Review verdict for the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 2026 - More power, longer runtimes and a beefy price tag

The latest 2026 version of the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 is still a slim high-end gaming laptop. Asus did not change the chassis and you still get a premium build quality, excellent input devices as well as a great sound system.

There are two major changes for 2026 and the first one is the processor with Intel's new Panther Lake chip. While the raw CPU performance is just slightly better compared to the previous generation, the new Intel chip offers significant efficiency improvements. The result is much longer battery runtime for everyday workloads. Asus also improved the screen and the 240 Hz OLED panel is now much brighter than before, which is particularly good for HDR contents.

Thanks to a slightly optimized cooling solution, the GeForce RTX 5080 can now consume up to 135 Watts instead of 120 Watts. Even though the graphics card did not change, you still get a slightly better gaming performance as a result.

The improved cooling performance comes at the cost of slightly louder fans than before. The memory is still soldered and cannot be upgraded, so potential buyers should be really think about whether 32 GB RAM (up to 64 GB) is sufficient.

The price situation is also problematic and our review unit is much more expensive at more than $5000 for the RTX 5080 SKU with 64 GB RAM, while the 2025 SKU retailed for $4699 but with the faster RTX 5090. The included 3-year international warranty is only a small consolation. Please see our full review for more information about the new ROG Zephyrus G16 2026.