Like it or not, the Copilot+ PC era is here, bringing a wave of exciting new Windows laptops. The ASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606) caught my eye with its stylish looks and impressive specs. Packing AMD's latest Ryzen AI processors, a crisp OLED screen, and promising all-day battery life, it's certainly intriguing and not just on paper. But the big question is: do all these make your life better, or is this laptop just another flashy and expensive gadget? To find out, I've used the Zenbook S 16 for everything, from work to endless benchmarks and watching my favorite shows. If you're curious whether the Zenbook S 16 is worth your time and money, stick around and read my review:

ASUS Zenbook S 16: Who is it good for?

This laptop is an excellent choice for:

• People who want a thin and light laptop with a beautiful design
• Users interested in excellent autonomy and power efficiency
• Those who want the full Windows 11 experience without app compatibility issues
• Users looking for a laptop that’s well prepared for an AI-oriented future

Pros and cons

There are many positives about the ASUS Zenbook S 16:

• It’s elegant, slim, and light
• Top-notch performance, including for AI workloads
• Beautiful, glossy OLED display with true blacks
• Excellent touchpad with multi-touch gestures
• Great battery life for an x86 laptop
• Loud and punchy speakers
• No software compatibility issues like on ARM-based laptops

As for downsides:

• The display’s brightness could be higher
• The lack of an anti-reflective coating forces you to use it mostly indoors
• The higher-end configurations can get very expensive

Verdict

The ASUS Zenbook S 16 (2024) is a good-looking ultrabook that is quiet during everyday operation, energy efficient and offers balanced performance for most tasks. Among its strengths are the beautiful design, vibrant OLED display, excellent touchpad, and punchy speakers. If you're into all the AI buzz that Microsoft is pushing, this Zenbook's got the muscle for it. It can handle Copilot and other AI features better than any other. The only catch is that Windows 11 isn't quite there yet with all its AI tricks. Luckily, things will change in the coming months.

The ASUS Zenbook S 16 is a well-rounded, future-proof ultrabook. It's a great choice for people who prioritize a blend of style, portability, and everyday performance, with the bonus of being ready for the AI revolution that has yet to come.

Unboxing the ASUS Zenbook S 16 (2024)

When you see the cardboard box that holds the ASUS Zenbook S 16, you may assume you are about to experience a rather boring unboxing experience. All you see is some printed text, a new A logo that reminds me of Star Trek, and a sticker with the product number, serial number, and details about the specific laptop you just bought.

The packaging for ASUS Zenbook S 16 (2024) is straightforward

However, you find two smaller boxes when you open the big box. The more boring of the two holds the laptop’s 65W USB-Type C power adapter. The other box looks much better and has the same color as the ASUS Zenbook S 16 (2024) version you’ve bought.

The power adapter is found in a separate box

The version I received for testing is the Scandinavian White one. When you open this second box, you immediately see the laptop.

You finally get to see the laptop

Under the ASUS Zenbook S 16, you’ll find another smaller box, which reveals more details about the Ceraluminum material used for the chassis of this laptop, and another holding the ASUS Pen 2.0, which is available only on the versions equipped with a touchscreen. For more about the materials used for this laptop and the different configurations available, check out the next section of this review.

ASUS Zenbook S 16 can come with the ASUS Pen 2.0

Returning to the unboxing experience, you find several items accompanying your laptop when you unpack everything. These include a charging cable for the ASUS Pen 2.0, the laptop's user guide, a warranty card, the pen's user guide, and various informational leaflets. Depending on your location and the store where you purchase the laptop, ASUS may also include a USB-A to RJ45 gigabit Ethernet adapter and a protective travel sleeve.

The leaflets and accessories found inside the box

As you can see from my pictures, the unboxing experience for the ASUS Zenbook S 16 (2024) laptop is surprisingly pleasant. Depending on the offers active at the time of purchase, ASUS may offer a generous bundle of accessories.

Design and hardware specifications

As its name implies, the ASUS Zenbook S 16 is a super thin 16-inch laptop with a chassis made from what ASUS calls Ceraluminum. It’s a fancy way of saying that the company immersed a sheet of aluminum in hot water and bonded a ceramic component with the metal, producing a speckled finish that somewhat resembles ceramic materials. This substance has only been applied on the back of the display, and it aims to deliver an elegant aesthetic with the added benefit of increased scratch resistance. ASUS Zenbook S 16 (model number UM5606) is available in two colors named Scandinavian White (left) and Zumaia Gray (right).

The color versions for the ASUS Zenbook S 16

The laptop is super thin, having a size of just 35.36 x 24.30 x 1.19 ~ 1.29 cm or 13.92 x 9.57 x 0.47 ~ 0.51 inches, and weighing just 1.50 kg or 3.31 lbs. The thinnest 1.19 cm/0.47 inches area of the laptop is found where you open the lid to reveal the display. As you can see in the picture below, on the back of the display, there’s the ASUS Zenbook brand name and the A logo, discreetly printed in colors matching the lid. It looks sleek if you ask me. 🙂

The lid looks great, don't you think?

As soon as you open the lid, you see the beautiful OLED display. The ASUS Zenbook S 16 has a glossy 16-inch display with a maximum resolution of 2880 x 1800 pixels and a refresh rate of up to 120 Hz. The peak brightness is 500 nits, a tad lower than competitors in its price range. However, it does support HDR, and it has a DisplayHDR 500 True Black certification, which confirms its maximum brightness of 500 nits and the clear blacks you enjoy while using it. If you still aren’t convinced by the quality of this display, ASUS also brags about it being Pantone Validated, which confirms that it complies with the color standards used by the Pantone color matching system.

Another important aspect of the display is that it comes in both touch and non-touch versions. I received for testing the Zenbook S 16 version with a touchscreen that can be used both with your fingers and a digital pen.

ASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606) can have a touchscreen

This laptop features a backlit chiclet keyboard with a 1.1mm key travel and a large precision touchpad positioned exactly in the middle. Above the keyboard, you find the air vents and the A logo on the top right.

When examining the keyboard closely, you notice the Copilot key added by Microsoft as a standard requirement for Copilot+ PC devices, as well as the AMD stickers promoting the AI capabilities of this laptop and its efficient AMD Radeon graphics chip. Unlike other recent laptops from ASUS, this one has a keyboard that doesn't feature RGB lighting or a number pad.

The keyboard features the Copilot key

On the left side of the ASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606), you find one HDMI version 2.1 port, two USB 4.0 Gen 3 Type-C ports with support for Power Delivery, and a 3.5mm audio jack.

The ports on the left side of the laptop

TIP: If you are unfamiliar with the different USB versions and connectors, I recommend reading this article on the types of USB, speeds, ports & connectors.

On the right side of the laptop, there is a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, an SD card reader, a battery charge indicator, and a microphone. The selection of ports is pretty good for a thin and lightweight laptop.

ASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606) features an SD card reader

On the bottom of the Zenbook S 16, you have air vents for cooling and two speaker areas on the left and right margins, each holding three audio speakers, leading to a total of six. The audio system on this laptop supports Dolby Atmos and is tuned by Harman Kardon.

The bottom of the laptop features the speakers and the cooling vents

The lid doesn’t open fully, so you can't use the laptop placed horizontally on a desk but at an angle, as shown in the picture below. This may be a downside for artists interested in using the touchscreen version with ASUS Pen 2.0.

You can't open the ASUS Zenbook S 16 to 180 degrees

The ASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606) laptop can be equipped with powerful hardware. You can get it with an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor (like I did), which has twelve cores, 24 execution threads, and a base frequency of 2 GHz. The other option is the slightly less powerful AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 processor, with ten cores and twenty execution threads. The first processor has a Radeon 890M graphics chip, while the second includes a Radeon 880M. Both of them, however, feature an AMD XDNA neural processor that can deliver 50 Tera Operations Per Second (TOPS) for artificial intelligence tasks. In comparison, similar Windows 11 Copilot+ PC devices with Qualcomm processors deliver 45 TOPS.

ASUS Zenbook S 16 is powered by AMD Ryzen 9 AI processors

The laptop can be equipped with 24 GB or 32 GB of LPDDR5X memory made by Samsung. The review unit I received had 32 GB of RAM working at 7500 MHz. The storage is also generous, starting at 1 TB and going up to 2 TB. The laptop I’m testing has a Micron 2400 MTFDKBA1T0QFM PCI Express 4.0 x4 NVMe SSD with a maximum speed of up to 4,500 MB/s for data reading operations and 3,600 MB/s for writing operations.

Wireless and Bluetooth connectivity are ensured by a MediaTek MT7925 network card, which offers Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 support.

Wi-Fi 7 connectivity is ensured by MediaTek

Packing a hefty 78 Watt-hour, 4-cell lithium-ion battery, this laptop promises up to 18 hours of use on a single charge. But that's not all - ASUS has also thrown in fast charging capabilities. If you need a quick boost, you should be able to juice up your Zenbook S 16 from 1% to 60% in just 49 minutes.

A nifty feature of the ASUS Zenbook S 16 is that it includes a Microsoft Pluton security processor. It works behind the scenes to keep your credentials, identities, personal data, and encryption keys safe and sound.

For those who demand durability, ASUS proudly points out that this laptop meets the MIL-STD 810H military standard for reliability and durability. Therefore, if you're working from home or braving the great outdoors, the Zenbook S 16 should withstand the challenge.

These are the key details about the design and hardware of the ASUS Zenbook S 16. As you can see, it’s clear that we’re dealing with a premium ultraportable laptop, which should deliver top-notch performance and a smooth user experience.

If you want even more technical information, I recommend visiting the product page of the ASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606) laptop. And remember, while specs are important, they don't tell the whole story. Continue reading this review to learn about the user experience and real-life performance of the ASUS Zenbook S 16 (2024).

Using the ASUS Zenbook S 16 (2024)

As soon as you boot this laptop, you’ll appreciate the 16-inch display, which has a resolution of 2880 x 1800 pixels. Its 16:10 aspect ratio is excellent for multitasking. You have enough screen space for writing documents and presentations while doing research on the web, and you can also snap up to four windows side by side.

The display has 16:10 aspect ratio, excellent for multitasking

The screen on the ASUS Zenbook S 16 is a bit of a mixed bag. Let's share the good stuff first: the OLED display looks great. The colors are vivid, the blacks are deep, and the image looks nice and sharp. If you get the touchscreen version, the touch experience is fluid and responsive, allowing you to be productive. The 120 Hz refresh rate is another plus, making your experience feel snappy.

As with many other things in life, the display on this laptop is not perfect. The glossy screen is a pain in bright light: the lack of an anti-reflective coating means lots of glare if you're near a window or using the laptop outdoors. This could annoy people like designers or photographers who need to see colors accurately. Also, while the screen brightness is okay (400 nits normally, up to 500 with HDR), other laptops in this range can get brighter. It's fine for most situations, but it might struggle in bright spaces.

The display of the ASUS Zenbook S 16 (2024) is great for watching movies in a dim room and doing your work inside the office, but it might frustrate you when trying to work outside on a sunny day. Overall, it's a good screen with a few quirks to keep in mind.

Watching movies on the ASUS Zenbook S 16 is a great experience

The Zenbook S 16 surprised me with its audio quality. It'll not replace your fancy home speakers, but it's pretty awesome for a laptop. The six-speaker setup cranks out a loud, punchy sound with bass you can feel. It's been ages since I've enjoyed listening to music on a laptop, but this Zenbook had me jamming to my favorite tracks from Dave Gahan, Nick Cave, and Brian Ferry. Even though the sound squeezes through narrow side cuts on the bottom of the laptop, the ASUS Zenbook S 16 offers one of the best laptop audio experiences I had.

The speakers are surprisingly punchy

The webcam setup is standard - it records video in 1080p at 30fps and is placed above the screen, between two microphones. It does a good job of recording video in good lighting, but don't expect the polished videos you'd get from Qualcomm-powered laptops. There's a slight lag when you hit Record in the Camera app, which can be annoying. And another bummer: there is no physical cover or on/off switch for privacy-conscious folks.

As for Windows Hello facial recognition, it's there, but it's not exactly eagle-eyed. As a glasses-wearer, it needed a fair bit of training before it could consistently recognize me. It gets there eventually but expect some initial frustration.

The webcam records videos in 1080p and 30 fps

The ASUS Pen 2.0 adds a nice touch to the Zenbook S 16 experience, as long as you're okay with the screen's fixed position. The stylus is a pleasure to use - smooth, precise, and it comes with different tip sizes for extra finesse in your drawings. Setting it up is a breeze. The pen pairs automatically with the laptop, and Windows 11 plays nicely with it, letting you tweak how it works to suit your style. The function button on the pen is handy too. With a click, you can snap a screenshot, flip to the next slide in your presentation, scribble notes in OneNote, or launch Microsoft Whiteboard. Sure, the screen doesn't lay flat like the one on a tablet, but if you're into sketching, note-taking or prefer a pen for some tasks, it's a great addition to your tech toolkit. It's not trying to turn your laptop into a full-blown drawing tablet, but it gives you that extra bit of flexibility when needed. The only downside is that you don’t have a place to attach it to the laptop.

Using the ASUS Pen 2.0 is a pleasure

The pen is charged using a short USB Type C cable that’s bundled with it, and a full charge is performed in approximately 30 minutes. ASUS promises an autonomy of roughly 140 hours of use on a single charge.

The Zenbook S 16 (2024) touchpad is a standout feature. It's big, solid, and matches the screen's aspect ratio, which feels right. The glass surface is smooth as butter, and it’s a joy to use it. The touchpad impressed me with how responsive and precise it is. Multi-touch gestures work like a charm, making navigation a breeze. But here's a neat trick: swipe along the right edge to adjust screen brightness and the left edge to control volume. It's one of those small touches you don't realize you need until you have it. Overall, the touchpad is superior to the ones you usually find on laptops. It's not just functional - it makes using the Zenbook S 16 more enjoyable.

The touchpad on the ASUS Zenbook S 16 (2024) is brilliant

The keyboard on the Zenbook S 16 (2024) keeps things simple and sleek. There's no numpad, which might annoy some people, but I'm all for it. It allows for bigger keys with more breathing room between them - a win in my book. It's a membrane keyboard with 1.1 mm key travel. I've used better laptop keyboards, but this one's no slouch. It feels snappy and comfortable enough for long typing sessions. However, the real star of the show is the backlighting. ASUS used white LEDs, which can be a recipe for disaster on white keys. But somehow, they've nailed it here. The keys light up brightly, making it easy to see the keyboard whether you're playing a game till midnight or working in broad daylight. While it might not win any "best laptop keyboard" awards, it's a solid performer that gets the job done with a bit of style.

The keyboard is very well lit

If you're not pushing the ASUS Zenbook S 16 too hard, you'll love its quietness. The fans are mostly silent, only spinning up when you're doing something demanding, like running a benchmark or editing a video. As for heat, this laptop keeps its cool well. Even when running demanding tasks, the hottest spot I found was just above the keyboard, hitting 42.3°C (108.14°F). That's warm but not "ouch!" territory.

This is one of the most silent and comfortable Windows laptops I've used for normal computing tasks. And it's all thanks to ASUS's vapor-chamber cooling system and the efficient AMD hardware powering it.

ASUS Zenbook S 16 (2024) keeps its cool even under load

ASUS Zenbook S 16 packs Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4 connectivity. It’s great to see advancements in this area, especially considering that Wi-Fi 7 routers have been available for some time now. While this is a net positive, my brief testing revealed that the MediaTek network card isn’t as fast as the Qualcomm ones found on ARM-based laptops with Windows 11. Hopefully, Wi-Fi performance will improve in future driver updates.

The Wi-Fi 7 connectivity works well but it could be faster

So far, so good: While not perfect, my experience using the ASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606) has been mostly positive, with many things that impressed me. Next, let’s see how things stand on the software side:

The software experience on the ASUS Zenbook S 16

ASUS Zenbook S 16 (2024) can come with Windows 11 Home or Pro preinstalled. The unit I’m reviewing had the Pro edition, version 24H2, which Microsoft hasn’t finalized yet. This is because ASUS, Microsoft, and AMD wanted this laptop and similar devices to have access to some of the AI goodies built into this version of Windows. While their motivation is positive, users won’t get the best software experience until version 24H2 is finalized later this year and released as a major Windows 11 update for everyone.

ASUS Zenbook S 16 (2024) comes with Windows 11 24H2

Depending on where you’re buying this laptop and the offers available, you may also get a 1-month trial of Microsoft 365 already preinstalled or a 1-year subscription. The company may also offer a Microsoft Office Home & Student 2021 license in various markets, during periods like the Back to School season. Alongside Office, you also get a few other apps that help you personalize your laptop, its hardware, and the way it works:

• Dolby Access - helps you tweak the Dolby audio and video settings. I found its functionality rather limited.
• GlideX - you can use the app to connect your smartphone to your laptop as a secondary display, transfer files between the two devices, take calls, etc. It is a clone of Phone Link, and most people should uninstall it.
• MyASUS - this app is genuinely useful because it allows you to register your laptop with ASUS, manage your warranty, get access to support options, and configure many aspects of how this laptop works. For example, you can use the app to configure how the battery is charged, set how the fans work, enable a dynamic refresh rate, or turn on features that protect the OLED display and minimize burn-in.

The MyASUS app is very useful

The ASUS Zenbook S 16 comes with Windows 11 version 24H2 preinstalled, but it's worth noting that this version isn't finalized yet. Microsoft's still tweaking features and squashing bugs. Despite this, the overall experience is pretty good, and slim in terms of preinstalled bloatware. On the software side, things should get even better towards the end of 2024 when this Windows version gets its final polish. For now, the AI features aren't quite living up to Microsoft's big promises for their Copilot+ PC devices, as they aren't ready for prime time, at least not on this laptop.

The Copilot+ PC experience

The Zenbook S 16 (2024) is a powerhouse that meets and exceeds the requirements for a Copilot+ PC, despite ASUS not marketing this laptop as such. Unfortunately, it curiously lacks some of the exclusive features promised by Microsoft. While you won't find Windows Studio Effects in Quick Settings or Cocreator in Paint, you do get access to Image Creator in Paint and Live captions. This peculiar feature disparity suggests Microsoft may be temporarily favoring Qualcomm devices. Still, the situation will likely improve once Windows 11 version 24H2 is finalized later this year.

Windows Studio Effects is missing from Quick Settings

Microsoft's AI-powered experiences in Windows 11 feel lackluster, especially considering this laptop's impressive hardware capabilities. For example, the Copilot app has been transformed into a web app powered by the Microsoft Edge browser, losing its tight integration with Windows 11. Gone are the days when you could use it to change Windows 11 settings or interact with apps. While it's undoubtedly smarter than its predecessor in the diversity of tasks it can perform, it paradoxically does less in some ways, no longer feeling like an app built into Windows 11.

Copilot works great on the ASUS Zenbook S 16 (2024)

ASUS has also bundled its AI-powered app, called StoryCube. It can be used to scan your Pictures folder and use artificial intelligence to create albums with memories from your trips and other exciting events. However, the app isn’t compatible with OneDrive’s personal cloud storage, which I use to back up all my files. Unfortunately, StoryCube doesn't offer much beyond the capabilities of the built-in Windows 11 Photos app.

StoryCube feels underwhelming to use

For those eyeing the touchscreen version of the Zenbook S 16 with the ASUS Pen 2.0, the temporary absence of the Cocreator feature in Paint might be disappointing. This feature would have allowed users to transform their pen-drawn sketches into AI-generated artwork, adding an exciting dimension to their creative process. Luckily, amateur artists can install the AMUSE 2.0 Beta. It is a free generative AI product, which helps artists create all kinds of images and drawings based on sketches and text prompts.

Amateur artists may want to try Amuse 2.0

In essence, the AI experience offered by Microsoft at the Zenbook S 16's launch feels underwhelming, failing to fully utilize the laptop's impressive hardware. However, there's hope on the horizon. As Microsoft finalizes Windows 11 version 24H2, the issues I encountered will likely be resolved, allowing the Zenbook S 16 to be marketed as the Copilot+ PC it truly is.

Fast charging and battery life

I've been using an adjustable desk to work while standing instead of sitting. Each time I increased the height of my desk to work standing, I noticed that the power adapter of the ASUS Zenbook S 16 had a rather short charging cable, which forced me to charge the laptop only while sitting. Adding another 6 inches or 15 cm to its length would have been ideal for greater flexibility.

Leaving this minor issue aside, the battery life on the ASUS Zenbook S 16 (2024) is spectacular, especially for an x86 laptop running Windows. While the manufacturer promises up to 18 hours, this sets unrealistic expectations if you use a 120 Hz refresh rate. The best battery life is achieved using a 60 Hz refresh rate, and my mileage varied between 10 and 13 hours, which is still impressive.

For a more precise evaluation, I used the battery life test from PCMark 10 and compared my results with those of the ASUS Vivobook S 15, a competing Windows 11 laptop equipped with an ARM processor from Qualcomm. The Zenbook S 16 lasted 11 hours and 28 minutes, which is better than what I got from the Vivobook S 15. This is an excellent result, proving that AMD is really onto something with their Ryzen AI processors for laptops. The fact that an x86-based Windows laptop can outperform an ARM-based competitor in terms of battery life is a testament to the efficiency of AMD's latest mobile processors.

The battery life offered by ASUS Zenbook S 16 (2024)

ASUS advertises that the Zenbook S 16 can charge from 1% to 60% in just 49 minutes. However, this charging speed is obtained only if your laptop is turned off. If you're charging it while it's turned on and using it, it will take around 65 minutes to reach a 60% charge and 138 minutes to charge fully. While still reasonably fast, these charging times are slower.

How fast this laptop charges when turned on

While my testing didn't confirm ASUS's bold claims about battery life, the laptop's overall autonomy remains impressive. AMD deserves credit for its Ryzen AI lineup, demonstrating remarkable power efficiency. The chipmaker has made significant improvements in optimizing power consumption, resulting in a laptop that delivers solid battery performance that can be compared to ARM-based laptops. If you prioritize battery life and want a Windows 11 laptop, the ASUS Zenbook S 16 is a great choice.

Next, turn the page and see how the ASUS Zenbook S 16 (UM5606) performs in benchmarks, how hot its processor gets, and how much power it draws.