Asus Zenbook A16 (2026) Evaluation: Savor the Energy, Ignore the Beige

So, what’s to not like? Nicely, early compatibility issues slowed the preliminary uptake of Snapdragon X, and the CPU’s built-in graphics efficiency turned out to be fairly horrible. And thus far, highly effective onboard AI options simply haven’t confirmed essential, as most AI workloads are nonetheless being carried out within the cloud. With the second-generation X2, Qualcomm got down to ship on the unique promise of quicker efficiency.

However what precisely does “quicker” imply? As with most claims within the PC computing house, it’s all in regards to the benchmarks. On the Zenbook A16, the exams I ran certainly showcased exemplary efficiency from the X2 Elite Excessive, in a number of the most generally used benchmarking instruments, specifically Geekbench 6 and Cinebench 2024. (I don’t have sufficient aggressive Cinebench 2026 outcomes to make vast comparisons but on that benchmark.)

The efficiency increase on Geekbench is especially placing, with the A16 scoring 50 to 100% quicker than competing programs from AMD and Intel. It’s even quicker than the Apple MacBook M4 Professional, the final Mac for which I’ve comparable benchmark scores. Nonetheless, that Mac did beat the Asus on the Cinebench benchmark, however not by a lot, and the Asus now stands solidly in second place in my testing archive.

Graphics efficiency is a lot better than in earlier generations of Snapdragon X chips, with body charges quadrupling on common, relying on the take a look at. That’s a dramatic and much-needed enchancment for the CPU, and whereas nobody will accuse the A16 of being a gaming rig, it does at the least make for a workable expertise with much less taxing video games and graphics-heavy workloads.

Beige Belies Efficiency

{Photograph}: Chris Null

I’m blissful sufficient with how the Snapdragon X2 Elite Excessive performs to log off on its efficiency claims, however there’s much more to the Zenbook A16 than its CPU.

Underneath the hood, the Snapdragon X2 Elite Excessive X2E94100 CPU is complemented by 48 GB of RAM and a 1-TB SSD. The 16-inch touchscreen presents a stable decision of 2880 x 1800 pixels, and it’s extremely shiny. A weight of two.9 kilos is spectacular (if not remarkable) for the 16-inch class, and at 0.65 inches (at its thickest), it has a svelte, fairly transportable carrying expertise. Asus’s Ceraluminum expertise (now with added magnesium) is used within the machine’s lid, base, and keyboard body. That helps preserve it skinny and light-weight, although when adjusted or touched, the display shimmied greater than I anticipated.