Look & Feel
The chassis of the Gigabyte Aero 16 is made of CNC-milled aluminum, which is known for its robustness and gives the laptop a solid and durable feel. The design is sleek and modern, but less flashy, giving the laptop a rather understated and almost timeless look. Thanks for that! The case goes through an elaborate 11-step oxidation and coloring process in manufacturing to increase resistance to wear and tear and ensure a matte finish that repels fingerprints, which I can attest to.
The aluminum casing also contributes to efficient heat dissipation, which is beneficial during intense workloads or extended usage sessions. In winter, it is certainly the ideal finger warmer. Incidentally, Gigabyte uses an aluminum-magnesium alloy, which noticeably increases the torsional stiffness and durability. I have tested this for you on the underside in an invisible place:
One advantage of the case is the combination of lightness and durability. With a weight of around 2.1 kg and a thickness of 22 mm, the Aero 16 is relatively light for the performance class and also slim for a device in its performance class. This makes it suitable for traveling without compromising on robustness. In turn, I found this very practical because the Aero 16 also fits in my beloved leather briefcase and my cabin trolley. Including the mains adapter, by the way, although this is already a fat and heavy briquette. With the power supply unit, the Aero 16 is almost three times as heavy as the LG Gram including the power supply unit.
On the other hand, the design can perhaps be considered somewhat uninspired, especially when compared to other laptops that focus more on visual appeal. Although the casing is well-made, it lacks unique design elements that would make it stand out from other devices. However, being inconspicuous can also have its advantages. For example, when reselling later. The lack of a numeric keypad on the keyboard and the relatively high price compared to similarly powerful devices, on the other hand, were not so appealing to me.
The limitation to a 60Hz refresh rate for the OLED display could perhaps be a disadvantage for users and gamers who prefer higher refresh rates, but Fritz then dedicated his part to the display, because unfortunately we only own the equipment once and in the end it was easier to send the notebook on its journey than the entire calibrated measurement setup, which will then be missing for a while for the other reviews. In summary, the Gigabyte Aero 16’s case offers a good mix of stability and portability, even without a distinctive and striking design. However, those who need it for work will not be bothered by this.
Keyboard
I can rate the keyboard of the Gigabyte Aero 16 mostly positively. It offers a key travel depth of 1.7 mm, which is considered deep enough to ensure a pleasant and responsive typing experience. The keys have a firm stroke and a spring-back that I find very pleasant, making typing comfortable and precise. What’s nice is that the keyboard is relatively quiet, which should also make it suitable for use in quiet environments. I can also only underline this, because while the family was still asleep on vacation, I was able to work and publish early as usual.
The keyboard has a backlight that shines in a clear, white light and improves readability in darker environments, but makes it downright unreadable in brighter environments. The constant switching on and off is a little annoying, but if you work mainly in light, it simply stays off. Item.
However, there is no numeric keypad, which is a real disadvantage for users who, like me, have to enter numbers regularly. But at least the keys for the cursor, return and the function keys are available in full size, which makes operation easier. Nevertheless, I would perhaps even give the LG Gram one more point here, because the layout is more “handy” for me and I can’t do without a number pad.
On the other hand, the combination of good key feel and quiet operation makes the Gigabyte Aero 16’s keyboard a solid choice for users who work in both professional and creative fields and are not so fond of numbers. Compared to other laptops, such as the Apple MacBook Pro or Dell XPS models, the Aero 16’s keyboard offers a similar or even better typing experience, mainly due to the greater key travel depth and firm springback of the keys. For many reasons, it did not become the MacBook Pro that was actually intended.
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