Nearly each main PC maker has dabbled with the thought of a dual-screen laptop computer sooner or later. Approach again in 2011, sporting not one however two 14-inch shows. Then at CES 2017, Razer confirmed off which bumped the panel depend to 3 earlier than demoing one thing a bit much less extravagant a 12 months later in . Quick ahead to 2020, when Dell dazzled us with the . Even Apple gave the class a go on the outdated , solely to reverse course and .
In the meantime, Lenovo has a whole household of gadgets relationship again to the unique and culminating most not too long ago within the , with the latter coming extraordinarily near turning the promise of dual-screen laptops into an precise interesting alternative. However now after a number of generations of its personal gadgets, ASUS has put every thing along with the It’s an excellent smooth machine with two screens that’s barely bigger than a equally sized clamshell. There’s additionally a removable keyboard and a built-in kickstand for max adaptability. And beginning at $1,500, the Zenbook Duo doesn’t command a large premium for one thing with a ton of additional utility. So whereas it’s been fairly a journey to get right here, ASUS has lastly made a dual-screen laptop computer that proves as soon as and for all that two screens actually are higher than one.
Picture by Sam Rutherford/Engadget
Beginning at $1,500 and with dimensions that aren’t a lot larger than a conventional clamshell, ASUS’ Zenbook Duo is the primary dual-screen laptop computer you’d truly wish to purchase.
- Glossy design
- Attractive screens
- Constructed-in kickstand
- Good port choice
- Stable battery life
- Barely pricier than a conventional clamshell
- Home windows 11 nonetheless is not optimized for dual-screen laptops
Design
Some of the spectacular issues concerning the Zenbook Duo is that it doesn’t seem like some form of Frankendeivce. It’s only a regular-looking 14-inch laptop computer. Even after you open it, issues nonetheless look regular with a bodily keyboard and touchpad, to not point out a wholesome choice of ports across the outdoors (two Thunderbolt 4, one USB 3.2 Sort-A and a full-size HDMI 2.1 jack). A small a part of me needs ASUS had discovered room for some form of SD card reader, however I perceive if there simply wasn’t area.
It’s solely after you take away the keyboard that issues get attention-grabbing as a result of as quickly as you do, the Duo’s second show springs to life. From right here, you could have a ton of choices. Tapping three fingers on the decrease panel summons a floating touchpad. Alternatively, eight fingers makes a digital keyboard seem, which you’ll comply with with a swipe as much as reveal a conventional keyboard/trackpad combo. However the cool factor is that as a result of these are all digital stand-ins, it is easy to swap in a brand new format (like for different languages), transfer the touchpad off to the facet or name up a numpad if it’s good to do some knowledge entry. There’s simply a lot extra flexibility when half of a laptop computer’s inside isn’t taken up by a inflexible set of bodily keys.
However issues preserve getting higher, as a result of on the underside of the Duo is a flap that folds out right into a kickstand. This lets you prop the system up and use each screens as correct shows, form of like a transportable dual-monitor setup however all in a single self-contained system. And since the removable keyboard connects wirelessly over Bluetooth, you’ll be able to place it in entrance (or wherever you need) identical to a desktop. The one small disadvantage to this design is that for those who rotate the Duo’s shows into portrait orientation facet by facet, the design of the kickstand means there’s no technique to regulate how far it tilts. This closely favors the stacked setup with one show above, which is ok as a result of I feel that association is extra helpful in most conditions.
One other nice shock is that for a tool with two screens, the Zenbook Duo isn’t a lot larger or heavier than a typical clamshell. It weighs 3.6 kilos and measures 0.78 inches thick versus the two.82 kilos and 0.59 inches for the standard Zenbook 14 OLED. And when in comparison with one thing like a Dell XPS 14 (3.7 kilos and 0.71 inches thick), each techniques are virtually the identical dimension.
My one gripe is that ASUS’ darkish grey paint job shade doesn’t assist the Duo stand out. It’s virtually like somebody who wears subdued colours to keep away from drawing consideration. However this design is unbelievable and I want ASUS would give this laptop computer (and the engineers who designed it) the flowers it deserves.
Shows and software program
The centerpiece of the Duo is its pair of 14-inch shows, that are an absolute delight. Not solely do the matching OLED panels supply robust brightness (round 500 nits), additionally they pump out wealthy and correct colours (one hundred pc of DCI-P3). However the true magic is if you use each panels collectively.
Shifting apps from one show to a different is so simple as dragging and dropping or utilizing the helpful menus that seem on the prime of the show. As well as, there’s a floating button within the backside left for ASUS’ ScreenXpert software program, which gives shortcuts for adjusting brightness (individually or as a pair), disabling particular panels or pulling up helpful widgets for issues like a management panel, a handwriting recognition device, information and climate and extra. If the purpose was to get as a lot worth out of the Duo’s two shows, I feel ASUS’ software program does a fairly good job.
The draw back to all that is that regardless of ASUS’ greatest efforts, Home windows 11 and plenty of apps nonetheless aren’t absolutely optimized for techniques like this. For instance, after I performed a spherical of Teamfight Ways and wished to drag up some sport stats on the decrease show, I bumped into a difficulty the place the digital touchpad stopped working. It was solely after I set the sport to borderless window mode, closed the sport and relaunched every thing that it began working once more. Granted, conditions like this have been uncommon, nevertheless it’s necessary to keep in mind that if you’re utilizing a cutting-edge machine, there could also be some bugs or awkward interactions.
Efficiency
The Zenbook Duo comes with an Intel Core Extremely 7 155H processor, 16GB of RAM and a 1TB NVMe SSD. When you can improve it with double the reminiscence and a quicker Extremely 9 chip, I discovered the bottom configuration to be lots quick. On checks like Geekbench 6 and PCMark 10, the Zenbook Duo turned in outcomes that have been equivalent to these from equally geared up clamshells, together with . That is nice as a result of it means there’s not a ton of overhead because of the addition of a second display screen and even when setup in desktop mode, dragging apps from one show to a different felt snappy and responsive. The apparent disadvantage is that not like some 14-inch techniques such because the XPS 14, there’s no room for a discrete GPU, which makes the Zenbook Duo higher suited to normal productiveness than extra demanding duties like video modifying.
Battery life
You would possibly assume a system with two screens could be a battery hog, however the Zenbook Duo fared higher than anticipated. With only one display screen on, it lasted 13 hours and 12 minutes on our video rundown check, which is just about equal to (truly a contact longer than) the Zenbook 14 OLED (12:43). And with each screens going, the Duo’s time solely dropped to 10:17, which continues to be greater than sufficient to outlive a whole workday.
Wrap-up
OK, so the Zenbook Duo delivers on the guarantees of dual-screen laptops. However one query I get loads is who’re gadgets like this truly for? The obvious utility is for individuals who carry a transportable monitor round whereas touring. However extra usually, this factor is aimed toward anybody who appreciates a number of displays and needs a system that may recreate that have in a extra travel-friendly manner, which is one thing the Zenbook Duo does with aplomb. The perfect half although is that it doesn’t make main sacrifices to take action, as a result of due to its removable keyboard, it may operate identical to some other clamshell when area is tight (like on an airplane).
When you could have room to unfold out, it transforms into a transportable workstation with loads of display screen area for a challenge up prime and bonus actual property for Slack, e-mail, video calls or the rest you would possibly want down beneath. It is acquired ample ports so that you don’t want to hold a dongle round and because of its beautiful OLED screens, your work (or play) at all times seems nice. The Zenbook Duo can do every thing a conventional laptop computer can and extra. Sure, the software program expertise might be a bit extra polished, although that’s not fully on ASUS. We nonetheless want a brand new model of Home windows to offer higher OS assist for dual-screen machines. However contemplating all of the struggles and a number of generations it took to get right here, the Zenbook Duo is a wonderful torchbearer for a brand new class of moveable PCs.