Previously, Apple's MacBook Pro 14 with high-performance Pro and Max chips had few true competitors in the Windows laptop market. While there were some gaming laptops like the ASUS ROG Zephyrus G14 and Razer Blade 14, there was a lack of professional multimedia laptops equipped with high-performance dedicated graphics cards. This situation is now changing. ASUS has launched the new ProArt P14, powered by NVIDIA's latest RTX processor, officially challenging Apple.
Apple recently launched the new MacBook Pro 14 OLED. Both laptops start at €3299, with entry-level configurations featuring tandem OLED touchscreens and 1TB SSDs. However, ASUS has the advantage in memory: Apple offers only 24GB, while the similarly priced ProArt P14 comes with 32GB. Having just completed reviews for both products, we can now provide a comprehensive comparison.
Both high-end laptops feature sleek, elegant metal bodies available in black or white/silver. Apple excels in hinge design and is slightly lighter, while ASUS counters with a replaceable SSD and a faster card reader. In terms of input devices, the ProArt P14 clearly wins with longer key travel and a more comfortable typing experience. However, both products perform equally well with haptic feedback trackpads, touchscreens, and excellent speaker systems.
Both manufacturers use tandem OLED touchscreens, but despite the ProArt P14's impressive display, Apple still leads significantly in visual quality. The MacBook's touchscreen doesn't detract from image clarity, whereas the ASUS shows slight graininess when displaying bright content. Additionally, the MacBook offers higher peak brightness and supports the wider AdobeRGB color gamut.
In terms of performance, NVIDIA's Spark N1X isn't bad, but it clearly lags behind Apple's M5 Pro and M5 Max chips in both raw CPU performance and power efficiency. For GPU performance, the Blackwell architecture graphics card in the ASUS model falls between the M5 Pro and M5 Max. However, for gaming, the ProArt P14 holds a distinct advantage thanks to Windows' more extensive game library. As for AI performance, the N1X is on par with Apple's M5 Pro.
In terms of battery life, the new MacBook Pro 14 OLED has a clear advantage. In Wi-Fi testing at 150 nits brightness, the MacBook lasted about 4.5 hours longer than the ASUS ProArt P14. Even with screen brightness set to maximum, the battery life gap between the two remains around 2.5 hours.
Overall, these two laptops are quite close in comprehensive performance and both are highly competitive. Although the MacBook Pro 14 OLED has a slight edge in overall configuration and user experience, if you want to play games on your laptop and highly value typing comfort, the ASUS ProArt P14 is clearly the more worthwhile choice.
