ASUS’ new ROG Strix G16 and Strix G18 revealed

A pair of new laptops are on the way from ASUS’ ROG line. And for those looking for portable power, they might just hit the mark.

ROG goes in on power

Fans of PC-maker ASUS’ Republic of Gamers line already know that the company isn’t shy to go all in. The PCs that ASUS produces under the banner can be pretty impressive after all, and that includes the recently a refreshed handheld line. If you’re wondering, we’re referring to the ROG Xbox Ally and its “X” variation, the latter of which we reviewed here.

For the company’s latest unveilings though, it’s going back to a more familiar form-factor. That would be for a pair of laptops, both aimed at gaming and very much parts of that aforementioned ROG lineup. And while there’s no release date just yet to talk about, the ROG Strix G16 and G18 are looking quite mighty indeed.

Built with the PC game fan in mind, ASUS says that both the ROG Strix G16 and G18 will be squarely aimed at delivering performance. The company specifically mentions “competitive esports titles, visually rich AAA games” and also “intensive content‑creation workflows”.

To that end, the Strix G series can be bumped up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5080 Laptop GPU. Yeah, that’s beefy. It’s also not all that these things can pack in, though that all depends on what you’re looking to add. As with most upper tier laptops, there sounds like there’ll be a bevy of possible hardware options.

Twin beasts

The Strix G16 will feature a 2.5K 300Hz ROG Nebula Display, which is an improvement over the previous generation’s 240Hz. On the other hand, the bigger Strix G18 will figure in a 2.5K 240Hz ROG Nebula HDR Display. Important to note too, is that ASUS says the latter machine will sport Mini LED technology. Useres can expect “an incredible 1600 nits of peak brightness”, according to the company, and “HDR clarity”.

While there are some differences in terms of screen, both Strix machines will have ACR built-in to reduce reflections. The idea there is to maintain visual quality no matter where you’re playing. ASUS notes combating lighting conditions as a factor with that, as well as viewing angles.

Also packed in will be “Tri‑Fan Technology”, and if you guessed that’s all about cooling, you’ve got the right idea. ASUS says that users will find “a full vapor‑chamber cooling solution, and a sandwiched heatsink design, collectively engineered to maximize thermal efficiency and maintain stable high FPS” all included. And then there’s the build itself.

Not typically something that’d be covered in an article about gaming machines, there’s something very cool planned for the Strix line that we’re pretty sure we haven’t seen before. Tool-less access is being worked into the series, meaning that you’ll be able to easily access interior sections. Yep, sounds like you won’t need one of those tiny screwdrivers anymore.

Instead, those who like to tinker with their machines will find spring-loaded panels. Those will allow access to “components like the SSD and RAM modules”. Even better, the SSD bays will support the Q-Latch system. Pretty darn cool from where we sit. Speaking of cool, of course the systems will have RGB lighting built-in as well. Can you even have a high-end gaming machine without that today?

Specs at a glance

Breaking things down a little more, the official spec sheets from ASUS lay out the two systems in-depth. You can get the full tale of that tape below, but before we get to it, there’s the ROG Strix SCAR 18 to talk about. Yes, another unit. It’s a variation on the Strix G18, and sounds like it’ll be beefing up the base laptop even more.

The ROG Strix SCAR 18 will reportedly features “the latest Intel Core Ultra 9 290HX Plus processor”, as well as offering up to the “NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU”. While those details have been revealed though, there’s no spec sheet on the SCAR 18 just yet. Look for that something soon.

And getting back to the previously mentioned, we’ve got the info on the other two models below.

2026 ROG Strix G16 (G615) Operating System	Windows 11 Pro
Display	16″ 2.5K (2560 × 1600 WQXGA), 300Hz / 3ms, ACR Technology, DCI-P3 100%, Pantone Validated, IPS-level panel with G-SYNC and Dolby Vision®
CPU	Up to Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 processor 290HX Plus
GPU	Up to NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 5080 Laptop GPU
Memory	Up to 64GB DDR5 6400MT/s (2 x SO-DIMM slot)
Storage	2TB PCIe® 4.0 NVMe™ M.2 SSD
I/O Ports	2 x Thunderbolt™ 5 Type-C®/DisplayPort™ 2.1/Power Delivery 3.1/G-sync 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A  1 x DC in jack 1 x 2.5G LAN port 1 x HDMI® 2.1 FRL 1 x Audio combo jack: Mic-in and Headphone
Keyboard and Touchpad	Backlit chiclet keyboard, Copilot Key Per key RGB with Aura Sync  Support NumberPad
Wireless	WiFi 7
LAN	2.5G LAN
Audio	Smart Amp Technology  Dolby Atmos® Hi-Res Audio  Two-Way AI Noise Cancelation  Battery  90Wh  AC Adapter  Up to 380W adapter  Chassis  Eclipse Gray  Volt Green  Important Specs  Full-surround RGB light bar with Aura Sync  Volt Green with Aura Sync ROG RGB logo  Tool-less access  Dimension  13.94 × 10.39 × 0.89–1.20 inches (35.4 x 26.4 x 2.26 ~ 3.04cm)  Weight  5.95lb (2.7kg)

2026 ROG Strix G18 (G815) Operating System	Windows 11 Pro
Display	18″ 2.5K (2560 × 1600 WQXGA), Mini LED, over 2000 dimming zones, 240Hz / 3ms, ACR Technology, DCI-P3 100%, Pantone Validated, with G-SYNC and Dolby Vision®
CPU	Up to Intel® Core™ Ultra 9 processor 290HX Plus
GPU	Up to NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 5080 Laptop GPU
Memory	Up to 64GB DDR5 6400MT/s (2 x SO-DIMM slot)
Storage	2TB PCIe® 4.0 NVMe™ M.2 SSD
I/O Ports	2 x Thunderbolt™ 5 Type-C®/DisplayPort™ 2.1/Power Delivery 3.1/G-sync  3 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A  1 x DC in jack  1 x 2.5G LAN port  1 x HDMI® 2.1 FRL  1 x Audio combo jack: Mic-in and Headphone
Keyboard and Touchpad	Backlit chiclet keyboard, Copilot Key  Per key RGB with Aura Sync
Wireless	WiFi 7
LAN	2.5G LAN
Audio	Smart Amp Technology  Dolby Atmos®  Hi-Res Audio  Two-Way AI Noise Cancelation
Battery	90Wh
AC Adapter	Up to 380W adapter
Chassis	Eclipse Gray  Volt Green
Important Specs	Full-surround RGB light bar with Aura Sync  Volt Green with Aura Sync ROG RGB logo  Tool-less access
Dimension	15.71 × 11.57 × 0.91–1.26 inches (39.9 x 29.4 x 2.31 ~ 3.2cm)
Weight	7.7lb (3.5kg)