I swapped my MacBook Air with a Snapdragon X Elite Excessive laptop computer – this is how they in contrast

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Asus’ new Zenbook A16 is the sequel to final yr’s Zenbook A14, one of many thinnest, lightest, and longest-lasting laptops of 2025. The A16 picks up the place its youthful sibling left off, aiming for a similar skinny and lightweight construct however with key {hardware} upgrades that elevate it to a extra premium place. 

Additionally: This ultraportable Asus laptop computer is my favourite MacBook Air various (and it is higher in some methods)

Bodily, it is made with the identical textured, smudge-resistant ceraluminum, contains a sensible 3K OLED show, giant trackpad and ultrasleek construct. However below the hood is its secret weapon: the Snapdragon X2 Elite Excessive processor, Qualcomm’s second-gen high-end processor with a 5-GHz clock velocity, 192-bit reminiscence interface and 228GB/s bandwidth.

Final yr’s Zenbook A14 was so skinny and lightweight, it virtually did not really feel actual. The A16 trades in that boundary-pushing lightness for a extra highly effective set of {hardware} that Asus hopes will take purpose at one huge competitor: the MacBook Air. 

At 2.6 kilos, it is definitely light-weight for a 16-inch, making an announcement by coming in at only a hair lower than the MacBook Air M5 (which is 2.7 kilos), spectacular contemplating it is a whole inch greater. 

However I would not be so fast to peg the A16 as a carbon copy of the A14 that is “just bigger.” The smaller mannequin had an absolute marathon battery that lasted a number of days, whereas the A16 sacrifices a few of that longevity for energy. 

The Snapdragon X2 Elite Excessive is a powerhouse that produced some spectacular efficiency numbers in my testing, whereas proving it has what it takes for stable efficiency for on a regular basis duties and demanding workflows. However not and not using a huge trade-off. 

{Hardware} and value: A brand new course

The A16’s point of interest is the Snapdragon X2 Elite Excessive system-in-package (SiP) — Qualcomm’s highest-end processor in a client laptop computer, constructed on a 3nm chip course of with an ultra-wide reminiscence bandwidth of as much as 228 GB/s. The X2 Elite Excessive has six further CPU cores in comparison with the usual Snapdragon X2 Elite chip for a complete of 18 (12 prime cores and 6 efficiency cores).

Coupled with the usual 48GB of LPDDR5X 9600 reminiscence and normal 1TB SSD, the A16 contains a premium base {hardware} loadout that is much better positioned for demanding functions than its predecessor was. This opens it as much as workflows its aforementioned competitor, the MacBook Air, does effectively, akin to video and picture enhancing outdoors of the top-tier professional grade and powerful multitasking. 

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On the subject of gaming efficiency, the Qualcomm Adreno X2 GPU within the A16 performs significantly better than its predecessor, with improved ray tracing, and, based on Asus, 2.3 instances greater body charges for video games at an FHD decision with medium graphics settings. 

What this equates to, in my testing, is healthier baseline efficiency throughout the board for mid-range titles and a steeper drop-off in efficiency for extra demanding video games. The A14, by comparability, was not suited to something however the coziest of video games, and gaming on ARM can nonetheless be tough; Regardless of what Microsoft or Qualcomm could say, efficiency points associated to emulation are nonetheless a factor. 

In our benchmarking, the Snapdragon X2 Elite Excessive demonstrated spectacular efficiency, notably in multi-core scores, which handily surpassed the M5 within the 15-inch MacBook Air. Apple’s chip continues to be the king of single-core efficiency, however these scores place the X2 Elite Excessive as a severe competitor to high-end units with Intel’s Panther Lake collection and Apple’s M5 Professional.

Bodily construct: A give and take 

The show on the A16 seems to be implausible. It is a shiny, Lumina Professional 3K 16-inch WQXGA+ OLED with a 120Hz refresh fee and peak HDR brightness of 1100 nits. Not like the A14, it lastly options an edge-to-edge glass panel with out the plastic bezels, giving it a much more premium presence. It’s brilliant, however it’s very shiny — one thing to remember when you’ve got plenty of overhead lighting.

The A16 can even drive three exterior screens with the lid open, one other field Asus seemingly strove to test in its quest to defeat the MacBook Air, which is restricted to 2. It has the connectivity to again it up with a USB-A port, SD card slot, HDMI 2.1, and two Thunderbolt-4 USB-C ports.

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The keyboard and trackpad are good. Neither function excellent design parts, however each are satisfyingly responsive, comfy and effectively engineered. I’ll level out that the trackpad doesn’t go all the best way to the sting of the laptop computer, however has a small lip; a sensible design selection I want the Acer Swift 16 AI had utilized. 

Asus continues to emphasise the ingenuity of its proprietary ceraluminum materials with its shock and scratch-resistant properties. It additionally claims it is smudge-free, however in my expertise, that is principally true solely on the highest of the laptop computer’s clamshell. Not solely is the underside of the laptop computer not smudge-free, however the matte beige texture can be an absolute fingerprint magnet. 

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Equally, the hole, plasticky really feel across the keyboard and trackpad does not precisely exude premium sturdiness — particularly in comparison with rivals with extra substantial aluminum builds like Dell’s XPS 14 or the MacBook Air M5 (notably on the $2,000 worth level).   

Moreover, the “Zabriskie Beige” colorway follows the road’s impartial stone aesthetic, however I want Asus dedicated to a shade palette that is both just a little hotter or just a little extra silver, because it’s simply two clicks away from being the hue of the household desktop from the ’90s. 

Battery life: Outcomes could differ  

The Zenbook A14 had one of many longest-lasting batteries available on the market final yr, incomes a spot on our greatest listing for its longevity: 30 hours in video playback and virtually 20 when it got here to utilization. With the A16, nonetheless, issues are just a little bit totally different. Asus advertises 21 hours of video playback, even with the beefier 70Wh battery. This step down in longevity is a consequence of some various factors, however chief amongst them is the truth that there’s much more to energy: particularly the big, brilliant show and the processor. 

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In my preliminary testing of the A16, I discovered battery life to be center of the street. For typical utilization within the workplace working dozens of browser tabs, taking video calls, and importing and transferring recordsdata, it lasted the entire day, however with out a variety of room to spare. This variability continued as I saved utilizing it by way of the night, and it remained at 5% for over one other two hours.

On the subject of demanding duties like gaming, rendering video in Da Vinci Resolve and transferring giant recordsdata, I discovered battery life to be just a little extra sporadic. In my brief time with the Zenbook A16, I have never had time for an entire battery evaluation, however throughout periods the place I pushed it, I skilled noticeable drops in battery life adopted by sustained durations of a lot slower depletion. 

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This leads me to imagine that there nonetheless possibly some firmware enhancements to be made, particularly with this new processor. Current, subsequent BIOS updates additionally suggest ongoing optimization efforts. 

Because it stands now, the A16 has completely good battery life, but it surely’s essential to notice that it is a totally different beast than its 14-inch predecessor. I might characterize this laptop computer to one thing nearer to the Lenovo Yoga Professional 9i — a hybrid creator/skilled 16-inch with a banger OLED. It will fortunately final all day for the frequent suite of productiveness duties, however pushing the {hardware} for extra demanding duties is finest achieved whereas plugged in. 

ZDNET’s shopping for recommendation

Is the Zenbook A16 the Home windows model of the MacBook Air? Not fairly, but it surely’s a worthy competitor in its personal proper. Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X2 Elite Excessive chip is a powerhouse, not the breezy Snapdragon X chips with multi-day battery life present in final yr’s Zenbook A14. 

It is a horny, future-facing 16-inch with a strong processor and a beautiful OLED show, a full suite of connectivity and a novel aesthetic. But it surely’s additionally just a little experimental, with a brand new processor from Qualcomm that goes in a unique course from its earlier product. 

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However Asus is excellent at enhancing on product design, as this yr’s Zenbook Duo goes to indicate. The 2026 Duo not solely improved on final yr’s mannequin, it perfected it — displaying a formidable maturation of its unorthodox type issue that was so good, it earned one in all our Better of CES awards. 

With that in thoughts, it’s going to be fascinating to see how the A16 matches in with the 2026 refresh of the Zenbook A14, together with subsequent generations of this laptop computer and its powerhouse chip.