MSI Stealth A16 AI+ review: AI won’t help make this anything other than mediocre

The MSI Stealth series is among my favorites in the gaming laptop space. However, if you’re looking toward the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ as a great new entry in the lineup, you might want to think twice.

The MSI Stealth A16 AI+ features a wonderful keyboard and touchpad experience with long battery life (when gaming), all packed into a sleek design. That’s really all it has, though. Its performance and display are both decent, don’t get me wrong. But is it worth $2,000? No, I cannot recommend this as one of the best gaming laptops.

If MSI shaved $500 off that price tag, you should consider it. But let me get specific about why the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ landed the way it did.

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Specs and benchmarks

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Price and configurations

The MSI Stealth A16 AI+ that I reviewed costs $1,999 and is outfitted with an AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 processor with integrated Radeon 880M graphics, a dedicated Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 8GB GPU, 32GB of RAM, 1TB SSD, and a 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz display.

This is the only model currently available in the US. However, there’s an Intel equivalent that costs the same; it comes with an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor and a 16-inch, 1920 x 1200, 165Hz display.

If you’re looking for something more with your budget, check out the best cheap gaming laptops.

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Design

For better or worse, MSI has not changed its design philosophy in years. To its credit, the Stealth series typically features sleek, svelte profiles. With this mesmerizing, black sand-blasted aluminum hood, the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ is no different. Then there’s the black MSI shield stamped just above the center. The hinge sports a Stealth logo across a reflective surface. The design errs on the side of bland, but the materials and style make it feel premium at the very least (except for the way it attracts fingerprints like a magnet).

The interior is more of the same — all black. Surrounding the deck are a stylish trio of vents, while the keyboard sits in a subtle depression on the chassis. Meanwhile, the bezels around the display are remarkably slim, but there’s enough room on top for a webcam and a privacy shutter. To the right of the touchpad is a fingerprint reader, too, which we don’t see on many gaming laptops.

At 4.6 pounds and 14 x 10.22 x 0.85 inches, the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ finds itself on the thicker side against its competitors, which is usually not the case for Stealth series laptops. Here’s how it stacks up to the competitors:

• Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 9: 5.1 pounds, 14.08 x 10.33 x 0.69 inches
• Asus ROG Zephyrus G16: 4.08 pounds, 13.94 x 9.69 x 0.59~0.65 inches
• Alienware m16 R2: 5.75 pounds, 14.33 x 9.81 x 0.93 inches

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Ports

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There aren’t many ports included with the MSI Stealth A16 AI+. It would’ve been nice to see an additional USB Type-C port. Asking for a Mini DisplayPort is a stretch, but VR users would be thankful. Here are the ports included:

• 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen2
• 1x USB-C USB 4 w/ DisplayPort & USB Power Delivery 3.0
• 1x HDMI 2.1
• 1x headphone jack
• 1x RJ45 Ethernet (2.5G)
• 1x security lock slot
• 1x power jack

Need more ports? Check out our best USB Type-C hubs and best laptop docking stations pages.

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Battery life

I’m pleased to report that the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ offers notable battery life. Not only that but its battery life while gaming is the most impressive I’ve seen in quite some time.

On the Laptop Mag battery test, which tasks the laptop to continuously surf the web over Wi-Fi at 150 nits of brightness, the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ lasted 5 hours and 41 minutes. On the PCMark 10 gaming battery life test, it lasted 2 hours and 15 minutes.

It outpaced most of its competition in terms of gaming. On the standard testing, it soared past the Legion 7i. And while it barely lost to the m16 R2, it fell nearly 4 hours behind the Zephyrus G16.

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Display

Whether I drove through the jungles of Far Cry 6 or watched the latest trailers for upcoming projects, I found the MSI Stealth A16 AI+’s 16-inch, 2560 x 1600, 240Hz display to be underwhelming for its price. It’s relatively bright, but the color lacked the depth I desire from a laptop of this caliber. It is colorful, but not $2K colorful

When scouting out an enemy checkpoint in Far Cry 6, the blue building that my targets hovered around looked distinct and contrasted well against the surrounding greenery in the bright sunlight. However, it didn’t exhibit the rich vividness I hoped for. And the balance of brightness and contrast didn’t work well when I entered a darker space to grab Alejandro. Yet, the high-refresh enables a smoother visual experience on lower graphical settings.

I watched the teaser trailer for Secret Level, and it confirmed our testing, which determined that there is a subtle vignette surrounding the display. This is pretty frustrating when watching all kinds of content. Darker scenes suffer the most; it feels like the real estate of the display shrinks to a fraction of the size. Despite that, the color diversity was reasonable, with Sifu’s dojo showcasing bright reds and warm beige colors.

Here's where the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ lands against its competitors according to our display benchmarks:

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Keyboard and touchpad

You can thank peripheral manufacturer SteelSeries for the epic keyboard resting on the MSI Stealth A16 AI+’s deck. My fingers bounced across the keys with little effort.

I typed out 82 words per minute on the 10fastfingers.com typing test, which is around my 81-wpm average. The spacing between and the height of the keys helped elevate my typing speed.

The 3.2 x 5.3-inch touchpad is surprisingly smooth and offers a pleasant clicker. It's not too often that I find a high-quality touchpad in a gaming laptop. They're usually sacrificed since you'd need to use a discrete gaming mouse to play properly.

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Audio

The best way to describe the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ is noisy. I know, let me explain. The audio prioritizes the wrong sounds, bringing background noise to the foreground and vice versa.

I jumped into Far Cry 6, and the speaker announcement blared across the speaker, practically muting my gunfire and footsteps. It sounded harsh and hollow. The dialogue between Anton and Diego was sharp on the highs and muted on the lows, creating a chaotic sound that was both loud and hard to hear at the same time.

I listened to my latest obsession, “Bling-Bang-Bang-Born” by Creepy Nuts, and immediately noticed the percussion getting snuffed by the bass-less speakers. The vocals lacked the richness I’d expected, and some of the synths were completely lost in the background.

There’s the Nahimic audio app, but I didn’t hear a radical difference between the presets, which include Music, Movie, Communication, Gaming, and Smart.

Do yourself a favor and just get one of the best gaming headsets.

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Gaming and graphics

Stuffed into the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ is an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4070 GPU with 8GB of VRAM. I shot my way through a warehouse in Far Cry 6 at 63 frames per second on Ultra, 1600p.

I stealthy weaved my way toward the next puzzle in Shadow of the Tomb Raider, and after cutting down a few baddies at 58 fps on Ultra, 1600p settings, I got to focus on the titular activity.

Unfortunately, the Stealth falls behind its competitors multiple times in terms of frames per second. This is especially disappointing considering its price. However, the Stealth can get you through most games just fine.

Here's how it stacks up against its competitors:

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Performance and heat

The MSI Stealth A16 AI+ sports the latest AMD Ryzen AI 9 365 processor with 32GB of RAM. It's hyped up on new AI technology, but is it just that? Hype.

I journeyed through a couple dozen Google Chrome tabs and a handful of YouTube videos without issue. I booted up Spotify and Far Cry 6 pretty easily. When I tabbed out of the game, I could navigate to wikis and tutorials without any slowdown.

While it may not be noticeable right away, you’ll likely see some longer load times in your games if you play with the Stealth long enough. That’s due to the Stealth’s slow 1TB SSD.

The MSI Stealth A16 AI+ also gets pretty spicy under the hood when gaming, so don’t try to put this thing in your lap.

Here's how the Stealth handles its competitors:

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: AI features

AI is here and it’s here to confuse you (not really, but that’s what happened). The MSI Stealth A16 AI+ features the latest AMD Ryzen AI 9 365. So while it’s not marketed as a Copilot+ PC, it does offer Copilot features. It can natively run AI-driven tasks, and it benefits from specially branded AI features.

One of those features is the MSI AI Engine. This is designed to provide real-time optimized performance adjustments based on usage context. That’s fancy speak for, likely, being able to switch between dedicated and integrated graphics depending on whether you’re gaming or not. There’s also an audio portion; I tested it and didn’t hear any major differences.

Outside of MSI’s app, you get Copilot features like Recall. A controversial setting that logs the history of your entire PC. Just like when you dig through your browser history, you can dig through your PC history to see what you were doing a few days ago. Now, it’s just a little alarming because that’s a whole lot of data being cataloged, and while Microsoft claims it’s stored locally, I’m not exactly putting my faith in a multi-billion dollar corporation.

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Webcam

The 1080p shooter in the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ isn’t as terrible as most laptop webcams, but it’s not great.

It reproduced strong colors in my background, including the vibrant My Hero Academia poster and my pink cat gaming chair. The balance in contrast is also solid, as the light above me and the window behind me didn’t wash out the surrounding area. There are a few sections of the blinds that were whited out, but that’s fine.

However, the webcam falters in terms of overall quality. There’s so much grain in the photo that my hair looks like a hazy mess and you can barely see the freckles on my face, which are dark and numerous.

Essentially, you should try out one of the best webcams.

MSI Stealth A16 AI+: Software and warranty

With the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ comes the MSI Center app. Here, you’ll have access to hardware monitoring, which provides information on the CPU, GPU, SSD, and RAM usage. You can also access performance settings, which cover Extreme Performance, Balanced, Silent, Super Battery, and the aforementioned MSI AI Engine.

The MSI Stealth A16 AI+ offers a one-year limited warranty.

Bottom line

I can’t say I’m a big fan of the MSI Stealth A16 AI+. Yes, it offers a comfortable keyboard and touchpad experience. I even like that it supports long gaming battery life, all packed into a svelte chassis. However, it falls short on performance and with its display. Both are respectable, but they can’t justify the Stealth’s $2K price.

For the same price, you can buy the Lenovo Legion 7i Gen 9, which supports a brighter and more colorful display, a faster SSD, and much stronger overall performance.

Overall, the MSI Stealth A16 AI+ is a decent gaming laptop, but it’s one that you should wait to get on a severe discount ($500 at minimum).