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Asus keeps pushing laptop design beyond corporate sameness, and the ProArt P16 is their loudest statement yet. It pairs a top-tier discrete GPU with a 4K OLED screen and creator-focused controls. I lived with this machine for two weeks to see whether its power and quirks justify the high price.
Design, finishes and portability that split the room
Looks and materials
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The ProArt P16 favors a sober appearance. My review unit came in matte black with a ceramic-aluminum backplate. That finish looks professional but shows wear easily. A small nick on the lid stood out like a white speck on black.
For creators who value color and personality, the chassis feels conservative. Still, the build feels solid and carries a Mil-Std 810G rating for added peace of mind.
Size and weight in everyday use
This is a desktop-replacement rather than an ultraportable. The thinness clocks in at about 0.59 inches and weight is just over four pounds. It slips into a backpack but comfortably lives on a desk.
Display and raw creative power
The screen is a highlight. A 16-inch 4K AMOLED touch panel runs at 120Hz and delivers deep blacks and vivid colors. For creators who want an OLED option on Windows, this ticks the right boxes.
Under the hood, Asus paired an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 with an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 GPU in the top configuration. My test unit also included 64 GB of RAM and a 2 TB SSD. The machine chewed through edits and renders without flinching.
- Key specs: 16-inch 4K AMOLED, 120Hz refresh
- AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 GPU
- 64 GB RAM, 2 TB NVMe SSD
Exporting a 1080p timeline with transitions in DaVinci Resolve was fast. This laptop will handle heavier workloads, though power-hungry 4K projects may push battery and thermals hard.
Dial Pad and trackpad: new ways to interact
The unique selling point here is the Dial Pad embedded in the trackpad. It sits as a circular touch zone in the upper-left of the pad and unlocks creative shortcuts.
Activation requires a swipe gesture on a small marker at the pad’s opposite corner. That toggle isn’t intuitive at first, but it becomes second nature.
The Dial Pad adapts per app. In video apps it scrubs timelines. In browsers it can change zoom or jump between tabs. Customization is deep but fiddly.
- App-specific actions must be set individually.
- Defaults are sensible for common creative tools.
- Once configured, the Dial Pad speeds repetitive tasks.
It’s a playful, useful control once you invest the setup time.
Ports, keyboard and audio for creators
Asus packed the ProArt P16 with a useful array of ports. You get both modern and legacy I/O that professionals expect.
- USB4 Type-C
- USB 3.2 Type-C
- Two USB 3.2 Type-A ports
- Full-size SD card reader
- HDMI 2.1 FRL
- 3.5mm headphone jack
The keyboard is comfortable with decent travel and key spacing. Asus omitted a numeric pad to make room for stereo speaker grilles beside the keys. The speakers can reach loud levels and sound clear. Low-end frequencies are limited, which is expected in a thin clamshell.
Battery life and real-world performance
Powerful internals come with a common trade-off: battery life. In my mixed workflow the laptop averaged around four to five hours per charge. That included web browsing with many tabs, Slack, Telegram, and streaming audio.
Disconnecting mid-morning usually meant a lunchtime recharge. For short commutes or editing on the go it suffices. Don’t expect to unplug for a full day of heavy creative work.
Benchmarks reflect competent mobile performance. I ran Geekbench 6 three times and recorded an average single-core score of 2,802 and an average multi-core score of 12,897 while on battery.
Thermals and sustained performance were solid during video exports. The machine handled repeated encode tasks without dramatic throttling.
Punch list: who should consider this laptop
- Video editors and content creators who want an OLED display and desktop-class GPU in a laptop.
- Professionals who need a broad set of ports and a robust build.
- Users willing to trade battery life and weight for performance.
Pricing and where to buy the Asus ProArt P16
The ProArt P16 starts at about $2,799 for models equipped with an RTX 5090 GPU. Fully specced configurations, like the 64 GB/2 TB unit I tested, can reach around $3,999. Prices vary by retailer.
The laptop has appeared at major outlets including Best Buy and the Asus online store. Availability can fluctuate, and some high-end configurations may be temporarily out of stock.
