The Apple MacBook Pro 16 reigns supreme as the ultimate content creation laptop, offering blazing speed, exceptional build quality, and a dazzling mini-LED display. However, its premium price tag and macOS operating system might make it inaccessible for some. Enter the Asus ProArt P16, a formidable contender vying for the crown. It delivers compelling performance, a stunning OLED display, and an attractive price point, making it a tempting alternative for Windows users.
Specs and Configurations
The ProArt P16 comes in various configurations. The base model, starting at $1,900, boasts an AMD Ryzen AI 9 370 HX chipset, 32GB of RAM, a 1TB SSD, an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060, and a 16-inch 4K+ OLED display. For a higher price of $2,700, you can opt for 64GB of RAM, a 2TB SSD, and an RTX 4070. The MacBook Pro 16 starts at $2,499 with an M3 Pro chipset, 18GB of RAM, a 512GB SSD, and a 16.2-inch 3456 by 2234 mini-LED display. Upgrading to an M3 Max bumps the price up by $1,000, while increasing RAM to 36GB and storage to 1TB. At the high end, the MacBook costs a hefty $7,199 with the fastest M3 Max, 128GB of RAM, and 8TB of storage. Simply put, the ProArt P16 offers a more wallet-friendly option.
Design
The MacBook Pro 16 exemplifies Apple’s renowned design philosophy, showcasing a simple yet elegant aesthetic that prioritizes cohesiveness over ostentation. Available in two colors, Silver and Space Black, it’s undoubtedly a visually stunning laptop. The ProArt P16 takes a more traditional approach with an all-black chassis and lines that are typical of contemporary laptops. While still attractive, it doesn’t quite reach the same level of visual sophistication as the MacBook. The same can be said about their build quality. The MacBook Pro 16’s chassis is crafted from a single piece of CNC machined aluminum. The body and lid are remarkably rigid, resisting bending, flexing, or twisting. Its substantial weight contributes to a feeling of solidity that few laptops can match. The ProArt P16, also constructed from aluminum, boasts reasonably rigid chassis and keyboard deck, but the lid yields to light pressure. While the ProArt P16 is well built, the MacBook Pro 16 simply feels superior.
The MacBook’s Magic Keyboard stands out due to its snappier, more consistent switches. Both laptops offer large keycaps and ample spacing, but the Magic Keyboard enables faster and more accurate typing. The MacBook’s enormous Force Touch haptic touchpad outperforms the ProArt P16’s smaller mechanical version. When it comes to data input and navigating the user interface, the MacBook Pro 16 provides a superior experience.
In terms of connectivity, both laptops are a mixed bag. The ProArt P16 offers more legacy ports, but its single USB4 port provides less bandwidth compared to the MacBook Pro 16’s three Thunderbolt 4 ports. Both feature HDMI and full-size SD card readers. The ProArt P16 boasts more up-to-date wireless capabilities. Both laptops come equipped with similar 1080p webcams, delivering decent image quality for video conferencing. The ProArt P16 utilizes an infrared camera for Windows 11 Hello facial recognition, while the MacBook Pro 16 has a fingerprint reader integrated into the power supply.
Performance
The ProArt P16 is powered by AMD’s latest chipset, the 28-watt Ryzen AI 9 370 HX with 12 cores and 24 threads. This fast iteration of AMD’s Ryzen series incorporates the fastest neural processing unit (NPU) available, running at 50 tera operations per second (TOPS). Additionally, the ProArt P16 can be equipped with either the Nvidia GeForce RTX 4060 or RTX 4070 GPU. Our review featured the RTX 4070 configuration. The MacBook Pro 16 utilizes either Apple’s M3 Pro or M3 Max chipsets. The M3 Pro has 12 CPU cores and 18 GPU cores, while the M3 Max comes in 14-core CPU/30-core GPU and 16-core CPU/40-core GPU variants. Our review used the fastest M3 Max configuration.
In simple terms, when equipped as reviewed, the MacBook Pro 16 outperforms the ProArt P16 significantly. This is most evident in the Pugetbench Premiere Pro benchmark, which leverages several M3 Max CPU optimizations compared to the Windows version that relies more heavily on the GPU for speed. The only area where the ProArt P16 takes the lead is in gaming, where the MacBook is primarily hindered by a lack of modern titles that can fully utilize its GPU. However, it’s important to note that a more comparable MacBook Pro 16 in terms of price would utilize the M3 Pro chipset. This would make the performance gap significantly narrower.
Display
Here, we pit OLED against mini-LED, comparing OLED’s inky blacks and incredibly dynamic and accurate colors against mini-LED’s exceptional brightness and high dynamic range (HDR) performance. It’s an intense battle. The ProArt P16’s OLED display offers sharper visuals with its 4K+ (3840 by 2400) resolution compared to the MacBook Pro 16’s 3456 by 2234 resolution. The MacBook’s display also boasts a refresh rate of up to 120Hz, delivering a smoother visual experience. According to our colorimeter, the ProArt P16’s OLED display falls short in terms of brightness, but both offer deep contrast. However, the ProArt P16’s colors are wider and slightly more accurate, with perfect blacks that lack the blooming effect sometimes seen with mini-LED. Ultimately, both displays excel for productivity users and creators. However, the MacBook Pro 16 boasts the best HDR in a laptop today, thanks to its exceptional HDR brightness reaching up to 1,600 nits.
Portability
Both laptops are very similar in width and depth, although the MacBook Pro accommodates a slightly larger display due to its smaller bezels. They’re comparable in thickness, but the MacBook Pro 16 is noticeably heavier. It will weigh you down a bit more than the ProArt P16.
Battery life is a more significant differentiator. The ProArt P16 lasted for 8.5 hours in our web browsing test and 11 hours in our video looping test, which isn’t bad for Windows creator laptops. However, the MacBook Pro 16 delivered an impressive 19.5 hours and 27 hours, respectively. It’s the longest-lasting laptop we’ve tested. Part of the difference can be attributed to the MacBook Pro 16’s larger battery, but the primary driver is the incredible efficiency of Apple’s M3 architecture. The MacBook will last longer both when pushed hard and during typical productivity tasks and media consumption.
The ProArt P16 is a Great Option for Windows Users
In essence, the MacBook Pro 16 remains the best 16-inch laptop available. It’s incredibly fast, has exceptional battery life, boasts unmatched build quality, and features a mini-LED display that’s hard to beat. However, its price tag is equally impressive. The ProArt P16 is also quite fast, considerably lighter, and boasts a fantastic OLED display. It also comes at a much more affordable price. If you’re a Windows user with a hankering for a MacBook, then the ProArt P16 is the go-to option.
