The ASUS Vivobook series started as a budget-friendly laptop series that distinguish from the premium Zenbook series. ASUS has now expanded Vivobook to also cover the higher-end, and the Vivobook S series demonstrates this aspiration of a premium-looking slim and stylish laptop. Made largely of metal body, the 16-inch model (32GB RAM, 1TB SSD) retails at S$2099.
The Vivobook S 16 comes with the following impressive specs and features:
- AMD Ryzen 9 8945HS processor 4GHz (24MB Cache, up to 5.2 GHz, 8 cores, 16 Threads)
- AMD XDNA NPU up to 16TOPS
- AMD Radeon Graphics
- 16.0-inch, 3.2K (3200 x 2000) OLED 16:10 aspect ratio, 0.2ms response time, 120Hz refresh rate, 400nits, 600nits HDR peak brightness, 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, 1,000,000:1, VESA CERTIFIED Display HDR True Black 500, 1.07 billion colors, Glossy display, 70% less harmful blue light, TÜV Rheinland-certified, (Screen-to-body ratio)89%
- 32GB LPDDR5X on board
- 1TB M.2 NVMe™ PCIe® 4.0 SSD
- 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C with support for display / power delivery (data speed up to 5Gbps)
- 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A (data speed up to 5Gbps)
- 1x USB 4.0 Gen 3 Type-C with support for display / power delivery (data speed up to 40Gbps)
- 1x HDMI 2.1 TMDS
- 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack
- Micro SD card reader
- 75WHrs 4-cell Li-Ion battery
- Type-C 90W AC Adapter, Output 20V DC 4.5A 90W
- 1.5 kg
The keyboard comes with a separate number pad, its backlight supports RGB colour with 1-zone preset lighting pattern. The built-in camera is FHD resolution and supports Windows Hello for face recognition login.
The laptop feels really solid and slim 1.39cm. weighing 1.5kg. The 16-inch 3.2K 120Hz OLED display delivers great colour and textural clarity for work and for entertainment. I like that it comes with 2 USB Type-A ports and 2 USB Type-C, so I can plug quite a few devices without having to use extension hub. The HDMI port is also full-sized, and even the 3.5mm audio port is available. Speaker audio is loud and clear., designed by harman/kardon.
What do I not like about the Vivobook S 16? The biggest dislike is the keyboard. The keys are fine, they have good travel and responsive. I just could not get used to the layout. Due to the additional number pad at the right side, I have to position my hands more to the left, and I always press the wrong keys as I am so used to the arrow buttons at the bottom right. Also, while a large touchpad is very much appreciated, I find that my lower left thumb keeps resting on it, causing accidental mouse moves.
The other issue is that the glossy metal laptop body reflects grease from the fingers easily. After a while, you can see patches of sweat or skin oil all over the laptop.
Ultimately, the sub-brand is just a way to help consumers distinguish one product range from the other. I’m not sure if the current product line strategy works for ASUS, but kudos to the team for their strong product planning, though I believe it’s time they prune the lines as it has become somewhat confusing. For me, I do not really bother about the sub-brands, as I will study the specs and determine all aspects. Very often, the Vivobooks provide mid-range specs, saving the top-tier features to the Zenbooks, hence their prices are always a notch lower. Take this Vivobook S 16, when I looked at the Zenbook S 16 (UM5606), the latter comes with better audio quality, lighter body material, more AI features, smart privacy, adaptive lock. It is also S$500 more expensive, but at least the keyboard layout excludes the number pad.
Verdict
I thought the Vivobook S 16 was a well-built, well-designed product. The RGB backlight is an instant appeal to the gamer-wannabes. I would wish the keyboard is the standard layout. And I am also pampered by the extreme lightweight of the LG gram series. If you are a road warrior, you will value weight and battery life over everything else. Thanks to the build, I am confident of rough-handling the Vivobook S 16 (MIL-STD 810H military standard rated) and bringing it around. The retail package comes with a stylish laptop bag, great for holding the Vivobook S 16. Visit the ASUS website for more details on the product.
