If you prioritize long battery life and a lighter machine for ease of portability, the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 stands out, and it also offers an OLED screen which is known for vibrant colors and deep blacks, making it suitable for media consumption. On the other hand, the ASUS ROG Flow X16, with a higher refresh rate display and a more powerful main processor and graphics card, is better suited for gaming, 3D rendering, or intensive engineering tasks. Both laptops have similar RAM and come with substantial built-in storage, but note that the Zenbook Pro 15 has a smaller battery capacity and a lower screen refresh rate, which might not be ideal for fast-paced gaming. If you often engage in tasks that would benefit from a higher refresh rate and more processing power, and can handle a slight increase in weight and reduced battery life, the Flow X16 would be the preferable choice. Give Feedback
this description is based on the product variant with some specs and product variant with some specs. At the time of writing, the variant with some specs cost some dollars and the variant with some specs cost some dollars.
Advantages of the ASUS ROG Flow X16
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Good for gaming and AI
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Best in class speakers
Very good keyboard
Advantages of the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15
Excellent battery life
Key differences
Gaming and AI
7.6/10
6.7/10
7.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.8/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
Yes
SUPPORTS DLSS
Yes
Yes
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
7.0/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
6.5/10
The ASUS ROG Flow X16 is good for gaming and AI, while the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 is only fair.
The ASUS ROG Flow X16 stands out for gaming and 3D because it has a more powerful GPU, the Nvidia RTX 3060, and a higher screen refresh rate of 165Hz, which leads to smoother visuals and better performance in fast-paced games. In comparison, the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15, while still providing a fair gaming experience with its Nvidia RTX 3050 Ti GPU, offers a lower screen refresh rate of 60Hz, which means the visuals are not as smooth, particularly in action-packed scenes.
Engineering and Design
8.3/10
7.5/10
8.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
7.2/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.8/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
The ASUS ROG Flow X16 is very good for engineering and design, while the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 is good.
The ASUS ROG Flow X16, with its stronger AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS CPU and RTX 3060 GPU, outperforms the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15's AMD Ryzen 7 5800H CPU and RTX 3050 Ti GPU, which is crucial for demanding engineering and design software; additionally, its higher resolution, brighter IPS screen supports better color accuracy which is vital for design precision. Although the Zenbook Pro 15 offers a longer battery life and is slightly more portable due to its lighter weight, its OLED screen and good GPU still make it suitable for engineering tasks, but with slightly less power and screen quality compared to the ROG Flow X16.
Screen Quality
8.5/10
7.6/10
16.0in
SIZE
15.6in
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
165Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
502.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
346.0 nits
The ASUS ROG Flow X16 has a better screen than the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, software development, and content creation.
For general use, laptops with high-resolution displays that offer bright, clear images make a vast difference in day-to-day tasks like browsing the web and watching videos; both the ASUS ROG Flow X16 and the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 deliver on those aspects with their high-quality screens. When it comes to engineering and design, accurate color reproduction is crucial for work such as photo editing and CAD applications; these models are equipped with wide color gamuts, ensuring colors are rich and true to life. However, for gaming and 3D applications that demand fluid motion, a high refresh rate is key, and since both laptops have lower refresh rates, they won't provide the smoothest experience in fast-paced gaming scenarios.
Battery
5.5 Hours
12.5 Hours
The ASUS ROG Flow X16 has 5.5 hours of battery life. The ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 has 12.5 hours of battery life.
Battery life estimate is based on a mix of common use patterns. More portable and higher performing laptops tend to have less battery life.
Build Quality
8.5/10
7.6/10
The ASUS ROG Flow X16 has very good build quality, while the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$1,300
$1,109
$0
$500
$1,000
$1,500
$2,000
The ASUS ROG Flow X16 has a price of $1,300 and the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 costs $1,109.
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers ASUS ROG Flow X16 to be very good for general use, while the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 is good.
PerfectRec’s General Use Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for general productivity, web browsing, streaming, video calls, and running a wide variety of apps and programs.
Content Creation
8.0/10
7.7/10
8.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
IPS
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
Although they have very similar scores, PerfectRec considers ASUS ROG Flow X16 to be very good for content creation, while the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 is good.
PerfectRec’s Content Creation Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for photo editing, video editing and other content creation tasks.
Software Development
7.7/10
7.5/10
8.1/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
16.0 GB
RAM
16.0 GB
2560 x 1600
RESOLUTION
1920 x 1080
8.5/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
7.0/10
The ASUS ROG Flow X16 and ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 are both good for software development.
PerfectRec’s Software Development Score takes into account the many different features of the laptop that make it more or less suitable for software developers.
Portability
Good
Good
16.0in
SIZE
15.6in
4.6 lbs
WEIGHT
4.4 lbs
0.7in
THICKNESS
0.7in
The ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 and ASUS ROG Flow X16 both have good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
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How the ASUS ROG Flow X16 and the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 compare to other laptops
"Above all else, the Asus ROG Flow X16 is one thing - versatile! It is a thin, mobile work device, it's a 2-in-1, tablet, a powerful workstation and even a gaming PC. But something even more surprising: It does all of these things really well without making any big blunders. It's anything but a lazy compromise. Because, despite its compact dimensions and 2-in-1 functionality, the hardware isn't throttled and boasts, at least in turbo mode, above-average performance."
"The ASUS Zenbook Pro 15 offers a strong CPU, chassis, and display. One of the most popular 15.6-inch prosumer or multimedia laptops out there is the Dell XPS 15. Thus, comparisons between it and the Asus Zenbook Pro 15 are inevitable. Asus has a couple of tricks up its sleeve that XPS users are still missing out on including 1080p OLED and an AMD Ryzen CPU which help separate the Zenbook Pro 15 from the XPS 15. It also integrates a numpad and a few more port options albeit at the cost of a larger chassis size."
Get a great deal on the ASUS ROG Flow X16 or the ASUS Zenbook Pro 15
About ASUS
ASUS, a Taiwanese electronics brand, is one of the largest personal computer vendor by market share. The majority of their laptops are targeted towards personal use or gaming. Their most popular product lines include the budget-friendly VivoBook, more premium ZenBook, and their TUF and ROG gaming laptops, the latter of which has a reputation for excellent gaming performance.
This information was produced and vetted by the PerfectRec laptops team. We are a product research and recommendation organization that meticulously reviews and evaluates the latest laptop information and makes it digestible for you.
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