OUR VERDICT
The Asus ZenBook Pro Duo offers a Core i9 processor, Nvidia graphics and two 4K screens ready for multitasking.
FOR
- Two beautiful 4K touch displays
- Great overall and gaming performance
- Dual-screen functionality easy to use
- Speedy SSD
- Stays cool when gaming
AGAINST
- Chunky and heavy
- Short battery life
- Weak audio
So how is Asus pulling this all off? Serious specs. Once you find some time to stop ogling and touching the screens, consider the overclockable Core i9, Nvidia RTX graphics and speedy SSD.
But there are some caveats to consider: namely, really short battery life, mushy keyboard and a thicker profile. But mobile professionals, content creators and even gamers looking to walk and chew gum at the same time should consider the ZenBook Pro Duo.
Asus ZenBook Pro Duo price and availability
I multitasked like crazy with the $2,999 model of the Asus ZenBook Pro Duo. It has an overclockable 2.4-GHz Intel Core i9-9980HK processor with 32GB of RAM, a 1TB PCIe SSD, an Intel UHD Graphics 630 GPU and an Nvidia GeForce RTX 2060 GPU with 6GB of VRAM. The $2,499 base model has a 2.6-GHz Intel Core i7-9750H CPU with 16GB of RAM.
Design
Asus continues to deliver designs that are at once timeless, innovative and undeniably Asus. Constructed from sturdy alluminum, the Celestial Blue is alluring, like a deep-blue pool with secrets hiding just beneath the surface for those brave enough to take the plunge. The shiny Asus logo at the right of center, is the epicenter of Asus’ beloved concentric-circle pattern.
Upon opening the lid, the company’s ErgoLift hinge deploys, gently raising the keyboard deck to a 4.5-degree angle for a more comfortable typing and viewing experience. The full-size keyboard resides in the space typically reserved for the palm rest, with the touchpad/Num Pad sequestered in the lower-right corner.
At the bottom front lip of the laptop, you’ll see the alexa light bar, which signals that the digital assistant is processing your request. Asus finishes the look by housing its ports in gleaming, chamfered edges.
At the top of the deck, you’ll find Asus’ ScreenPad: a massive second display that runs the length of the deck. It’s a visually stunning element that, when paired with the 4K OLED display above, makes for a captivating scene. However, despite the matte panel, the ScreenPad Plus is quite the fingerprint magnet.
Displays
OLED and 4K — a match made in visual heaven. The Duo’s glossy, 15.6-inch, 3840 x 2160 main touch display elivers lavish hues with sharp details. Watching a particularly awkward scene between actresses Sasheer Zamata and DeWanda Wise during The Weekend trailer, the latter’s crimson blouse drew my eye, as did the bright-red vine tomatoes and the golden chrysanthemums. Details were sharp enough for me to clearly see both ladies’ distinct hair curl pattern as well as the fine creases in their blouses.Advertisement
The same scene in the matte ScreenPad wasn’t nearly as vibrant. And, because of the 3840 x 1100 resolution, the video did not run the length of the display, leaving about 3 inches of black space on either side. Details were still pretty sharp, as I could see all the wrinkles in actress Kim Whitley’s olive shirt. Even though it’s not OLED, I appreciate the ScreenPad’s matte finish, since it doesn’t create severe reflections.
I was mesmerized by the technicolored, post-apocalyptic wasteland of Far Cry New Dawn. The game was already incredibly vibrant, but on the Duo’s OLED panel, the pinks and purple almost looked fluorescent. As I fought off a white wolf trying to make a meal of me, I could see the individual hairs bristling in the sunlight.Advertisement
Unfortunately, most games don’t play nice with the ScreenPad Plus, so you can’t play on the second display. But I’m not sure most gamers would want to play on a smaller screen, unless it’s a smartphone, anyway. But it would be cool if you could manage tertiary functions like game menus and inventory down there.
ScreenPad Plus: Productivity evolved
Asus’ ScreenPad Plus expands upon last year’s ScreenPad featured on the ZenBook Pro 15 in big ways. First of all, at 14.1 inches, it’s much larger than the 4.8 x 2.6-inch ScreenPad. Secondly, it sports a 4K (3480 x 1100) panel that offers sharper detail and more vivid color. But located at the top of the keyboard deck, the ScreenPad Plus offers much more functionality than its predecessor.
The fun starts once you tap the small arrow icon on the left of the panel, which reveals a small menu and navigation bar. Similar to its predecessor, the ScreenPad Plus acts as an app launcher. Out of the box, it features MyAsus and Spotify along with utilities like Number Key, Handwriting mode and Quick Key, which allows you to quickly access Windows shortcuts like cut, paste and copy via large buttons. You also have the ability to create your own Quick Keys by recording keystrokes.Advertisement
Whenever I wanted to add a new app to the launcher, I just dragged it down from the top display onto the launcher. To remove apps, I simply hit the edit icon and closed out the unwanted software.
Task Group quickly became one of my favorite utilities. It let me create custom app groups that would launch at the touch of a button. It lets you group up to five apps (two main screen, three ScreenPad plus). I immediately grouped Google Chrome, Slack, Discord, Spotify and Twitter, with Chrome and Slack in the main screen; and Spotify, Twitter and Discord on the ScreenPad. And if I ever wanted to switch screens, I just hit the Task Swap button to invert my windows.
For the times I was working in a spreadsheet, I enabled ViewMax, which expands whatever I’m looking at down to the ScreenPad. This gave me much more real estate, which came in handy when I was scrolling through all the data.
But two screens are definitely better than one — especially when I can snap three distinct windows into one. While it wasn’t as good as my massive monitor, I still benefited from seeing everything at once. I just had to do a lot more maneuvering between windows than when I’m sitting in the office.