Review Summary
Expert Rating
The ASUS Vivobook 16 (X1607) enters the market as a mid-range laptop aimed at students, professionals, and casual users looking for a large-screen experience without breaking the bank. Featuring Intel’s Core Ultra 5 225H processor and integrated Intel Arc graphics, it aims to offer a smooth experience for a wide variety of use cases.
With a spacious 16-inch display, a comfortable keyboard, and a well-balanced feature set, the ASUS Vivobook 16 positions itself as a reliable workhorse — At least on paper. But how well does it actually perform in real-world usage? Is it the right choice for you? Let’s break it down step-by-step in this detailed review.
Build, Design, and Display
ASUS has stuck to a familiar design language with the Vivobook 16. It features a simple yet sturdy plastic chassis with a brushed finish. While it doesn’t scream premium, it feels solid enough for everyday use.
At 1.8 kg, it’s not the lightest 16-inch laptop, but it remains portable enough. The hinge mechanism is firm, though it doesn’t allow for full 180-degree rotation, which some users might prefer for additional versatility. For our use, which mostly involved operating Google Chrome and typing out this review, the hinge rotation seemed adequate.
The design’s highlight is the 16-inch Full HD+ (1920 x 1200p) display, which provides ample screen real estate for productivity tasks. The 16:10 aspect ratio is a welcome addition, offering more vertical space for web browsing and document editing. Even so, I think the bezels on the sides could use a bit of trimming.
However, the display falls short in terms of colour accuracy and brightness, making it less ideal for creative professionals who rely on precise colour reproduction. The peak brightness hovers around 250 nits, adequate for indoor use, but struggles in brightly lit environments. The contrast levels are decent, but blacks appear more like dark greys, which affects the overall visual experience when watching movies or editing content. The matte coating helps reduce reflections, but viewing angles are slightly underwhelming due to the budget IPS panel.
Keyboard, Trackpad, and I/O
Typing on the Vivobook 16 is a pleasant experience thanks to the well-spaced keys and decent key travel. The keyboard is backlit, making it easier to use in dim lighting, though the white backlight on silver keys might not be the best choice for visibility.
ASUS includes a full-sized number pad, which is a plus for those working with spreadsheets, but the layout feels slightly cramped. The keys have a tactile feel, but they aren’t as refined as those found in more premium laptops. Further, the arrow key cluster also feels slightly cramped, which might take some getting used to for those frequently navigating spreadsheets or documents.
The large and responsive trackpad supports Windows Precision drivers for smooth gesture control. While it’s made of plastic, it offers a smooth glide and doesn’t feel cheap. One standout feature is the fingerprint scanner integrated into the power button, allowing for quick and secure logins. It works reliably with Windows Hello, making authentication seamless.
The port selection is decent, offering a mix of legacy and modern connectivity options. You get one USB-C 3.2 (no Thunderbolt), two USB-A 3.2, one USB 2.0, an HDMI 1.4 port, a headphone jack, and a microSD card reader.
I feel that the absence of Thunderbolt support limits expansion options, and HDMI 1.4 means you’re restricted to 4K at 30Hz output, which might be a dealbreaker for some users. Further, having an extra USB-C or even an ethernet port would have made it a more versatile choice for professionals. Even so, for most users, the port selection will not be an issue.
Performance and Gaming
Under the hood, the Vivobook 16 is powered by the Intel Core Ultra 5 225H, a 14-core processor designed to balance performance and efficiency. Paired with 16GB of LPDDR5 RAM and a 512GB NVMe SSD, the laptop delivers snappy performance for day-to-day tasks like web browsing, office work, and media consumption. As mentioned, my workload was not intense enough to require more power under the hood. If you are looking for casual Chrome usage with the occasional apps running in the background, then the Intel Core Ultra 5 processor will be more than enough to suit your needs.
In benchmarks, the laptop performs admirably in productivity workloads. Geekbench 6 scores put the CPU at 2,650 in single-core and 11,158 in multi-core performance, making it well-suited for multitasking. Cinebench R23 recorded a multi-core score of 13,297 and a single-core score of 1,811, highlighting its solid performance in rendering tasks. PCMark 10 benchmarks suggest the laptop is well-optimized for office work, with scores above 10,000 in productivity and digital content creation tasks. This makes it a capable machine for some light creative workloads like photo editing and video rendering.
However, the lack of a dedicated GPU limits its capabilities in heavier creative workloads. While Intel’s integrated Arc graphics are a step up from previous generations, they still lag behind even entry-level dedicated GPUs. Geekbench’s OpenCL and Vulkan tests returned scores of 23,677 and 26,818, respectively, indicating that while GPU acceleration is present, it’s not on par with dedicated solutions from AMD or NVIDIA.
When it comes to gaming performance, the Vivobook 16 will be limited to casual players. 3DMark’s Time Spy scores were modest, with 2,639 overall, 2,354 for graphics, and 8,432 for CPU. Fire Strike tests produced a score of 5,290, with a graphics score of 5,938. These numbers confirm that while older or less demanding titles will run fine at 1080p low settings, modern AAA games are a stretch.
Titles like CS2, Valorant, and League of Legends should run smoothly, but more demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 or Red Dead Redemption 2 will struggle. The Night Raid benchmark showed an overall score of 21,717, leading us to believe that this laptop is more suited for Esports or older game titles rather than graphically intensive experiences. It should be noted that the Vivobook 16 has not been marketed as a gaming machine. So it’s fine for most professionals looking for a powerful enough machine to play a few games in their free time.
It is worth noting that during sustained workloads, thermal performance remains stable. The CPU occasionally reaches high temperatures without significant thermal throttling. In general, the laptop runs extremely quietly, which is definitely a plus if you want to work without the irritating hum of a cooling fan.
Audio and Features
The Vivobook 16’s speakers are passable at best. ASUS uses a downward-firing stereo setup tuned by Harman Kardon, but the sound lacks depth and gets easily muffled on soft surfaces.
Vocals are clear enough for video calls and casual media consumption, but bass is practically nonexistent, making it less than ideal for music or immersive movie experiences. A pair of headphones is recommended for a better experience.
ASUS includes some nice software additions, such as AI noise-cancelling for the microphone, which helps in video calls. The webcam is a standard 720p unit—nothing special, but serviceable for remote meetings. There’s no privacy shutter, which is a minor letdown. The laptop also comes with ASUS’ MyASUS app, which allows you to tweak performance modes, battery settings, and fan controls.
Battery Life
The Vivobook 16’s battery life is acceptable but not groundbreaking. The 50Wh battery managed around 8 hours in the PCMark 10 video playback test, which translates to about 6-7 hours of real-world mixed usage with Wi-Fi and moderate brightness. This is decent but falls short of ultrabook-class efficiency.
Battery life drops significantly under heavy workloads, sometimes lasting just 3-4 hours. The included 65W charger replenishes the battery fairly quickly, going from 0 to 50% in about 45 minutes. This might not be the best choice for those who need all-day battery life, but it holds up reasonably well.
For those primarily using the laptop for productivity and media consumption, enabling power-saving modes can stretch battery life closer to 8 hours. Overall, the laptop sufficiently meets most users’ needs, although buyers will have to temper their expectations.
Final Verdict
The ASUS Vivobook 16 is a well-rounded machine that excels at everyday productivity, media consumption, and light creative work. Its strong processor, decent build quality, and comfortable keyboard make it a solid choice for students and professionals who need a reliable workhorse. However, its dim display, lack of a dedicated GPU, and middling battery life hold it back from being a complete package. If you need a laptop for work, web browsing, or maybe even a little casual gaming, the Vivobook 16 offers good value for money. But if you’re a content creator or a gamer looking for more graphical power, you might want to consider alternatives with dedicated GPUs.
Speaking of alternatives, the Lenovo Ideapad Slim 5 14IMH9 is an excellent option, since for just an additional 5 grand, it offers an OLED panel, 1TB of SSD storage, and excellent performance. While the Core Ultra 5 125H is a generation older, it does offer better multi-core performance despite compromising a lot on the battery life. Alternatively, if you can spend a bit more, the Acer Swift 14 AI is a premium ultrabook priced at roughly Rs. 90,000. It comes with a more powerful Intel Core Ultra 5 226V processor, coupled with an OLED panel, and a sleek design.
It’s worth noting though that both these alternatives feature a smaller 14-inch panel, while the Vivobook 16 features a 16-inch display, although it’s not OLED. At the end of the day, those looking for an affordable 16-inch laptop with strong CPU performance will find the Vivobook 16 to be a compelling option, but compromises in display and graphics performance should be kept in mind before making the final decision.
Editor’s rating: 7.5 / 10
Pros:
- Strong CPU performance
- Comfortable keyboard
- Large 16:10 display
- Decent battery life
Cons:
- Dim display
- No dedicated GPU
- Speakers lack depth