Asus ProArt PZ13 Review: A Smart 2-In-1 Windows Tablet For Creatives

Asus might have out-surfaced the Surface Pro with the 2-in-1 Asus ProArt PZ13 tablet.

Microsoft’s Surface family showcase the features of Windows and Microsoft’s cloud-based services in an environment it can fully control. It’s also a subtle indicator to Microsoft’s partners as to what form factors the company is prioritising. Given that, it’s surprising that it has taken so long for a company to challenge the Surface 2-in-1 form directly.

Asus has designed the ProArt PZ13 It’s designed with creatives in mind, so I’ve spent some time with it to find out more.

Asus ProArt PZ13 Form Factor

With a standalone tablet holding the display and all the critical components, it’s hard not to follow the form of the Surface Pro and its accessories. The magnetically attached keyboard sits along the lowest edge, and there’s no rigidity where the hinge on a traditional laptop would be.. You’ll rely on the kickstand to hold the screen at the right angle on a flat surface so you can type away.

Unlike the Surface Pro, the ProArt PZ13’s kickstand is not built into the tablet but is attached as part of a magnetic cover encompassing the tablet’s rear. This solution lets you strip everything away to a very thin tablet, but when you clip on the keyboard and the kickstand, you get something that looks ready for a rugged camping holiday rather than bouncing around a cityscape.

That said, it is rugged, comes with an IP52 rating, and is certified to the MIL-STD 810H standard.

All those issues trying to balance a Surface Pro on your knees at a conference are also here. One thing that isn’t present is the cost of buying the keyboard. What was an additional purchase on the Surface Pro comes in the ProArt box… although if you want the stylus, you’ll need to pay extra.

The ProArt PZ13 could do with a few more I/O ports. You get two USB-C Gen 3 ports and an SD Card reader—photographers especially will appreciate this. You will need one of those USB-C ports for charging; I’m sure many users will consider adding a docking station or multi-port peripheral to make up for this when working from home.

I find it curious that Asus has placed the SD Card reader and a second USB-C slot under a small cover-flap. It keeps the clean lines of the tablet and no doubt helps with water and dust protection, but the flap just hangs free when open and looks both inelegant and fragile.

Given the target market of creatives, I’m disappointed there is no 3.5mm headphone jack. Bluetooth may be great for listening to music and, with luck, will be fine for watching video. However, any creative whose work involves audio knows that the lag in Bluetooth headphones can make for a frustrating editing experience. It’s old-fashioned, but it’s still needed.

Asus ProArt PZ13 Specs and Hardware

Asus offer just one configuration of the ProArt PZ13— 16 GB of memory and 1 TB of storage. It has a list price of £1,199 here in the UK and an additional £59; the closest Surface Pro comes with just 512 GB of storage and has a list price of £1,229, although you will need to add £40 for the charger and £279 for the Surface Pro Keyboard and Slim Pen.

The OLED display is going to be one of the key selling points. It offers a 3K 2880×1800 resolution and is protected by Corning’s Gorilla Glass. Crucially for creatives, the display is multi-disciplinary and can be calibrated to DCI-P3 or sRGB, depending on your needs.

Unfortunately, it only runs at 60Hz, and after living with some luxurious displays on phones and laptops running at higher refresh rates, this is the one area where the PZ13 illustrates why it has a lower-than-expected price.

With a 70Wh battery coupled with the ARM processor, day-to-day battery life is comfortably over 15 hours. As always, more intensive tasks such as rendering video will eat into that, but you could arguably manage two days of sensible us out of a single charge. That’s mostly down to the efficiency of the ARM processor.

Asus ProArt PZ13’s ARM Issue

The chipset will be one of the most significant decisions when considering the ProArt PZ13. Like many new Windows 11 devices launched in 2024, Asus uses an ARM-based chipset from Qualcomm rather than an Intel x86-compatible chipset.

That means you’ll be looking for apps compiled for Windows on ARM for the best performance. These are becoming more prevalent, but some key applications do not have ARM versions, most notably Adobe’s Premier Pro.

Windows does have Prism—an app compatibility layer that will allow programs designed for the x86 chipset to run on the ARM chipsets—but there is a performance hit of around twenty-five percent. While it is comprehensive, there is no guarantee that your specific business-critical app will run. It should, but if you have a key app that does not have an ARM version, you must check that it runs under emulation before purchasing.

The ProArt uses Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Plus chipset. This is the slowest of Qualcomm’s current wave of Windows chipsets. You’ll notice this on more intensive tasks, but the tablet remains snappy and responsive in day-to-day use. This isn’t surprising because the single-core benchmarking of the X Plus and the X Elite are broadly similar. When more demanding tasks demand multi-core performance, the PZ13 falls away compared to the more expensive chipsets.

Are these considerations of potential compatibility problems while waiting for developers to move from x86 to ARM worth it? Microsoft certainly thinks so, and it has the support of its partners, including Asus, to find out if the market agrees. The apps I regularly use are not out of the ordinary; I use Microsoft Office apps, tools for podcast editing, and some light graphics work. And the ProArt copes with all of them.

However, app compatibility will be a concern for Windows on ARM devices for some time to come.

Asus ProArt PZ13 Final Thoughts

Asus is not pitching the ProArt PZ13 as an all-rounder. Instead, this is targeted towards creatives who will be actively using their computer on the move. The battery life and accurate color display are strong points to consider, as is the price point that allows Asus to pitch this as a competent value-for-money option.

The weak point is the processor. This is not necessarily because of the choice to go with an ARM chipset—after all, most of the new Windows 11 laptops and tablets released in 2024 have used ARM-based chipsets. That variety and volume of hardware will help drive out compatibility issues over time. This is because the Snapdragon X Plus processor is the entry-level chipset. Once you start demanding multi-core performance, there’s a drop-off compared to the more powerful Snapdragon X Elite, which is the mainstay of the competing Surface Pro lineup.

The processor choice could lie behind the competitive price. It’s an interesting trade-off, and I’d be interested to see how consumers react. For light- to medium-use, the performance meets expectations.

Asus’ design choices make sense when you consider the target market. Creatives do not need ultimate power in a portable product. Assuming there is a deskbound option with more performance, the PZ13 is a good choice to carry with you.

Disclaimer: Asus provided an Asus ProArt PZ13 2-in-1 and Asus Pen for review purposes.