Asus ROG Flow X16 laptop review: 2-in-1 gamer with mini-LED
A 1,100 nit-strong mini-LED display makes its debut in the Asus ROG Flow X16, which also derives its uniqueness from its convertible design. An RTX 3070 Ti with a 125 watts of TGP makes it a real gaming notebook with high-end multimedia features that is already hotly anticipated by many.
We have been able to thoroughly examine a pre-production sample device in detail. Since this review model is representative of the production model (according to Asus), we have taken the liberty of giving it a rating. Minor changes to the device are expected until the final production version, which will be reflected accordingly in updates to this review. We are also reviewing the ROG XG Mobile graphics dock (available separately) with its GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU on the Flow X16 (a similar test was also carried out with the ROG Flow X13 last year), and will provide the results as an update in this review soon.
The Asus ROG Flow X16 forms Asus’ 2-in-1 gaming laptop series together with its popular and almost just-as-unique sibling, the ROG Flow X13 from last year, as well as the ROG Flow Z13 (2-in1 tablet). The 16-inch QHD display in a 16:10 format offers an OLED-like black level thanks to mini-LED and also advertises DCI-P3 color space coverage for professional image editing. The touchscreen with pen input support is conceivably useful for creative work, and AMD’s Ryzen 6900HS also promises a lot of potential. While all these specs read wonderfully on paper, our review reveals to what extent this raw power can be fully utilized in the compact Asus convertible and what any drawbacks might be.
Our sample model of the Asus Rog Flow X16 with a Nvidia GeForce RTX 3070 Ti, 32 GB of RAM and a 1 TB SSD does not yet appear to be widely available. Depending on your location, identical (i.e. identical hardware with a region-specific keyboard layout) or slighly different configurations may be available at varying prices, usually starting around US$2500.00. See “Price and Availability” at the end of this review for further details.
Direct competitors for the unique, compact 16-inch gaming convertible are far and few in between. Nevertheless, the Asus Rog Flow X16 is primarily designed for creative tasks, multimedia and gaming, so we compared it to the following notebooks: Gigabyte Aero 16, MSI Stealth GS66, Lenovo Legion 5 Pro, Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme, MacBook Pro 16 (2021), Microsoft’s Surface Laptop Studio, Dell’s compact XPS 17 and Asus’ in-house Zephyrus M16.
The latter is similar to the ROG X16 Flow in many ways, which we point out at various points in our review. The comparison to the smaller ROG Flow X13 is certainly interesting, as well as the comparison to traditional, thick gaming behemoths such as Asus’ ROG Strix Scar 15. The HP Spectre 16 convertible with an Intel Core i7-12700H, mid-range Arc graphics and a 3K OLED touchscreen will be available around the end of August and could also be of interest for a target group not primarily interested in gaming. Lenovo’s Legion Slim 7i will also reportedly use mini-LED.
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89.5 %
Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082WR9 6900HS, GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU2.1 kg19.4 mm16.10″2560×160085.6 %
Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU603Hi9-11900H, GeForce RTX 3070 Laptop GPU2 kg20 mm16.00″2560×160086.3 %
Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G533ZW-LN106WSi9-12900H, GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU2.3 kg27.2 mm15.60″2560×144084.7 %
Gigabyte Aero 16 YE5i9-12900HK, GeForce RTX 3080 Ti Laptop GPU2.3 kg22.4 mm16.00″3840×240088 %
Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16 G7 i7 RTX 3070Tii7-12700H, GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU2.6 kg26.6 mm16.00″2560×160084.5 %
MSI Stealth GS66 12UGSi7-12700H, GeForce RTX 3070 Ti Laptop GPU2.2 kg19.8 mm15.60″2560×144093.2 %
Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 ProM1 Pro, M1 Pro 16-Core GPU2.2 kg16.8 mm16.20″3456×223488.3 %
Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme G4-20Y50040GEi9-11950H, GeForce RTX 3080 Laptop GPU1.9 kg18.2 mm16.00″3840×240088.8 %
Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060i7-12700H, GeForce RTX 3060 Laptop GPU2.5 kg19.5 mm17.00″3840×240089 %
Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio i7 RTX 3050 Tii7-11370H, GeForce RTX 3050 Ti Laptop GPU1.8 kg19 mm14.40″2400×160084.7 %
Asus ROG Flow X13 GV301QHR9 5980HS, GeForce GTX 1650 Max-Q1.4 kg15.8 mm13.40″3840×2400
In principle, the ROG Flow X16 is a mix of the smaller Flow X13 and the Zephyrus M16: The distinctive fluting on the iron-gray plastic lid of the former has been replicated, as well as the general shape and silhouette, which are only in a larger size. The base unit, including the baseplate, resemble the Zephyrus M16.
Asus uses a lot of magnesium, so the device feels very high-quality overall. However, the lid and base plate are made of soft plastic and are especially susceptible to scratches. This reduces our initially positive impression somewhat.
Targeted pressure on the back of the display does not cause image distortions and the baseplate is held in place by 13 screws. When detached from the unit, however, the baseplate turns out to be a flexible piece of plastic.
The workmanship is at a high level, the base unit cannot be twisted and the display also leaves little room for torsion. Haptically, the slightly roughened surfaces feel very good. The patterning of the lid is also replicated in an exclusively optical form on the palm rest, including the touchpad. Fingerprints are immediately visible, but the final version of the Flow X16 is not expected to adopt the corrugated pattern, instead using a special coating to keep fingerprints at bay.
The two hinges of the convertible allow for 360° rotation of the display and hold it firmly in position. The fact that the display of a convertible bobs a little cannot always be completely avoided. Overall, a good balance between smoothness and stability has been achieved. The ROG Flow X16 can also be opened with one hand. Small spacers protect the base unit in tablet and tent mode.
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With the ROG Flow X16, Asus manages to create a laptop with the smallest dimensions among the 16-inchers, even outclassing some 15-inch laptops in our comparison field, although the Gigabyte Aero 16 and the MSI Stealth GS66 are already very compact models. The 14.4-inch Surface Laptop Studio is obviously more compact, but is not a real gamer either.
Only the ThinkPad X1 Extreme is superior in terms of weight among the devices with a potent GPU, but its 80 W of TGP requires a less elaborate cooling solution. Asus’ Zephyrus M16 is roughly on par due to the similar case.
❌374.45 mm / 14.7 inch
248.05 mm / 9.77 inch
19.5 mm / 0.768 inch
2.5 kg5.54 lbs359.9 mm / 14.2 inch
264.4 mm / 10.4 inch
26.6 mm / 1.047 inch
2.6 kg5.63 lbs354 mm / 13.9 inch
259 mm / 10.2 inch
27.2 mm / 1.071 inch
2.3 kg5.07 lbs356 mm / 14 inch
248.5 mm / 9.78 inch
22.4 mm / 0.882 inch
2.3 kg5.05 lbs358 mm / 14.1 inch
248 mm / 9.76 inch
19.8 mm / 0.78 inch
2.2 kg4.85 lbs359.5 mm / 14.2 inch
253.8 mm / 9.99 inch
18.2 mm / 0.717 inch
1.9 kg4.1 lbs355 mm / 14 inch
243 mm / 9.57 inch
20 mm / 0.787 inch
2 kg4.52 lbs355 mm / 14 inch
243 mm / 9.57 inch
19.4 mm / 0.764 inch
2.1 kg4.59 lbs355.7 mm / 14 inch
248.1 mm / 9.77 inch
16.8 mm / 0.661 inch
2.2 kg4.75 lbs323 mm / 12.7 inch
228 mm / 8.98 inch
19 mm / 0.748 inch
1.8 kg4.04 lbs
The Asus ROG Flow X16 offers four USB 3.2 Gen2 ports, two of which are Type A, while the other two are Type C and both support DisplayPort and Power Delivery up to 100 watts. The DisplayPort of the USB-C port in the xGM port is connected to the dedicated Nvidia GPU, while the other USB-C port is connected to the Radeon GPU, as is the HDMI 2.0b port, which supports G-Sync. Later in the year, Asus may provide a software upgrade for USB 4.0.
An SD card reader is only available in the micro version and a LAN port is absent. The ROG Flow series features the xGM port for an optional graphics dock (eGPU) that accommodates a GeForce RTX 3080 (laptop GPU). This is the only option for the dock so far, is more compact than conventional eGPUs, and is connected to twice the bandwidth (64 GBit/s @PCIe 3.0 8x versus 32 GBit/s @Thunderbolt 3/4).
Of course, gains in performance are likely to be marginal in our model with an integrated mobile RTX 3070 Ti, and it remains unclear whether the dock will receive updates in the future. Nevertheless, we will measure any differences and report them soon. In addition, the ROG XG Mobile (that we have previously reviewed) offers additional ports, such as GBit LAN and a full-size DisplayPort.
Furthermore, there is also a 3.5 mm audio jack, as well as the power socket for the 240 watt power supply. The spacing between the ports is adequate, but the power button on the right side sits loosely in the case in our pre-release version. The fingerprint reader has been omitted.
Left: power, HDMI 2.0b, USB-C 3.2 Gen2 (PD + DisplayPort), ROG xGM port incl. USB-C 3.2 Gen2, port casing. There is no fingerprint reader.
Right: power button, microSD, 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen2, ventilation slots
The UHS-II microSD card reader achieves very good results of 158 MB/s in the copy test and ~183 MB/s in sequential read with our reference microSD card (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60). Particularly in copying, the ROG Flow X16 is far ahead of the competition. Only Dell’s XPS 17 achieves higher copy rates (~205 MB/s).
SD Card Readeraverage JPG Copy Test (av. of 3 runs)Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-12700H (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
205.2 MB/s ∼100% +30%Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W
AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60)
158 MB/s ∼77% Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro
Apple M1 Pro (Angelbird AV Pro V60)
121 MB/s ∼59% -23%Average of class Gaming
(18.5 – 222, n=91, last 2 years)
114.4 MB/s ∼56% -28%Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU603H
Intel Core i9-11900H (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60)
96 MB/s ∼47% -39%maximum AS SSD Seq Read Test (1GB)Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060
Intel Core i7-12700H (Toshiba Exceria Pro SDXC 64 GB UHS-II)
198 MB/s ∼100% +8%Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU603H
Intel Core i9-11900H (AV PRO microSD 128 GB V60)
187 MB/s ∼94% +2%Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W
AMD Ryzen 9 6900HS (AV Pro SD microSD 128 GB V60)
182.7 MB/s ∼92% Average of class Gaming
(20.5 – 263, n=82, last 2 years)
134.7 MB/s ∼68% -26%
Installed WiFi 6E module: MediaTek MT7922
The installed WiFi 6E module comes from MediaTek and delivers decent speeds in both directions. The MT7922 is thus twice as powerful as the MT7921 in the Zephyrus M16 and the MacBook Pro 16.
Networking iperf3 transmit AX12Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16 G7 i7 RTX 3070Ti
Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201
1580 (738min – 1775max) MBit/s ∼100% +12%Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio i7 RTX 3050 Ti
Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200
1446 (662min – 1538max) MBit/s ∼92% +2%Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W
MediaTek Wi-Fi 6E MT7922 160MHz Wireless LAN Card
1412 (701min – 1560max) MBit/s ∼89%
1412 MBit/s ∼89% 0%Average of class Gaming
(450 – 1603, n=140, last 2 years)
1164 MBit/s ∼74% -18%Asus ROG Flow X13 GV301QH
Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200
916 (427min – 1023max) MBit/s ∼58% -35%Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax
772 (748min – 792max) MBit/s ∼49% -45%Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU603H
MediaTek MT7921
548 (470min – 602max) MBit/s ∼35% -61% iperf3 receive AX12Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W
MediaTek Wi-Fi 6E MT7922 160MHz Wireless LAN Card
1700 (855min – 1725max) MBit/s ∼100%
1700 MBit/s ∼100% 0%Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16 G7 i7 RTX 3070Ti
Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX201
1493 (1284min – 1716max) MBit/s ∼88% -12%Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio i7 RTX 3050 Ti
Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200
1293 (1024min – 1492max) MBit/s ∼76% -24%Average of class Gaming
(90 – 1743, n=140, last 2 years)
1243 MBit/s ∼73% -27%Asus ROG Flow X13 GV301QH
Intel Wi-Fi 6 AX200
924 (867min – 950max) MBit/s ∼54% -46%Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax
760 (404min – 869max) MBit/s ∼45% -55%Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU603H
MediaTek MT7921
710 (360min – 761max) MBit/s ∼42% -58% iperf3 receive AXE11000Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G533ZW-LN106WS
Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211
1748 (903min – 1835max) MBit/s ∼100% Average MediaTek Wi-Fi 6E MT7922 160MHz Wireless LAN Card
(1553 – 1692, n=3)
1617 MBit/s ∼93% Average of class Gaming
(787 – 1748, n=25, last 2 years)
1597 MBit/s ∼91% MSI Stealth GS66 12UGS
Killer Wi-Fi 6E AX1675i 160MHz Wireless Network Adapter
1569 (622min – 1690max) MBit/s ∼90% Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060
Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211
1384 (1326min – 1431max) MBit/s ∼79% Gigabyte Aero 16 YE5
Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210
1030 (752min – 1313max) MBit/s ∼59% Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax
874 (522min – 938max) MBit/s ∼50% iperf3 transmit AXE11000Average MediaTek Wi-Fi 6E MT7922 160MHz Wireless LAN Card
(1492 – 1695, n=3)
1568 MBit/s ∼100% Asus ROG Strix Scar 15 G533ZW-LN106WS
Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211
1482 (962min – 1587max) MBit/s ∼95% Average of class Gaming
(851 – 1695, n=21, last 2 years)
1426 MBit/s ∼91% Gigabyte Aero 16 YE5
Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX210
1333 (1044min – 1390max) MBit/s ∼85% Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060
Intel Wi-Fi 6E AX211
1291 (990min – 1399max) MBit/s ∼82% Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro
802.11 a/b/g/n/ac/ax
766 (698min – 785max) MBit/s ∼49%
050100150200250300350400450500550600650700750800850900950100010501100115012001250130013501400145015001550160016501700Tooltip
Usable 720p webcam
A 720p variant (1280×720) is used as the webcam, but it offers better sharpness and less distortion than usual. There is no mechanical shutter, but there is infrared for Windows Hello.
720p webcam with IR
ColorChecker Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W: 18.76 ∆E min: 2.33 – max: 29 ∆E
In our review package, Asus provides a 240 watt power adapter as well as the Asus SA201H stylus for touchscreen input (included in scope of delivery). We also received a ROG BP4071 laptop backpack. We ordered the external graphics dock and the ROG 100 watt USB-C power supply separately.
13 Phillips screws have to be loosened in order to remove the plastic baseplate. In addition, some clips have to be loosened with a spatula or a pick. Three fans (1x CPU, 1x GPU and 1x system fan) await us inside, which can be cleaned. The battery is screwed and can thus be replaced.
Furthermore, the RAM (two slots) can be upgraded and a larger SSD can be used in the M.2-2280 slot (PCIe 4.0). One M.2-2242 slot is free for another SSD.
Inside of the Asus ROG Flow x16Spare M.2-2242 slot
MediaTek WiFi module concealed under the SSD
In Germany, Asus provides a 24-month warranty with a pickup and return service for the ROG Flow X16. This may vary according to location, so be sure to check with your supplier before purchasing.
3-level RGB key backlighting
Asus installs a 6-row chiclet keyboard in the ROG Flow X16, whose keys are somewhat smaller at 15 x 15 mm. The lettering is even larger and features a special typography. Typical gaming laptop.
The travel of 1.7 mm is generous and the pressure point noticeable with clear strokes, but the key resistance may be a little too low for some people, which subjectively feels slightly spongy. The keys are not concave, unlike some business notebooks, but nothing stands in the way of fast typing after a short period of familiarization. Basically, the same keyboard is installed as in the Zephyrus M16. N-key rollover is supported to allow for the correct registering of multiple keystrokes simultaneously.
The RGB lighting can be adjusted in three intensity levels. However, the keys cannot be individually programmed (i.e. per key RGB). The layout is good and without surprises. The arrow keys are half the size, the enter key is split, and the usual double assignments have been allocated.
Large touchpad (13 x 8,5 cm)
The large glass touchpad measures 13 x 8.5 cm and offers excellent gliding properties. Response and precision are at a high level. Multi-touch gestures and scrolling function without issue.
The integrated keys click quietly, have a short stroke and a satisfactory feedback. However, the touchpad failed after a short time and could not be reactivated. We suspect that this is due to a driver problem that only applies to our pre-production model.
All models of the ROG X16 Flow come with a touchscreen. The response and accuracy are good – scrolling is especially fun with the 165 Hz refresh rate. The included stylus (Asus SA201H) has 4,096 pressure levels and is powered by an AAAA battery. It glides quickly and precisely over the touchscreen and the pen tip offers adequate feedback, as do the two integrated buttons on the bottom side.
Bright subpixels without graininess
A rarity: No screen bleeding, as was the case with the ROG Flow X13.
The ROG Flow X16 can be ordered either with or without a mini-LED backlight. Some features remain unchanged: the resolution of 2560×1600 in 16:10 format, a refresh rate of 165 Hz and a glossy touchscreen with stylus support.
The mini-LED installed in our variant support DisplayHDR 1000 for the first time in a gaming notebook, alongside Asus’ own Zephyrus Duo 16. However, the latter model also offers a matte non-touch variant.
Content looks even more appealing with DisplayHDR 1000 enabled, compared to previous laptops which only supported HDR 400 with significantly lower image enhancements. The only other laptops with DisplayHDR 1000 so far have been the MSI Creator 17 (2020) and Apple’s MacBook Pro 16 (2021). Lenovo’s Legion Slim 7i with a mini-LED display should also be available later this year.
Subjective picture perception is excellent. Colors are displayed very well, the peak brightness of ~1,100 nits with HDR enabled (also works in normal desktop mode) is outstanding, and the black level of 0.11 nits is almost as rich as in OLED, while the contrast ratio of 4,527:1 is very good, as is typical for mini-LED. Our measurements were carried out in SDR mode. In HDR mode, the contrast ratio is typically much higher, particularly due to the 512 activated local dimming zones of our display: Individual pixel areas completely turn off as soon as black is displayed, or areas glow very brightly with HDR content. There are no halos, which also explains the very solid illumination homogeneity of 95%. Average HDR brightness is typically around 20 percent below peak brightness (not measured).
Together with a frame rate of 165 Hz and good response times of 11 ms each (gray to gray and black to white), the display is unrivaled in HDR gaming. Adaptive Sync is supported. Only those who play mostly fast-paced shooters are likely look for alternatives with even higher frame rates and lower response times, such as the MSI Stealth GS66, and may prefer a lower Full HD resolution, since maximum FPS and speed have absolute priority in fast-paced shooters. But since the ROG X16 Flow is also designed for creators, it is not only ideal for HDR content in gaming, but also in editing.
Overall, only Apple’s MacBook Pro 16 with its own Mini LED display comes close to the display quality. OLED panels, such as in Gigabyte Aero 16, are not bright enough for DisplayHDR 1000. On the other hand, mini-LED exhibits “blooming” (that is, the light of bright LEDs shines into surrounding, darker content, similar to backlight bleeding, since local dimming zones are larger than pixels) in our review device, but this is somewhat less pronounced than in the MacBook or the iPad Pro 12.9 with the M1 chip. PWM is something we have always observed in mini-LED displays so far, but the very high frequency of 7,400 MHz should not pose any problems, even for sensitive users.
487cd/m²506cd/m²504cd/m²518cd/m²498cd/m²512cd/m²504cd/m²497cd/m²495cd/m²
Distribution of brightness
Maximum: 518 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 502.3 cd/m² Minimum: 26.6 cd/m²
Center on Battery: 502 cd/m²
Asus ROG Flow X16 GV601RW-M5082W
AUO B160QAN02.S, Mini LED, 2560×1600, 16.10Asus ROG Zephyrus M16 GU603H
AU Optronics AUOC199, IPS, 2560×1600, 16.00Gigabyte Aero 16 YE5
Samsung SDC416B, AMOLED, 3840×2400, 16.00MSI Stealth GS66 12UGS
Sharp LQ156T1JW04 (SHP153C), IPS-Level, 2560×1440, 15.60Lenovo Legion 5 Pro 16 G7 i7 RTX 3070Ti
NE160QDM-NY1, IPS, 2560×1600, 16.00Apple MacBook Pro 16 2021 M1 Pro
Liquid Retina XDR, Mini-LED, 3456×2234, 16.20Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Extreme G4-20Y5CTO1WW (3050 Ti)
LP160UQ1-SPB1, IPS LED, 3840×2400, 16.00Dell XPS 17 9720 RTX 3060
Sharp LQ170R1, IPS, 3840×2400, 17.00Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio i7 RTX 3050 Ti
LQ144P1JX01, IPS, 2400×1600, 14.40Display
Display P3 Coverage
sRGB Coverage
AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage
Response Times
Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *
Response Time Black / White *
PWM Frequency
Screen
Brightness middle
Brightness
Brightness Distribution
Black Level *
Contrast
Colorchecker dE 2000 *
