One of the joys of having a proper stay-at-home workstation (apart from the raw power that only a true desktop can provide) is the ability to have multiple screens.
Two or more monitors are simply more productive than a single screen; letting you make the most of all that ram and multitask like a true professional.
Ask a multi-screener to go back to working on a single display and you’ll witness true sorrow. But there comes a time when the number of screens you have at home becomes meaningless; when you (shock!) have to leave the safety of your home workstation.
Then you’ll have to put up with a dumb, single-screened laptop and kiss your sweet productivity goodbye. Until now, that is.
Asus has unwrapped its latest Zenbook Duo – so named because it has not one, but two screens. It says that second screen will help creative types get stuff done; and change the way you use your laptop on the go. But does it?
Asus ZenBook Duo 14: Design
The biggest design feature of the ZenBook Duo is the one staring you in the face; the second screen. It sits below the 14-inch main screen, and is touch-sensitive – meaning you can use it like an extended touchpad (or like a mega version of Apple’s TouchBar).
That extra screen-estate does push the keyboard down to the very bottom of the laptop (meaning, there is no wrist-rest while typing) but that didn’t bother me too much. You also get a regular touchpad to the right of the keyboard.
Elsewhere, you get a good selection of USB type A and type C ports – as well as a microSD card slot and audio jack. And it’s a lot slimmer than you’d expect a two-screened laptop to be when closed.
All in all, it’s a good looking device, and one that only gets better looking the moment you open the device.
Asus ZenBook Duo 14: Screen(s)
Your primary display is the 14-inch 1080p number up top, while directly below it is the 12.6-inch IPS panel that Asus lovingly calls the ScreenPad 2.0. Both are touch enabled, and support an Asus active stylus.
Of course, that second screen offers up a whole new level of productivity – namely letting you go full screen on the main display while you use the second for multitasking. Watching Netflix or playing a game while chatting on discord via the ScreenPad is satisfyingly easy. And keeping your work emails or slack channel down the bottom while you knuckle down and do proper work up top is a near ideal digital work environment.
There are a few apps that make the most out of the Screenpad, such as the ability to crate Task Groups – of up to five apps or tabs – which you can open or close with a single click. It’s handy if you’re moving between separate tasks (such as writing to video editing).
Moving apps and tabs from screen to screen is a doddle – just drag and drop. And there’s a handy button that will swap the contents of your top and bottom screen and automatically resizes it to fit.
Asus ZenBook Duo 14: Performance
The ZenBook Duo does pack some solid specifications, not least to run that second display. It’s not quite the monster that the ZenBook Duo Pro is – but will more than handle its own when it comes to light graphical work.
Under the hood you get an Intel Core i7 processor, along with 16GB of RAM and an Nvidia GeForce MX450 GPU. It’s a capable computer, but not quite a gaming machine (for that, wait until the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 arrives).
The battery life is impressive; not least because it needs to keep both panels lit up. You will get around 10 hours of use while web browsing and messaging on medium brightness settings.
Asus ZenBook Duo 14: Verdict
There is something incredibly satisfying about having a second screen on your laptop. It’s strange at first, but once you get used to that extra display – and make it part of your day-to-day computing – it’s very hard to go back to a traditional laptop.
Is it a gimmick? Heck yes it is. But is that a bad thing? Not for people like me, who believe more screens are always better.
The Asus ZenBook Duo 14 is available now in the Middle East. For more info, go here.
Esquire now has a newsletter – sign up to get it sent straight to your inbox.
Want up-to-the-minute entertainment news and features? Just hit ‘Like’ on our Esquire Facebook page and ‘Follow’ on our @esquiremiddleeast Instagram and Twitter account.
