Pros | Cons |
+ Awesome Display | - Mediocre Audio |
+ Good battery life | - Fingerprint magnet |
+ Lightweight | |
ASUS Vivobook Pro 16X OLED
RM 6,499
Though I just reviewed a Vivobook last month, I woke up to ASUS sending me another Vivobook at my doorstep. This time I’m reviewing an ASUS Vivobook Pro 16X OLED and not gonna lie, the similarity in design is pretty uncanny to the Vivobook Pro 15 OLED, but will this outperform the other?
Design
ASUS is known to come up with innovative designs that are meant for professionals or those who prefer a sleeker look, and kid you not, ASUS never disappoints. The Vivobook 16X OLED comes in 2 colours - Meteor White and 0° Black, though the black is a personal favorite because it’s my favourite colour.
The unit I received came in the colour 0° Black, which has a mono-colour aluminium chassis, that is super sleek and classy if you plan to stay lowkey. On the top of the lid, there is another metal plate that has an engraving that says ASUS Vivobook. Though I am not a fan of it as it adds a ‘bump’ to the smooth surface, it does look pretty good in return. One thing worth mentioning is that the lid is a fingerprint magnet and it actually does take a bit of work to clean.
Weight-wise, it weighs 1.95kg, which is actually heavier than most laptops out there, but one thing to keep in mind is that it's a 16inch laptop packed with specs that are suited for content creation. Which is why, I personally feel that the extra weight is justified.
Display & Audio
This laptop comes with a 16-inch 4K OLED NanoEdge display with slim bezels giving this laptop a 86% screen-to-body resolution. Aside from the display, there is also a webcam at the top paired with a webcam cover to ensure maximum security.
As OLED laptops are prone to burn-ins, ASUS is one step ahead. To ensure that your laptop won’t die on you halfway, it ships with Windows Dark mode by default and automatically dims after 5 minutes of being idle.
Display-wise, this laptop has a 120Hz refresh rate making it perfect for occasional gaming if you want to. It also has a TUV certification for low blue light and flicker free for extra eye protection, to ensure our eyes stay safe even if we are to stare at the laptop for hours.
It also has a contrast ratio of 1,000,000:1 and covers 100% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut, which provides tip-top experience especially when you work in a creative team, where editing will be easier than ever because it will show all possible colours.
As for the audio, I am a little upset because it is actually pretty mediocre and lacks bass, but I'm sure it is sufficient for normal people who prefer listening to songs whilst on the job, or if you forget your headset and you need to edit on the go. This laptop does come with AI-Noise cancellation to cancel ambient noises for your meeting.
Keyboard & Touchpad
Like many ASUS laptops, it comes with a backlit keyboard and 3 levels to choose from, which is actually helpful for typing in the dark. I personally find the keyboard easy to type with as I have long slender fingers but my complaints would probably go to the very small arrow keys provided as the size makes it very easy to accidentally press the wrong key.
On to the design of the keyboard, this time the esc key colour is in a striking warning orange and the enter key has the same warning striped design just like the previous Vivobook I reviewed. The power button with integrated fingerprint sensor, now comes in a button.
Frankly, I am not a fan of bigger touchpads because of how my hands would always accidentally hit it while typing since I have longer fingers, but that is obviously a personal preference and not everyone is like me.
ASUS DialPad
I am not new to the ASUS Dial as the previous laptop I have reviewed also has one, but for this laptop, it comes in the touchpad which I actually prefer. This ASUS Dialpad is actually a part of the touchpad which makes it easier. You just have to slide on the corner of the touchpad to activate it. Personally, I enjoy this better because it’s less sensitive in comparison to the ASUS Dial.
The ASUS Dialpad is especially useful for people who edit A LOT, like for Adobe Premiere Pro you can use it to backtrack and fast forward or even to adjust track heights, while for Adobe Lightroom you can use it to edit almost all the settings from exposure to temperatures. Though it does take some time to get used to, once you do, it’s actually very useful. Apart from those, you can choose what features you want your ASUS DialPad to help you with on the ProArt Hub Software.
Ports
Port wise, I am yet again upset with the majority of the ports being on the right side of the laptop, but I guess it's a win for ambidextrous users. The right side of the laptop has a USB-Type A port, an HDMI 2.1 port, a USB-Type C port, and a microSD card reader. While it has 2 USB-Type A ports on the left.
I am a tad-bit disappointed with the amount of ports provided and the lack of ethernet port, but on the bright side this laptop supports Wi-Fi 6E, so you shouldn’t have to worry about slow connection throughout the day.
Performance
Now on to the specifications of this laptop, it comes packed with an AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX mobile processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX3050TI, along with 16 GB of DDR4 RaM, 512GB of storage, making this laptop perfect for editing and occasional gaming.
Aside from trying it to edit and play games, I could open 15 tabs at the same time without lagging or slowing down, which makes the SSD on this laptop very impressive for a lightweight laptop.
This laptop comes with ASUS IceCool Plus thermal technology, which is super helpful in dispersing the heat evenly to avoid overheating. You also have the choice to choose from 4 types of fan modes namely - Whisper Mode, Standard Mode, Performance Mode, and Full Speed Mode. I tried Full Speed Mode and the fastest fan can spin is 7000 RPM (Round Per Minute) which is pretty crazy, but it does ensure our laptop doesn't get too hot.
You will also get a 120W charger bundled up in the box. I started my day at 9:30 AM in the morning with a 100% battery and at around 3PM I still had 53% of battery left. I used the laptop to write scripts while listening to music and scroll through social media occasionally. I’m pretty sure this laptop could last you the whole day at work without the need to charge with.
MYASUS is another feature this laptop has and is particularly important when you need to transfer files, URLs as well as screen mirroring, screen extenders and making phone calls. This feature is compatible with both IOS and Android devices. I've personally tried it and it is super easy and fast, super perfect for people who're on the go!
Buy or no buy?
Upon purchasing this laptop, you will receive a complimentary backpack to fit this baby in. Personally, I think the price of RM6,499 is pretty worth it for the specifications it has and the performance it has to offer. Though it is slightly heavier than most laptops out there, it’s most certainly worth it.
If this laptop is not it for you, you can opt for the other AMD variant which is the M7600Q-EL2051TS that is powered by an AMD Ryzen 7 5800H processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050Ti GPU or if you are eyeing an Intel version, the Cool Silver variant comes with an Intel Core i5-11300H processor and NVIDIA GeForce RTX3050 GPU.
