How do you replicate the multi-monitor experience and workflow when travelling? Asus hopes that the answer will be found in the latest Zenbook Duo. Thanks to Asus’ UK PR team, I’ve spent time with the laptop to find out more.
Design
The Zenbook Duo is all about the twin screens, but the real party trick is the built-in kickstand that supports the Zenbook in two different orientations. The vertical orientation utilises the kickstand exactly as you would expect; you hinge it out, it carries the weight of the screen on the long edge, and when you hinge up the dual screen, the centre of gravity sits nicely between the leading edge and the kickstand.
The small diagonal trim at each corner allows you to flip the Zenbook on its side and use the two screens as if they were pages in a book. You don’t have the benefit of the friction hinge here to allow for a wide range of movement, but as the line holds up just one side, the second side can pivot where you need to go, thanks to the strong 180-degree hinge.
The hinge works both as expected, and the small trim is a delightful bit of sleight of hand that makes the second orientation practical.
Keyboard
Rather than the limitations of a fixed keyboard, the Asus Zenbook Duo comes with a Bluetooth keyboard that sits safely above the second screen when you are in the more traditional laptop mode. A magnetic pogo-pin connection allows the keyboard to be charged directly from the laptop, making this an almost invisible Bluetooth option.
In terms of the keyboard’s feel, it doesn’t feel out of place compared to other modern laptop keyboards. It doesn’t feel compromised for being a detachable keyboard; there’s enough travel and bounce-back in the keys to keep typing an enjoyable and physical experience, and it’s always good when a Bluetooth keyboard lights up the keys.
It’s a similar story with the trackpad. It’s expansive, echoes similar designs on regular laptops, and does not feel compromised in use.
I’ve always preferred using an external keyboard on my laptops and desktops because it allows me to place my keys and screen in the best ergonomically possible place. I appreciate having this option in the Zenbook. However, with the designers spending time on the kickstand, would it be too much to have something on the keyboard that would give it a little bit of pitch when detached rather than sitting perfectly flat on a table surface?
Multitasking Feeling
The reason for this technology is to have far more digital workspace available to you while on the move. Multi-monitor working at home or in the office is becoming the norm, so Asus’ Zenbook Duo offers a mobile solution that brings some of those benefits to a laptop. In theory, this should make you more productive (or it just gives you a “high up” screen to watch your favourite baseball team as you work).
Those who work in a multi-monitor setup will no doubt understand the efficiency the Zenbook Duo can offer. For others, where it is more of a theoretical win, it might be harder to see the Zenbook’s practical side.
And that’s to the Zenbook’s advantage. This is not a one-size-fits-all laptop. It has a specific purpose, is designed for that purpose, and delivers on the expected experience. I’m not sure if the goal is to convert people to the idea, and even if it is, I suggest buying a second deskbound monitor, which might be a cheaper way to try this way of working.
Windows 11
As you start, the default in Windows 11 is to duplicate the screen. There are advantages to this in some fields—digital artists will love working with the included stylus on the lower screen while watching what happens on the top screen, but for most people, the benefit will be in extending the screen. This gives you twice the real estate to place windows. You could use that to extend a window over both screens or, more likely, have two separate apps on each display, flicking between them with your ALT-TAB or swinging the mouse over as you would with a dual monitor setup on a deskbound machine.
It works, but it seems a bit clunky. There must be a better way to do this. Thankfully, Asus has some ideas and has addressed some of these concerns with ScreenXpert 3. This app runs in the background, captures touch input, and gives you gesture controls to move around the system. You can quickly expand apps over two screens, swapping windows between the two displays and creating the layout for groups of apps that can be launched in one move.
You certainly feel the benefit of these choices when they are used. They feel part of the OS instead of something added on at the last minute.
Ports
Asus has targeted the Zenbook Duo as a productivity machine, something that is geared towards business users. So why has it been left behind ports? It has two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a USB-A port, and an HDMI 2.1 port. I’m glad to see the inclusion of USB-A, given the number of peripherals still in use in business environments requiring this connection. However, just two USB-C sockets, one of which will be taken up by the charger, means the Duo lacks a decent level of connectivity. If you use this at home or in a hot desk environment, you will need an additional dock for more expansion.
Speakers And Webcam
Both feel compromised because of the Zenbook’s physicality. While the laptop’s overall construction leaves it feeling chunky, it has two screens, a detachable keyboard, shells that need to wrap around these components, a sturdy hinge, and the aforementioned kickstand.
That doesn’t leave much depth for the camera lens, so while it is rated 1080p, it doesn’t let in a lot of light and the image is quick to pick up noise and look grainy. I suspect the speaker’s lower volume and soundscape are down to packing the speaker into a smaller space than you would expect on a laptop. Thankfully, there is a 3.5mm headphone jack for the audiophile, but these areas feel like they have been sacrificed to allow for the other parts of the package to shine.
For a business machine, I think that’s a good choice regarding speakers, but with so much work now involving remote presence and teleconferencing, the poor webcam is a noticeable issue.
Battery
What could have been the downfall of the Zenbook Duo is more a case of a weak point rather than a showstopper. Running everything at full tilt and full brightness on the two OLED panels, manually setting them at 120Hz, and asking much of the processor with some demanding multimedia editing apps, and the 75Wh battery is not going to last long—but that’s the case with any laptop under load. Expect just less than two hours under these conditions.
More sedate laptop use, such as navigating and working within the web browser, offers a more useful seven to nine hours of endurance. That’s just enough to get through a working day on battery power alone if you take care, but it does make it very easy to slip up and move into needing a top-up before the end of the day if you push the laptop a little bit harder.
Start using the second OLED panel in normal use, and you will see a drop in battery life. Generally, you can knock an hour or two off the endurance, so six to seven hours of life in the dual-screen and detached keyboard is achievable.
Final Thoughts
While there have been several dual-screen laptops, the Asus Zenbook Duo in 2024 is one of the most mature choices in this form factor. The second display is a genuine display, not an additional screen for monitoring or input. Dual is Dual. There’s no skimping regarding trackpad and mouse; in fact, apart from the chunky size in regular laptop mode, there’s little to suggest you’re packing another display.
This business-focused machine leaves space in the specs for some leisure. The Intel Core Ultra 9 processor and 32 GB of RAM in my review model offered a lot of headroom for applications. The Intel Arc graphics is a low-end graphics card, but in 2024, many games running at 1080p will have acceptable performance. It’s not a powerhouse; don’t expect the best performance ever. But it is enough for a solid gaming session, especially if you are playing older PC-based games.
Prices start at $1500, which feels like an aggressive price for the technology offered. We’ll undoubtedly see more laptops in this form factor over the next few years, but Asus has nailed the balance between form and function in this model.
Disclaimer: Asus UK provided an Asus Zenbook Duo 2024 for review purposes.
