In CapCut (which comes installed), the dial can be used for zoom, frame-by-frame stepping in video clips, and other adjustment functions. Adobe app support is also extensive and pre-configured, but all these functions can be adjusted by the user in the ProArt Creator Hub settings software. Outside the app, the dialpad lets you quickly adjust system volume and brightness without taking your hand off the touchpad.
There is a lot of software bundled with the unit. In addition to CapCut, it comes preloaded with Nvidia Studio Suite, Asus StoryCube (a file-management assistant), and Asus MuseTree (streamlining the creative process). It’s also a Copilot+ PC, so you have access to all of Microsoft’s AI tools. I tested all of these functions and found them to be worthwhile additions—though none are completely game-changing.
All told, I really enjoyed working with ProArt 16 and I was sad to put it in the box at the end of my week of testing. But I realized that maybe I left you hanging. I mentioned at the beginning that there was one downside with the laptop, and it could be a deal-breaker. This is the price of the thing. At $4,000, it’s the most expensive laptop I’ve tested since reviewing the $5,000 HP Specter foldable two years ago, and that hardly counts.
A better comparison is probably to pit the ProArt against the Apple MacBook Pro M4 Pro, which has a similar performance level and costs around $3,500 these days in its top-tier configuration. Both are exceptional systems, although today I’d have to give the edge to ProArt based on its sheer power and discrete GPU.
I know there are people who have the budget for this type of laptop, and if you do, you know who you are – but I have to go so far as to say that I’m attracted by the raw power and surprising sophistication of this machine. The bottom line is that if you need the best performance you can find in a Windows laptop today, don’t look anywhere else. Oh! That is the matter.