find room for a full-sized SD card slot. Along with a full complement of I/O ports, of course. The Zenbook S 16 is well-equipped with ports, including two USB4 ports, two USB-A ports, an HDMI port, and a headphone jack.

Stunning ASUS Lumina OLED

The Zenbook S 16’s display is like a window to another world. Its 16-inch OLED panel touts its 3K resolution of 2880×1800, delivering stunning visuals that are so clear, you’ll feel like you’re inside the picture. The colors are vibrant and the blacks are deep, making it perfect for watching movies, playing games, or simply admiring the beauty of nature. Oh, and did I mention its 120Hz refresh rate? And that it supports both touch and stylus input, with an included stylus, no less?

Surprising performance for a laptop this thin!

Under the hood, the Zenbook S 16 is powered by a powerful AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor. Whether you’re editing videos, crunching numbers, or indulging in some casual gaming, the Zenbook S 16 can handle it all with ease. The laptop also comes with 32GB LPDDR5X RAM and 1TB PCIe 4.0 storage, ensuring smooth multitasking and a nippy, responsive user experience. Do note that the Standard (17W TDP) and Performance (28W TDP) modes do have some differences, although they didn’t yield any difference in PCMark 10.

On top of our usual benchmark suite — which it has clearly impressed in — we also put the ASUS Zenbook S 16 through its paces in gaming. And surprisingly enough, we are looking at close to 60FPS in Black Myth: Wukong. Cyberpunk 2077 saw framerates below 30FPS, but it’s at 2880 x 1800. Realistically, if you were planning on any sort of gaming, dropping the resolution down to 1920 x 1200 will surely yield playable frame rates. On that note… I really look forward to a Strix Point-based Ally. But I digress.

Excellent battery life

ASUS crammed a massive 78WHr battery into the svelte Zenbook S 16, giving it battery life like a marathon runner, that keeps going and going. It can easily last a full day of light to moderate use on a single charge. In our standardized benchmark, we saw over 13 hours, an absolutely respectable figure. However, heavy tasks like video editing or gaming will drain the battery faster, so you might need to plug it in for a quick recharge.

And speaking of recharging, the included 65W power brick is a perfect pairing. Utilizing GaN technology, it’s much smaller than ASUS’ usual bulky laptop chargers. I guess such a nice charger was needed to be worthy of the sheer beauty that is the ASUS Zenbook S 16. The charger also comes apart, with the plug coming off and the USB-C cable being detachable to make it all that much more portable.

ASUS Zenbook S 16 — What’s Not?

Limited key travel

One drawback of going as thin as the ASUS Zenbook S 16 is limited room for a keyboard. While ASUS made all efforts to make typing more comfortable by spacing out each key appropriately, key travel is unfortunately limited. It’s just physics. ASUS claims 1.1mm of travel here, and that it’s the longest in its class of laptops, but it’s still way shorter than the 1.4mm that ASUS usually offers with their thicker designs. And you will definitely feel it when you first start using this laptop. The silver lining is that you’ll quickly get used to it. On a brighter note, the massive glass trackpad is a joy to use, spanning 14954.85mm². The click depth also provides satisfying feedback, unlike some laptops that rely on haptics instead.

Could (probably?) be even faster

Once again, the pursuit of thinness resulted in the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 starved of its full potential. With a power draw capping off at just 33W — when AMD specifies the chip being capable of pulling up to 54W — ASUS made a conscious decision to reduce performance in exchange for cooler and quieter operation. I am not saying I am against that, as I am sure this is what buyers of these premium laptops will want. But as an enthusiast, I think ASUS should have left more additional performance on the table for users, considering that there’s a Full Fan Speed mode in MyASUS. Which is still shockingly quiet, by the way.

ASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606) Specifications

ASUS Zenbook S 16 — should you get this?

For a truly premium laptop that is unlike any other, this is quite likely your only option. ASUS has gone beyond mere aluminum and came up with an entirely new Ceraluminum material for its premium offerings, something which none of its peers can offer. Then there’s the question of the price. RM7,999 is quite a lot. But as we have established earlier, this is a laptop that’s has very little in terms of compromises. For a 16-inch laptop, the ASUS Zenbook S 16 is as thin and as light as they come. And also, with the Strix Point chip under the hood, it hides very formidable performance in its unassumingly slim design.

For more info about the ASUS Zenbook S 16: https://my.asus.click/ZenbookUM5606_pr

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