The Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 is the first gaming laptop that got my heart to grow three sizes, but can Asus deliver the same present at CES 2025? I think so.
The new Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 has a lot to live up to. It's been five years, but the first Asus Zephyrus G14 is still the only laptop I’ve given a perfect score.
Naturally, the first thing that caught my attention was the Zephyrus G14 toting around an Nvidia GeForce RTX 5080 GPU. That’s a massive improvement from last year’s model, which topped out at RTX 4070. Then there’s the Asus ROG Zephyrus G16, which now comes with an RTX 5090?! These slim gaming laptops are becoming monsters. The G16 also topped out at RTX 4070 last year.
There’s plenty to explore with these two shiny, slim gaming laptops. Let’s dive in.
Asus ROG Zephyrus G14/G16: Specs
| Laptops | Asus ROG Zephyrus G14 | Asus ROG Zephyrus G16 |
|---|---|---|
| Price | TBD | TBD |
| Availability | Q1 | Q1 |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 | Intel Core Ultra 9 285H |
| GPU | Up to NVIDIA RTX 5080, 175W Max TGP, 16GB | Up to NVIDIA RTX 5090, 175W Max TGP, 24GB |
| RAM | Up to 32 GB LPDDR5X 7500 (on board) | Up to 64 GB LPDDR5X 7467 (on board) |
| Storage | Up to 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD included (1 x SSD PCIE 4.0) | Up to 2TB PCIe 4.0 SSD included (2 x SSD PCIE 4.0) |
| Display | 14-inch, up to 2880 x 1800, 240Hz, OLED | 16-inch, up to 2560 x 1600, 240Hz, OLED |
| Weight | 3.46 pounds | 4.3 pounds |
| Dimensions | 12.24 x 8.66 x 0.63~0.72 inches | 13.94 x 9.69 x 0.59~0.69 inches |
Will my baby get 5 stars again?
First things first, pricing and availability details are scant. All we know is that the Zephyrus gaming laptops will be released later in Q1, potentially as early as February.
Outside of the raw power these two will be delivering, I’m excited to see the Zephyrus G14 continue with an AMD CPU, as that has been a relatively consistent winner for its longer battery life.
Then there’s the display. Asus claims that the Zephyrus G14’s 14-inch, 2880 x 1800, 240Hz OLED display will cover 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and emit 500 nits of brightness. If that’s the case, then this will easily be the best display that the G14 ever had.
I can’t not talk about the design. The G14 comes in at 12.24 x 8.66 x 0.63~0.72 inches and 3.46 pounds while the G16 lands at 13.94 x 9.69 x 0.59~0.69 inches and 4.3 pounds. That isn’t much different from their predecessors, which isn’t a bad thing. The Zephyrus G-series retains its ultraportable status. And with a CNC-milled aluminum chassis, that makes them all the more premium. Once again, they come in Platinum White and Eclipse Gray colorways.
At this point, I’m a little concerned about the price point. One of the reasons I loved the Zephyrus G14 is that it was a premium ultraportable gaming laptop priced under $1,500 with an RTX 2060 GPU. I’ve certainly seen new gaming laptops do that, but how will the new RTX 50-series gaming laptops be affected? I understand that an RTX 5080 model may cost over $2K, but I am hoping for a reasonably priced RTX 5060 with that shiny display.
I’m excited to get my hands on the Asus Zephyrus G14 and G16 when they come through our lab. Stay tuned for our full review and benchmarks. In the meantime, check out our ongoing coverage of CES 2025.
