I recently had a chance to go hands-on with the ProArt P16 and found it to be a highly capable machine with a lot of raw power. However, it also requires some customization and optimization to get the most out of it. Before I touch on that, let’s take a look at the hardware.
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The ProArt P16 comes with 32GB of memory, an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor, and a 12-core, 24-thread chip with a 50 TOP NPU. This strong core powers the device’s creative endeavors, whether video editing, using advanced animation or graphic design programs or simply multitasking with a handful of different apps and dozens of browser tabs.
One of the best parts of this laptop, however, is its display. The 500-nit, 3840 x 2400 resolution AMOLED touchscreen display delivers a crisp, bright picture with a glossy, premium coating. Powered by the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 GPU, it features DLSS 3 (Deep Learning Super Sampling) and support for ray tracing.
Although it can deliver a good gaming experience, it’s held back a bit by the 60Hz refresh rate, which is part of the give-and-take of the device’s overall feature set. Asus’ decision to limit the refresh rate is disappointing, but it keeps the price point low and solidifies its intended use case as a creator-first machine.
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In that vein, it comes with a stylus that feels precise and responsive, especially on the smooth, glossy display, which feels like a blank canvas beckoning you to sketch on. The pen on this laptop is good enough for artists and designers to use seriously, as all too often, they’re either too laggy or too barebones to justify using. Here, however, it’s snappy and responsive and comes with various capabilities that work in tandem with the DialPad to power customizable, single-click actions.
My only gripe about the DialPad was that it took a minute to set up. It came disabled on the laptop out of the box, requiring me to activate it with a specific gesture on the trackpad that isn’t obvious unless you look it up (you press the icon in the top right corner of the trackpad, then quickly slide diagonally down toward the middle of the trackpad). As one of this laptop’s premiere features, wouldn’t it make sense to a) have it work out of the box and/or b) feature an easy setup tutorial?
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Once it was activated, however, I quickly became a fan. I like how granular you can make the customizations, and it’s useful even beyond creative use cases. In fact, I found that some of the most handy cases were in productivity apps and in the browser, enabling quick functions during the workday for frequent actions.
All of this is to say that the ProArt P16, for me, was not a laptop that came ready to go out of the box but rather requires some personalization and attention to get the most out of it. This applies to its rich feature set, but it takes a moment to incorporate it into creative workflows. Ultimately, this is a good thing, as it encourages innovation on the user’s part to break out of cloned UIs and workflows that all look the same.
Putting a more concrete number to its performance, in our benchmarking tests, the ProArt P16 placed somewhere in between the M3 MacBook Pro and the M4, although it should be noted that it’s more on par with the M3 than Apple’s latest M4 product.
Cinebench 24 MC | Geekbench 6.2.2 SC | Geekbench 6.2.2 MC | |
Apple MacBook Pro with M4 | 1,000 | 3,823 | 14,849 |
Apple MacBook Pro with M3 | 906 | 3,072 | 11,623 |
Asus ProArt P16 | 1,096 | 2,904 | 12,787 |
Apple MacBook Pro with M1 Pro | 828 | 2,211 | 12,482 |
Lastly, let’s briefly mention the battery. This is a laptop with a powerful suite of hardware and a 16-inch AMOLED display, so I wasn’t expecting much going into my testing. However, I was pleasantly surprised at how robust the battery is, especially when paying attention to power-saving settings.
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I easily got over 10 hours of battery life with normal use and intermittent high-demand tasks. However, with intensive creative tasks and heavy multitasking, you can expect around seven hours before connecting to an outlet.
ZDNET’s buying advice
If you’re looking for a powerful laptop with solid hardware and a rich, dynamic feature set, I recommend the Asus ProArt P16 is a more compact version at almost half the price.
The recent US tariffs on imports from countries like China, Vietnam, and India aim to boost domestic manufacturing but are likely to drive up prices on consumer electronics. Products like smartphones, laptops, and TVs may become more expensive as companies rethink global supply chains and weigh the cost of shifting production.
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Laptops and PCs are also hit hard by the new U.S. tariffs, with import duties potentially increasing prices by up to 35%. Many major brands still rely on Chinese and Vietnamese factories for assembly, meaning consumers could soon pay significantly more for everything from budget Chromebooks to high-end gaming rigs.
These tariffs may accelerate efforts to move production to regions like Mexico or India, but shoppers can expect higher costs and fewer discounts in the short term.
Source : ZDNet