Asus Vivobook 16 Snapdragon X review: Still bang for the buck?

With the lighter chassis, almost all ports, a new chip, more RAM, and faster storage, is the Asus Vivobook 16 still a bang for your buck? I extensively used this laptop for this Asus Vivobook 16 review to find out who it is for and how it is to live with this laptop if you were to buy one. Also Read: ASUS Vivobook S16 Launched In India With Snapdragon X Processor, Priced At Rs 67,990: Check Specs, Offers And More

Asus Vivobooks have consistently remained value propositions for users willing to spend anything Rs. 50,000 on a laptop. The latest Asus Vivobook 16 comes with Qualcomm’s entry-level but powerful Snapdragon X chip. Specifications have also been updated to keep it future-proof without putting a hole in the buyer’s pocket. Also Read: Lenovo’s Project Pivo Laptop With Rotating Display Could Steal The Show At IFA 2025

Asus Vivobook 16 specifications

Asus Vivobook build and design

The Asus Vivobook uses high-quality hard plastics throughout. There is no metal or chrome garnish, but a textured finish along the sides and bezels. This is a smart move, as this finish is less likely to pick up scratches and smudges. However, we can’t say the same about the lid or the palm rest area. Both of these are quick to catch smudges and a pain to wipe. Also Read: Lenovo Legion Go 2 Leak Reveals 144Hz OLED Panel, Ryzen Z2 Extreme Ahead Of IFA 2025

While this is a big laptop weighing around 1.84 kg, it is well-built. The chassis gets US military standard MIL-STD 810 toughness, so it can easily deal with minor drops and shocks. You also get almost all the ports, except a LAN port, and an SD card reader.

I also appreciate the weight distribution as it doesn’t feel heavy even in a backpack. I commuted to my office with this laptop in my backpack, and it feels much lighter than even a recent 14-inch gaming laptop I tried.

Asus Vivobook display and speakers

The Vivobook’s large screen saves you a lot of effort. You have to scroll less and zoom less, and you can multitask because the screen offers you the real estate to do so.  The antiglare coating takes some brightness away, but you can work under direct sunlight if you have to.

This is a 16-inch WUXGA LED-backlit panel, but you get only a 45% NTSC colour gamut. It means this is a decent screen for office use and binge-watching, but it isn’t suitable for photo or video editing. That said, you won’t even notice the colour gamut change unless you’re coming from a much more expensive machine.

Coming to the speakers now, these make the Vivobook 16 an entry-level multimedia package. These are not out-of-the-world, but they work well for laptop speakers. I also noticed some bass and increased richness in the overall audio especially when the laptop was placed on a table.

Asus Vivobook 16 keyboard and trackpad

This is a work-focused laptop and Asus has fitted it with a comfortable keyboard. You get a full-size keyboard with number keys for data work. This is a backlit-chiclet keyboard with 3 levels of brightness, and 1.7mm key travel. The keys are also slightly dished so you can type faster with fewer errors.

Aside from its generous size, the trackpad also offers gestures for volume and brightness controls. It is certainly not the most premium typing or trackpad experience, but it is more than enough for the price. I appreciate the keyboard layout, and the trackpad is also just the right size to give you decent space to rest your palms while typing.

Asus Vivobook 16 review: Performance

This may be a value proposition for Asus but let’s not forget the Rs. 65,000 price tag it carries. It isn’t a small amount, and this isn’t a small investment. If you want to check out the numbers, they’re right above this paragraph, and they are decent numbers for this price segment.

Coming to daily use, this laptop has no hiccups running benchmarking apps, keeping 50 Chrome tabs alive at the same time, and watching YouTube in the background. If your usage includes watching videos, writing, data work, and even creating presentations, this laptop should work just fine for you.

The Snapdragon X chips are created with power-efficiency and AI performance in mind. I got close to 14 hours of screen time from this laptop on my daily usage, and it was better than some of the more expensive Intel machines I’ve recently tested.

While there are no challenging apps to test out the full AI capabilities of the NPU, this is a Copilot+ laptop that gives you access to some of the most powerful gen AI tools you can use. And with 16GB RAM and 512GB PCIe 4.0 storage, Asus has made sure that this laptop is future-ready. While Asus doesn’t allow you to upgrade the RAM, you can swap out the SSD for 1TB storage if you want.

Asus Vivobook 16 review: Battery, charging, and connectivity

Let me reverse the order and start with connectivity here. You have 2 high-speed USB-C ports, 2 fast USB-A ports, an HMDI out port and a 3.5mm headphone jack. It misses out on a LAN port and SD card reader, but it’s nothing a dongle can’t fix.

The battery life is great, but some credit should go to Vivobook’s conservative specifications. There’s no high refresh rate screen, dedicated GPU, or touchscreen functionality to drain the juice. Simultaneously, the Snapdragon X chip is crazily power-efficient. The 16-inch form factor also gives Asus more room to fit a 50WH, 3-cell battery that’s more than enough to keep it going for an entire day.

You get a 65-watt USB-C charger in the box, and it takes roughly 1.5 hours to fully charge the laptop. Asus sells a GaN charger separately, which is much lighter and has two USB-C ports. The standard charger honestly feels like carrying a brick in the backpack.

Asus Vivobook 16 review: Verdict

Wrapping up our Asus Vivobook 16  review this Snapdragon X unit is a future-proof proposition. This a thin, light, and durable laptop for a 16-inch machine, and it has decent performance on offer. But I think an example is the best way I can explain this laptop to the right kind of buyer.

Let’s say you’re a parent who wants to buy your kid a laptop that can run all the necessary software and have just enough power to let them explore AI, then this is a good choice. If you’re a working professional who needs something with a big screen and a numpad, good choice for you too.

However, if you’re someone who wants a laptop that can edit photos & videos, and allow you to play AAA games on it. Or if you’re willing to carry a heavy machine and always have a power socket around, you could sacrifice the Vivobook’s sensibility to go with a gaming laptop.

And now to answer the question in the title. I think yes, despite its limitations, the Asus Vivobook 16 is still a bang for the buck if you’re looking for a big-screen laptop that will last you at least 3 to 5 years.