The ASUS Zenbook 13 is less expensive and offers high portability with a lighter weight and long battery life, making it suitable for general use and carry-on purposes. Its smaller screen and modest hardware are well-suited for everyday tasks, but may not be ideal for more demanding engineering, 3D modeling, or intensive gaming activities. On the other hand, the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 comes at a premium price, providing a larger and more vibrant screen, significantly more storage and memory, and a powerful processor and graphics unit tailored for professional and engineering workloads, including machine learning and 3D rendering. However, it is heavier, making it less portable, and has a slightly shorter battery life. 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 Zenbook 13
Excellent portability
Advantages of the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16
Very good for general use
Very good for engineering and design
Very good for software development
Very good for content creation
Very good overall display quality
Very good overall build quality
Best in class speakers
Excellent keyboard
Key differences
General Use
7.4/10
8.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
378.0 nits
DISPLAY BRIGHTNESS
393.0 nits
9.0 Hours
BATTERY LIFE
7.0 Hours
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
9.2/10
PORTABILITY SCORE
7.8/10
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is very good for general use, while the ASUS Zenbook 13 is good.
The ASUS Zenbook 13 offers a balance between performance and portability with a lighter weight and smaller screen, making it suitable for users who prioritize mobility alongside general use; it has a decent battery life, quality screen, and satisfactory performance for everyday tasks.
Gaming and AI
6.2/10
6.7/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.6/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
No
SUPPORTS DLSS
No
No
MUX SWITCH / ADVANCED OPTIMUS
No
8.3/10
FAN NOISE SCORE
8.0/10
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 and ASUS Zenbook 13 are both only fair for gaming and AI, though the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is somewhat better.
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 offers a stronger gaming and 3D experience due to its more powerful AMD RX 6500M graphics card, compared to the ASUS Zenbook 13's integrated AMD Vega 8; both laptops boast solid screen refresh rates for smooth visuals. While the Zenbook 13 is lighter and more portable, the ThinkPad Z16 supports its superior performance with a higher quality OLED screen and larger display, making it better suited for intensive graphics tasks.
Engineering and Design
7.1/10
8.4/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
3.6/10
OVERALL GPU SCORE
4.6/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is very good for engineering and design, while the ASUS Zenbook 13 is good.
While the ASUS Zenbook 13 has respectable performance for engineering tasks with its Ryzen 7 CPU and integrated graphics, its 8GB of RAM and 13.3-inch screen limit its ability to handle multiple complex tasks and provide a less immersive visual experience compared to the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16, which boasts a more powerful Ryzen 7 CPU, a dedicated GPU, substantial 32GB of RAM, and a larger, higher-resolution 16-inch screen which significantly improves multitasking and design works. Despite its performance edge, the ThinkPad Z16's greater weight and size may reduce its portability compared to the more compact and lighter Zenbook 13.
Content Creation
7.6/10
8.5/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is very good for content creation, while the ASUS Zenbook 13 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
7.3/10
8.2/10
5.8/10
OVERALL CPU SCORE
7.4/10
8.0 GB
RAM
32.0 GB
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
7.0/10
KEYBOARD QUALITY SCORE
9.0/10
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 is very good for software development, while the ASUS Zenbook 13 is good.
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.
Screen Quality
7.8/10
8.5/10
13.3in
SIZE
16.0in
1920 x 1080
RESOLUTION
3840 x 2400
OLED
DISPLAY TECHNOLOGY
OLED
60Hz
REFRESH RATE
60Hz
378.0 nits
BRIGHTNESS
393.0 nits
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 has a better screen than the ASUS Zenbook 13 for general use, gaming and AI, engineering and design, content creation, and software development.
The ASUS Zenbook 13 and Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 both offer panels with strong resolution and brightness, making them suitable for everyday tasks where clarity and visibility are key. The ThinkPad Z16 stands out for engineering and design due to its wider color gamut coverage, providing more accurate color representation which is critical for detailed and color-sensitive work. For gaming and 3D, however, both laptops fall short as they lack high refresh rates, which are essential for smooth visuals and responsiveness in fast-paced environments.
Battery
9.0 Hours
7.0 Hours
The ASUS Zenbook 13 has 9 hours of battery life. The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 has 7 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.
Portability
Excellent
Good
13.3in
SIZE
16.0in
2.5 lbs
WEIGHT
4.2 lbs
0.5in
THICKNESS
0.6in
The ASUS Zenbook 13 has excellent portability, while the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 has good portability.
The most portable laptops are small, thin, and light.
Build Quality
7.4/10
8.0/10
The Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 has very good build quality, while the ASUS Zenbook 13 has good build quality.
PerfectRec’s Build Quality Score incorporates case materials, display and keyboard flex, hinge quality, and overall reliability.
Cost
$890
$1,120
$400
$600
$800
$1,000
$1,200
$1,400
$1,600
$1,800
The ASUS Zenbook 13 has a price of $890 and the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16 costs $1,120.
"The Asus ZenBook 13 is a compact 13-inch laptop with a fast Ryzen 7 5800U and OLED display. The subnotebook is also light and the modern design is convincing. The selection of high-quality materials make the device not only light, but also very stable. In addition, the visuals and haptics of the device offers a high-quality impression. The AMD Ryzen 7 5800U is a very good fit for the ZenBook 13, ensuring a high performance in the test. However, in terms of the 3D performance, we also notice that the Vega architecture is beginning to hit its limits."
"Lenovo’s ThinkPad Z16 tries has some success in its effort to tweak the ThinkPad formula. The laptop is attractive, yet still tame, and material quality is on par with the best Windows competition. I also like the smooth, responsive haptic touchpad and the wide range of modern connectivity. Yet the Z16 doesn’t fix ThinkPad’s typical weakness: value. Starting around $1,550, and more typically near $1,700, the Z16 finds itself facing alternatives that have better performance or an improved display for the same price, or less."
Get a great deal on the ASUS Zenbook 13 or the Lenovo ThinkPad Z16
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.
About Lenovo
Lenovo is a Chinese technology company, and one of the largest personal computer vendor. They are well known for a variety of technology products, including laptops. Their consumer series include their entry level IdeaPad and LOQ series and mid-to-high-end Yoga and Legion series. On the business-oriented side, their series include their entry-level ThinkBook series and mid-to-high-end ThinkPad series. Lenovo laptops offer strong performance for reasonable prices, and are often on sale.
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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