ASUS Vivobook ASUS Vivobook S16 16" Copilot+ PC Laptop AMD Ryzen Review

The ASUS Vivobook S16 Copilot+ PC laptop offers a stunning 16-inch 3K OLED display and solid everyday performance at a competitive price under $1,300. It's a great pick for media lovers and general users, but its locked RAM and average graphics make it less ideal for heavy gaming or future upgrades.

If you're hunting for a 16-inch laptop with a killer screen and decent power for under $1,300, the ASUS Vivobook S16 is a solid contender. It's part of the new wave of Copilot+ PCs, packing AMD's Ryzen AI 7 350 processor and a discrete AMD Radeon 860M GPU. The specs you care about are a 16GB RAM, a 1TB SSD, and that gorgeous 2880x1800 OLED display running at 120Hz. It's surprisingly light for a 16-inch machine, clocking in at just 1.5kg. This is a laptop that's trying to straddle the line between a premium multimedia machine and a capable daily driver for work or school.

Performance-wise, this Vivobook sits comfortably in the middle of the pack for its class. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 CPU lands around the 70th percentile, meaning it's a solid performer for everyday tasks and even some light creative work. You won't be bottlenecked by it. The discrete Radeon 860M GPU, however, is a bit more average, ranking in the 58th percentile. It's fine for light gaming and basic video editing, but it's not going to compete with a dedicated gaming laptop. The real star is the screen, which is one of the best on the market. That 3K OLED panel with 120Hz refresh is stunning for watching movies or just browsing, and it's a standout feature that makes this laptop feel premium.

Prices for this Vivobook S16 are bouncing between $1,000 and $1,229 across different vendors. At the lower end of that range, it's a compelling value, especially for the OLED screen. If you can find it for around $1,000, it's a steal. At the higher end, closer to $1,229, you start competing with laptops that might offer better graphics or more upgradeable RAM. Keep an eye on Newegg and other retailers for the best deal.

Let's name some competitors. The Apple MacBook Pro 14-inch (M4) is a different beast entirely, with best-in-class performance and build quality, but it's also much more expensive and lacks a touchscreen. The ASUS ProArt PX13 is a more focused creator laptop with an RTX 4050 GPU, making it better for serious video editing, but it has a smaller 13-inch screen. The Lenovo Legion Pro 7i is a full-blown gaming laptop with much stronger graphics, but it's heavier and likely more expensive. The Microsoft Surface Laptop (Copilot+ PC) offers a similar AI-focused experience but typically in a more compact, premium design, often with less graphical power. The Vivobook S16's trade-off is clear: you get a huge, beautiful OLED screen and decent overall specs at a competitive price, but you sacrifice top-tier GPU performance and RAM upgradeability.

Skip this laptop if you're a hardcore gamer or a professional video editor who needs maximum GPU power. Also, if you know your work will require more than 16GB of RAM in the near future, the non-upgradeable memory is a deal-breaker. For those users, look at the Lenovo Legion Pro 7i for gaming or the ASUS ProArt PX13 for creative work. If you absolutely need a smaller, more compact laptop, the 16-inch footprint here might feel too large.

Should you buy this? If your priority is a breathtaking screen for media consumption, everyday productivity, and light creative tasks, and you want a large laptop that doesn't feel too heavy, the Vivobook S16 is a great choice, especially if you snag it for around $1,000. However, if you're a serious gamer, a heavy video editor, or someone who knows they'll need more RAM in a couple of years, you should skip this. The locked RAM and middling GPU are real limitations for those use cases. For the right person, though, this laptop feels like a lot of premium experience for not a lot of money.