Not too long ago, I reviewed the impressive Lenovo Yoga Book 9i , a laptop that may not have given us the exciting new folding future, but still maintained endless ambitions for the bottom – overall concept of laptops Gorgeous views.
You can’t give Asus the same credit here, as Lenovo has been behind the concept of the laptop frame, but almost from the beginning there have been two screens instead of one screen and a keyboard ( or “deck” as it is also called). But sometimes the trick is to follow the lead of the pioneers and turn their mistakes to your advantage. That’s exactly what Asus has done, and their Zenbook Duo is an improved version of Lenovo’s idea. That’s why I would recommend it.
The concept is very simple, especially if you are already familiar with Yoga Book 9i. Both the top and bottom are made up of 14-inch OLED panels rather than a single display, and while you can create a touch-based keyboard on the bottom, it comes with top with keyboard and trackpad that can be added. similar to a regular note Function and computer format. Already here, Asus offers a basic solution to Lenovo’s biggest problem. The keyboard isn’t just a keyboard… it effectively hides the unique features of the Zenbook Duo.
In addition, there is no need for origami cardboard with the Yoga Book 9i, you have to put it together in a stand to hold the device if you want to use both monitors as dual monitors. No, Asus has a built-in kickstand in the lower chassis, so the whole shebang can be folded into a traditional laptop, or more if you want.
Here’s a hint:
The construction itself is a bit thick, but not much heavier or thicker than a normal laptop, which is good in itself. You have three main ways to use it; standard laptop, the magnetic keyboard panel sits on top of the display below, and the POGO switch provides stable connection and charging. You can then use both monitors with the stand, remove the keyboard and have 28 inches of integrated space in a portable form factor, or position the monitors directly with the keyboard completely disconnected from Bluetooth. All three goals were fairly even.
There is no real sacrifice elsewhere either. There are two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, there is a USB-A 3.2 port, HDMI and audio jacks, WIFI 6E, a very comfortable keyboard and a large trackpad, and a respectable battery life of about seven hours under normal workload . Not bad at all, and much better than the Yoga Book 9i.
You get multiple Intel Core Ultra CPUs, along with up to 16GB of RAM and a 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD. As far as GPUs go, there is clearly no option to get a dedicated card, so you have to make do with Arc, but for Photoshop, mild video editing, and perhaps more importantly having unlimited tabs open in Chrome or other word processing devices, there really isn’t anything the Zenbook Duo can’t do. Each display is also a fairly saturated 1920×1200 OLED, and although it is 60Hz, which is a shame in this 120Hz era, it’s really hard to find anything to complain about.
It must be said that under an average workload, we experienced the device getting a little warm, which is to be expected when working with two OLED panels. But beyond that? Well, you have to be sure to use the Zenbook Duo in its unfolded state, otherwise there will be no point in investing extra money for this feature. But if you see yourself becoming more efficient along the way, and therefore more versatile, the Zenbook Duo is in a class of its own and well worth the £1,500 price tag.
Here’s a hint:
