ASUS Vivobook S 16 OLED (S5606M) Laptop Review – A Compelling Choice for Working Professionals 

Fashioning a clean and minimalist design while boasting incredible specifications, the Vivobook S 16 OLED (S5606M) by ASUS is one for working professionals. Harmoniously blending technology and aesthetics, is Vivobook S 16 OLED truly worth the price?

Coming in 2 color choices – Mist Blue and Neutral Black, the laptop has an impressively slim and minimalist design that stands out, catering to different preferences. Measuring just 13.9mm thick and weighing approximately 1.5k, the 16-inch screen while large for most business backpacks – those who travel frequently and prefer a larger display would find the laptop an ideal choice. 

For its design, the laptop sports a metal lid that is minimalist with subtle debossed “ASUS VIVOBOOK” text blended in, presenting a sleek and clean overall look for those who prefer to keep it subtle. Its aluminum alloy body reduces fingerprint smudges compared to earlier models and includes a front groove structure for convenient one-finger lid opening.

In terms of connectivity, the Vivobook S 16 OLED does offer a rich array of options, 2 Thunderbolt 4 ports, 2 USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, an HDMI 2.1 TMDS, a microSD card reader, and a 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack – keeping all necessary ports frequently used by professionals. 

Equipped with a full-size keyboard that features single-zone RGB backlighting and a numeric keypad, with an added dedicated Copilot key, the laptop offers a comfortable typing experience with satisfying key presses. Pressing the dedicated Copilot key allows instant interaction and conversation with the Windows AI assistant, enabling tasks such as summarizing information, highlighting key points from Microsoft Edge browser pages, and answering queries with rather ease. The larger touchpad on the Vivobook is also exceptionally smooth and responsive.

Display

The Vivobook S 16 OLED has a 16-inch 3.2K Lumina OLED display with a resolution of 3200 x 2000 pixels, a 120Hz refresh rate, and a 16:10 aspect ratio. Supporting a 100% DCI-P3 color gamut and being Pantone validated, as well as VESA DisplayHDR 600 True Black certified, the laptop makes for an amazing choice for creative professionals seeking high color accuracy. Meanwhile, casual users can take advantage of its vibrant colors and high clarity to enjoy movies, TV shows, and games in stunning images.

With a peak brightness of 600 nits, the display manages to remain clear even under direct sunlight while its three-sided narrow bezel design boosts the laptop’s overall aesthetic. Its display also can reduce blue light emissions by 70% compared to traditional screens, effectively reducing eye strain and improving sleep quality. 

Performance

Despite its slim appearance, the laptop is packed with power – equipped with the latest Intel Core Ultra 5 125H processor with integrated Intel Arc graphics and an Intel AI Boost NPU, as well as 16GB of LPDDR5x memory and a 512G PCIe 4.0 SSD storage, the laptop handles tasks effortlessly for daily use – including multitasking and application switching. Its thermal management is quite commendable as well. Furthermore, it features a 75Wh battery with a 90W charger, offering a charging time of approximately 1.5-2 hours and up to 16 hours of battery life.

While the laptop is primarily designed for work and not for gaming, it does run video games at a relatively smooth performance in medium settings. Putting the laptop to the test, we played 3 games on it – Honkai: Star Rail, Monster Hunter Stories, and Apex Legends.

The interstellar journey experience Honkai: Star Rail was a smooth one on the laptop with medium graphics settings. Even during combat, frame drops were minimal. Monster Hunter Stories performs equally well on medium graphics, maintaining smooth frame rates during exploration and battles.

However, both aforementioned titles are turn-based RPGs where stable performance does not matter as much as real-time action titles. So, we gave the laptop a try with Apex Legends, which runs 60-70 FPS on average on medium settings, 1080p resolution, with minimal stuttering. However, bumping up the resolution to 4K causes a massive dip in frame rate to just over 30 FPS, making the experience rather rough. In short, you certainly can game on Vivobook S 16 OLED, but don’t expect to play the most graphically intensive modern AAA with bearable framerates. 

Verdict

All in all, the ASUS Vivobook S 16 OLED (S5606M) is truly an impressive laptop with its stunning 16-inch OLED screen, and slim aesthetically pleasing design, and excels in so many things right that it is easily a high recommendation.

The lack of a dedicated fingerprint sensor is a bummer and this isn’t exactly a gaming beast, but the Vivobook S16 OLED remains a compelling choice, especially suited for professionals who require a reliable and portable laptop for frequent travel.  

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