Asus Zenbook S 16 review: Extremely thin and way too hot

IDG / Matthew Smith

IDG / Matthew Smith

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    </div></figure><p class="imageCredit">IDG / Matthew Smith</p></div>

The only thing I can say to mitigate this problem is that it doesn’t always happen. In many situations, when browsing the web or watching a movie, the laptop is rather cool. But let’s be real: a temperature of 130 degrees is not acceptable under any workload for a laptop sold to consumers.

We reached out to Asus about this and it are now aware of the temperature problem, having validated our results with its own hardware. Asus engineers are currently working on adjusting the thermal policy, but weren’t able to provide us with an ETA just yet. Since this laptop is already on sale, however, we decided to publish this review now so consumers are aware of this crucial caveat with the Zenbook S 16’s default settings. Although PCWorld doesn’t typically update reviews, this particular review warrants one, as we’d like to reflect a potentially monumental change once the new thermal settings land.

But heat aside, how does the Zenbook S 16 stack up? Let’s dig in.

Asus Zenbook S 16: Specs and features

The Zenbook’s most important feature is undoubtedly AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 365. It packs a 10-core CPU composed of four standard Zen 5 cores and six less power-hungry Zen 5c cores, a Radeon 880M integrated GPU with 12 compute units, and an integrated AI neural processing unit capable of performing up to 50 trillion operations per second.

• CPU: AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 2.0GHz
• Memory: 32GB LPDDR5X
• Graphics/GPU: AMD Radeon 880M (12 CUs)
• NPU: AMD XDNA NPU up to 50 TOPS
• Display: 16-inch OLED touchscreen 2880×1800 at up to 120Hz, 16:10 aspect ratio
• Storage: 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 solid state drive
• Webcam: 1080p webcam with Windows Hello support
• Connectivity: 2x USB-C 4.0 Gen 3 with DisplayPort Alternate Mode and Power Delivery, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1x HDMI 2.1, 1x 3.5mm combo audio, 1x SDcard reader
• Networking: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
• Biometrics: Windows Hello facial recognition 
• Battery capacity: 78 watt-hours
• Dimensions: 13.92 x 9.57 x .51 inches
• Weight: 3.31 pounds
• MSRP: $1,699.99

However, Asus doesn’t cut back elsewhere, as the laptop also features a 16-inch OLED display, 32 GB of memory, two USB 4.0 ports, Wi-Fi 7, and a terabyte of solid-state storage. Although not inexpensive at roughly $1,700, on paper it looks like decent value for money.

Asus Zenbook S 16: Design and build quality

The Asus Zenbook S 16 is one of several recent Asus laptops to use what the company calls a “ceraluminum” finish. It fuses ceramic to an aluminum surface to create a unique matte texture.

I like it, especially in the Scandinavian White finish of the Zenbook S 16 I received. I’ve criticized some Asus laptops for their dull and generic look, but the Zenbook S 16’s alluring finish helps it stand out from the crowd. Oddly, the white colorway is only available on the less expensive model I reviewed. Those with quicker Ryzen AI processors have a less ambitious gray colorway.

It’s not all good news when it comes to design, though. The ceraluminum coat applies to the lid, but not the interior, so the surface you’ll be touching most often looks and feels unremarkable. I also noticed a portion of the ceraluminum had worn away on the edge of the laptop, despite the fact that I haven’t dropped it or treated it roughly in any way, so that’s concerning.

Looks aside, the Zenbook S 16’s design focuses on pairing portability with performance. Despite its powerful chip and strong integrated graphics, the machine is only half an inch thick, and with thin bezels on all sides, it measures under 14 inches wide. It’s also light at about 3.3 pounds. This is close to as portable as it gets for a 16-inch machine, though a few outliers like LG’s Gram laptops, are noticeably lighter. 

Asus Zenbook S 16: Keyboard, trackpad

IDG / Matthew Smith

            <div class="lightbox-image-container foundry-lightbox"><div class="extendedBlock-wrapper block-coreImage undefined"><figure class="wp-block-image size-large enlarged-image"><img decoding="async" data-wp-bind--src="selectors.core.image.enlargedImgSrc" data-wp-style--object-fit="selectors.core.image.lightboxObjectFit" src="" alt="Asus Zenbook S 16 keyboard" class="wp-image-2423372" width="1200" height="800" loading="lazy" /></figure><p class="imageCredit">IDG / Matthew Smith</p></div>

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The Asus Zenbook S 16 has a spacious, center-aligned keyboard that lacks a numpad. I prefer this keyboard design over those that include a numpad, but your preference may vary depending on your needs. In any case, the keys are large across the entire keyboard surface, so it feels comfortable and intuitive. A keyboard backlight is standard and does the job, though it offers just a few brightness options.

Key feel is just ok. Individual keys have good travel, but the keyboard’s bottoming action is soft and quiet. That’s good news if you’re worried about disturbing a coworker, but I’d prefer a bit more tactile feedback. Even so, the keyboard is functional, and I was able to type at high speed without issues.

The laptop is graced with a huge touchpad that measures almost 6 inches wide and nearly four inches deep. Touchpads of similar size can be found on competitors like the Dell XPS 16 or Razer Blade 16, but those are more expensive laptops, so it’s great to see a large touchpad on an upper mid-range laptop. The touchpad’s surface was responsive, yet I didn’t have any issues with unintended inputs.

Asus Zenbook S 16: Display, audio