Laptops featuring a second display instead of a keyboard are nothing new. I shot the first of these Acer Iconia exactly 13 years ago at CES 2011. Among the most recent pieces we can mention last year’s Lenovo Yoga Book, which we tested directly in the editorial office. Well, Asus already had a similar prototype in 2018.
But what about this year’s news? ZenBook Duo does it differ from its predecessors? It doesn’t give the impression of being overgrown and at the same time offers classic laptop use without compromises. It looks just like a regular laptop with a display and a keyboard, but if needed you can transform it into a dual-display work machine with an external keyboard without having to further attach and unpack the stands.
Zenbook Duo with your eyes:
Zenbook Duo is the continuation of the evolution of Asus dual display notebooks. After all, the 2019 model was already called the Zenbook Duo. We went from displays in the touchpad to displays above the keyboard, in 2022 the Zenbook Fold arrived with a flexible OLED display and now, at the beginning of 2024, we have the Zenbook Duo. with two 14″ OLED displays.
Different working modes of Zenbook Duo
At the same time, the flexible Zenbook Fold is no longer sold and Asus does not plan to put it back on the market. All units produced were sold out, but for Asus engineers it was more of an exploration through struggle to discover what they would use next. The Fold was very expensive, even to manufacture, due to the unique flexible display.
But the new Zenbook Duo UX8406MA just wants to bring down the premium prices of similar solutions. With a price under 2000 Euros, it will be a relatively affordable business laptop, especially when you consider that the price includes a regular laptop and another 14″ OLED display.
The laptop looks normal, it even has normal connectors, but the charger is located in the gap between the displays
The main trick of the Zenbook Duo is a completely normal keyboard with touchpad. You get the same as other laptops. Laptop shutter works the same way. But close it with the keyboard like any other laptop. If necessary, you can remove this plate and use it as an external Bluetooth keyboard with touchpad.
On the underside you can open the integrated stand and comfortably place your laptop on top of each other with both displays on top of each other. Furthermore, it will also keep the displays in landscape mode, i.e. with two vertical displays next to each other.
Despite all this, the notebook is still quite light – 1.35 kg – and you wouldn’t think it has any special features judging by its appearance.
The keyboard charges via the laptop’s pin or via its own USB-C connector. The stand is a fixed part of the laptop
Both displays are obviously touch-sensitive, and the software superstructure allows you to easily switch application windows between the two displays with your finger. During our brief test in early December, while there were occasional hiccups on pre-production parts, the functionality still felt very intuitive.
Inside it is a very normal high-performance laptop with a processor up to Intel Core Ultra 9, among the ports there are Thunderbolt, HDMI 2.1 or audio ports and a battery with a capacity of 75 Wh guarantees a long life even with double mode display. These will offer a resolution of 2880×1800 with 120 Hz and, in addition to finger touch, will also support drawing with the stylus.
2024-01-09 18:00:21
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