Asus ZenBook Pro Duo Comes Equipped With Dual 4K Screens

The dual screen seems to be the favorite of many technology companies this year. However, when others are still working on it, Asus has already come up with the second generation of this technology. The new product ZenBook Pro Duo features a 15-inch 16:9 4K OLED screen and an IPS ScreenPad Plus screen above the keyboard. So the flagship would have three screens in total if we count the numeric trackpad.

The old ScreenPads from the standard VivoBook and ZenBook has also been updated with the ScreenPad 2. The first version was introduced in the ZenBook Pro 15 model last year. Asus made ZenBook Pro 15 the laptop with the second screen in the touchpad in size of a phone screen.

The new version of this trackpad with the name ScreenPad 2 are on the new ZenBook and VivoBook S. This touchscreen has slightly larger panels, which is around half an inch diagonally. However, Asus claims the ScreenPad 2 to consume less power and not to dim when unplugged. Softwares are also featured in this screen to make it more intuitive to use.

The ScreenPad Plus on ZenBook Pro Duo is absolutely the flashier version. With same horizontal width and resolution as the main screen, the touchscreen is only half the depth and therefore has long diagonal length. Although it was called a “14-inch” display, ScreenPad Plus is actually not what you think of as a typical 14-inch screen.

The second touchpad works like another screen where you can tile window on it and span window vertically. Both displays offer touch capability. This means you can move windows from the first to the second screens with the onscreen indicator or with your own finger.  It packed with Asus apps along with third-party apps such as Facebook, Spotify, and Netflix.

Asus allows you to have up to three windows on the ScreenPad at once. Furthermore, you are able to extend your window from the first screen to the second one. With this function, you can read your Facebook feed from the main screen to the next one. As the ZenBook Pro Duo is claimed to be the ultimate machine for creative works, you can expect some Adobe programs support in this computer.

To have space for the secondary screen, the trackpad is placed right next to the keyboard. The same has been done for the Asus ROG Zephyrus model.

The ErgoLift hinge of this model now angles to seven degrees, which makes it the steepest angle Asus has ever implemented in its laptops. This creates a helpful angle for the secondary screen than just let it lie flat. Furthermore, the Dro Duo features GeForce RTX 2060 and a 9th Gen Intel Core i9 processor, which means more airflow is needed to keep it cool.

A cheaper version was also introduced with the name “ZenBook Duo” (without Pro). In this model, the main screen is 14-inch, and the secondary is 12.6-inch, and both of them is a Full HD 1920 by 1080. It has a GeForce MX350 GPU and an Intel i7 CPU.

According to some users, the secondary screen works quite well and shows Asus’s attempt to evolve the traditional laptop design. However, to achieve that, the sacrifices would be a pretty cramped keyboard, no more palm rests and new trackpad position. It is actually a lot easier to be accustomed to the tight keyboard than to the trackpad.

Although no specific pricing was announced on both the ZenBook Pro Duo and the ZenBook Duo, you can expect the products to be available in the third quarter of this year.