Asus has unveiled new versions of the ROG Zephyrus G14 and the ROG Zephyrus G16 gaming laptops at CES 2024. The two laptops have new chassis, design, screen, processors, and connectivity options compared to last year’s models, which makes these devices a lot better than their predecessors. Let’s take a look.
CNC aluminum chassis
Starting with the design, the Zephyrus G14 and the Zephyrus G16 have chassis milled out of a single piece of aluminum. In comparison, last year’s models had chassis made out of magnesium alloy. As a result, the two new laptops are stronger and lighter with fewer cuts compared to the previous models, which makes them look cleaner and more premium and sophisticated. The new chassis also offers a larger area for keyboard and trackpad. Asus has also revamped the design of the lid, making it look less funky and more classy.
OLED displays from Samsung
Coming to screens, the Zephyrus G14 and the Zephyrus G16 are the first laptops in the ROG series to feature OLED displays. The smaller model gets a 14-inch panel with a 2,880 x 1,800 resolution and a 120Hz refresh rate, whereas, the larger model gets a 16-inch panel with a 2,560 x 1,600 resolution and a 240Hz refresh rate. Both displays are manufactured by Samsung Display and come with 100% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut, support for G-Sync, Dolby Vision, and VESA DisplayHDR True Black 500 certification.
AMD Ryzen 8000 and Intel Core Ultra processors
As for the internals, the Zephyrus G14 features Ryzen 8000 series processors, whereas, the Zephyrus G16 comes with Intel Core Ultra processors. You can configure the smaller model with up to Ryzen 7 8700G and the larger model with Core Ultra 9 185H chips. On the graphics side, the Zephrus G14 will be available with up to Nvidia RTX 4070 (90W TGP) and the Zephyrus G16 will be available with up to Nvidia RTX 4090 (115W TGP). You can configure both laptops with up to 32GB LPDDR5X memory and 4TB M.2 PCIe SSD.
Rich connectivity options
Asus has always offered plenty of ports with Zephrus G14 and Zephyrus G16 laptops and this year’s models are no different. Both laptops get 1x USB Type-C Thunderbolt 4, 1x USB Type-C3.2 Gen 2, 2x USB Type-A 3.2 Gen 2, 1x HDMI 2.1, and 1x 3.5mm audio jack. While the smaller model has a microSD card slot, the larger model gets a full-sized SD card slot. Wireless connectivity options include Wi-Fi 6e and Bluetooth v5.3. It’s sad to see that there’s no Wi-Fi 7 onboard. That being said, Wi-FI 6e is pretty fast.
Larger battery and new charging port
Asus has also bumped the battery size in the Zephyrus G16. It now gets a 90Wh unit instead of the 73Wh pack. The Zephyrus G14 retains the 73Wh battery from its predecessor. The brand is offering a proprietary charging port on both laptops. Reportedly, it is more efficient and cost-effective compared to offering high-power USB Type-C charging. Both models come with a 180-watt power brick. There are two speakers onboard, which, according to Asus, are louder than before, and you also get RGB keyboard lighting.
Pricing and availability
Asus has neither announced the prices nor the availability details of the Zephyrus G14 and the Zephyrus G16. Expect those details to come out in the next few weeks. These, however, weren’t the only products the company showcased at CES 2024. Asus also unveiled the lineup of ultra-compact PCs, including the NUC 14 Pro, NUC 14 Pro+, ROG NUC, ExpertCenter PN65, Chromebox Fanless CF40.