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In the world of budget laptops, few are as dependable as Asus’s Vivobook series. And the new Vivobook 16 (M1605) is no exception. In this review we will see that the Asus Vivobook 16 (2023) is a great laptop at a reasonable price.
Design and Build
It boasts a standard design and closely resembles previous Vivobooks. The laptop’s body is made of plastic, while the lid has a metal-like finish. The Vivobook features a 180-degree ErgoLift hinge, allowing the laptop to lay flat on a desk for better collaboration in the workspace.
Overall build quality is in line with most affordable consumer laptops, though it’s not as robust as the screen and keyboard exhibit some flex.
For a 16-inch laptop, the Vivobook is quite lightweight, weighing in at 1.88 kg and measuring 19.99 mm in thickness. The screen also has minimal bezels on both sides, though the chin has a slightly larger bezel than the rest of the display.
Keyboard and Trackpad
The Vivobook features a chiclet-style keyboard with a spacious trackpad. The keyboard has three levels of backlighting, enabling you to type in the dark. Additionally, there’s ample spacing between keys, and the 1.4mm key travel makes typing comfortable.
The keyboard also includes a numeric keypad, and a roomy trackpad. The trackpad is smooth to the touch and excellent for navigation. Furthermore, it features a fingerprint reader for biometric unlocking.
Connectivity
It also has plenty of ports, including two full-sized USB ports (USB 3.2 Gen 1 and USB 2.0), a USB 3.2 Gen 1 (Type-C) port, an HDMI 1.4 port, a 3.5mm combo headphone jack, and a DC power jack. Wireless connectivity options on the laptop include Bluetooth 5.3 and Wi-Fi 6E. For video calls, the Asus Vivobook 16 opts for a 720p HD webcam with a physical privacy cover.
Display
Asus has equipped its new Vivobook with a 16-inch WUXGA IPS display (1920 x 1200 pixels). The panel has a maximum brightness of 300 nits and features an anti-glare coating for outdoor use. However, the brightness doesn’t seem adequate for outdoor use. While color reproduction on the screen is good, it lacks the deep contrast of OLED displays.
On the other hand, the screen has good viewing angles, and the 16:10 aspect ratio provides a comfortable viewing experience. Additionally, the laptop was quite comfortable to use at night, as brightness levels could be impressively dimmed. Despite the higher resolution, the IPS screen here can’t quite match up to the Full HD OLED displays that have become synonymous with Vivobook laptops.
Performance
Asus has opted for the AMD route for performance in the new Vivobook. It’s equipped with the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U processor along with integrated Radeon graphics. The laptop also comes with 8GB of DDR4 RAM and a 512GB NVMe PCIe 3.0 M.2 SSD.
It handles daily tasks without much effort. It can easily handle multitasking between MS Word and Chrome, running up to 10 tabs simultaneously.
In Cinebench R23, the CPU scored a multi-core score of 7571 points and a single-core score of 1601 points. In the 10-minute Cinebench R23 stress test, the laptop scored a single-core score of 1431 points and a multi-core score of 6812 points.
Overall, the Vivobook 16 (2023) is excellent for multitasking and handles daily productivity tasks without much effort. It can also easily tackle photo editing tasks.
Battery Life
The Vivobook 16 (M1605) has a 42Wh battery with 45W charging support. Battery life on the new Vivobook is quite average, providing just under eight hours of web browsing use and a little over six hours of YouTube video playback.
For daily productivity tasks between Chrome and MS Word, the Vivobook lasted around six and a half hours. Charging the battery took over two hours to go from 0 to 100 percent.
Verdict
It ticks all the basic boxes and fits the bill for a daily-use laptop perfectly. The new Vivobook offers above-average battery life, decent audio, a good variety of ports, and a handy webcam. Build quality is solid for the most part, and the keyboard provides a comfortable typing experience.
The Vivobook 16 (2023) is a reliable laptop from an even more reliable brand. The only downside to this laptop is that it won’t serve you well for gaming.
However, for the everyday user needing a dependable laptop for day-to-day work and nighttime movie or show watching, the Vivobook 16 feels almost perfect.
