ASUS has finally updated its ProArt series for creators with the launch of the ProArt P16. The brand’s latest laptop is special in many ways, setting a solid foundation with flagship-level features and specs. The laptop features a premium design language complemented by professional-grade hardware, including AMD’s Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 CPU and a full-featured Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 laptop GPU. Additionally, you get one of the best displays of the brand, much to the delight of the creator. However, do all these features make it a compelling option considering its hefty Rs. 3,59,990? Let’s find out in this review.
ASUS ProArt P16 laptop design: elegant and simple
- Dimensions – 354.9 x 246.9 x 18.3mm
- Weight – 1.95kg
- Color – Nano Black
The ASUS ProArt series has always been one of the brand’s most premium products. Same goes for the latest version. The company strives hard when it comes to design to make it as premium and elegant as possible. First, you get an all-metal unibody made from CNC aluminum. The company has used a Nano Black color option which looks simple yet elegant. However, I do feel that maintaining this color choice over a longer period of time might be a bit cumbersome.
ASUS ProArt P16 features a metal unibody body and is available in a single Nano Black color option.
Moving on, you get a rigid chassis with little to no flex, which is a good thing. Opening the lid is a piece of cake and you can lift it with one finger, which is probably the best thing for me. I also like the fact that the hinge has vertical bars, which gives it a camera-like look and feel. Additionally, the lid is solid black with a subtle ProArt logo on the lower right corner. The design doesn’t come without compromises, however. The screen remains at a fixed tilt angle rather than lying completely flat, which limits usability somewhat.
The laptop offers a variety of ports, making it easier for creators to connect different things.
As for IO ports, the brand has done a pretty good job and provides almost all the necessary ports. You get a 3.5mm audio jack, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, a USB Type-C port, an HDMI 2.0 FRL port, and a charging port. On the right side, you will see 1 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-C port, 1 USB Type-A port, and an SD Express 7.0 card reader. I like that the company has kept Type-C and Type-A ports on both sides, which makes access easier.
ASUS ProArt P16 display: smooth and vibrant
- Display – 16-inch Lumia Pro OLED touchscreen
- Resolution – 4K (2400×3840 pixels)
- Refresh rate – 120Hz
- Additional Features – Up to 1600 nits HDR peak brightness, 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, 1,000,000:1, VESA certified display HDR True Black 1000, 1.07 billion colors, PANTONE verified, and more
Asus has added one of its best monitors to the ProArt P16. The panel is called Lumia Pro OLED, and it’s one of the most color-accurate displays I’ve tested in a while. The panel also offers 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, is factory calibrated with Delta E < 1, HDR, Dolby Vision, and is verified by Pantone. In addition, the OLED panel offers an astonishing 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio and an HDR peak brightness of up to 1,600 nits.
The laptop comes with a large 16.0-inch 4K Lumia Pro OLED display.
This all translates to an OLED panel, which is ideal for creators because you get accurate reproduction, making it easier to edit photos and videos with professional-grade software. 120 Hz refresh and variable refresh rate smooth motion make sliding the timeline or previewing motion work feel incredibly smooth. This also makes it a beautiful machine for those who want to binge-watch after hours of editing. While watching Devil May Cry, the colors became intense and vibrant. Additionally, when watching Frankenstein on Netflix, black people were immersed in dimly lit scenes.
Brightness is also a strong suit of this laptop. You get up to 1,600 nits of peak brightness and it has an anti-glare coating, making it easy to work in cafes or other outdoor venues.
ASUS ProArt P16 keyboard, touchpad, speakers and webcam
- Keyboard – Backlit keyboard
- Webcam – 1080p IR camera
- Speakers – Four speakers with Smart Amp technology + Dolby Atmos
The Asus ProArt P16 comes with the same backlit keyboard as the 2024 iteration. However, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing, as the keyboard remains one of the most comfortable typing options. I really enjoy using the keyboard as it offers decent key travel and a slight cushioned feel, which makes typing for long periods of time easier.
The laptop comes with a backlit keyboard that makes typing very comfortable for long hours.
The touchpad is relatively large and provides a smooth experience. There is no shaking during the scrolling experience. You get multi-touch gesture support, and you also get a new dialpad located in the upper left corner of the trackpad. It basically works as a context-sensitive control wheel that supports various features in different applications like Adobe Premiere Pro, CapCut, etc.
However, there’s a slight learning curve here, and once you’re done with it, the DialPad feels much smoother. That said, I feel like the scrolling experience would be slightly better, as the trackpad sometimes registers unwanted touches when you rest your palm on the dial pad.
ASUS ProArt P16 comes with a Full HD infrared camera and six speakers.
On the security front, you get an infrared-based camera that supports Windows Hello and works even in dim lighting. Although it doesn’t have a physical shutter, the 1080p camera is also suitable for video calls.
Coming to the speaker, I was really surprised. The laptop comes with a six-speaker setup that combines two tweeters and four speakers. There are only a limited number of laptops that can provide a good audio experience, and the ASUS ProArt P16 is one of them. This laptop delivers a loud sound experience, delivering clear mids and highs. The device can fill a small room, which is rare among laptops today.
The laptop comes with multiple connectivity options including WiFi 7 and more.
I’m surprised Asus was able to increase performance while maintaining a compact size. The four-speaker setup (dual-power woofers) is loud and delivers good detail even at high volumes. So, whether you are playing games or watching movies/series, you will enjoy the audio from your laptop.
ASUS ProArt P16 software: smart connection works well
- Operating System – Windows 11 Home Page
- Other features – MyAsus, StoryCube, MuseTree, ProArt Creator Hub
The latest ASUS ProArt P16 runs on Windows 11 Home operating system. The laptop is a Copilot+ PC with up to 50 TOPS NPU and RTX 5090 AI capabilities.
The laptop comes with an interesting set of artificial intelligence features that make using the device a fun experience. First, you have ProArt Creator Hub, which acts as a central control panel for checking for driver updates, adjusting performance, using color calibration tools, and more.
You also have StoryCube, which acts as a media management tool with facial recognition capabilities and helps generate videos from photos. Meanwhile, MuseTree offers AI-generated imagery, visual mood boards, concept art, and more.
Then there are the usual Windows 11 AI features, including live captions, recall, co-creation, generative fills, super-resolution, and more. All of these features run smoothly on this machine without putting a heavy load on the CPU or GPU.
ASUS ProArt P16 Performance: Reliable for daily use
- Chipset – AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 Processor
- Memory – 64GB LPDDR5X-7500
- ROM – 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD
- GPU – NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 (24GB GDDR7)
ASUS ProArt P16 is powered by the latest AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor, which offers a boost frequency of up to 5.1GHz, 12 cores, 24 threads and 36MB cache. It is also equipped with AMD XDNA NPU, which provides 50 TOPS performance for AI-related tasks. Additionally, this gaming laptop comes with the latest NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 graphics card and 12GB GDDR7 RAM. It comes with 64GB LPDDR5X 7500 RAM and 2TB PCIe 4.0 NVMe M.2 SSD storage. Although the RAM is soldered, you do have an expansion slot for storage.
ASUS ProArt P16 is powered by the flagship AMD Ryzen 9 HX 370 processor.
Talking about performance, you get the best combination at this price point. The flagship AMD processor paired with the latest RTX graphics card can handle almost any task you throw at it. Whether it’s for work or gaming, this is a versatile machine that offers the best of both worlds.
Day-to-day performance is fast, and it can handle multitasking loads with ease. I had about 40 Chrome tabs open and a video playing in the background, and the laptop completed these intense tasks without any real slowdown. Having said that, the laptop can handle the most intensive tasks with ease.
With professional video editing software like Adobe Premiere Pro, the laptop is able to work on 4K and even 8K timelines without too many problems. The RTX 5090’s support for 4:2:2 10-bit video encoding and decoding also makes it easier to render and export faster than previous generations, even rivaling the speed of Apple’s MacBook Pro.
This laptop delivers flagship-level performance in nearly every task you perform.
Apart from this, the laptop delivers good performance when using Adobe Photoshop and even when using AI features like Generate Fill, Object Removal, Smart Selection, etc. One of the nice things here is that the laptop comes with three months of free subscription to Adobe Creative Cloud All Apps, Adobe Acrobat Standard DC, and Adobe Substance 3D, which further sweetens the deal.
The main trade-offs, however, are heat and fan noise. Under sustained heavy load (for example, 30 minutes of 3D rendering), the fans may become loud. However, I never noticed the thermals getting too hot to handle. Next, you can also play some AAA games on this machine, but keep in mind that it will offer the same level of performance as a full-fledged gaming laptop in the same price range.
ASUS ProArt P16 Laptop Battery: Average
- Battery Capacity – 90Wh Lithium Polymer (Typical)
- Fast charging – 240W adapter
The Asus ProArt P16 comes with a large 90Wh battery, but the results are mixed. The laptop can last up to 7 hours while performing daily productivity tasks. However, if you run intensive tasks, battery life will be significantly reduced. Under heavy load, the laptop’s battery life is approximately 4 hours. The laptop also comes with a 240W charger that can charge the device in 2 hours.
ASUS ProArt P16 Laptop Verdict
All in all, the Asus ProArt P16 appears to be a promising choice for creators looking for a professional-grade machine to handle most demanding tasks. The laptop offers a premium design language that makes it look elegant and minimalist. Although the Nano Black collects a lot of dirt and fingerprints, the weight is distributed just right. The display is one of the best the brand has to offer. The screen delivers vibrant colors and deep blacks, while the peak brightness is impressive.
Performance is how you accept a flagship phone. The combination of AMD Ryzen 9 HX and Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 makes it powerful enough to compete directly with the latest MacBook Pro series. The software is great, and the ProArt Creator Center does provide much-needed customization options. To be honest, the battery life is average. So, if you are a creator and the price does not limit you, then you can definitely consider the ASUS ProArt P16.
