Which laptop was reviewed
The reviewed unit is the Vivobook S16 (S5652MA) with Intel's Core 7 350. Asus's India page lists the S5652 family, and its tech-spec page names the S5652MA in Matte Gray and Cool Silver. That page lists 16GB of LPDDR5X on board, a 512GB PCIe 4.0 SSD, and a 16-inch 1920 x 1200 display at 300 nits and 100% sRGB. The review's findings apply to this configuration, not to every Vivobook S16 variant.
Price: what was reported
The review says the list price is ₹1,85,990 and that Asus was selling the laptop for ₹1,13,990 on its own website. That is about 39% off.
- A Flipkart listing for the S5652MA-TK191WS shows the same 39% discount, with ₹1,85,990 struck through and ₹1,13,990 as the price.
- Asus India's product page data also carries a price of ₹1,13,990.
- Notebookcheck reported the same S5652MA-TK191WS price of ₹113,990.
Indian laptop pricing moves quickly, so treat these as published-day figures, not a guarantee. The reviewer's "bargain" verdict rests entirely on the discounted price.
Prices also differ by country. An earlier WindowsForum report on the same hardware notes that prices vary by country and SKU, and that none of the figures is a global MSRP.
Design and ports
The reviewer praises the 1.5kg, 15.8mm all-metal body for being light enough to carry daily. Asus also lists the weight at 1.5kg.
Ports, as reported by the reviewer:
- Two USB-A ports
- Two USB-C ports with charging and display output
- HDMI 2.1
- A headphone jack
- No SD card slot
- No Thunderbolt on the USB-C ports
Intel's processor page does list Thunderbolt 4 among the chip's expansion options. That describes the silicon, not this laptop. The reviewer says Asus did not implement it here, and that is the claim to rely on.
Asus also advertises military-grade durability. That is a lab-test claim that applies to selected products. It is not a promise the laptop will survive any particular drop.
Display
The panel is a 16:10 IPS LCD at 1920x1200 with an anti-glare finish. Asus describes it as a 30–144Hz VRR display with a 90% screen-to-body ratio.
The reviewer's take:
- It is smooth for scrolling, window movement and light games.
- It is good for streaming.
- Blacks are weaker than on an OLED, and the reviewer judges the IPS choice sensible at this price.
- 300 nits is fine indoors but struggles in direct sun.
- There is a little screen wobble when the desk is nudged, and it settles quickly.
These are subjective impressions, not lab measurements.
Keyboard, webcam and speakers
- Keyboard and touchpad: The reviewer found the full-size keyboard comfortable for hours of typing. It has a number pad and full-size arrow keys, and the touchpad is large with edge gestures.
- Webcam: It is 1080p with an IR sensor for Windows Hello. Image quality drops in dim light. Notebookcheck notes the chip's NPU is rated at up to 17 TOPS, and the reviewer links this to the camera effects: background blur, auto-framing, eye-contact correction and noise reduction.
- Speakers: They are described as serviceable but bass-light and flat at higher volume. Headphones are the reviewer's advice for music and films.
Performance: the numbers
Intel's specification page describes the Core 7 350 as a Core Series 3 mobile part, formerly Wildcat Lake. Notebookcheck summarises it as six cores boosting up to 4.8GHz. Intel's page breaks that down as two performance cores and four low-power efficient cores. It lists 15W base power and 35W maximum turbo power. Graphics are Intel Graphics with two Xe cores.
The reviewer reports these results:
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Geekbench 7 | 2,316 single / 7,782 multi |
| Cinebench 2026 | 470 single / 1,668 multi |
| PCMark 10 | 7,357 |
| CrossMark overall | 1,498 |
| CrossMark productivity / creativity / responsiveness | 1,526 / 1,544 / 1,294 |
| Geekbench GPU | 11,399 Vulkan / 12,285 OpenCL |
The review does not document the power mode, run count or comparison systems. Use these figures as an indication of class, not as a ranking against other laptops.
In real use, the reviewer ran a busy Chrome session, documents, Slack, music and light image editing without trouble. Valorant was playable at 1080p, though no settings or frame rates were given. AAA gaming, heavy rendering and complex 4K work are out of scope. The reviewer suggests GeForce NOW or a laptop with a dedicated GPU for serious gaming.
The soldered RAM caveat
This is the biggest buying consideration. The 16GB of memory is fixed. Notebookcheck's report says the memory cannot be upgraded, though the specifications list an M.2 2280 slot for storage. If your workload could outgrow 16GB over the laptop's life, this is not the machine for you. The M.2 slot may give some room to expand storage, but confirm that on the exact SKU.
The NPU is useful for Windows Studio Effects and small on-device features. The reviewer is clear that 17 TOPS does not make this a serious local-AI machine.
Battery and charging
The 52.5Wh battery is modest for a 16-inch laptop. Asus advertises up to 15+ hours of battery life and fast Type-C charging. The reviewer got about 8 to 9 hours of screen-on use and warns that video calls, high brightness and heavy work cut that figure. Dropping from 144Hz to a lower refresh rate off the mains is sensible advice.
The 15+ hour figure comes from Asus's controlled tests. Those used Balanced mode and 150 cd/m² brightness, and the video test also had Wi-Fi off. The reviewer's figure comes from real use, so the two should not be compared directly.
Charging uses a 48W USB-C adapter. Asus claims 60% in 49 minutes, but only with the laptop off or in standby. The reviewer says USB-C Power Delivery lets other chargers top it up, but gives no charging speeds for them.
Accessory note
The review also tried the ASUS MW103 mouse, priced at ₹599. It weighs 45g and goes up to 1,600 DPI. It uses a USB-A dongle, which takes one of the laptop's two USB-A ports.
Who should buy it
A good fit if you:
- want a large 16:10 screen with a number pad
- do office, study, browsing and streaming work
- value a 1.5kg metal body and a decent port selection
- can buy at the discounted price
Look elsewhere if you:
- need more than 16GB of RAM
- want OLED, an SD card slot or Thunderbolt
- need serious GPU performance
- would be paying near the ₹1,85,990 list price
My view, from general industry knowledge: this is a competent mainstream laptop that wins on balance rather than any standout feature. The benchmarks are plausible for a six-core chip with modest graphics, but they come from one reviewer and one unit. Check the live price and the exact model number before you buy, then decide whether fixed memory is a deal-breaker.