ASUS Zenbook A16 at CES 2026: Lighter Than 13-inch MacBook Air | Quick Digest
ASUS unveiled its Zenbook A16 at CES 2026, a 16-inch ultralight laptop that weighs less than Apple's 13-inch MacBook Air. Powered by the new Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme chip, it features a 3K OLED touchscreen and advanced AI capabilities, marking a significant advancement in portable computing.
ASUS Zenbook A16, a 16-inch laptop, weighs 2.65 pounds.
The 13-inch MacBook Air (M3) weighs 2.7 pounds, making the A16 lighter.
Powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme processor with 80 TOPS AI performance.
Features a 16-inch 3K OLED touchscreen with 120Hz refresh rate.
Constructed from durable and lightweight Ceraluminum material.
Unveiled at CES 2026 alongside other refreshed ASUS Zenbook and ROG models.
At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2026 in Las Vegas, ASUS introduced a range of innovative laptops, prominently featuring the new 16-inch Zenbook A16, which has garnered significant attention for its remarkably lightweight design. The headline claim that this 16-inch laptop is lighter than a 13-inch MacBook Air has been verified as accurate. The ASUS Zenbook A16 weighs in at just 2.65 pounds (approximately 1.2 kg), making it nearly an ounce lighter than Apple's 13-inch MacBook Air M3 model, which weighs 2.7 pounds (1.24 kg). This achievement is attributed to ASUS's use of a patented "Ceraluminum" material, a durable yet featherlight magnesium-aluminum alloy.
The Zenbook A16 is powered by the latest Qualcomm Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme processor, an 18-core chip boasting up to 80 TOPS (trillion operations per second) of AI processing power, positioning it as a capable AI PC. It features a stunning 16-inch 3K (2880 x 1800) OLED touchscreen with a 120Hz refresh rate and up to 1,100 nits of peak brightness, offering vibrant visuals for content creation and consumption. Other notable features include Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4, multiple USB ports, HDMI, and an SD card reader.
Alongside the Zenbook A16, ASUS also refreshed its Zenbook A14, Zenbook S14, Zenbook S16, and showcased new ROG Zephyrus G14 and G16 gaming laptops, all integrated with advanced Intel, AMD, or Snapdragon chips, emphasizing AI capabilities and improved performance across various segments. The introduction of such lightweight and powerful AI-enabled laptops at CES 2026 highlights a significant trend in the consumer electronics market, particularly in the ultraportable segment, offering compelling alternatives to established models like the MacBook Air. The news is globally relevant, impacting the broader technology market, including India, where tech enthusiasts and professionals closely follow such innovations. While specific India launch details are often confirmed later, the global reveal at CES establishes its market presence.
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