Acemagic AX16 Pro Laptop review – close to being a great deal

REVIEW – I have been using an 8 year old 12” tablet style laptop for a while and wanted to go back to a larger laptop with more than one USB port so when Acemagic asked if I wanted to try their new AX16 Pro laptop that has a 16.1” screen, 3x USB inputs, and a 90% keyboard with number pad I had to say yes. Let’s see how it performs.

What is it?

If you haven’t heard of Acemagic before you’re not alone. I had never heard of them either since they predominantly make mini-PCs but some fellow Gadgeteers have reviewed a few of their mini-PCs with mostly positive reviews that you can check out here.  Acemagic only offers three laptops at the moment with the AX16 Pro as their top of the line model. The Acemagic AX16 Pro features an AMD Ryzen 7 5700U processor (1.8GHz base up to 4.3GHz), a 16.1” (1920x1080P) screen, 16GB RAM (upgradeable to 32GB), a 512GB SSD (upgradeable to 2TB), Windows 11 Pro, and a 53Wh battery.

What’s in the box?

• Acemagic AX16 Pro Laptop
• 65W 19V/3.42A USB-C Charging Adapter
  • Weight: 330.1 grams/0.72lbs
  • Length: 9 feet
• User Manual

Hardware specs

Design and features

Another Gadgeteer (Howard) reviewed the Acemagic AX15 which you can check out here. The Acemagic AX15 is their lowest cost option at $359 and he likened it to an economy car of laptops. With that in mind the Acemagic AX16 Pro is the SUV model of their lineup. It has a larger screen, larger battery, backlit keyboard, and a more powerful chip than the AX15. It has a bit more capability and therefore comes with a little bit higher price tag. I really like having 3x USB  with 2 being USB 3.2 and 1x 2.0 so now I can leave my mouse dongle plugged in and connect to my laser engraver or other devices at the same time. Having one USB port was like having a single door on a car. It’s doable but not really practical.

The larger screen is a breath of fresh air after using a tiny 12” tablet laptop. It has 7mm bezels on the sides with the top a little bit larger at 10mm. The screen can fold down almost flat to 175 degrees and the hinge is nice and stable. Despite the larger screen it doesn’t feel very big. It is the same thickness all around at 0.7″ or 17.78mm. There are smooth edges all around that make it easy to slide in a backpack and good ventilation on the bottom with rubber feet that keep it just off the surface. I couldn’t really hear the fans, and the laptop never got warm enough to the touch.

I am so thankful for the spacious keyboard with a number pad. From the left side of one key to the left side of the next is 21mm so it is about a 90% keyboard size wise. The keys are easy to press and not loud but with good feedback. I really like it and feel a lot less cramped than my previous laptop. I found on the small 12” tablet keyboard I would mistakenly hit adjacent keys. With the Acemagic AX16 Pro I make a lot less mistakes and I am not hitting multiple keys now since there is some actual room between the keys. The backlight can be turned on and off if you so choose.

The other nice feature is USB-C charging, although Acemagic went with the two-corded adapters instead of the more common adapter with a built-in plug. I don’t mind it, and it won’t block another outlet, but for travel purposes, it’s a little bulkier. It is 9 feet long, so I had no trouble reaching an outlet with it.

Setup

The laptop arrived in a well-padded box wrapped in nondescript packaging, so you couldn’t tell what was in it. I turned it on, and it was at 95% battery, so I went through the setup process and connected to my Wifi. Then there were some system updates to complete with a couple of restarts, and it was ready to go.

One thing to note is that it did allow me to finish the setup without creating a profile (normally, you have to log in with a Microsoft account and set up a login PIN or other password), so that was a nice option.

Performance

I would say I am computer literate, but I have no official computer training, so I just copied my fellow Gadgeteers and downloaded Cinebench 2024, which they used as a benchmark test. The Acemagic AX16 Pro is not a race car, but it managed to score a respectable 496 points on the Cinebench test. To compare, I ran the Cinebench test on my ten-year-old Asus ROG G750JX with an Intel Core i7-4700HQ 2.4GHz, 16GB of DDR3 RAM, and Nvidia GTX770M graphics. I have played Dishonored, StarCraft, World of Warcraft III, and plenty of Commands and Conquer games on it with no issues, so I was surprised it only managed a 213 score on the test, but again, it is ten years old.

The Acemagic AX16 Pro felt responsive and quick. It handled watching YouTube videos and Netflix as well as running all Office products without an issue. It boots up within 8 seconds after going to sleep and battery life is pretty close to the advertised eight hours on balanced mode with full brightness. The manual recommends four full charge and discharge cycles to properly condition the battery, which I did.

The touchpad is a bit larger than I’m used to at 5 ⅛” wide by 3 3/8 “ high, but I found I didn’t inadvertently touch it when typing. The click response for the left and right mouse buttons was firm and had a nice click to it. There’s also plenty of standard customization. You can change sensitivity, three-finger, four-finger settings, and click settings.

The top-mounted speakers were clear and loud for watching disc golf or listening to music while I wrote this review.

Malware scan results

Unfortunately, a couple of the Acemagic mini-PCs that were reviewed by the Gadgeteer had malware installed. I ran a couple of malware scans using Malwarebytes and AVG Free on this laptop, just in case, and they came back clean.

What I like

• 16.1” screen is great for split screen use
• Upgradeable RAM and ROM, 32GB and 2TB respectively
• Comes with Windows 11 Pro

What I’d change

• One more HDMI or VGA output would have been nice for dual monitor setup

Final thoughts

The Acemagic AX16 Pro isn’t the flashiest laptop out there but I wasn’t expecting sports car performance from it. I just wanted something practical that works for almost everything I do, short of gaming and video editing. I needed a budget-friendly and practical SUV equivalent laptop, and at $479.99, the Acemagic AX16 Pro fits the bill nicely. It’s nothing fancy, but it gets the job done. Overall I am pleased with it and it is a good option if you are looking for a budget laptop however, I do think you might be able to find something cheaper with similar or better specs. If the Acemagic AX16 Pro was under $400 and came with 32GB of RAM I think it would be a real best bang for the buck contender.

Price:  $799.99 on Amazon after 50% discount or $509 on Acemagic website.
Where to buy: Amazon or Acemagic website.
Source: The sample for this review was provided by Acemagic.