Power hidden from view: ASUS ProArt P16 laptop review

Ultrabooks are practically not associated with high performance. Conversely, the most powerful models weigh 3.5 kg and are unlikely to be moved with the owner even to the next room. But on the border of both extremes there is still a small layer of options that try to balance between these two worlds, and in a fairly thin case there are still more serious processors and even discrete graphics. We got acquainted with one of these options last year - this is the ASUS ProArt P16 with the base of the ROG Zephyrus G16 gaming model. A major update was not expected in 2025, but the graphics have caught up with the current offers from NVIDIA. So let's look at the updates in the classic review. Those readers who remember last year's version can go straight to the performance section. Everyone else may be interested in seeing the rest, because the ASUS ProArt P16 is really good.

Specifications of ASUS ProArt P16 (H7606WP)

Package contents

When it comes to non-standard versions of laptops, they also come with unusual package options. In the case of the ASUS ProArt P16, the laptop comes with a fairly small power supply and a couple of nice bonuses - a stylized backpack and an Ethernet adapter.

For fans of "homogeneous" accessories, the manufacturer can also offer a more functional mouse than the usual options (like the well-known Logitech MX Master), a mat, etc. If necessary, there is also support for a branded stylus. However, for such things you will have to go to foreign stores, because, unfortunately, not all possible products of the ProArt line have reached Ukraine.

Design and usability

Since last year, the ASUS ProArt P16 has undergone practically no external changes. But this is not a bad thing, because this platform still remains one of the most successful on the market. Here, of course, it is worth noting that it is the most successful for its class. This is not a desktop replacement, like the ROG flagships. And not as convenient a travel option as the representatives of the Zenbook and Expertbook lines. But for the 16-inch format and the presence of more or less powerful components, this option really does not lag behind.

The deep black color of Nano Black is almost not complemented by anything. The device was left as minimalistic and, in my opinion, very stylish. Considering that the model is offered to representatives of creative professions, the design exactly matches the idea. Someone will be able to easily complement it with their own stickers to "dilute" the appearance, and someone will leave everything as it is. And in both options we will have a satisfied owner.

And in any case, buyers will be pleased with the all-metal case, which has practically no significant flaws. Except that in certain lighting you can see handprints on it, but wiping the laptop is not so difficult. At the same time, you can also get rid of dust, which will be more noticeable on the black color. Traditionally, the manufacturer emphasizes passing the MIL-STD-810H tests, but this does not mean that the case cannot be damaged or scratched. So, as always, extra caution will not hurt.

ASUS ProArt P16 should suit those users who, in addition to productivity, also pay attention to portability. The dimensions, as for 16 inches, are absolutely humane: 354.9×246.9×14.9-17.3 mm, weight - 1.85 kg. And although it is not a competitor to ultrabooks, it is still smaller than the popular MacBook Pro in this class with a corresponding display. And yes, of course, you can find a lighter and "slimmer" case, but will it have a place for discrete video? - Not everyone. And there may be no other advantages of this particular model either.

All the little niceties have also remained unchanged: there are still no visible slots for air circulation on the top case, the status indicators are removed as far as possible from the user's eyes, as are all the display mounts. The frame around the screen has unusual notches, like on a camera lens, and behind them a little gloss to better emphasize the overall matte finish. All this very successfully complements the appearance and should appeal to fans of such trifles.

The lower part of the case still doesn't feature anything special. There's only a large grille for cold air intake and two large "legs" that stretch almost the entire width of the top case. The upper one should additionally distribute the air paths, preventing hot air from reaching the cool area under the laptop - a very practical use of such an element on the case.

So yes, the ASUS ProArt P16 in 2025 does not provide anything new, but remains the same Stealth laptop. Like last year, now I also have not figured out how I would like to remake it or at least supplement it. This is a great case for working on the go or on the couch, it is not difficult to take it to the office, etc. And it is a pleasure to work with it every day. Therefore, the lack of changes in the design has not in any way worsened the impressions of use.

Display

At the time of writing, there are still options for models with different prices in stores. Despite the differences in processors, video accelerators and memory capacity, the ASUS ProArt P16 does not offer quite familiar screen options. So, content creators will in any case be provided with a 16-inch screen with a 4K resolution and an aspect ratio of 16:10. The proposed zoom of 250% is quite comfortable, but in some cases it can still be reduced by at least one step (to 225%) to get more workspace.

Also, all displays of this model have a touch coating and support for working with branded styluses, which can be a separate advantage for certain users. For everyone else, it is simply an additional option for interacting with the screen. However, then you will have to wipe the glass (Gorilla Glass) even more often. The opening angle of the display has not been changed either, but inconvenience will arise only in case of specific requirements.

Personally, for me, the weakest point of this display is the refresh rate of only 60 Hz. This, of course, is not so important when working with design, video or photo editing. However, working with faster matrices has left a certain mark, and modern smartphones can mostly pamper themselves with a faster refresh rate, which eventually becomes noticeable when scrolling through the news feed, spreadsheets or instant messengers. So I would gladly prefer a model with a lower resolution and 120 Hz, but ProArt does not provide such.

The strong point will be factory calibration. ASUS Lumina provides an OLED matrix that immediately provides 100% coverage of DCI-P3 and does not require additional "movements" (although there are calibration options in the system utilities). Standard options for color spaces and minimal correction are also available. And since it is OLED, we also have really deep black. Such a display is perfect for both professional work and ordinary tasks and entertainment. There are no new protection tools to protect the matrix from pixel burnout.

With a glossy protective coating, the typical backlight level of up to 400 cd/m² will still be a bit low for outdoor use. However, it will be quite enough indoors. When playing HDR, the peak brightness is 500 cd/m². There is also support for automatic adjustment, which mostly selects a comfortable value.

Ports

One of the nice things about using the ASUS ProArt P16 as a gaming platform is the abundance of ports that are traditionally placed on the sides. Namely, on the left side, there is a combo 3.5mm jack, USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, USB-C 4, HDMI 2.1, and a proprietary charging port; on the right, there are USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, USB-C 3.2 Gen 2, and SD Express 7.0.

All USB-C ports support video output and charging. Therefore, for example, if you have a monitor with the appropriate capabilities, you can do without a power supply under certain conditions. However, it is worth considering that only the original unit with a proprietary port will provide maximum performance, and monitors, like USB-C ports themselves, do not support 200 W.

Security

In ASUS ProArt P16, there is only one option for quick access to the system. This is already familiar for ASUS - face scanning using a webcam and an IR sensor. They do not always work "instantly", but they do not make you wait too long. Moreover, they react in different lighting conditions, which also adds comfort.

A fingerprint sensor option would hardly be superfluous. And in general, one would still like to get more options from an expensive device. However, it is difficult to say that face scanning does not fulfill its task.

Keyboard, trackpad and DialPad

Except for the RGB backlighting, the keyboard also repeats the gaming version from ROG. Thus, the user will get a "cropped" keyboard without a NUM block, but with sufficient key travel (1.7 mm) and the distance between them, convenient "hot" keys, etc. As for the backlighting, at maximum it is not the brightest of what happened in ASUS, but it is still enough even at the minimum level.

Despite its origin, the key mechanisms remain quiet, so colleagues or family will not be much bothered by the sound. For "blind" typing, I did not have to adapt much to the keyboard. Here, except that the small navigation keys may be unusual after large keyboards, but they also do not take long to get used to. Therefore, for those who spend a lot of time, including with texts, there will be no major inconveniences here.

The platform also includes a really large trackpad. Its dimensions are approximately 150×99 mm and it literally takes up the rest of the space on the top case under the keyboard. It also works well (I haven't seen such trackpads that would be difficult to use for a long time), replacing the mouse will be easy.

But also one of the outstanding features of the ASUS ProArt P16, like its predecessors, is an additional control tool - DialPad. The touch controller built into the trackpad has integration with, for example, Adobe Creative Apps and will help you control variable parameters. At other times, it can be used to control sound and brightness, zoom pages in the browser, switch between tabs, and in general there are many other possibilities.

As with previous versions of DialPad, such a controller is very subjective. It is unlikely that every user will like it, and moreover, all the corresponding "software" does not count on the mandatory presence of something like this. However, I am sure that there will be many users who will like such an element. However, to be honest, in everyday use I did not find it very useful for myself. But, again, this is just my experience.

Given that the controller is designed specifically for users who work a lot with images and video, it is primarily worth trying to use it. For everyone else, I think it is unlikely to become an indispensable control element.

On the other hand, the DialPad doesn't get in the way much, so even if you don't find a use for it, it won't be a problem. Moreover, it's not the only thing worth noting in such a laptop. But it's a characteristic feature of the ProArt series laptops, and the manufacturer couldn't ignore it.

Camera and sound

As expected, the webcam is pretty standard for ASUS laptops and doesn't offer any unusual features. 2 MP is enough for video calls in Full HD resolution, there is a standard set of effects, the camera tries to reduce the amount of digital noise, etc. It's quite a sufficient option for video conferencing.

Without using the built-in noise cancellation capabilities with AI, the microphones will be too sensitive. However, by digging a little in the settings, this can be fixed with literally one switch. In this case, only the voice will enter the conversation, and all extraneous sounds (keyboard, noise from the window, tapping on the table, etc.) will remain out of the "frame". This is a typical story for many laptops and the question remains: why is noise cancellation not enabled by default?

And the speakers still hold the title of one of the best that came to our editorial office. For a laptop, the sound is simply excellent. It is handled by four subwoofers and two tweeters, which not all even flagship models can boast of. Together with Dolby Atmos support and the "letter" Harman Kardon Certified, these speakers provide enough capabilities even for quite pleasant music playback, not to mention all the other possible options.

Of course, in large rooms this won't be as much as you'd like, so it'll be difficult to compete with external sound sources. However, as for laptop speakers, this model has some of the best I've ever heard.

Productivity and software

The updated ASUS ProArt P16 H7606WP model may not have brought many updates to the exterior or related components, but it has added fresher graphics from NVIDIA to the selection. Thus, last year's base model with RTX 4050 graphics still remains, a couple of intermediate options with RTX 4060 and 4070, and the "top" is the updated version with RTX 5070. The option with RTX 5060 has not yet reached Ukraine.

The update did not affect the processors at the moment, so in the test model with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5070 (8 GB GDDR7, up to 1,545 MHz) we have a 12-core AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 (4 Zen 5 cores up to 5.1 GHz, 8 Zen 5c cores up to 3.3 GHz, 24 threads, 36 MB cache, 70 W) and AMD XDNA NPU (50 TOPS). This configuration also received 64 GB LPDDR5X-7500, which is the maximum for this platform, and a 2-terabyte PCIe 4.0 storage with another free slot. The cost at the time of preparation of this material is 169,999 hryvnias.

All configuration options also support Wi-Fi 7 and Bluetooth 5.4, and with the included adapter, there is the possibility of a gigabit wired connection to the Network.

Since the CPU this year the model did not update, as expected, the test results showed themselves at the level of last year, but the graphics still added. However, the boost is unlikely to be very noticeable in everyday use. The same, for example, gaming benchmarks, in some cases added nothing in principle, in others - about 10%. Thus, updating the previous model does not make much sense, but for owners of older models such an offer will still be more interesting.

Speaking of games (since it's a gaming platform after all), the biggest bottleneck here is still the 4K display. Such a resolution is a bit difficult for a limited platform. And 8 GB of video memory will also limit fans of demanding titles to some extent. However, you can still play. (And if your leisure time does involve a lot of games, it's better to look at the original Zephyrus, not its ProArt version).

The Tri-Fan cooling system was not abandoned here, so there are three fans, four heat pipes, liquid metal and dust filters inside. As already mentioned, the hot air outlet was left hidden, which only adds to the comfort of work. And what is interesting, even despite the limited space inside, the cooling allows the system to work comfortably, and stress tests did not see much more than 80°C. Also, the working surface of the top case remains barely warm under load.

And in addition, the cooling is not very loud. Well, more precisely, at maximum speeds, the user will clearly hear the fans. But during simple everyday work, the cooling goes into a passive state and will not particularly bother. (However, if the work involves video processing, graphic tasks, etc., then it is unlikely that you can do without noise here and with other laptops.)

As expected for such a model, the maximum performance modes are only available when working with a connected power supply. On the other hand, when you need to save as much energy as possible, the restrictions will have almost no impact on everyday work. As last time, without a power supply, the performance is still more than some ultrabooks.

Last year's feature of the ASUS ProArt P16, compared to the ROG Zephyrus, is the graphics performance. There is no switch here that would switch the system to an exclusively discrete version. Eco mode will allow you to stay only on integrated graphics, but the opposite will not work. Although, in principle, such an approach can still be understood.

The software set remains unchanged: MyASUS, ProArt Creator Hub, StoryCube, ASUS Dial & Control Panel, MuseTree, ScreenXpert, three months of access to Adobe Creative Cloud, CapCut, etc. All this also without updates to the operating logic or appearance.

Battery life

As expected, the updated ASUS ProArt P16 received a battery from its predecessor. And since the vast majority of components also remained from last year's version, the autonomy of the device has not changed significantly. So the 90 Wh battery lasted the same 9 hours and 18 minutes in the office test, and an hour and a half in the gaming test. If you watch a two-hour movie in the "weekend" mode, it will cost almost 20%. The results are still quite decent, for such a configuration.

The 200W power supply remains unchanged. True, this time it took over two hours to fully charge, which is longer than we saw with its predecessor. But it's still not an extreme option, especially for such a laptop.