ASUS Zenbook Duo 14 Review
Technology is always trying to take a jump when the trend is there. But of course, we all know the ASUS Laptop Zenbook Duo isn’t new to this hype. With the ASUS Zenbook Duo 14, things are bound to get better for most people who want to be mobile.
Is the Asus Zenbook Duo the Laptop of Tomorrow?
What Does It Have To Offer?
What does the ASUS Zenbook Duo have that users make it hard to call a laptop? We will be discussing the reasons behind it in this article in a bit. For now, here are the specs.
- Ergonomic ScreenPad Plus
- Up to 40% faster CPU Performance
- 70Wh High Capacity Battery
- Nanoedge Display(93% screen to body ratio)
- Eye Protection
- Thunderbolt 4USB-C
- Stylus Support with 4096 pressure levels,
- ASUS WiFi Master Premium
- Bluetooth
What’s New?
The Asus Zenbook Duo may be one of the smallest in terms of screen display. However, it packs a punch that can be considered as one of the best laptop deals to date.
Let’s take a look at the complicated hinge design, or otherwise dubbed as the Active Aerodynamic System Hinge Design or AAS. What this does is, it allows the screen pad to lift up at a certain angle. That’s 7 degrees for those that want the math. All that happens simultaneously as you lift up the monitor of the Zenbook.
So here’s what exactly happens when you unfold the ASUS Zenbook Duo:
- The secondary screen lifts at the same time for a comfortable view angle.
- It boosts up the bottom side of the laptop.
- It creates even more angles that the screen is achieving on its own. Not only that, but it also improves cooling.
- It allows more air to pass through the bottom part of the laptop. That’s 49% more airflow to be precise.
Again, the AAS does 2 things. It gets you an ergonomic angle on the touch screen. And it also reduces the gap where the main screen cuts off and where the secondary display begins. Giving you a seamless transition when dragging things between each display or viewing. Ultimately achieving an overall user-viewer experience.
Estimated reading time: 7 minutes
Table of contents
ASUS Zenbook Duo 14 Performance
If the boosting of the bottom part of the laptop isn’t enough, then the performance will surely wow the users. The Zenbook Duo comes with a new thermal design. It’s installed with 2 highly efficient fans- each having 59 fan blades. Compared to its predecessor, it only has 43 blades. Also, it has a wider and more powerful heat pipe which improves heat dissipation.
Note: More breathability, less heating, higher continuous performance resulting in longer work time
The Duo has the Cinebench R20 for the CPU which gives it 40% more performance compared to the 15W laptop CPU. The battery can give up to 17 hours of continuous usage, and the Thunderbolt 4USB-C allows 40 Gbps ultrafast connectivity which can be considered the latest and greatest for video capture.
The huge 65-watt power prick can be monstrous, but it can charge your laptop in a jiffy. Overall, these are powerhouse specs.
The 14-inch nano edge display is sRGB 100% Pantone validated with a max brightness of 400 nits. However, the power consumption can go down to 150 nits which is over 50% lower compared to the panel power consumption of most laptops. Just toggle that brightness down, and you’ll be consuming only 1 watt of power to extend your battery life.
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As for the ScreenPad Plus, it also can generate 400 nits of brightness which matches the main screen. This helps a lot to avoid screen reflections when working between screens.
The Zenbook Duo has the NVIDIA GeForce MX450 graphics. The chassis and lid are made of magnesium-aluminum alloy. And it is equipped with 11th gen Intel Core i7 and core i5 processors. It also comes with 32G of memory and 1TB PCIe 3.0 NVMe SSD. Need I say more?
ASUS Zenbook Duo 14 Design
Back Cover
At first glance, it has a rounded, brushed, bluish aluminum hue giving it a classy appeal. This makes it cool enough just for the looks themselves.
Keyboard
The Zenbook has a full-sized keyboard with 1.4 mm of travel. It is brought all the way down with the touchpad on the right-hand side. As we all know, this is so it can accommodate the ScreenPad.
This means your wrists will be resting on the table, and you have a little bit of angle to work with. The keyboard is also has a backlight if you like working in the dark
Screen
The main screen has a 14-inch fhd nano edge display with an incredibly slim 4mm bezel. It offers a 93% screen-to-body ratio. While the ScreenPad Plus has a 12.6” display.
Both screens have a sort of matte finish that we’re not used to seeing. It’s not super reflective. It’s dull and muted in a certain way so you’ll be dealing with reflections and weird screen things a little less frequently. This is good, considering you’ll have both screens working at the same time and as much as possible.
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The Rest
The right side has a USB Type-A port, a 3.5 mm jack connector, and a micro SD card slot. While on the left side is a full-size HDMI and two Thunderbolt-4 ports. That’s magical and fun! With all that punch, it incredibly weighs just 3 and a half pounds, which is great for a 14” laptop.
Advantages
The ScreenPad Plus is actually a challenge of a mental organization or plainly multi-tasking for the pros.
It allows you to have quick launch apps for quick access. If you’re working on a photo or a video, then you can simply drag all the tools at the bottom and just have what you’re working on up top.
If you love to have multiple windows open (like you reading this article and listening to YouTube Music on the lower screen), you also have complete control to choose the music you want to listen to. How cool is that?!
Research & Reference
Another advantage is, you can research something on the main screen using it as a reference while writing your research paper on the secondary screen. Better yet, have multiple windows open on the lower screen and another one on your main window. If that doesn’t suit you, you can easily switch out the content between screens with just a touch of a button.
No more Alt Tabs or clicking to switch displays. Just an effortless, seamless transition from one screen to the other without being at a loss of trying to get back on track where you left off.
Content Creation
If you’re a content creator, you may have thought of the need for a physical control deck, or you actually own one already. The Zenbook Duo allows you to have the updated ScreenXpert UI on the screenPlus. This gives you a fully customizable dial, slider, and button decks for After Effects, Lightroom Classic, and Adobe Premiere for commonly used functions for zoom, brightness, and contrast. No more carrying around a physical control deck.
The Gamer
The power and the advantage of finding tricks or hidden easter eggs on a game while streaming will be an edge for sure. There are endless possibilities instead of having multiple screens that occupy so much space.
Compatibility
The Screenpad Plus is also compatible with a stylus pen. So the signing of documents will come easy. There’s no need for you to switch between gadgets too.
Audio
The speaker grills are hidden underneath the secondary display, and because of that, it makes a sort of chamber for your audio. This makes it sound a bit thicker than usual compared to other laptops in the market. It also makes it louder than usual. This rids you of the thought of needing external speakers.
Disadvantages
The keyboard is cramped because of the ScreenPad Plus, and the touchpad is a bit narrow.
But that’s about it.
What’s good about this is your wrist doesn’t have to rest on the hot laptop surface but instead on the table where you can put ergonomic accessories for the ultimate comfort.
Honestly, the design features are something you might find odd, to begin with, but it will be something you will get used to very quickly. There are a ton of ASUS laptops on Amazon to choose from. But with the ASUS Zenbook Duo folding it down will make it look like a regular laptop. And when you open it up, people will start to take notice for sure. And you’re more efficient at that.
What do you think we missed on the ASUS Zenbook Duo? Let us know in the comments section below.
