Products
ASUS Zenbook S 16 UM5606 (2024)
Apple MacBook Air 15 (M4, 2025)
Tested using Methodology v0.8.3
Updated Nov 11, 2025 03:24 PM
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BestBuy.com
Tested using Methodology v0.8.3
Updated Nov 25, 2025 01:48 PM
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Amazon.com
Size
16"
Operating System
Windows 11
Size
15.3"
Operating System
macOS
Our Verdict
ASUS Zenbook S 16 UM5606 (2024)
Apple MacBook Air 15 (M4, 2025)
The ASUS Zenbook S 16 UM5606 (2024) and the Apple MacBook Air 15 (M4, 2025) are both great ultraportables. They trade blows in terms of the overall user experience; the Zenbook has a nicer, albeit dimmer, 120Hz OLED display and a wider port selection, but the MacBook Air has a higher quality webcam and a haptic touchpad that's easier to use. Performance-wise, you can get better multi-thread performance out of the Zenbook if you get a Ryzen AI 9 configuration; however, keep in mind that the Zenbook has fans, whereas the MacBook Air is fanless. So, if you prefer a completely silent device, the MacBook Air would be a better choice.
Variants
- Zenbook S 16 (UM5606WA-S16.R3651TB) (Scandinavian White - 3K/Ryzen AI 9 365/24GB/1TB)
- Zenbook S 16 (UM5606KA-PS77T) (Zumaia Gray - 3K/Ryzen AI 7 350/24GB/1TB)
- Zenbook S 16 (UM5606WA-DB71T-CB) (Zumaia Gray - 3K/Ryzen AI 9 365/24GB/1TB)
- Zenbook S 16 (UM5606WA-PB99T) (Zumaia Gray - 3K/Ryzen AI 9 HX 370/32GB/1TB)
- Zenbook S 16 (UM5606WA-BB91T-CB) (Zumaia Gray - 3K/Ryzen AI 9 HX 370/32GB/1TB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MW1L3LL/A) (Midnight - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/16GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MW1M3LL/A) (Midnight - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MC6L4LL/A) (Midnight - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/24GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MW1G3LL/A) (Silver - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/16GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MW1H3LL/A) (Silver - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MC6J4LL/A) (Silver - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/24GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MC7A4LL/A) (Sky Blue - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/16GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MC7C4LL/A) (Sky Blue - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MC7D4LL/A) (Sky Blue - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/24GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MW1J3LL/A) (Starlight - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/16GB/256GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MW1K3LL/A) (Starlight - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/16GB/512GB)
- MacBook Air 15 (MC6K4LL/A) (Starlight - M4 (10-core CPU/10-core GPU)/24GB/512GB)
Main Differences for
School
School
Threshold
School
8.4
8.7
Ports
8.5
5.0
Full Comparison
Design
Style
Style Photo
Form Factor
Traditional (Clamshell)
Traditional (Clamshell)
Build Quality
9.0
9.5
Build Quality Photo
Hinge
9.1
9.1
Hinge Photo
Range
135°
135°
Stability
Good
Good
One Finger Lift
Yes
Yes
Portability
8.3
8.7
Dimensions Photo
Size
16"
15.3"
Thickness
0.8" (1.9 cm)
0.6" (1.4 cm)
Width
14.0" (35.5 cm)
13.4" (34.0 cm)
Depth
9.6" (24.4 cm)
9.3" (23.7 cm)
Volume
101.0 in³ (1,654.4 cm³)
68.8 in³ (1,128.1 cm³)
Weight
3.3 lbs (1.5 kg)
3.3 lbs (1.5 kg)
Charger Size
7.2 in³ (118.8 cm³)
4.2 in³ (68.6 cm³)
Charger Weight
0.5 lbs (0.2 kg)
0.4 lbs (0.2 kg)
Serviceability
5.5
3.5
Internals Photo
Ease Of Access
7.0
6.0
RAM Slots
0
0
Storage Slots
1
0
Replaceable Battery
Yes
Yes
Replaceable Wireless Adapter
No
No
In The Box
In The Box Photo
Display
Screen Specs
Display Photo
Resolution
2880 x 1800
2880 x 1864
Aspect Ratio
16:10
16:10
Pixel Density
212 PPI
224 PPI
Panel Type
OLED
IPS
Touch Screen
Yes
No
Screen-To-Body Ratio
89%
87%
Refresh Rate
8.7
5.9
Motion Blur
Refresh Rate
120 Hz
60 Hz
Variable Refresh Rate
FreeSync
No
Contrast
10
7.4
Contrast Photo
Native Contrast
33,253 : 1
1,348 : 1
Brightness
7.5
8.4
Maximum Brightness
345 cd/m²
448 cd/m²
Minimum Brightness
4 cd/m²
2 cd/m²
Reflections
7.0
9.0
Reflections Photo Off
Reflections Photo Max
Screen Finish
Glossy
Glossy
Total Reflections
5.23%
1.61%
Indirect Reflections
2.02%
0.29%
Calculated Direct Reflections
3.21%
1.31%
Black Uniformity
10
7.7
Black Uniformity Photo
Uniformity (Std. Dev.)
0.278%
0.924%
Out-Of-The-Box Color Accuracy
8.1
9.9
White Balance Screencap
Gamma Curve Screencap
Color Screencap
Avg. White Balance dE
1.1
1.51
Avg. Gamma
2.2
2.23
Avg. Color dE
4.08
0.95
Avg. Color Temperature
6,453.4 K
6,755 K
Color Gamut
9.7
9.4
Gamut SDR
sRGB xy
150.05%
99.99%
sRGB uv
143.03%
99.98%
Adobe RGB xy
94.69%
87.86%
Adobe RGB uv
98.05%
93.21%
Gamut HDR
DCI P3 xy
99.99%
99.47%
DCI P3 uv
99.99%
99.5%
Rec. 2020 xy
79.22%
72.17%
Rec. 2020 uv
82.33%
73.79%
Flicker
7.2
9.0
Flicker Graph
Flicker-Free
No
No
Flicker Frequency
480 Hz
> 1000Hz
Flicker Active Below
100%
100%
Interface
Keyboard
8.0
8.0
Keyboard Photo
Typing Quality
8.0
8.0
Numpad
No
No
Backlighting
Adjustable
Adjustable
Key Switch Actuation Graph
Operating Force
61 gf
61 gf
Actuation Force
31 gf
37 gf
Pre-Travel
0.74 mm
0.80 mm
Total Travel
1.04 mm
0.90 mm
Touchpad
8.9
9.6
Touchpad Photo
Tracking Quality
8.5
9.5
Size
23.2 in² (149.6 cm²)
21.4 in² (138.0 cm²)
Material
Glass
Glass
Dedicated Buttons
No
No
Speakers
7.8
8.6
Frequency Response Plot
Max Volume
77 dB SPL
77 dB SPL
Standard Error @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
6.3 dB
4.4 dB
Slope @ Normal Vol. (65 dB)
2.5
1.8
Bass Extension (Low-Frequency Ext.)
143 Hz
138 Hz
Treble Extension (High-Frequency Ext.)
13 kHz
16 kHz
Dynamic Range Compression @ Max Vol.
1.2 dB
1.7 dB
Webcam & Microphone
7.4
8.7
Webcam Video Sample
Video Quality
7.5
9.0
Resolution
1080p
1080p
Position
Top Center
Top Center
Privacy Cover
No
No
Face Unlock
Yes
No
Connectivity
Ports
8.5
5.0
Ports Photo
USB-A Ports
1
0
USB-C Ports
2
2
Thunderbolt
No
Thunderbolt 4
USB-C Charging
Yes
Yes
USB-C Display Out
Yes
Yes
HDMI
2.1
No
DisplayPort
No
No
3.5mm Jack
Combo mic/headphone
Combo mic/headphone
Card Reader
SD UHS 2
No
Ethernet
No
No
Proprietary Port
No
Apple MagSafe 3
Security Lock
No
No
Wireless Communication
Wi-Fi
Wi-Fi 7 (802.11be)
Wi-Fi 6E (802.11ax)
Bluetooth
5.4
5.3
Configuration
CPU
Brand
AMD
Apple
Model
Ryzen AI 9 365
M4
Core Count
10
10
Thread Count
20
10
GPU
Brand
AMD
Apple
Model
Radeon 880M
M4
Dedicated/Integrated
Integrated
Integrated
VRAM Size
N/A
N/A
GPU Total Graphics Power (TGP)
N/A
N/A
RAM
Capacity
24 GB
16 GB
Modules
4 (Soldered)
Unknown
Type
LP-DDR5x
LP-DDR5x
Speed
7,500 MHz
7,500 MHz
Storage
Advertised Capacity
1,000 GB
256 GB
Usable Capacity
944 GB
211 GB
Drive 1
Micron MTFDKBA1T0QFM-1BD1AABGB
Apple SSD AP0256Z
Drive 1 Type
SSD
SSD
Drive 2
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Drive 2 Type
No 2nd Drive
No 2nd Drive
Performance
Geekbench 5 (Synthetics)
9.4
9.5
Geekbench Image
CPU Single-Thread
2,055 points
2,638 points
CPU Multi-Thread
11,766 points
12,987 points
GPU Compute
34,549 points
40,460 points
Cinebench R23 (CPU Rendering)
9.9
9.9
Cinebench R23 Photo
Single-Thread
1,957 points
2,175 points
Multi-Thread
14,558 points
12,004 points
Blender (3D Rendering)
8.8
9.2
Blender Image
CPU Render Time
2.6 min
3.0 min
GPU Render Time
2.6 min
0.5 min
GPU Render Time (Optix)
N/A
N/A
Basemark GPU (Game Scene)
6.3
7.5
Basemark Image
Overall Score
28,414
46,774
Storage Drive Performance
9.3
9.3
Storage Performance Image
Sequential Write Speed
1,367.2 MB/s
2,802.5 MB/s
Sequential Read Speed
3,260.6 MB/s
3,192.6 MB/s
Random Write Speed
106.2 MB/s
46.5 MB/s
Random Read Speed
46.5 MB/s
62.3 MB/s
Battery
8.6
8.8
Capacity
78 Wh
67 Wh
Battery Life (Web Browsing)
10.4 hrs
11.6 hrs
Battery Life (Video Playback)
12.6 hrs
12.9 hrs
Battery Life (Gaming)
2.0 hrs
3.2 hrs
Charge Time
2.1 hrs
3.0 hrs
Borderlands 3
5.5
4.2
Borderlands 3 Graph
Avg. FPS
32 fps
30 fps
1% Low
24 fps
15 fps
0.1% Low
15 fps
8 fps
1% Low Delta
11 ms
32 ms
0.1% Low Delta
35 ms
94 ms
Avg. FPS On Very Low
60 fps
51 fps
Civilization VI
6.9
6.4
Civilization VI Graph
Avg. FPS
55 fps
43 fps
1% Low
35 fps
29 fps
0.1% Low
34 fps
26 fps
1% Low Delta
11 ms
11 ms
0.1% Low Delta
11 ms
15 ms
Avg. FPS On Minimum
188 fps
80 fps
Avg. Turn Time
6.68 s
6.97 s
Counter-Strike 2
6.5
0.0
CS2 Graph
Avg. FPS
67fps
N/A
1% Low
35fps
N/A
0.1% Low
31fps
N/A
1% Low Delta
14 ms
N/A
0.1% Low Delta
17 ms
N/A
Avg. FPS On Low
79fps
N/A
Shadow Of The Tomb Raider
6.0
5.3
SOTTR Graph
Avg. FPS
42 fps
39 fps
1% Low
30 fps
24 fps
0.1% Low
19 fps
15 fps
1% Low Delta
9 ms
16 ms
0.1% Low Delta
29 ms
41 ms
Avg. FPS On Lowest
68 fps
63 fps
Thermals And Noise
6.7
8.2
Keyboard Temps Picture
Keyboard Temp While Idle
36 °C (96 °F)
25 °C (77 °F)
Keyboard Temp Under Load
48 °C (119 °F)
49 °C (120 °F)
Fan Noise While Idle
25.0 dBA
N/A
Fan Noise Under Load
47.7 dBA
N/A
Power & Fan Control App
Yes
No
Performance Over Time
8.6
7.3
Performance Over Time Graph
CPU Temp (Cinebench)
79 °C
87 °C
CPU Perf. Loss (Cinebench)
9% loss
4% loss
GPU Temp (Heaven)
70 °C
84 °C
GPU Perf. Loss (Heaven)
0% loss
13% loss
Additional Features And Software
Software
Operating System
Windows 11
macOS
Additional Software
Yes
None
Extra Features
Biometrics
Face Recognition
Fingerprint Sensor
RGB Illumination
No
No
Touch Pen Support
MPP 2.0
No Stylus Support
Secondary Display
No
No
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ASUS Zenbook S 16 UM5606 (2024)
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Comments
ASUS Zenbook S 16 UM5606 (2024) vs Apple MacBook Air 15 (M4, 2025): Main Discussion
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