ASUS ZenBook Duo has two screens and one sense

TechTrick February 16, 2024

76 2 minutes read

Among the many products presented at CES in Las Vegas by ASUS there was also ASUS Zenbook Duo (UX8406), a very special laptop equipped with two 14″ screens and magnetic keyboard that snaps onto one of the two. ASUS is not new to this type of product and has been experimenting with laptops equipped with dual displays for several years: we liked the 2021 Zenbook Duo a lot and it was an already mature product (also considering that it is really aimed at a niche) but , after having tried the new model of the Zenbook Duo line first-hand, the impression is that we are faced with a new level of perfection.

We are talking about a device equipped with two 14″ OLED displays, with 3K resolution and 120 Hz refresh rate, linked together by a hinge that allows them to be closed like a book. The very thin and magnetic keyboard can be attached to one of the two screens, so you can use the Zenbook Duo as if it were a normal laptop (only slightly thicker than normal).

The keyboard (equipped with trackpad) can also be used remotely, via Bluetooth, to make the most of the two screens, which can be positioned both horizontally and vertically (they rotate and adapt automatically depending on positioning). On the “bottom” screen you can pop up a virtual keyboard and various widgets to use it as an input system, but you can also raise it (via a solid stand on the back) to use both panels as monitors.

Overall, it seemed to me that – although it is a laptop that is aimed at a niche – it is a really well thought out product, with lots of optimizations from ASUS.

The software includes many gestures to make best use of the second display, as well as various window anchoring systems, to quickly position an app in a specific point of one of the two displays.

In this regard, the ScreenXpert software allows you to easily manage content in different ways:

Dual Screen Mode: with the two visible displays that can be used together as a large 19.8″ screen (with the ViewMax function), or separately, as two different monitors;
Desktop Mode:with the two vertical displays, ideal for programmers, researchers, or anyone who needs to consult long documents while working (also in this case, there is the ViewMax function to see the two monitors as one);
Laptop mode: with the keyboard resting above the second display (which is deactivated), using the Zenbook Duo like a standard laptop;
Sharing mode: with the hinge open completely at 180° and the two monitors on opposite sides, useful for presenting content to colleagues sitting opposite.

From a technical specifications point of view, ASUS Zenbook Duo does not miss anything: it is based on Intel Core Ultra processors (up to Ultra 9), reaches 32 GB of LPDDR5x RAM and up to 2 TB SSD for memory PCIe 4.0.

The presence of an Intel Core Ultra chip means that there is also an NPU (Neural Processing Unit), i.e. a dedicated microprocessor for artificial intelligence.

The 75Wh battery guarantees autonomy of up to 9 hours (declared), and there is also a Harman Kardon audio system with Dolby Atmos certification.