ASUS’ new ROG Flow X16 gaming laptop with 1,100-nit miniLED display sets a high bar

Today, ASUS announced an update to its ROG Flow lineup of gaming laptops with the X16. Designed as “the most powerful convertible gaming laptop,” there’s plenty of specs here to run your on-the-go gaming setup. You’ll find a Ryzen 9 6900HS processor, the RTX 3070 Ti graphics card, and DDR5 RAM in tow. It also has up to a 2TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD for large projects or games, and there’s a second M.2 slot for even more storage, should you need it. There’s a lot more to like about the new ASUS ROG Flow X16 miniLED gaming laptop, so let’s take a closer look.

miniLED displays are finally coming to gaming laptops with the ASUS ROG Flow X16

We’ve seen miniLED displays used in numerous products already over the past year or so. Apple uses them in the latest MacBook Pro lineup, TV manufacturers leverage them for big screens, but there haven’t been a whole lot of gaming laptops with the technology. While GIGABYTE announced some miniLED laptops at CES this year, ASUS is getting in on the action with the ROG Flow X16 today.

The miniLED display on the ASUS ROG Flow X16 measures 16-inches and comes in two flavors; there’s either the standard 165Hz 1440p with 100% DCI-P3 coverage and IPS technology, or the same overall specs with miniLED and Nebula HDR in tow. Should you opt for the miniLED panel, it’s fully certified with Nebula HDR, Pantone, and more. Of course, it features Adaptive-Sync and a high refresh rate, too. There are 512 miniLED dimming zone and it can reach a peak brightness of 1,100 nits for HDR content, making it a great laptop for on-the-go gaming or content creation.

Not only does this laptop have a miniLED display that can reach 1,100-nits, but it’s also touchscreen and rotates 360-degrees to function as a tablet as well. That’s right, creatives will be able to flip the screen around and use a stylus to draw or put it in tent mode for movie watching. It’s quite the versatile machine, all things considered.

On the power side of things, the ASUS ROG Flow X16 gaming laptop comes packed with either the Ryzen 7 6800HS or the Ryzen 9 6900HS processor, an RTX 3050 Ti, 3060, or 3070 Ti, and up to 64GB of DDR5 4800MHz memory. Like mentioned above, it can have up to a 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD pre-installed and there’s a spare M.2 slot for an extra drive, should you need it. Connectivity wise there’s the XG Mobile interface, a USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, two USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, HDMI 2.0b, and microSD support.

The ASUS ROG Flow X16 gaming laptop model most will opt for with the 6900HS, RTX 3070 Ti, Nebula HDR miniLED display, 16GB of RAM, and 1TB SSD will retail for $2,699.99 and will begin shipping soon.

9to5Toys’ Take

I love the fact that ASUS broke the mold with this laptop. It’s not your typical gaming laptop, and that’s all due to the display. Yes, being miniLED with 1,100-nit peak brightness, being HDR certified, and having a 165Hz 1440p spec is nice. But, the fact that it’s touchscreen and a 2-in-1 convertible makes it so much more versatile when compared to traditional laptops.

Plus, there’s an insane amount of power here for on-the-go gaming and workflows. The RTX 3070 Ti will easily play your favorite titles at 1440p 165Hz on high to ultra settings, and the fact that it has the Ryzen 9 6900HS and DDR5 make it ideal for content creators too. All-in-all, this is a solid laptop for a multitude of uses, even though it does come in a bit high on the pricing spectrum due to the premium build and display.

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