Verdict
The Asus Zenbook Duo ( 2024 ) is a glorious dual - screen laptop . The extra screen make a tangible difference to how the laptop computer ’s used . functioning could be meliorate , but it ’s still an outstanding equipment .
Pros
Cons
Key Features
Introduction
In its 2022 and 2023 iterations the Asus Zenbook Duo was already a extremely innovational laptop computer , with a smaller lower-ranking screen that raise into posture beneath the independent screenland as you open up up the clamshell .
This year ’s model , though , is really something else ; a dual - screen laptop computer where the 2nd display is n’t just a gismo or a handy extra , but a feature that transforms the whole fashion you use it .
The difference is that the second display is now a full - sized 14 - in drive , cunningly concealed beneath a detachable keyboard and trackpad . And this time it makes the Zenbook Duo a more versatile equipment , that can make just like any slimline laptop computer , but can also transform into a big - blind productivity machine . I ’ve expend a few hebdomad with this twofold - CRT screen laptop , so here are my thought .
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Design and Keyboard
This is n’t the first time somebody has give up a double - screen laptop – Lenovo has had several tries with its Yoga Book occupation over the years , most notably the recentLenovo Yoga Book 9ifrom 2023 .
What impress about the Zenbook Duo , however , is the amount of opinion that has gone into the design . With the keyboard faculty in piazza , it looks and feel like an average thickset 14 - column inch laptop computer . At 19.9 mm thick when fold in this data format , it ’s not exactly the fragile and lightest 14 - incher out there , but it does n’t experience severely bulky , and at 1.65Kg it ’s not a strain to carry around .
Lift the keyboard module off – it connect via Bluetooth but charges by a set of pogo pins – and the 2d screen springs into living .
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you may simply use it monotone , as a touchscreen keyboard or as a surface for get out and sketching , or you may move the keyboard module to the front and prop the laptop up on its progress - in kickstand , give you both screens to work on in a vertical constellation . Or , if you prefer , you’re able to sit the sieve on their side , still defend up by the kickstand , and habituate them in a horizontal configuration .
To make this study , Asus has developed software system to bear out the second screen , giving you a practical keyboard or trackpad with an eight - finger or three - finger pat , as well as enable you to expand a window from a undivided screen to both screen with a five - fingered opening hand gesture .
The CRT screen will reformat mechanically when turned on its side , and you could gayly drag windows from one screen to the other .
This metamorphose , quite essentially , the way of life you use the laptop . In the standard clamshell mode , it work like any other laptop computer ; perfect for utilization while you ’re on the move or working in a limit surface area . But when you have the desk outer space , you may draw in off the keyboard , get to the kickstand and work across both screen .
It ’s thoroughgoing for multitasking across window . Say , you ’re doing some research on the Web or relieve oneself musical note on a video , you could have your web web browser or the video playing on the top projection screen , then work on your notes in the bottom screen , all without the compromise that get along when you have to form in a standard overlapping windows or split - screen door view .
you’re able to have a video call or meeting on the top projection screen , but still refer to documents or emails in the modest cover . In creative apps , you may keep palette and toolbars in one screen and your working place in the other . Basically , you ’ve got all the reward of a multi - monitor setup , but within the torso of a compact laptop computer .
What ’s more , this setup bring bright whether the two screen are in the horizontal or vertical mode . I ’ve spend much of my time wreak with the two screens side by side , and it makes , say , referring to carrying out datum from benchmark on one screen door while writing reassessment with the other easy . Alternatively , you could have all your study stuff on the right screen while keep an eye on emails and social provender on the left .
Sneakily watching TV while you ’re supposedly focused on something else is n’t a trouble , either . In fact , the only minor disappointment is that , while you could combine both screen into one horizontal desktop , full - screening a video feed in YouTube burst them again , so that the video only plays back on one side . Still , pay that the full threefold - screen view would regard a monolithic legal profession run vertically through the epitome , this is n’t necessarily a speculative thing .
The keyboard module has its ownUSB - Cport for charging near the front , but otherwise all the connectivity is on the remaining and right - hand incline , where you ’ll find twoThunderbolt 4ports and a USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A on the left , with anHDMI 2.1and a 3.5 mm audio socket on the right wing .
You ’ll involve a separate dock if you have a pile of computer storage and peripherals to get in touch or need Ethernet connectivity , but with 2×2Wi - Fi 6EandBluetooth 5.3onboard , that wo n’t be a necessity for many people .
Crucially , the innovation has n’t compromised the tone of the backlit keyboard or the touchpad . The former is excellent , with 1.4 mm of travel and a slightly soft natural process that still respond promptly when you press and turn the key . It ’s extremely well-heeled and I could gayly work on it all Clarence Day .
The touchpad , meanwhile , feel coolheaded and smooth , with unflawed trailing . In fact , my only complaint about the bioengineering is that , while the typing position work brightly when the keyboard module is mounted , it ’s rather low and flat when remove and positioned on the desk . It ’s something I before long got used to , but you ca n’t help wishing there was an easy fashion to slant it upwards at the back .
Asus also bundle in a style with the new Zenbook Duo and it ’s thoroughgoing for notes , scribble and annotations on the bottom screen , or even more serious digital art if you have a little gift ( which I ’m afraid I do n’t ) .
Beyond that , you may use the practical keyboard and trackpad , but I base both less than honest , and the real keyboard much more usable . This is n’t a criticism of the hardware or the software – it ’s just that without any strong-arm feedback or a precise tactual reaction , it ’s never entirely satisfying to type on touchscreen key .
Display and Sound
With the dual screens the chief talking point of the unexampled Zenbook Duo , Asus has n’t skimp and saved on either . The screens are 14 - inch OLED panels with a 2880×1800 resolving , a 120Hz refresh charge per unit , and a 400 - nit brightness point , rising to 500 nit for HDR content .
The screens are attractively crisp and exculpated , with both being punchy with a superb grasp of direct contrast and coloring material . In tests , we measured SDR cleverness level at 398.3 nits for the top screen and 389.4nits for the bottom , and both cover 100 % of both the sRGB and DCI - P3 gamut , with the top screen reaching 94.6 % of the Adobe RGB gamut and the bottom projection screen hitting 95.6 % .
All the same , this is a gimmick you could blithely use for colour - critical design or television . And while it does n’t extend to the eye - searing light levels I ’ve catch with some recentMini - LEDand OLED screens , it ’s just as good for stream video or acting game , where color and detail protrude enthusiastically , and there ’s ample contrast even in the sulky region of a aspect .
The audio recording is decent , with more volume and a deep mid - range than many slimline laptops can muster , but it ’s also a mo peaky in the mid - range and harsh towards the treble end . Push the book up past the halfway mark and your ears are in for a toughened time .
Performance
The Asus Zenbook Duo comes packing a choice of Intel Core Ultra 7 155H or Ultra 9 185H CPUs , both with integrated Intel Arc Graphics and either 16 GB or 32 GB of RAM .
Our test sample has the Core Ultra 9/32 GB spec , and it ’s tight , though not necessarily as tight as you might bear . In Geekbench 6 the Zenbook Duo hit higher scores than theAcer Swift Go 14 ( 2024)and theAsus Zenbook 14 organic light-emitting diode ( 2024 ) , both based on Core Ultra 7 CPUs , though the Asus post slightly high results in the multi - core tests . Its score of 6462 in PC Mark 10 put it right between the two .
It ’s quicker than the Zenbook 14 in the Cinebench R23 rendering benchmark and jolly close to the Acer , beating it in the single - effect test but falling slightly behind in the multi - core run . It ’s neck and cervix with the Acer in the Blender 4.0 rendering bench mark , grade 75.72 , 47.41 and 35.14 in the Monster , Junkshop and Classroom render , against 76.91 , 48.33 and 33.69 .
These outcome are more or less disappointing when you study that this is theoretically a faster machine . The Core Ultra 9 and Core Ultra 7 in reality have the same line - up of 6 atomic number 15 centre , 8 effective Es cores and two low power Es essence , but the 185H maxes out at 5.1GHz against the 155H ’s 4.8GHz . However , with modified blank for chill within the torso , thermal issues mean that the Core Ultra 9 is n’t always running tight to its top stop number .
start the Cinebench bench mark with Core Temp monitoring CPU speeding and temperature , I saw clock speed startle out around the 4Ghz mark before duck down to around 2.8GHz as core temperature shoot up to over 80 degrees . After another few instant , the clock speeds dropped even further to around and even under 2GHz , in a bid to keep C.P.U. temperatures in the seventies .
Tellingly , interchange the fan profile from the nonpayment Standard to Performance see the Cinebench score leaping from 10549 to 13063 , though even here there was evidence of throttling , as clock pep pill dropped from around 3.6GHz to 2.8GHz in social club to keep core temperatures in the close - to - easy eighties rather than the scary nineties . It also must be say that , under either rooter visibility , the radix of the Zenbook Duo was getting pretty toasty with all this going on , specially in a spot just behind the kickstand and towards the back end .
None of this means the Asus Zenbook Duo ( 2024 ) ever feel ho-hum , whatever you ’re doing . In fact , its performance score still beat speedy laptop computer such as theMacBook Air M2andAcer Swift Edge 16 . But if you ’re hoping for full - on Core Ultra 9 performance , you ’ll need to look for something bigger and credibly bulky , with a more potent cool arrangement .
As for gaming , I suspect thermic issue are at play here as well . The incorporated Arc GPU does n’t give you nearly enough power to run modern AAA game at the main panel ’s native 4 kB resolution or even QHD , with frame rates across Returnal and Cyberpunk 2077 in the teens or early twenties . Even at Full HD resolution , there are star sign of hitching and jerking during benchmark runs , leading to an average frame pace of 20fps at 1080p / extremist place setting in Returnal , go up to just 30fps at 1080p / Medium preferences withXeSSenabled .
Software
ScreenXpert is crucial to see to it the operation of the laptop ’s two screens , while the MyAsus app gives you access to organisation diagnostics , fan profiles and scheme update , should you not trust Windows to handle the job . You do n’t get all the operation management feature of the Armor Crate app found on Asus ’s ROG laptop computer , but it covers all the basics well enough .
Battery life
Despite a expectant 75Whr bombardment and even with the second screen inactive , battery living is more adequate then epic on the Asus Zenbook Duo ( 2024 ) .
PC Mark 10 ’s battery benchmark saw the battery run down in just eight hour exactly , while an hour of streaming Netflix at full luminosity levels see the burster level drop-off by 9 % .
With both screens active , you ’ll see it fall slenderly quicker , to up to 11 % per hour of streaming . That ’s not bad given you have two 14 - inch OLED panel work by , but you might still have hoped for a little more stamina .
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Should you buy it?
The two sieve setup can be spectacularly useful when you ’re essay to get oeuvre done , and the top OLED CRT screen has superb clarity and colour .
Other 14 - inch laptop computer promise more functioning and a longer battery life within a slimline form factor . You wo n’t get the luxury of dual screens , but you could always plug away in a USB monitor instead .
Final Thoughts
The enticement of the Asus Zenbook Duo ( 2024 ) lie in almost completely in its active duo of display . To some it ’s go to be a massive marketing point , transform a seemingly ordinary 14 - inch laptop computer into a multi - tasking power plant . To others , it ’s going to seem irrelevant , and nearer to a coolheaded but unneeded gimmick than a serious characteristic .
If you ’re in the latter camp there are good and often meretricious options out there . TheAcer Swift Go 14gives you slightly more performance at a lower price tag . Its stablemate , theSwift X 14 , is also less expensive and adds a consecrated GPU . TheLG Gram 17gives you excellent performance and an impressive 17 - column inch screen , while Apple’sMacBook Air 15is also a real contender for your cash .
But none of these can beat the charm of having two bad screens to trifle with . And while other dual - screen laptops survive such as theLenovo Yoga Book 9i , they be a lot more money . I ’d still wish to see fast speed and more GPU performance from a future update , but the Zenbook Duo works right now as a versatile compact laptop that make the most of its second screen . retard out ourBest Laptopguide for more options .
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How we test
Every laptop computer we look back goes through a serial of unvarying checks designed to approximate key thing let in physique calibre , functioning , screen door quality and battery life .
These include courtly man-made benchmarks , scripted tests and a serial of substantial - humankind checks .
FAQs
The Zenbook Duo 14 2024 is useable for just $ 1499 in the US , £ 1699.99 in the UK and € 2099.99 in Europe .
The Zenbook Duo is a double - screenland laptop that has two 14 - inch touchscreen displays attached by a hinge . A bundled Bluetooth keyboard let you to use it like a Greco-Roman clamshell laptop too .
Test Data
Full Specs
