President's Day has conceived a $500 saving on this high-performing laptop we rated 4.5/5 stars — packing an OLED display and Ryzen AI 9 365 CPU

ASUS Zenbook S 16
The ASUS Zenbook S 16 with Windows Central on its screen. (Image credit: Ben Wilson | Windows Central)

We're just a few days away from President's Day commencing in full swing, but retailers across the internet are celebrating early with huge discount sales.

So if you're looking for a new laptop on sale to beat the daily office grind, then this 33% President's Day discount on the ASUS Zenbook S 16 for $999.99 at Best Buy is one you don't want to miss.

ASUS Zenbook S 16
All-Day work efficient 💻
Save 33% ($500)
ASUS Zenbook S 16: was $1,499.99 now $999.99 at Best Buy


"While ASUS leans into the hype of AMD's 50 TOPS NPU in the all-new Ryzen AI processors, most of the Zenbook S 16's appeal lies elsewhere, like in its gorgeous 3K OLED screen. Still, you shouldn't ignore the XDNA 2 NPU's subtle part in boosting the potential battery life here to a fantastic 13 hours." ~ Ben Wilson, Senior Editor

Windows Central Review: ⭐⭐⭐⭐½

Why buy the ASUS Zenbook S laptop?

The ASUS Zenbook S 16 in hand. (Image credit: Ben Wilson | Windows Central)

This mid-range laptop from 2024 is packed with all kinds of features suitable for the hardcore keyboard-user typing up a storm for work or casual PC-goers watching Netflix while browsing the internet.

The ASUS Zenbook S 16 offers a solid battery of 12 hours while in operation and a remarkable 3K OLED touchscreen with 120Hz refresh rates with 100% color accuracy to display detailed, vibrant images and smooth frame rates while watching videos.

It also includes a thin, lightweight design at 3.31 lb, so it's easy to carry and store in luggage, with a "Ceraluminum" coating to give the laptop a stylish appearance yet durable build

On top of that, the ASUS Zenbook S 16 has an AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 CPU, so it can perform heavy productivity workloads with minimal lag. The CPU also has a built-in Neural Processing Unit (NPU) with 50 TOPS to enhance the laptop's performance when accomplishing AI-related tasks with Copilot+ AI features like Live Captions or Recall.

The only objectionable drawbacks of the ASUS Zenbook S16 are that its Neural Processing Unit's full 50 TOPs are often idle and unused in Windows Task Manager, and that its built-in touchpad shortcuts for ScreenXpert are finicky to use.

While it's not one of the current best Windows laptops, it's still a solid mid-range 2024 laptop worth your consideration, especially now that its high $1499.99 MSRP has been chopped by $500 to $999.99 at Best Buy.

FAQ

Does this laptop overheat often?

Due to its ultra-thin design, it can get hot when strained by heavy workloads, particularly the bottom panel and the area above its keyboard.

Is it good for PC Gaming

The AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 is considered a powerful CPU, but the ASUS Zenbook S 16 lacks a dedicated GPU for PC gaming. Without such a crucial component to pair with, this laptop with the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPU is only capable of playing low-end games on their lowest graphical settings.

What is Ceraluminum?

Ceraluminum is a fusion between ceramic and aluminum materials that gives the laptop a sleek, off-white appearance, while making it more resistant to fingerprint marks and minor bumps.

However, Ceraluminum is not entirely resistant to scratch marks.

What RAM and SSD does it have and are they upgradeable?

This laptop features 24GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD storage unit. The RAM is soldered into the motherboard, so it can't be replaced, but the SSD is replaceable via M.2 slots.

Do note that the ASUS Zenbook S 16 only supports single-sided SSDs.


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Alexander Cope
Contributor — Gaming

Alexander Cope is a gaming veteran of 30-plus years, primarily covering PC and Xbox games here on Windows Central. Gaming since the 8-bit era, Alexander's expertise revolves around gaming guides and news, with a particular focus on Japanese titles from the likes of Elden Ring to Final Fantasy. Alexander is always on deck to help our readers conquer the industry's most difficult games — when he can pry himself away from Monster Hunter that is!

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