Asus Vivobook S16 OLED 2024 review: Large lightweight laptop with lots to love

The Meteor Lake magic has brought on tons of surprises across the laptop space. Not only has it enabled very powerful ultraportables but even larger machines like the Vivobook S16 I am reviewing here have benefitted a lot in terms of efficiency and heat. My Asus S16 OLED (2024) ships with the top-of-the-line Core Ultra 9 185H processor paired with 16GB of soldered memory and a 1TB Gen 4 SSD.

Asus Vivobook S16 OLED (2024) Review: Specifications

• Dimensions, Weight: 13.92 x 9.72 x 0.55-inches (W x D x H), 1.5 kg
• Display: 16″ 3.2K OLED panel, 120Hz refresh rate, 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, 400 nits brightness
• Keyboard: Full-size chiclet backlit RGB keyboard, 1.5mm travel
• Security: Windows Hello-certified face login, TPM 2.0
• Processor: Intel “Meteor Lake” Core Ultra 9 185H (Intel 4 process)
  • 16C/22T, 5.1 GHz max turbo frequency, 45W base power
• Graphics: Intel Arc (8 Xe-cores)
• RAM: 16GB LPDDR5X RAM (non-upgradable)
• Storage: 1TB SSD (M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0)
• Audio: Down-firing stereo speaker system
• Battery: 75 Watt-hours with 90W charging
• Webcam: FHD (1080p) camera with privacy shutter
• I/O Ports: 2x Thunderbolt 4 (Power Delivery, DisplayPort), 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 1x HDMI 2.1 TMDS, 1x MicroSD reader, 1x 3.5mm combo audio jack
• Price in Nepal: NPR 198,990 (16GB RAM, 1TB SSD)

Asus Vivobook S16 OLED (2024) Review:

Design and Build

• 13.92 x 9.72 x 0.55-inches (W x D x H)
• 1.51 kg, Aluminum build material

Asus has revamped the 'S' series to look cleaner, and more sophisticated this time around. The new S16 features an all-metal body with a subtle logo on the right and a RGB backlight for the keyboard. Besides the minimal design and overall aesthetic, the thing that really drew me was its dimensions. It's about as wide and tall as a Macbook Pro 16 but weighs as little as an Air 15. So, what you're getting with this Vivobook is a very portable 16-inch notebook that's perfect for everyday carry for work or college. Besides the M2 Macbook Air 15, there aren't many choices that offer a similar package right now, so the Vivobook S16 might seem very appealing for the right person - especially if you take a look at the display.

Display

• 16" glossy 3.2K OLED display
• 120Hz refresh rate, 100% DCI P3 color gamut
• 400 nits brightness, VESA CERTIFIED Display HDR True Black 600, TÜV Rheinland "Low Blue Light" certified

Performance

• Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU (45W TDP)
• Intel Arc graphics (Integrated)
• 16GB LPDDR5X RAM, 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD

Another strong suit of the Vivobook S16 (2024) is its raw horsepower. The variant that's launched in Nepal ships with the flagship Core Ultra 9 185H processor. For refreshers, that's the new Meteor Lake chip based on a chiplet design and more efficient Intel 4 architecture. There isn't a massive jump when it comes to CPU performance (just the opposite in some cases) but the efficiency and graphic gains are on another level. Running a couple of popular benchmarks, you can see that with the Vivobook S16 (2024), you are getting a plenty powerful machine in a pretty portable package.

  Everyday usage feels snappy and responsive and you aren't really going to push the CPU to its limit by opening a few applications here and there. For most folks, it's going to be smooth sailing browsing through Word documents and Excel sheets, immersing in movies, and editing thumbnails in Photoshop. You can even dabble in a bit of casual gaming and video editing but keep your expectations in check there as the Vivobook doesn't have a discrete GPU.

Gaming and Productivity

When it comes to gaming, Forza Horizon 5 is playable on High settings (~40-45 fps) but dialing down the graphics will help you hit the 60 fps mark. Counter-Strike 2 has good average fps and 1% low values while Valorant, like always, runs without a hitch.

The laptop stays quiet in day-to-day operations but you'll hear the fans ramp up when running applications like Premiere or loading a game. You'll also feel a bit of a warm sensation while the laptop is charging or when under full load (like in a benchmark) but other than that, there's no issue of overheating. On the inside, the CPU does rise close to the 100 degrees Celsius mark in some cases, but the dual fans and vents do a good job of not letting things get out of control. Photoshop runs very well without any noticeable lag or stutter while you could do away with editing videos on Premiere as well. Working with a couple of 4k footages, I had no trouble seeking through the timeline with the preview on 'Full' but adding a couple of effects, layers, and graphic templates slowed the Vivobook down like expected. Exporting 10 minutes of unedited 4k footage at its native resolution and 25 bitrate took 5 minutes and 30 seconds. That's all to say that the Vivobook can probably handle your editing needs for the most part if you manage your expectations right.   In terms of memory, you are getting 16GB of fast RAM (7467 MT/s) and a 1 terabyte Gen 4 SSD with a pretty good read (~5000 MB/s) and write speeds (~3500 MB/s). Being an ultrabook, almost everything is soldered down and there's almost no room for upgrades.

Battery Life and Ports

I must say that I am pretty on the fence with the battery life here. Asus claims up to 16 hours of continuous playback and I too was expecting a full workday on a single charge. But, on the 'Balanced' battery setting and 50% brightness, I was getting around 5.5 hours to 6 hours of screen time on average. That's not a bad record to set but other Meteor Lake laptops like the Swift Go OLED have managed some extra hours (14" 90Hz OLED, Core Ultra 7, 65Wh battery). My typical workday consists of a lot of Edge tabs, some Photoshop in the background, and Spotify. You can expect better battery life if heavier applications like Photoshop are taken out of the equation and you don't use the display at 120Hz all the time like I did.

As for the ports, you get two Thunderbolt 4s on the left for charging, display output, and data transfers while the right side houses two USB-3 type A ports, and an HDMI. It'd have been such a blessing to get a full-sized card reader as it's a 16-inch laptop after all, but you'll have to make do with a micro SD slot here.

Keyboard and Trackpad

• Full-size backlit chiclet keyboard (1.7mm travel)
• Large trackpad with Glass-like surface

Webcam and Audio

• FHD (1080p) camera with privacy shutter
• Built-in array microphone

Asus Vivobook S16 OLED (2024) Review: Conclusion

To put this short review into a few words: the Asus Vivobook S16 OLED for 2024 is an appealing 16-inch ultrabook for anyone looking for a large-screen portable machine for entertainment, work, and productivity. It is light enough for everyday carry, has an excellent display, a powerful processor, and decent backup with good enough I/O. So, if you were looking for a Macbook Air 15 alternative for around the 2 lakh price point, this Vivobook S16 OLED is worth checking out!

Asus Vivobook S16 OLED (2024) Review: Pros and Cons

Pros:

• Lightweight premium design
• Gorgeous 120Hz OLED
• Powerful Core Ultra 9 processor
• Capable Arc graphics
• Nice keyboard and lots of ports

Cons:

• Average battery life
• The trackpad could be better