Asus Zenbook S16's flagship credentials give AMD footing in an AI PC juggernaut

Hindustan Times

12-05-2025

There is a clear direction the PC market is taking, and if you're spending top money now on something that isn't truly artificial intelligence (AI) capable, you'll be making a mistake. We have the AI PC decoded, illustrating fine differences that dictate the specifics of a Copilot+ PC, Copilot PC, Next-Gen AI PC, and AI Enabled PC. The focus, and it is safe to say this is still stage one of the process, seems to be on setting the top-line. The theoretical performance benchmark, a flex of what PC makers can do with chips from AMD, Intel as well as Qualcomm, as well as AI solutions built into Microsoft Windows 11 and indeed the one's they develop on their own. The Asus Zenbook S16 (2025), with the AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 processor, is one more premium AI laptop that has a very distinct undercurrent — AMD's comeback, as it turns out, with quite some style.
The 2025 edition of the Zenbook S16 is priced at ₹149,990 and the headline specs make for impressive reading. The AMD Ryzen AI 7 350 has a 50 TOPS (or trillion operations per second; that makes this a Copilot+ PC) neural processing unit (or NPU) for AI compute, 24GB of memory, and a 16-inch 3K resolution OLED display that belies the compact form factor. The specs are exactly as you'd expect at this price, but then again, there is an urgent need to widen portfolios of the four AI PC classifications, at lower price points too. The Zenbook S16, may well be another impressive example of what's possible.
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Asus has the design elements spot on, and that's another way of saying there is continuity with a few things. That's to be expected, as the portfolio and options widen to include similarly spec-ed (and priced) machines with Intel, Qualcomm and now AMD chips. The Ceraluminum material on the lid has been around since last year, as has the broader aesthetic of the pattern. This is a slim machine, and yet isn't falling short on connectivity, including an HDMI port. Whatever choice you make between Scandinavian White and Zumaia Gray, this laptop is certainly a looker. Tipping the scales at 1.5kg for a 16-inch display, credit is due for the teams that pieced this combination.
The 16-inch 2,880 x 1,800 OLED touchscreen with a 120Hz refresh rate, is one of the finest displays in laptops, at this point in time. It can be very bright and equally subdued, and delivers very balanced as well as accurate colours at default settings — there is of course a 'vivid' option, if you prefer over-saturated colours, but even then, separation is still handled fairly well. Deep blacks do make everything look better, be it documents, webpages or media. Asus' display management smarts, such as the automatic refresh to keep an OLED display in good health, have successfully withstood the test of time.
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With the sort of specs that form the core of this Asus Zenbook S16, performance is never a doubt. Our experience, as a primary work laptop, testifies to an ability to not just hold performance well even under the sort of multitasking load we could send its way, bit also fairly robust battery life of close to 12 hours for most usage, and around 14.5 hours if you're careful with elements such as display brightness and memory usage. One could argue that Qualcomm chips get close to 20 hours and upwards with similar workloads, and that does hold weight. There is some fan noise that becomes apparent as the machine heats up on the underside when stressed with multi-tasking (it is very cool, rest of the time), and that is something which can perhaps be improved with a firmware update — the question then will be, will it compromise raw performance?
Anyone buying the Zenbook S16 that is priced at ₹149,990 is undoubtedly paying top money for a laptop that should have longevity and promise — and the Zenbook S16 is well equipped on both fronts. It delivers what one would expect, and a bit more, with performance, battery stamina as well as that gorgeous display. It is therefore perplexing why Asus have left a few things to chance, such as a fairly middling webcam experience (though that's layered with AI too). On a Zoom call, it is unlikely the other side of the table would get a whiff of the premium laptop you may have just parted with a lot of money for. That is perhaps the only real niggle, in an otherwise well thought through package.