Asus releases new NUC 16 Pro mini-PC with more powerful Intel Panther Lake processor
Asus has now released a more powerful version of its latest mini-PC. Announced in January at CES 2026, the NUC 16 Pro replaces the NUC 15 Pro (curr. $1,139 on Amazon) with Intel Panther Lake processors. Also, the NUC 16 Pro boasts an updated design with a wider overall form factor that measures 144 x 117 x 42 mm.
Initially, Asus indicated that the NUC 16 Pro would be available with up to a Core Ultra X9 Series 3 processor and an Arc B390 iGPU. Then earlier this month, it delivered only a Core Ultra 7 356H variant. Priced at $999, this version features the lesser Intel Graphics 4 Xe3 with 4 GPU cores.
While we await this Core Ultra X9 388H version, Asus has released a Core Ultra X7 358H variant featuring the more powerful Arc B390 iGPU. Available only in China for now, this version also contains 32 GB of RAM and 1 TB of storage for CNY 10,999 (~$1,597). Other hardware like a Wi-Fi 7 modem and dual Thunderbolt 4 connectivity remain.
However, Asus mentions soldered LPDDR5X-9600 RAM and dual M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 5 slots. Meanwhile, the barebones unit with the Core Ultra 7 356H available in the US supports CSO-DIMM RAM plus M.2 2242 and M.2 2280 SSDs. Unfortunately, there is no word on global availability for now. Past performance suggests that Asus will gradually add to its NUC 16 Pro lineup throughout 2026.
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