Fearing the Worst: Why I Spent 15 Years of My Life with a Laptop that Could've Killed Me - CES
As a seasoned tech journalist, I'm no stranger to the risks associated with working on unproven hardware. But spending an entire week using a pre-production Asus Zenbook A16 as my primary workhorse during CES was something else entirely. The untested laptop in question boasts a Snapdragon X2 processor, 48GB of RAM, and a massive 2880 x 1800 / 120Hz OLED display - sounds promising, but what would it be like to put it through the wringer?
My first day with the A16 was nothing short of miraculous. The Snapdragon X2 chip proved to be snappy, even when running Adobe Lightroom Classic on the go in the scorching hot Las Vegas Convention Center. RAW images imported from my built-in SD card reader were quick and easy to work with, and making adjustments in the Develop module was fast - that is, until I got a bit too aggressive with those color tweaks. The display itself looked incredible.
However, as the days went by and I shot hundreds more photos, things began to slow down. Lightroom Classic left me hanging between adjustments, taking full seconds to load full-res images - it felt like the laptop was lagging behind. It was clear that this wasn't just a matter of cache clearing or optimizing the catalog; something deeper was at play.
When I brought a fallback MacBook Pro along for the ride, the A16 started to feel less and less like its rival. The difference became more pronounced when showing my colleague Sean Hollister photos from my Las Vegas stroll. He was surprised by how quickly I could flip through high-res shots - a testament to the Zenbook's speed.
Of course, there are some caveats here. The Snapdragon X2 chip still can't handle demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 or Resident Evil 4 (2023), and those that do are left looking rough around the edges. It remains to be seen if Qualcomm's new chips will live up to their performance and battery life promises.
Despite these shortcomings, I have a hard time not being impressed with the Asus Zenbook A16 - especially given its sleek design and slim profile. The price tag is still a mystery at this point, but it's rumored to land somewhere around $1,599.99 or $1,699.99. If that holds true, it won't be cheap.
As I navigated the aisles of CES, this pre-production model proved itself to be more than capable of handling some of the most demanding tasks I threw at it. But with a final review unit on the horizon, it's anyone's guess what this laptop will really have in store for us - and whether its $2K price tag is justified.
As a seasoned tech journalist, I'm no stranger to the risks associated with working on unproven hardware. But spending an entire week using a pre-production Asus Zenbook A16 as my primary workhorse during CES was something else entirely. The untested laptop in question boasts a Snapdragon X2 processor, 48GB of RAM, and a massive 2880 x 1800 / 120Hz OLED display - sounds promising, but what would it be like to put it through the wringer?
My first day with the A16 was nothing short of miraculous. The Snapdragon X2 chip proved to be snappy, even when running Adobe Lightroom Classic on the go in the scorching hot Las Vegas Convention Center. RAW images imported from my built-in SD card reader were quick and easy to work with, and making adjustments in the Develop module was fast - that is, until I got a bit too aggressive with those color tweaks. The display itself looked incredible.
However, as the days went by and I shot hundreds more photos, things began to slow down. Lightroom Classic left me hanging between adjustments, taking full seconds to load full-res images - it felt like the laptop was lagging behind. It was clear that this wasn't just a matter of cache clearing or optimizing the catalog; something deeper was at play.
When I brought a fallback MacBook Pro along for the ride, the A16 started to feel less and less like its rival. The difference became more pronounced when showing my colleague Sean Hollister photos from my Las Vegas stroll. He was surprised by how quickly I could flip through high-res shots - a testament to the Zenbook's speed.
Of course, there are some caveats here. The Snapdragon X2 chip still can't handle demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 or Resident Evil 4 (2023), and those that do are left looking rough around the edges. It remains to be seen if Qualcomm's new chips will live up to their performance and battery life promises.
Despite these shortcomings, I have a hard time not being impressed with the Asus Zenbook A16 - especially given its sleek design and slim profile. The price tag is still a mystery at this point, but it's rumored to land somewhere around $1,599.99 or $1,699.99. If that holds true, it won't be cheap.
As I navigated the aisles of CES, this pre-production model proved itself to be more than capable of handling some of the most demanding tasks I threw at it. But with a final review unit on the horizon, it's anyone's guess what this laptop will really have in store for us - and whether its $2K price tag is justified.
I'm kinda surprised they were able to squeeze so much power into that little thing. The Snapdragon X2 chip does sound like a beast compared to the normal stuff they use, but still 48GB of RAM? That's just crazy talk for most people 
. And the display... wow, it sounds like it would be perfect for content creators or something. I mean, who needs a fancy laptop when you can just upload your photos directly from the camera and edit them on the go? 
But seriously, if they can get that thing to run smoothly with all those specs, it'd be a game changer for productivity.
$1,599.99 is definitely out of reach for most of us, but if they can actually deliver on that performance and battery life, I'd be down to give it a shot 
. I mean, who wants to deal with lagging performance when working on the go? And don't even get me started on the $2k price tag - that's just crazy 
. The fact that it can't even handle demanding games like Cyberpunk 2077 or Resident Evil 4 (2023) is a major concern... what's Qualcomm thinking?! 
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. The Asus Zenbook A16 reminds me of those early days, all flash and no substance 
. I mean, 48GB of RAM? That's like having a whole bunch of tabs open on my old iMac at once 
. Not just throwing it at some demanding games or whatnot. It's like my old Sony Vaio, which was a beast back in its day, but only had 1GB of RAM and still managed to get the job done 
.
but seriously those Snapdragon X2 chips gotta step up their game if they wanna compete with those new apple m1 pros 
been testing it out and lightroom classic is still super slow even on low res edits 
not sure what's going on under the hood but need to see that price tag tho $1599.99 or $1699.99 is insane 