On Tuesday, Asus quietly started selling a cheaper Zenbook A16 in Europe, cutting €700 from the Italian price of its Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme version while making the 16-inch OLED laptop 100 g lighter. The new configuration is live through Amazon Italy and Asus Italy, according to Notebookcheck, putting a lower-cost Windows-on-Arm option next to the premium model Asus released globally in April.
The timing matters. Asus is showing a wide slate of devices at Computex 2026 in Taipei, including four Zenbook 14 laptops with OLED displays and Ceraluminum covers, but the cheaper A16 appears to have arrived with less fanfare.
June 2: Asus lowers the Zenbook A16 entry point in Europe
The new Zenbook A16 starts at €1,399 (~$1,335) in Italy with a Qualcomm Snapdragon X X1-26-100 chipset, 16 GB of RAM, and 512 GB of storage. A second version pairs the same chip and memory with 1 TB of storage for €1,499 (~$1,429).
That entry model is €700 cheaper than the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme X2E-94-100 variant sold in Italy. Notebookcheck describes that as a 33% reduction, which is the core commercial move here: Asus is keeping the large OLED form factor while stripping the device down into a less expensive configuration.
The trade-offs are visible. Asus Italy lists the cheaper model with Wi-Fi 6E, a 1200p OLED display, 300 nits peak brightness, and a 60 Hz refresh rate. Those specs sit below the higher-end A16 positioning Asus pushed earlier this year around the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme model.
| Zenbook A16 version | Confirmed chip | Display details | Connectivity | Weight | Italy pricing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cheaper A16 | Snapdragon X X1-26-100 | 1200p OLED, 300 nits, 60 Hz | Wi-Fi 6E | 1.1 kg | €1,399 / €1,499 |
| April high-end A16 | Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme X2E-94-100 | Higher-end OLED configuration | Higher-end configuration | 1.2 kg | €700 more than the €1,399 model in Italy |
The surprise is the weight. The cheaper A16 comes in at 1.1 kg, which is 100 g below the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme-backed sibling. For a 16-inch machine, that keeps portability as a headline feature rather than a casualty of the lower price.
April’s Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme model now has a cheaper sibling
Asus released the Zenbook A16 globally in April with the Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme X2E-94-100 chipset. That version acted as the flagship expression of the A16 idea: a large-screen, lightweight laptop built around Qualcomm’s latest high-end silicon.
The new model changes the pitch. Instead of asking buyers to pay for the top Snapdragon tier, Asus is now offering the same broad design category with a lower chip tier, less aggressive display specs, and less expensive storage options.
That makes the OLED decision more important. Asus did not move the cheaper A16 to an LCD panel, at least in the Italian listings cited by Notebookcheck. It kept OLED in the spec sheet, even as brightness and refresh rate fall to 300 nits and 60 Hz.
Analysis: that suggests Asus is treating OLED as part of the Zenbook A16 identity, not just a premium upsell. The company has been pushing OLED across its PC and device lineup, a pattern MLXIO has also tracked in related Asus coverage such as our Zenbook 14 AI-chip report and Asus’ OLED gaming handheld push.
Still, the cheaper A16 is not just the flagship model with a lower sticker. Buyers should read the configuration closely. The confirmed downgrades — chip tier, Wi-Fi 6E, 1200p, 60 Hz, and 300 nits — are exactly where the price cut shows up.
Later in 2026: Snapdragon X Plus versions are still pending
Asus’ global website indicates that Snapdragon X Plus X1P-42-100 versions of the Zenbook A16 will join the Snapdragon X X1-26-100 models later in 2026. That gives the A16 line at least one more configuration step between the entry Snapdragon X model and the April Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme version.
For now, availability is narrow. Notebookcheck could only find the cheaper versions in Europe, specifically through Amazon Italy and Asus Italy. Asus has not confirmed a full global release date for this lower-cost A16.
That leaves several practical questions open:
- Regional pricing: The Italian prices are confirmed, but other markets are not.
- Configuration spread: The 512 GB and 1 TB models are live in Italy; broader storage and memory options remain unclear.
- Snapdragon performance: Independent tests will need to show how the Snapdragon X X1-26-100 version compares with the X2 Elite Extreme model in battery life, app compatibility, AI workloads, and sustained performance.
- Display compromise: The cheaper model keeps OLED, but the 1200p, 60 Hz, 300-nit panel is a clear step down from the premium positioning.
The next decision point is Asus’ rollout plan. If the company brings this configuration beyond Italy without adding major compromises, the Zenbook A16 becomes a sharper large-screen Snapdragon laptop play: lighter than the April model, cheaper by €700 in Italy, and still built around an OLED panel. If availability stays limited, it remains more of a regional price experiment than a broad reset for the A16 line.
The Bottom Line
- Asus is lowering the entry price for a large OLED Windows-on-Arm laptop in Europe.
- The cheaper A16 keeps the 16-inch OLED form factor but trades down on chip, display brightness, refresh rate, and connectivity.
- The move gives buyers a lighter and more affordable alternative to Asus’s premium Snapdragon X2 Elite Extreme model.
