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You don’t have many great options if you want a detachable Windows tablet. Microsoft’s Surface Pro 11 is the de facto standard, and even heavyweights like HP and Lenovo have largely bowed out of the category.
Thankfully, ASUS is jumping in with the ProArt PZ13. At first blush, it’s a better bargain than the Surface with improved specs and hundreds of dollars in bundled accessories. There’s tremendous value to be had if you’re the right kind of creator. But as we’ll see in our review, this is more of a specialized tool than a victory for creatives everywhere.
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ASUS ProArt PZ13 Design: Surface Pro Doppelganger
ASUS doesn’t try to hide the inspiration for the ProArt PZ13: it’s a third-party equivalent to Microsoft’s Surface Pro 11 detachable, complete with a familiar feeling keyboard (included, unlike with Microsoft) that clicks in with authority.
| Feature | ASUS ProArt PZ13 | Microsoft Surface Pro 11 |
|---|---|---|
| Weight | 1.87 lbs | 1.97 lbs |
| Thickness | 0.35 inches | 0.37 inches |
| Keyboard | Included | Not included |
That’s not entirely a bad thing. If you routinely want to jump between tablet and laptop modes, you’ll appreciate the flexibility. While the PZ13 is heavy compared to mobile tablets, it’s slightly lighter (1.87 lbs vs. 1.97 lbs) and thinner (0.35in vs. 0.37in) than its Microsoft counterpart. You’ll have even fewer objections here if you didn’t mind the prospect of carrying a Surface Pro in your bag.
The same caveats that apply to the Surface also apply here, though. The PZ13 doesn’t really sit comfortably on your lap with the keyboard docked. You might not be thrilled by using the device in pure tablet mode for extended periods given its weight (a 13-inch iPad Pro M4 weighs half a pound less). I’d add that, while the pen is included, there’s no handy slot for it — you’ll have to either attach it with the included USB-C cable or put it somewhere you’re likely to remember it.
The expansion is at least solid. You get two USB 4 ports and a full-size SD card reader. While you’ll need one of those USB ports to charge, you probably won’t be hurting for expansion if you’re mainly transferring photos from a camera or attaching an external display.
ASUS makes much ado of the PZ13’s MIL-STD-810H dust, solar radiation, and temperature resistance, and that’s not without some merit when the tablet can withstand heat up to 158F and cold as bitter as -22F. You can likely carry this with you on trips to most corners of the world, and the included protective covers drive home the semi-rugged theme. With that said, it’s hard to see the target audience really pushing those limits — you’re probably buying a Panasonic ToughBook or a similarly hardened laptop if you really intend to create in the scorching desert or freezing tundra.
ProArt PZ13 Display, Input, Stylus, Sound, and Webcam: ASUS Nails the Fundamentals
There’s no denying that the PZ13 is gorgeous to look at. While the 13-inch 2,880 x 1,800 OLED display isn’t quite as high-resolution as that on the Surface Pro 11 (it’s missing 120 vertical pixels), it’s still vivid, accurately covers the DCI-P3 color gamut and is both Pantone-approved as well as rated for Dolby Vision HDR. Importantly, ASUS offers OLED as a matter of course, whereas Microsoft gives you an LCD unless you spend hundreds more.
ASUS is known for well-made keyboards and trackpads, and it doesn’t disappoint here. The backlit keys have a slightly stiff but otherwise reassuring feel that lets you type at a brisk speed. The trackpad is comfortably large. I’m not a huge fan of ASUS’ edge shortcuts for brightness, speaker volume, and cursor navigation (they can be imprecise), but it’s rare to activate them by accident.
The bundled Pen 2.0 has no particularly clever tricks, but it’s up to the task. I found the stylus accurate (the 266Hz sampling rate helped), and the 4,096 pressure levels meant I could draw even very faint lines. I also appreciated having the eraser and right-click buttons near my thumb, and the slide-open access to the USB-C charging port made it easy to top up with a cable. I just wish there was a simple slot or magnet to hold the pen — you’re going to lose the stylus if you’re not diligent about keeping it with you.
The speakers deliver beyond what you might expect for a productivity-oriented tablet. While you won’t mistake them for high-end dedicated speakers, they’re rich and otherwise enjoyable to listen to on their own.
The cameras are more middling. The 13MP rear and 5MP front cameras are adequate for quick 4K recordings and 1440p video calls, but not much more than that; I wouldn’t lean on them for pro video production.
ASUS ProArt PZ13 Performance and Battery Life: Not a Showcase for Windows on ARM
Like Microsoft, ASUS opted for ARM with its latest turn at a Windows tablet. The ProArt PZ13 uses the Snapdragon X Plus, which is arguably the best value among Qualcomm’s PC-oriented chips. It includes the robust on-device AI processing of the Elite but in a lower-cost form that’s theoretically kinder on your battery.
In practice, the result is mixed. The PZ13 is quick enough in rigorous daily use with ARM-native apps, including Chrome, Photoshop, and Slack. ASUS wasn’t necessarily wrong to aim at creatives; you might never touch an x86- or x64-based app if you stick to well-known editing software.
But there’s a real possibility you’ll have to use a non-native app, and ASUS’ tablet suffers when you do. With Adobe Creative Cloud alone, you’ll have to run After Effects and the non-beta versions of Illustrator and InDesign in emulation. While companies are rolling out more ARM-native Windows apps over time, you won’t want to bet on that if your workflow depends on a currently non-native program.
The raw performance also leaves something to be desired. In the synthetic Geekbench 6 test, the ProArt PZ13 managed a single-core score of 2,382, a multi-core result of 10,685, and a GPU test of 10,026. In contrast, an M3 MacBook Air manages a much stronger 3,065 single-core run, an 11,959 multi-core test, and a whopping 30,524 in the OpenCL-driven GPU benchmark. In Cinebench R24, the 539 multi-core score mainly beats the four-year-old MacBook Air M1 and a 9th-generation Intel Core chip. 3DMark’s Steel Nomad Light isn’t even a contest, as an M3 gets roughly ten times the score (12,000 versus 1,134). ASUS’ own Core Ultra Series 2-based Zenbook S 14 also thrashes the PZ13 across these tests.
| Feature | ASUS ProArt PZ13 | M3 MacBook Air | Microsoft Surface Pro 11 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Geekbench 6 Single-Core Score | 2,382 | 3,065 | 2,837 |
| Geekbench 6 Multi-Core Score | 10,685 | 11,959 | 14,398 |
| Geekbench 6 GPU Score | 10,026 | 30,524 | Not Provided |
It’s also important to note the memory ceiling. While ASUS gives the PZ13 a fairly generous 1TB SSD for the money, you’re also stuck with 16GB of RAM, no matter how much you’re willing to spend. It’s odd for ASUS to pitch this as a creative professional’s machine but not provide an option for the extra RAM that pros so often need for intensive projects. Microsoft provides up to 64GB of memory with the Surface Pro 11, and I’d strongly recommend that if you like the form factor but need the headroom for large media assets.
This wouldn’t be as much of an issue if it weren’t for the so-so battery life. In our testing, ASUS’ tablet managed about eight hours of real-world use with Chrome, Photoshop, Slack, and iTunes (Apple Music isn’t ARM-native yet) all running. That’s enough to get through a typical workday, but you’ll be watching the battery indicator where you could relax with the MacBook Air or Zenbook S 14.
ASUS ProArt PZ13 Software: This isn’t the AI PC you were expecting
As with the Surface Laptop 7 and other Copilot+ PCs, the ProArt PZ13 is pitched as an AI-first computer. You’ll ideally be running all kinds of generative AI tasks that would have struggled on conventional machines.
In reality, the software remained undercooked well after the Copilot+ initiative began. Signature features like Recall, which can find past content based on AI-generated snapshots, are still months away from public release. In day-to-day use, the only feature you’re likely to use to any degree is the Copilot key that invokes an AI prompt. The Snapdragon X Plus might be capable of 45 tera AI operations per second, but that acceleration largely goes unused at the moment.
That extends to the software ASUS bundles with the PZ13. The in-house StoryCube app is billed as an “AI media hub” that automatically manages your photos and videos from across devices and services, but it’s difficult to justify if you already rely on cloud services like Google Photos or iCloud Photos. For that matter, it’s not very well-suited to the PZ13’s target audience — if you’re a creative pro, you probably already have a preferred media management tool (such as Adobe Lightroom).
CapCut is a bit more helpful. It’s a video editor that can convert text to speech for narration (and vice versa), remove backgrounds and otherwise make sweeping edits that would normally take more skill. Again, you probably won’t touch this app if you’re a creative pro with solid know-how and an established workflow, but it’s good to have the option if you’re a new creator.
Other utilities are more welcome. The ProArt Creator Hub is a surprisingly practical tool for monitoring system resources, managing display color profiles, and grouping apps for specific tasks. ScreenXpert is ASUS’ signature display management tool, while GlideX helps you share and control screens. None of them will sell you on the PZ13 by themselves, but they do help round out the package.
Final Verdict: Should You Buy the ASUS ProArt PZ13?
In terms of raw value for money, the PZ13 handily beats the Surface Pro 11 you’ll most likely be cross-shopping. For $1,099, you’re getting an OLED screen, a 1TB drive, and the virtually mandatory keyboard cover for less than it costs to get the Surface tablet alone with an LCD and a 512GB SSD. If you’re absolutely sold on the detachable tablet concept, ASUS simply offers a better deal.
Whether or not it’s a wise purchase for anyone else is another story. The Surface Pro 11 might be more expensive, but it also has more options for processors, memory, and storage that could be a better fit for some creative needs. Microsoft’s tablet also has more polished accessories, including keyboards that can hold your pen or work completely detached from the machine. The larger your budget or the more demanding your needs, the more the Surface makes sense.
There’s also the question of whether or not an ARM-based system is the best choice. While common creative apps like Photoshop are ARM-native, many others still aren’t. You’re going to be frustrated if a crucial tool has to run in emulation or a rough beta. And while the Snapdragon X Plus isn’t meant to be a flagship-beating processor, it doesn’t fare well when pitted against the Apple M3, Intel Core Ultra Series 2, and other directly comparable processors. The AI functionality is clearly oversold.
For now, the ProArt PZ13 is best if your creative needs are middling: you only need a handful of mainstream audiovisual editors and won’t find yourself straining 16GB of RAM. It’s also a good fit if you’re an everyday user who just happens to want a detachable tablet and aren’t picky about compatibility with games or productivity software. If you know you’ll tax your hardware or have a must-run app whose compatibility isn’t guaranteed, it’s best to move on.
