Schenker Vision 16 2023 Review: 16 inch lightweight with many ports

Aside from the Vision 16 Pro , Schenker also offers the Vision 16. The especially lightweight 16 inch ultrabook offers the newest Intel Raptor Lake chip Core i7-13700H. Dedicated GPUs are reserved for the Pro models.

While last years model of the Vision 16 achieved a weight of 1. 45 kg, the new model weights 1. 5 kg, which still makes it one of the lightest 16 inch laptops of the market.

Instead of the 90 Hz screen of last years model, the new Vision 16 gets the 240 Hz WQXGA panel of the Pro variant. Liquid metal to transfer the heat of the Core i7-13700H is still utilized, though the cooling system was reworked to make the Vision 16 less noisy under load. The Vision 16 is available from €1.

539. This base model has 16 GB DDR5-4800 memory and a 500 GB M. 2 SSD by Samsung.

Our review model is equipped with 32 GB memory and a 1 TB M. 2 Samsung 990 Pro SSD. With Windows, the reviewed version is available for roughly €1,660.

The chassis is identical to the Vision 16 Pro and pretty much unchanged to the preceding model. We are reviewing the silver variation, while we reviewed the Vision 16 Pro in black. The silver version stands out more and reminds us of the MacBook Pro 16 , due to the oversized touchpad.

The magnesium chassis (base and screen cover) keeps the weight low with just 1. 5 kg. There is only a slight give in the center of the keyboard, otherwise the chassis is rigid.

The hinges are not very strong and allow for a good amount of screen wobble. The ports are identical to the Vision 16 Pro, too. Dongles or adapters are not necessary for this ultrabook, thanks to the good port selection.

Compared with a MacBook Air, the Vision 16 has basically all the ports most people will need. On the left, there is a 3. 5mm audio jack and a full size SD card slot.

The two USB A 3. 2 Gen 1 ports make dongles for a mouse or keyboard unnecessary. Also practical is the HDMI port, though this is only HDMI 2.

0b, not HDMI 2. 1. The Thunderbolt 4 port on the left and the USB C port on the right complete the connectivity options.

Thanks to the dedicated proprietary charging port, none of the other ports are occupied during charging. The only thing missing is an Ethernet jack. The Schenker Vision 16 has an SD card reader, but it is a pretty slow one, as the 22.

7 MB/s write speed and 27. 7 MB/s read speed we measured with our reference card (Angelbird AV Ori V60) attest. For heavy users, an external card reader might be the better option.

For casual use, the card reader should suffice. The AX201 WiFi 6 module in the Vision 16 delivered good results while receiving data, but it showed weaknesses when sending data. The experience may vary though, as the same WLAN module in the nearly identical Schenker Vision 16 Pro delivered better results.

The FHD webcam of the Schenker Vision 16 can create acceptable pictures. It is sufficient for video conferencing, as long as lighting conditions are not bad. The 2 megapixel webcam enables a biometric log-in via Windows Hello, thanks to the integrated IR sensor.

The bottom cover of the Schenker Vision 16 is secured with a total of nine screws. The four screws on the front and the middle screw on the back are shorter than the other screws. The internal space is very similar to the Vision 16 Pro except for the missing GPU, the lower amount of heatpipes and the smaller right fan.

The last aspect will become relevant for our performance measurements. Users of the Vision 16 are enabled to change both RAM modules, the WiFi modules, the M. 2 SSD and the battery.

There is also a free second M. 2 SSD slot. Schenker offers a base warranty of 24 months, which includes Pickup & Return service as well as a fast repair in the first six months.

At will, a 36 month warranty can be selected and expanded with various warranty packages, like a fast repair for the whole warranty period. The input devices of the Vision 16 are solid. The touchpad is very large and precise, but there are some weaknesses when it comes to the keyboard.

The keyboard has a dedicated numblock with full-sized arrow keys, shortening the right Shift key and displacing the additional enter key of the numblock. The numblock is a rather compressed version and not very usable for quick number entry. This begs the question why Schenker included the numblock at all, as the whole keyboard is shifted to the left because of it.

Due to the shifted keyboard and the shorter right Shift key, typing is negatively impacted and the keyboard requires a longer time to get used to it. As far as the keys them self go, the offer a very good and precise typing feel with a solid, not too loud typing noise. It is backlit with two levels of brightness and all keys are lighted evenly.

A highlight of the Vision 16 and the Pro version is the large glass clickpad (15. 4 x 10 cm). Using the trackpad is easy and thanks to the large surface, gestures and cursor movement are smooth.

The precision of this touchpad is very good. It could be slightly less noise when it comes to the click mechanism though, and hitting the right-click area can be tricky. One of the highlights of the Vision 16 ultrabook 2023 is the new WQXGA panel (2,560 x 1,600), which was exclusive to the Pro version with last years model.

Instead of 90 Hz, this years moodel of the Vision 16 offers a refresh rate of 240 Hz – unusual for office laptops. Despite the fact that both versions of the Vision 16 use the same screen this year, the Vision 16 slightly outperformed the Vision 16 Pro in our review. We attribute these differences to normal quality variance between panels.

The brightness of the screen should reach 350 cd/m² according to Schenker, which our measurements confirm. The high frequency of 240 Hz creates a smooth user experience. The real advantages of this smoothness while gaming are wasted on the Vision 16 though, unless it is combined with an external Thunderbolt GPU.

The measurements of the black value came out to a solid 0. 28 cd/m², which results in a contrast ratio of the screen of more than 1,200:1. Still, the IPS display can not compete with the deep black values of OLED panels.

The deltaE value of the screen prior to calibration sits at a good 1. 7 and we were able to improve it down to 1. 0.

In comparison, the display of the Vision 16 Pro had a deltaE of 3. 4 prior to calibration. The difference is especially noticeable in terms of the greyscale.

Ex factory, the Pro version had a greyscale deltaE of 4. 9, while our Vision 16 review sample had a much lower greyscale deltaE of 1. 3.

We did not detect and blue-hue like with the screen of the Vision 16 Pro. Due to the good ex-factory calibration, we did not use the Schenker color profile in the control center. The difference in measurements between Vision 16 and Vision 16 Pro show that the quality of the screen is luck.

As always, we the color profile we created for the Schenker Vision 16 is available to download for free in the grey box above. As the screen covers the sRGB gamut almost completely, the Vision 16 2023 is suited for simple photo editing. For professional photographers or videographers, the screen is not good enough, as the wider AdobeRGB and DCI P3 are not cover sufficiently.

Thanks to the matte screen, the Vision 16 is usable in outdoor environments. Direct sunlight should be avoided though, as it makes work rather hard. The viewing angle stability is good, but not at the level of OLED screens.

The display loses contrast when viewed from extreme angles. Instead of last years Intel Core i7-12700H . the new model of the Vision 16 offers the newer Intel Core i7-13700H .

While the predecessor offered a RTX 3050 Ti, this year model only contains the integrated GPU of the Intel processor. Also part of the package is 32 GB DDR5 RAM and a 1 TB M. 2 NVMe PCIe SSD.

Schenker offers multiple profiles in the Control center application, but the manual profile is not available anymore as it was the predecessor. The TDP thresholds of the processor are thus not changeable by the user. All performance benchmarks are done in the “Enthusiast” mode, with a TDP of 45 W.

In the mode “Quiet” of the Control Center app of Schenker, the TDP is fixed to 15 W. For the battery testing, we use the “Balanced” mode, which also has a TDP limit of 45 W. In the Vision 16, the same Core i7-13700H from Intel’s Raptor Lake generation is used as in the Vision 16 Pro.

Since the power limit is rather limited, the temperatures stay low, but performance suffers and the processor is slower compared with the Vision 16 Pro . The Multi core performance in the Cinebench R15 loop of the Vision 16 is roughly 15 percent worse than the Vision 16 Pro. We attribute this lower result to the worse cooling system of the Vision 16.

Since we measured a rather low temperature of 62 degrees during the Cinebench loop, the processor does have headroom to perform better. In battery mode, the CPU is limited to 35 W, which lowers the Multi core performance by 20 percent. The direct comparison with the Acer Swift Go SFG16-71 again shows that the Core i7-13700H in the Vision 16 is limited by the low TDP.

The performance of the processor in the synthetic benchmarks is slightly below average, though the subjective performance of the ultrabook is very good. When browsing the web, 4K Youtube videos or multitasking with Office programs and browsing at the same time, the Vision 16 showed no signs of slowing down. Our standardized latency test (surfing the web, 4K Youtube, CPU load) showed some DPC latency problems.

The Vision 16 is not completely usable for real time audio in its tested state, but BIOS updates could solve this problem. In the Schenker Vision 16, there are two PCIe 4. 0 slots for SSDs.

In our review sample is a 1 TB Samsung 990 Pro M. 2 SSD. The benchmark results with DiskSpd show clear weaknesses in terms of read and write speeds of the SSD.

The AS SSD measurements paint a better picture, with speeds more fitting for a high performance SSD. The same Samsung 990 Pro SSD was used in the review sample of the Vision 16 Pro and delivered better results there. The Vision 16 of 2022 was offered with the RTX 3050.

This years model only has the integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 with 96 EUs. Everyday tasks are no problem, but it is not suitable for gaming. The iGPU at least performs better than the average Intel Iris Xe Graphics G7 by 11 percent in the synthetic benchmarks.

The Iris Xe Graphics G7 is the strongest iGPU from Intel, but the gaming performance is rather low. The AMD iGPUs like the Radeon 680M or the Radeon 780M are more both powerful. As long as the resolution and graphical setting are kept low, older games are still playable.

The 240 Hz screen is still wasted without an external GPU, which can be connected via Thunderbolt 4. The emissions of the Vision 16 are acceptable. While idling, the fans almost always run and are audible in quiet conditions.

Under max load we measured 45 dB(a), which will not be reached in most applications. In everyday use, the fan will more likely run at 33. 8 dB(a), which is rather quiet.

In normal office usage, the ultrabook almost never stays quiet, the fan noise had a low frequency though and it was not disturbing. More sensitive users can still be annoyed by it. Despite the rather quiet fans, the Vision 16 stays relatively cool.

The palmrest-temperatures under load reach 28. 5 degrees Celsius / 83 F at the hotspot above the keyboard. Under load, the hot spot is located in the center of the keyboard, where the temperatures reach 42 degrees Celsius / 108 F, an uncomfortable temperature.

But this max load temperature will usually not be reached during everyday usage. The two fans take in the air from the bottom and expel it from the back. At the start of the stress test (Prime95 and Furmark) the CPU reaches 2.

5 GHz, but it quickly settles down between 1. 6 and 1. 7 GHz.

As in the Witcher loop test, the performance stabilizes later during the stress test and remains at 1. 7 GHz. The temperatures of the CPU stay low with an average temperature of 66 degrees Celsius / 150 F, likely due to the low TDP.

The speaker system is identical to the Vision 16 Pro and unchanged compared to the predecessor. The highs are precise, but it is lacking in the base. For an ultrabook without a dedicated GPU, the power usage while idling is significantly higher than comparable devices.

The higher consumption is probably due to the H processor from Intel, as office laptops usally use U/P CPUs. AMD processors have the edge in this regard. The Asus VivoBook S15 is more efficient thanks to the less power hungry processor, despite the OLED display.

Under load, the consumption normalizes and is sometimes lower compared with the other laptops. The battery life of the Vision 16 is not good, despite the 80 Wh battery. With our WiFi test and 150 cd/m² of screen brightness, the laptop runs for almost exactly eight hours.

The H processor is just too powerhungry for an office laptop. In comparison with the Vision 16 pro with RTX 4070, the removal of the dedicated GPU does not give the Vision 16 any advantages when it comes to the battery life. With maximum brightness during the WiFi script, the battery life of the Vision 16 is further reduced down to six hours and thirty minutes.

This years version of the Vision 16 contains the newest Intel Raptor Lake CPUs, an improved cooling system and a faster 240 Hz screen. The TDP of the processor is limited to 45 W, keeping temperatures low. However, this also limits the performance of the H processor from Intel.

The chassis of the Vision 16 is made out of magnesium and feels premium. This enables the 16 inch laptop to achieve a low weight of 1. 5 kg, making it a lightweight in its class.

Different from past models, the TDP is no longer user-controllable in the Schenker Control Center. Since the CPU only reaches 70 degrees Celsius during the stress test (Prime95 and FurMark), the device could potentially perform better. A customizable TDP could have enabled a better performance.

The Vision 16 stays rather cool, except for the center area of the keyboard. And even under load, the fan noise is bearable. However, the fans almost never stay truly quiet, they always run with a low noise level, even when idling.

Considering the fact that the low TDP limits the Intel H chip so much, a P/U series CPU might have been the better fit for the Vision 16. The Core i7-13700H has disadvantages when it comes to the power consumption, so the Schenker 16 consumes more than comparable competitors. In our review, we also found problems with the internal M.

2 SSD and the SD card reader. Both are handicapped in their speed. The Schenker Vision 16 offer a good level of performance, a good port selection and upgradeability despite the lightweight and thin chassis.

The new matte IPS display is a marked improvement and well calibrated, even before our own calibration, and well suited for simple photo editing. For an office laptop, the refresh rate of 240 Hz is unusual. It creates a smooth user experience, but the laptop is not powerful enough for games, wasting some of the potential of the panel.

The panel does not cover a wider color gamut and it lacks HDR support, but there is no PWM here. As an alternative to the Schenker Vision 16, the Vision 16 Pro is a more powerful variation with faster CPU speeds, despite the same processor, and an optional RTX 4070 CPU. The Acer Swift Go 16 uses the same processor, but allows a higher TDP of 80 W.

Also, Acer uses an OLED screen. Neither of the two offer the low weight of the Vision 16 though. The new Vision 16 2023 is available in Germany starting at €1,424 from Bestware.

Our review configuration with 32 GB RAM and a 1 TB M. 2 Samsung 990 Pro SSD costs €1,661. .