0:00Creator laptops today are trying to do
0:02it all, be thin, powerful, and
0:04versatile, but very few actually balance
0:08those three aspects well. Some lean too
0:10heavily into gaming, while others
0:12sacrifice performance in favor of
0:14portability. The ASUS ProArt P16 aims to
0:18sit right in the middle. A creator-first
0:21machine that delivers workstation-level
0:23performance in a slim and
0:25travel-friendly form factor. After using
0:28it for about a month across editing,
0:30design work, and even some gaming on the
0:33side, it’s clear that ASUS had a very
0:35specific type of user in mind, and for
0:38the most part
0:39they nailed it. So, without further ado,
0:42let’s
0:44get into it.
0:51The 2026 ProArt P16 keeps things clean
0:55and professional, which immediately sets
0:57it apart from more aggressive-looking
0:59performance machines like the ROG
1:01Zephyrus G16, for example. It’s a good
1:04example cuz they practically have the
1:06same chassis. Only available in nano
1:09black, this laptop has a stealthy,
1:11minimalist aesthetic that works just as
1:14well in a studio environment as it does
1:16in a meeting or cafes. It doesn’t try
1:19too hard to stand out, and we think that
1:22adds to its class. The smudge-resistant
1:25coating does a good job of keeping
1:27fingerprints under control even after
1:29long hours of use. Obviously, those with
1:32sweatier palms can give the finish a run
1:36for its money, but nothing that can’t be
1:39solved with a good microfiber towel.
1:41Despite housing high-end components, the
1:43laptop remains relatively portable at
1:46around 1.95 kg and under 15 mm thin,
1:51making it easy to bring along for shoots
1:53or editing sessions outside the house,
1:55even with the included 6.7 kg 240 W DC
1:59charger. Build quality is excellent
2:01throughout. The chassis feels solid and
2:04well put together, while the hinge
2:06offers good stability with minimal
2:08wobble. It’s a device that feels
2:10dependable, whether it’s sitting on a
2:12desk or being carried around daily. The
2:14ASUS ProArt P16 offers a well-rounded
2:18selection of ports that pretty much
2:20eliminates the need for use of a dongle.
2:23We get two USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A ports
2:26rated for up to 10 gigabit per second
2:28transfer speeds, a USB 4.0 Gen 3 Type C
2:32port with power delivery and display
2:34out, a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type C rated for
2:38the same transfer speeds and also gets
2:40power delivery, as well as display out.
2:43There’s also an HDMI 2.1 port for
2:46external displays, a 3.5 mm combo audio
2:49jack, and a full-sized SD card reader.
2:52One of the standout inclusions here is
2:54the SD Express 7.0 card reader, which
2:57made transferring files from our cameras
3:00fast and convenient. We were able to
3:02achieve 100 MB per second write speeds
3:04when transferring 4K videos from a 64 GB
3:08V30 card, and we are pleasantly
3:11impressed. Wireless connectivity is just
3:14as up-to-date with Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth
3:165.4, ensuring fast and stable
3:18connections. In day-to-day use,
3:21everything from file transfers to cloud
3:23uploads worked reliably without any
3:26hiccups. Overall, for IO, ASUS clearly
3:29understands the needs of creators, but I
3:32still wish it had an RJ45, but maybe I’m
3:36just too old-fashioned. The display is
3:39easily one of the highlights of the
3:40ProArt P16, and it’s immediately
3:43noticeable the moment you open the lid.
3:46It sports a 16-in 4K ASUS Lumina Pro
3:49OLED panel, which is amazing. It
3:52features a 16×10 aspect ratio and
3:54delivers excellent color accuracy with
3:56100% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage, and is
4:00Pantone validated. The OLED panel also
4:03provides an amazing 1 million to 1
4:06contrast ratio with its VESA Certified
4:08DisplayHDR True Black 1000
4:11certification, and impressive HDR peak
4:14brightness levels of 16,000 nits, making
4:17it ideal for both creative work and
4:19media consumption. It’s also worth
4:21noting that the display also has touch
4:24and pen support, if you’re into that.
4:26And in real-world use, this translates
4:28to a highly reliable canvas for editing
4:31photos and videos. Colors appear
4:33accurate and consistent, which is
4:35crucial for tasks like color grading and
4:37retouching. Beyond work, the display is
4:40simply enjoyable to use, whether
4:42creating content, watching videos, or
4:44gaming, the OLED panel delivers a level
4:48of depth and clarity that’s hard to go
4:50back from once you’ve experienced it.
4:52OLED supremacy. Doubling down on media
4:55consumption and creation, audio
4:57performance on the ProArt P16 is
5:00amazing. The built-in speaker system
5:02sounds phenomenal and produces clear,
5:05full-bodied sound with enough volume for
5:08casual listening, viewing, and
5:09previewing edits, making external
5:11speakers optional for most situations.
5:14We rarely passed 26% in volume when
5:17working late nights, and of course, just
5:19like most modern high-end ASUS laptops,
5:22there’s Dolby Access on here to tune the
5:24EQ or select preset profiles for Dolby
5:27Atmos, and like always, we settled on
5:31dynamic. Typing on the ProArt P16 feels
5:34natural and comfortable, with
5:36well-spaced keys and enough travel to
5:38support long writing or editing
5:40sessions. It’s not overly flashy, but it
5:43gets the job done reliably. It is
5:45backlit, single zone, and it’s just
5:47white, so no RGB on here, but I’m not
5:50really complaining. Below the keyboard
5:52is the glass trackpad, which is large
5:54and responsive, offering precise control
5:57for users who prefer working without a
5:58mouse. Windows trackpad gestures
6:01register accurately, and overall
6:03navigation feels smooth. This laptop
6:05also features a more muted iteration of
6:07the ASUS dial pad, which adds a unique
6:11layer of functionality to our workflows
6:14or the trackpad itself. Integrated into
6:17the trackpad, it allows for quick
6:18adjustments in supported creative
6:20applications such as scrubbing through
6:23timelines in Premiere and adjusting
6:25brush sizes or zooming in and out in
6:27Photoshop. Basic uses are for adjusting
6:30display brightness and volume. Unlike
6:33many experimental features, this one
6:36actually does prove genuinely useful
6:39once you incorporate it into your
6:40workflow, but again,
6:43if you don’t really use it, I don’t
6:44think it would wreck the whole
6:46experience at all. The ProArt P16 is
6:49equipped with an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370
6:53processor paired with an AMD Radeon 890M
6:56integrated GPU and an NVIDIA GeForce RTX
6:595080 laptop dedicated GPU. Paired with
7:03fast 64 GB of LPDDR5X memory, which is
7:07soldered, by the way, and a 1 TB PCIe
7:10Gen 4 M.2 SSD with an extra slot to add
7:14storage. On paper alone, that
7:17configuration and spec already positions
7:21the ProArt P16 as a serious contender in
7:24the creative laptop space. Over the past
7:27month, the laptop handled applications
7:28like Adobe Premiere Pro, After Effects,
7:31Media Encoder, Photoshop, and Lightroom
7:33Classic without breaking a sweat.
7:35Timeline scrubbing does remain smooth
7:37even on heavier projects, while applying
7:40effects and switching between apps feels
7:42very responsive. Exporting 6 to
7:4410-minute 4K at 30p videos never lasted
7:47more than 15 minutes, give or take,
7:49depending on how heavy the projects
7:51were. And even when juggling multiple
7:54applications, the system maintains
7:56stability. For quicker workflows, apps
7:58like CapCut also run flawlessly, making
8:01it easy to switch between long-form
8:03editing and short-form content creation.
8:05Gaming on the ProArt P16 is more of a
8:08secondary feature than a primary focus.
8:11Titles like Tekken 8 and Helldivers 2
8:13run well and are perfectly playable, but
8:16the experience isn’t quite as seamless
8:19as what you’d expect from a gaming
8:20laptop. During testing, a minor issue
8:23came up when waking the laptop from
8:25sleep or hibernation while unplugged.
8:28And it is worth noting that I did put
8:31the laptop to sleep or hibernation while
8:33the charger was plugged in. So, in some
8:36cases, after waking the ProArt P16 and
8:39just wanting to hop in some competitive
8:42matches on Tekken 8, the game would run
8:44as if the system was still in a lower
8:46power mode even after reconnecting the
8:48DC charger and switching performance
8:51profiles. A quick restart resolves the
8:53issue completely, and it doesn’t affect
8:55creative workloads, but I do think it’s
8:57still worth noting for users who
8:59frequently switch between unplugged use
9:01and gaming sessions. Again, this really
9:04wasn’t that big of a deal in everyday
9:06use, but it is worth noting, and the bug
9:09will probably get fixed in a future
9:11update. Thermal performance is well
9:13managed even under sustained workloads.
9:15Fan noise is present under load, as
9:19expected, but it remains at a reasonable
9:21level and doesn’t become overly
9:23distracting for us. I mean, obviously,
9:26if I’m playing a game and the fans are
9:28maxed out, I obviously don’t really care
9:30cuz I’m zoned in to the game. But, if it
9:33does bother you guys that much, for
9:35lighter tasks, whisper mode helps keep
9:38things more subdued, making it suitable
9:40for shared workspaces like a library,
9:42especially when used unplugged. This is
9:45a video sample using the front-facing
9:48camera of the ASUS ProArt P16 2026.
9:53Might be smudged.
9:55All right, it’s a little bit better. I
9:57think it’s got a little bit more crispy.
9:59Overall, the ProArt P16 delivers
10:01excellent workflow consistency. It
10:03doesn’t just perform well in short
10:05bursts, it sustains that performance
10:07across longer sessions, which is exactly
10:11what we’d expect from a powerful
10:12portable workstation. Battery life is
10:14respectable for a laptop in this
10:16category with its 90 watt hour capacity.
10:19The ProArt P16 can last around 5 to 8
10:22hours screen on under lighter workloads
10:25such as browsing, writing, and light
10:27editing. Heavier tasks like video
10:29editing with all the effects and motion
10:32graphics you can add and rendering will
10:34naturally drain the battery much faster.
10:37It’s not designed to be an all-day
10:39unplugged workstation, but it does offer
10:42enough flexibility for mobile
10:44productivity when needed. And for those
10:46of you wondering, we can access
10:47performance mode even when it is
10:50unplugged. So, another interesting thing
10:52about this laptop is it’s a Copilot Plus
10:54PC. This means the ProArt P16 includes
10:57Microsoft Copilot, ASUS StoryCube, and
11:00ASUS Muse Tree all pre-installed when
11:04you buy this computer. These features
11:06are useful, especially for organizing
11:08files and experimenting with AI-assisted
11:10creation, but they’re more of a bonus
11:13rather than a core reason to buy this
11:15device in my
11:17personal opinion. Our review unit
11:19shipped with Windows 11 Home, and we
11:21don’t really have much of anything to
11:23complain about. Those more familiar with
11:25Armory Crate from ROG laptops should
11:27feel right at home with ProArt Creator
11:29Hub, which is the app that gives us
11:31access to performance modes and display
11:33color control. Wrapping this video up,
11:36the ASUS
11:38ProArt P16 succeeds at what it sets out
11:42to do. It’s a creator-focused laptop
11:44that delivers strong and consistent
11:46performance where it matters most, all
11:48while maintaining a sleek and portable
11:50design. The gorgeous OLED display stands
11:53out as one of the best in its class. The
11:56dial pad adds meaningful functionality
11:58once you’re used to it, and the overall
12:00experience feels tailored for creative
12:03professionals. While it isn’t optimized
12:06for gaming, it’s definitely a non-issue
12:08running most modern AAA and competitive
12:11games. If your workflow revolves around
12:13editing, designing, and producing
12:15content, this is a machine that can keep
12:19up without compromise. Now, for the
12:22price.
12:28So, what do you guys think of the ASUS
12:30ProArt P16? Is this your next mobile
12:33workstation? Let us know in the comments
12:36section.
12:37And if you enjoyed this video or found
12:40it informative or educational, be sure
12:43to smack that like button, subscribe to
12:45our YouTube channel, and hit that bell
12:46icon to get notified for our future
12:48uploads. Be sure to visit
12:49digitaltrends.com and follow us on all
12:50our social media platforms, Facebook,
12:52Instagram, X, and TikTok for the latest
12:55tech news and reviews. Once again, the
12:58ASUS ProArt P16.
13:00Miguel T, and I’ll see you in the next
13:03video. Cheers.
⚠️ This transcription is auto-generated from YouTube captions. Some text may not be 100% accurate.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply