Asus Vivobook 16 (2023) Review: An extremely reliable everyday laptop with a large screen

When it comes to budget laptops, there are few more reliable as Asus' Vivobook series. And the new 16-inch Vivobook 16 (M1605) is no exception. The Asus Vivobook 16 (2023) is a large consumer notebook that is reasonably priced.

The new Vivobook 16 features the latest AMD Ryzen 7000 series processors paired with integrated Radeon graphics and a WUXGA IPS display. The Asus Vivobook 16 (2023) price in India starts from Rs 56,990 on Amazon India. Before moving forward, checkout our reviews for the Asus ROG Strix Scar 16 and Asus Zephyrus G16 (2023). Now, here's our full Asus Vivobook 16 review.

Design & Build

The Asus Vivobook 16 boasts a pretty standard build and looks a lot like the Vivobooks of old. The body of the laptop is made from plastic, while the lid has a metal-like finish. The Vivbook has a 180-degree ErgoLift hinge, allow the laptop to lay flat on a desk for better workspace collaborations.

The overall build quality is in line with most affordable consumer laptops, although it isn't quite as sturdy as the screen and keyboard deck do have a bit of flex. The laptop is also US Military-grade MIL-STD 810H certified, undergoing 26 tests.

The lid has a badge-style logo, which looks sharp, but wasn't too resistant to fingerprints. For a 16-inch laptop, the Vivobook is on the lighter side, weighing 1.88kg and measuring 19.99mm thick. The screen also has minimal bezels on either side, although the chin has a slightly larger bezel than the rest of the screen.

Keyboard & Trackpad

The Vivobook features a chiclet style keyboard with a large trackpad. The keyboard features three levels of backlighting, allowing you to type in the dark. Moreover, there is adequate spacing between the keys and the 1.4mm key travel makes the keyboard comfortable for typing.

The keyboard also has a Numpad and a spacious trackpad. The trackpad is smooth to the touch and is excellent for navigation. Moreover, it also has a fingerprint reader for biometric unlocks. The keyboard on the Vivobook was good for typing, while the trackpad easily replaces a mouse.

Connectivity

The Vivobook also has plenty of ports with two full size 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 audio jack, and a DC power output. 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 shutter.

Display

Asus has equipped its new Vivobook with a 16-inch WUXGA (1920 x 1200 pixels) IPS display. The panel boasts a peak brightness of 300 nits and features an anti-glare coating for use outdoors.

However, I didn't feel the brightness was adequate for outdoor use. And while colour reproduction on the screen was good, it did lack the deep contrast of OLED screens. On the flip side, the screen has good viewing angles and the 16:10 aspect ratio offers a comfortable viewing experience.

Moreover, the laptop was quite comfortable to use at night as brightness levels could go impressively low. Despite the higher resolution, the IPS display here cannot keep pace with Full HD OLED screens that have become synonymous with the Vivobook laptops.

Performance

Asus has gone the AMD route for performance on the new Vivobook. Our model was powered by the AMD Ryzen 5 7530U processor paired with integrated Radeon graphics. The laptop also comes with 8GB of DDR4 RAM and a 512GB M.2 NVMe PCIe 3.0 SSD.

The Vivobook 16 (2023) handled daily tasks without much effort. I could easily multitask between MS Word and Chrome, operating up to 10 tabs simultaneously. At times, I even turned-on Raid: Shadow Legends (Android Game) in the background, although I did have to lower the number of tabs open in Chrome.

However, multitasking was a breeze on the new Vivobook 16. In Cinebench R23, the CPU managed 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 managed a single-core score of 1431 points and a multi-core score of 6812 points.

In Geekbecnh 6, the CPU managed a single-core score of 1801 points and a multi-core score of 4481 points. The Radeon Graphics managed an OpenCL score of 11372 points in Geekbench 6. The laptop also has dual air vents and heat pipes, which keep it cool under pressure.

I didn't really put any games to test on the Vivobook. But I did indulge in some casual gaming with Valorant on low graphics, which offered between 30 and 40 fps. Overall, the Vivobook 16 (2023) was excellent for multitasking and handles daily productivity tasks without much effort. And can easily take on photo editing tasks as well.

Audio

The speaker system on the laptop can get quite loud without much distortion at maximum volume. The sound was loud enough to fill a mid-sized room, although the audio lacked bass and sounded unnatural. I often found myself defaulting to external speakers as the audio experience on the Vivobook 16 lacked any punch.

Battery Life

The new Vivobook 16 (M1605) packs a 42 Whr battery with 45W charging support. I found battery life on the new Vivobook to be just about average, delivering little under eight hours of use for web browsing and little over six hours for YouTube video playback.

For daily productivity tasks between Chrome and MS Word, the Vivobook ran for around six and a half hours, although screen brightness was set to 60%. The new Vivobook 16 took over two hours to go from 0 to 100 percent.

Verdict

The Asus Vivobook 16 (2023) nails all the basics and perfectly fits the requirement of an everyday laptop. The new Vivobook features above-average battery life, decent audio, a good assortment of ports, and a utile webcam. The build quality is solid for the most part, while the keyboard offers a comfortable typing experience.

On top of everything else, the Vivobook 16 (M1605) also offers smooth multitasking performance. All aspects of the new Vivobook 16 are tailored towards delivering the perfect laptop for daily productivity usage. And the large screen for entertainment feels like the cherry on top.

For a price tag of Rs 56,990, the Vivobook 16 (2023) a good reliable laptop by an even more reliable brand. The one drawback of this laptop is that it won't do you much good for gaming. However, for the everyday user who requires a reliable laptop for work during the days and to watch movies or shows at night, the Vivobook 16 almost feels perfect.