When I first saw the new ASUS Zenbook Duo before CES 2024, I admit I was intrigued but skeptical. As a long-time laptop reviewer, I’ve seen my fair share of gimmicky dual-screen notebooks that promise a productivity powerhouse ultimately fall short. However, after spending some quality hands-on time with the Zenbook Duo, I’m happy to report that this latest iteration comes incredibly close to delivering on the portable dual-screen premise.
Sporting a pair of gorgeous 14-inch OLED touch displays with a tall 16:10 aspect ratio, the new Zenbook Duo oozes premium appeal. ASUS has managed to cram two expansive screens into a surprisingly portable 1.65 kg chassis that is only 2 cm thick. Compared to chunky predecessors, this svelte and sleek design looks and feels like a traditional premium Ultrabook when closed.
Opening it up and removing the keyboard reveals the Duo’s major selling point: that secondary 14-inch ScreenPad Plus touchscreen where you’d normally find only a standard keyboard on most laptops. The possibilities for multitasking and creativity are nearly endless, especially with ASUS’ software enhancements. Offering a range of potential for creativity and tasks from a single laptop and with a range of orientations, the ASUS Zenbook Duo feels like one of the most diverse laptop offerings I have used in a long while.
Better yet, ASUS has wisely ditched the awkward virtual touchpad used on prior Duo models. Instead, you now get a standard keyboard and a large physical trackpad, which connect magnetically to the bottom edge of the secondary screen. This small but meaningful change allows for a far more natural typing and navigation experience akin to a traditional laptop. It is also brilliant in how it charges via the Pogo pins while connected, so you never need to stress while on the go. Thankfully, it does have a USB port for charging if you ever find yourself in a bind.
Even more impressive is the Zenbook Duo’s versatility. Not only can it be used as two screens, one on the top and one on the bottom, but with the help of the built-in stand, it can also be used at a range of angles, together with both virtually, to give you any setup you could want from a laptop. Add to that the fact that the Zenbook Duo looks like something out of a sci-fi movie, with its angular lines and unique dual-screen design, and you have a machine that goes way beyond what I would have expected. Yet, despite the futuristic form factor, it retains a professional, understated appearance that is suitable for any environment.
Packs a Powerful Punch
Adding to its drool-worthy design, the Zenbook Duo packs some serious performance punch to back up its productivity promises. The base model I tested comes equipped with Intel’s latest Core Ultra 7 processors, but you can spec up to a flagship Core Ultra 9 CPU and potent Arc discrete graphics.
Combine this with up to 32GB of speedy LPDDR5 RAM and a fast 1TB PCIe 4.0 SSD, and this laptop can plow through intensive creative workloads. There have been plenty of offerings looking to jump on this concept, but now that the tech has finally matured and there are chips that can deliver solid results, the ASUS Zenbook Duo feels like it is the first dual-screen laptop that can deliver on the promise in a meaningful way.
“…the ASUS Zenbook Duo feels like it is the first dual-screen laptop that can deliver on the promise in a meaningful way.”
Whether it was having dozens of Chrome tabs open while editing photos in Lightroom, streaming hi-res videos, or even playing some games, the Zenbook Duo never broke a sweat. This kind of top-tier performance allows you to truly take advantage of the expanded-screen real estate without any slowdowns or hiccups. You heard that right; even games work on this little dual-screen laptop thanks to the Intel Core Ultra packing Arc graphics while keeping everything power efficient and cool even under load.
Don’t get me wrong, the Zenbook Duo will not be a good choice to replace your massive gaming laptop or desktop, but it does pack enough power to jump into some games and have them playable. This is not to say you will be able to play the latest games with ray tracing and texture quality turned up to 11, but it does mean you can play games like Cyberpunk 2077 with medium detail at 1080P and actually achieve around 29 FPS. It’s not amazing, mind you, but for someone who wants to enjoy some light gaming while on the go, it is more than serviceable.
Games like Diablo 4, Fortnite, Counter-Strike 2, League of Legends, and even Assassin’s Creed Valhalla were all playable, achieving very playable results that put it on par with how you would experience games on the PS4. It’s amazing to see just how capable the Intel Arc graphics are, especially with Intel Xe Super Sampling enabled, giving a laptop that’s largely made for work, media consumption and content creation the ability to jump into games and actually make them playable, something I couldn’t have imagined without a discrete GPU.
The spec sheet even includes the latest connectivity, like Wi-Fi 6E and two Thunderbolt 4 ports. In terms of raw processing grunt, the Duo can easily go toe-to-toe with leading creative powerhouses like the Dell XPS 15 while serving up extra-screen real estate. Even if it is not the lightest or thinnest laptop on the market, the level of tech packed into this small body is impressive, and the fact that ASUS did it all in such a unique way makes it a sight to behold.
Dual Screen Software Done Right
Of course, all the processing power in the world means little if the software experience is lacklustre, but having done numerous dual-screen laptops in the past, ASUS managed this task properly, giving software that feels tailor-made for the challenge. ASUS has clearly worked hard to polish the Duo’s dual-screen capabilities. The pre-installed ScreenXpert software makes it easy to snap apps side-by-side, quickly change orientations, and more.
Small touches like automatically optimizing apps to fill both displays and preventing screen savers from interrupting your workflow demonstrate ASUS’ attention to detail. The Duo does an admirable job at reducing friction points when leveraging both screens. It feels cohesive in a way no other dual-screen laptop has quite achieved.
Editing video was a joy on the ASUS Zenbook Duo. The dual screens allowed me to have all my clips ready or even use the full screen for preview. The Intel Core Ultra 7 CPU ensured I had the power i needed to get things edited, and the stunning OLED screens made editing work a joy, with colours popping and detail clear and vibrant.
It felt as if I had a full editing workstation on the go ready when I needed it. I will say if you want to use this as your main editing machine while travelling, I would advise the Core Ultra 9 variant of the laptop to ensure you have all the horsepower you would need, but even on my Core Ultra 7 review unit, I never had issue rendering up social videos or doing some minor editing.
The same is true for Adobe Photoshop and OBS, both of which ran beautifully well on the ASUS Zenbook Duo. I had no issues jumping into a project and doing what I needed, and I never managed to see any crashes or major problems on the laptop once I got the drivers updated and the laptop set up the way I needed. I have to commend Intel; they have built a powerful chip that delivers power in a way I did not expect, especially when considering this laptop is powering dual screens.
Room for Improvement
As exceptional as the new Zenbook Duo is, it still isn’t perfect. The size is much bigger than many ultrabooks on the market. With its all-in-one design, with the keyboard nuzzled between the screens in transport, it is thicker than many alternatives, including the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i, but that is expected since the Lenovo keyboard is a separate piece you need to carry with you anywhere you go. But the trade-off for that size is two stunning OLED panels that allow for much more potential on the go than a single-screen laptop of a similar size.
I’m also disappointed by the Duo’s limited port selection of just two Thunderbolt 4 inputs alongside a single USB-A and HDMI port. Sure, those Thunderbolt 4 ports are versatile, but I would have liked to see an SD card reader or even a second USB-A at minimum. When on the go, I bring a range of devices, especially when editing video or working to cover an event; the range of ports does mean I need to bring a USB-C dock to get the most out of my time with the unit. While not a major issue, it is something to keep in mind.
Last but not least, while ASUS’ software is good, Windows 11 itself still acts a bit clunky with the twin display setup on occasion. It’s clear Microsoft still needs to refine Windows to take full advantage of unconventional hardware like this. Windows 11 still has its issues, and dual-screen laptops, while they do work, run into their fair share of quirks that can be annoying. Again not major, but I did find myself struggling to get things to display properly when getting the dual screen setup, with some fiddling needed to get everything working as expected.
The final issue I encountered was battery life. While good considering the dual screens it runs on, when doing any sort of content-creation style work, I found the laptop hit a wall at around 6 to 7 hours. I was able to push this further by tweaking some settings, but this really limited the laptop’s ability to perform responsibly for anything beyond watching videos.
If you just want to watch a few YouTube videos or edit a few documents, the high-capacity 75 Wh battery should last you around 8 to 10 hours with both displays (or around 8 to 12 hours with just one), but as soon as you start using more resources, this drops off significantly. Fortunately, with a fast charger in tow, you can get the ASUS Zenbook Duo to around 60% charge in under an hour, so it’s never a major issue if you have access to a plug, and much better than many ultrabooks I’ve tested in recent years.
The Dual Screen Dream Realized
Minor quibbles aside, the new ASUS Zenbook Duo represents a watershed moment for the dual-screen laptop concept. After years of half-baked execution by other brands, ASUS has finally crafted a versatile multi-display notebook that largely realizes the category’s potential while appealing to mainstream users.
It achieves this duality by blending tremendous processing power, clever software optimization, and an excellent physical keyboard/trackpad into a slick industrial design featuring two stunning OLED touchscreens. No other rival two-screen laptop comes close to checking all these boxes in such a well-rounded package. Pricing starts at a surprisingly affordable $1499, too, a relative bargain for such an engineering feat. The days of exorbitantly priced and clunky dual-screen notebooks feel firmly behind us.
So, do dual-screen laptops finally make sense with the new ASUS Zenbook Duo? Absolutely. While still not flawless, ASUS’ latest comes remarkably close to delivering on the promise of boosting productivity and creativity without too many compromises. For the right type of power user, it’s an incredibly compelling proposition that earns our strong recommendation.
