16-inch gaming laptops are all the rage at CES 2026, here are 6 that you need to know

Every year, CES becomes a key battleground for hardware innovation for big tech companies to small start-ups, and gaming laptops are no exception. This year, vendors showcased laptops that emphasized better graphics, better thermals, bigger and clearer displays and AI-powered performance boosts, all of which were designed to not only keep up but enhance with modern gaming. 

With so many announcements to go through, here are six gaming laptops that caught our attention at CES 2026. Each standing out to us for different reasons, from new innovative ideas to cutting-edge performances.

MSI Raider 16 Max HX

The MSI Raider 16 Max HX is a beefy laptop that is touted to currently be the “most powerful gaming laptop on the planet.” Boasting some seriously high-end parts, it pairs the Intel Core Ultra 200HX series processors with a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 or 5080 GPU. Total system power is a claimed 300W, which is significant for a laptop.

The laptop is also able to support up to 128GB of DDR5-7200 RAM, and the screen is a 16-inch inch QHD+ 240Hz OLED screen. Fast cooling is provided by MSI’s Cooler Boost Trinity system which features a triple-fan and five heatsinks to help mitigate the heat produced by the powerful components. Because of its powerhouse internals, the MSI Raider 16 Max HX weighs 2.6kg, which isn’t that bad for a laptop delivering this level of performance.

Pricing and availability will be confirmed at a later date.

ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16

Even though ASUS has been putting out dual-screen laptops for a while now, the ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 still turns heads. Instead of having just a single screen, the laptop showcases two 16-inch 3K OLED touchscreens, giving gamers an expansive screen space for multitasking. Imagine playing games on one screen, and replying to your colleagues in Slack on the other.

Both screens have a 120Hz refresh rate, wide DCI-P3 colour coverage, and G-Sync support. Peeking at its internals, it packs an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 GPU, 64GB LPDDR5X RAM, PCIe Gen 5 Storage with support for the latest Intel processor, making this laptop not only unique in design but capable as well.

However, due to its dual-screen construction and additional internal hardware, the ASUS ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 weighs 2.85kg, which is heavier than its predecessor.

The Zephyrus Duo 16 comes with a detachable magnetic keyboard and supports five different operation modes. 

• Laptop Mode: The standard laptop setup with the keyboard below the screen.
• Dual Screen Mode: The standard laptop setup, but with the Zephyrus Duo’s dual screens.
• Sharing Mode: The laptop is set flat on a surface with each screen facing in the opposite direction.
• Book Mode: The laptop is folded in a portrait orientation and can be held like a book.
• Tent Mode: Screens are propped up for a tent-like look where two people can game together on either side.

No word yet on pricing and availability, though it’s safe to say that it likely won’t be cheap.

HP Omen Max 16

The HP Omen Max 16 stakes its claim to be a top-tier 16-inch gaming powerhouse that can compete with its direct competitors. With support for the latest CPUs from Intel and AMD, the ability to accommodate up to a NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 GPU, 64GB of DDR5 RAM, plus a PCIe Gen 4 SSD Storage, makes this beast of a machine geared for hardcore gaming.

The display is a 16-inch 2.5K OLED screen with a 240hz refresh rate. The laptop features OMEN Tempest Cooling Pro system to help manage the heat. With a per-key RGB light-up keyboard, two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports and Wi-Fi 7 support, the Omen Max 16 blends robust hardware with cool designs, making it a top-tier choice for gamers. Weighing between 2.7kg and 2.9kg, the HP Omen Max 16 sits on the heavier side for a 16-inch laptop.

Unfortunately, like many of the other laptops in this list, we don’t details on pricing and availability yet.

DELL Alienware 16 Area-51

While not a new release, Alienware is upgrading the Alienware 16X Aurora and Alienware 16 Area-51 with new OLED display options. These new panels deliver up to 620 nits of peak HDR brightness and feature an anti-glare coating that reduces gloss by 32%.The displays offer a 0.2ms response time, HDR True Black 500 support, 120% DCI-P3 color coverage, and VESA ClearMR 9000 certification to minimize ghosting and motion blur in fast-moving scenes. Apart from these two laptops, Alienware is also upgrading the Alienware 18 Area-51 with Intel Core Ultra 200HX series processors. Finally, these laptops will have NVIDIA RTX 50 series GPUs.

To learn more about Alienware’s new offerings at CES 2026, check out this article here.

Lenovo Legion Pro Rollable

Lenovo brings innovation to CES 2026, with the Legion Pro Rollable being showcased to the world. The Legion Pro Rollable is based on the Legion Pro 7i, but replaces its standard display with a 16-inch flexible screen that, at the press of a button, activates two motors to roll out hidden panels, expanding the laptop’s display to either a 21.5-inch “Tactical Mode” or a 24-inch “Arena Mode”.

While interesting and novel, it’s only a concept at this point, and it is unclear if Lenovo will put it into production. If it does, it’s reasonable to assume that it will be outfitted with the most powerful components that money can buy.

That said, Lenovo did reveal that the Legion Pro Rollable was built on the Legion Pro 7i chassis, which weighs around 2.7 kg, meaning that with the addition of extra screens and motorized components, the Rollable model is likely to be slightly heavier.

Acer Predator Helios Neo 16S AI

Acer has announced the Predator Helios Neo 16S AI, a 16-inch gaming laptop that supports up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 386H processor and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 GPU. It can be configured with up to 64GB of RAM and 2TB of storage, and features a 16-inch WQXGA OLED display. The laptop also includes Thunderbolt 4, Wi-Fi 6E, and Bluetooth support.

While it isn’t quite as powerful as some of the other laptops above, it’s worth noting that is weighs just 2.3kg, making it a lighter and more portable option for gamers on the go without sacrificing too much performance.

Pricing has yet to be determined, but the laptop will be available some time in Q2 later this year.