By 
For individuals who’re going to study from the second show display screen – whether or not or not it’s in ingenious functions or just by bumping useful devices downwards – then the Duo is worth considering. If not, then additional standard notebooks keep increased due to the number of design compromises Asus has wanted to make
Professionals
- Trendy dual-screen design
- Robust effectivity in functions
- Sturdy exterior
- First fee battery life
Cons
- Cramped keyboard and trackpad
- Underwhelming graphics core
- Heavier and thicker than rivals
Key Specs
- Overview Value: £1499
- 14in 1920 x 1080 IPS show display screen
- 12.6in 1920 x 515 IPS touchscreen
- Intel Core i7-10510U CPU
- Nvidia MX250 2GB GPU
- 16GB DDR4 RAM
- 512GB SSD
- Residence home windows 10 Residence 64-bit
The Asus ZenBook Duo UX481 is probably going one of the vital distinctive laptops within the market – on account of it comprises two screens comparatively than one.
The second show display screen sits above the keyboard and is a slim contact panel. Asus reckons that this machine will most likely be final for creatives and a whole host of various productiveness duties.
This model moreover includes a new Intel CPU and devoted Nvidia graphics, and it costs a reasonable £1,499 and $1,499 – so can it compete with machines similar to the Dell XPS 13 and Apple MacBook Skilled 2020?
Asus ZenBook Duo Design – Unconventional glam
The ZenBook Duo exterior is coated with brushed aluminium with a contact of navy blue, and the Asus ErgoLift hinge design is present – so opening the laptop computer pc raises the rear of the underside to boost keyboard positioning and airflow.
Assemble prime quality is nice all by means of. This machine will merely stand as much as frequent commutes.
It’s undoubtedly a good-looking machine, nonetheless the dual-screen design has resulted in some compromises – the ZenBook’s dimension and weight, for instance.
The Duo’s 1.55kg heft and 19.9mm thickness are often not prohibitive, nonetheless typical rivals similar to the Dell XPS 13 and MacBook Skilled 2020 are slimmer and lighter. They’re arguably better-looking too: the ZenBook has an abundance of seen seams.
There are small design irritations all by means of. The hinge mechanism is a bit too stiff, which suggests this laptop computer pc can’t be opened with a finger. The rubber toes don’t current so much grip, and the ZenBook’s unusual form challenge means this machine isn’t considerably cosy if it’s used on a lap – there’s nowhere to your wrists to go.
The Asus has no Thunderbolt 3 port, its USB-C connection doesn’t value, and there’s no full-size SD card slot. For creatives, that can present a hindrance.
Instead, the Asus has two full-size USB 3.1 ports, a Type-C connection, an HDMI port and a microSD card slot. There’s moreover an IR-capable Residence home windows Whats up webcam for quick log ins.
Related: Best Dell Laptops 2020
Asus ZenBook Duo Keyboard – Squashed-down sacrifices
The ZenBook’s buttons are rock-solid, with a company base, an sincere amount of journey, and a satisfying snap – they’re crisp, fast and practically the equal of those on Dell XPS 13 and Apple machines.
However, the ZenBook’s format suffers as a result of its second show display screen. The buttons are shorter than commonest laptop computer pc gadgets, they often’re cramped. The cursor keys are often not separated from the remaining, the Shift buttons are tiny, and the Return key’s single-height. There’s no amount pad and no wrist-rest. These are points that you simply simply’ll get used to, nonetheless rivals don’t make all of these compromises.
The trackpad may very well be very slim, which restricts movement – you can’t get all through the whole show display screen with one swipe. The buttons are great, nonetheless typical trackpads are additional useful, and a USB mouse could be a great idea. There’s no fingerprint sensor, each.
Related: Best Antivirus 2020
Asus ZenBook Duo Show display screen – Twin-screen marvel
The ZenBook’s foremost present is a 14-inch 1080p IPS non-touch panel, whereas the lower panel is a 12.6-inch IPS contact unit with a 1920 x 515 determination.
The lower present is augmented by Asus’ ScreenPad Plus Launcher, which can group apps collectively for quick opening. There’s moreover a handful of third-party app that is optimised for the second present – like Spotify, Dropbox and some of Adobe’s ingenious software program program.
The second present could be utilized to hold admin and communication devices once you’re engaged on the first show display screen, or timelines in audio and video software program program. Because of it’s touch-sensitive, it’s moreover helpful for note-taking – and Asus includes a stylus.
The first present has good prime quality. Its Delta E of 0.97 and near-perfect coloration temperature of 6580K assure great coloration accuracy, and the excellence ratio of 1035:1 is a secure consequence – extreme adequate to produce good punch and depth.
The brightness diploma of 321 nits is reasonably priced, nonetheless only for indoor use. The first present handled 95.6% of the sRGB coloration gamut, nonetheless couldn’t hit 70% in each the Adobe RGB or DCI-P3 gamuts.
These outcomes indicate the Asus is very succesful in relation to mainstream work – nonetheless in case you want to transcend the sRGB gamut, it gained’t cope with it.
The secondary present is a bit dimmer, nonetheless its black stage is deeper – which suggests it has a punchier distinction ratio of 1465:1. Sadly, the panel’s lower angle signifies that viewing angles are poor, which leaves the present wanting washed-out – efficiently eliminating its increased distinction. Its coloration accuracy isn’t practically pretty much as good as the first panel each. Which implies it’s not useful for colour-sensitive work.
The ZenBook moreover falls behind rivals in some areas. Laptops similar to the Dell and MacBook Skilled have punchier screens, with bolder backlights, increased distinction and wider gamut capability.
The Dell is obtainable with a 4K panel for little larger than the Asus, and the Apple’s 2560 x 1600 is sharper than the ZenBook’s panel.
The Asus has spectacular audio system: they’re clear and crisp, with low-cost amount, detailed mid-range and high-end audio and even a common amount of bass. For casual music and media duties in smaller rooms, they’re good – although the MacBook Skilled stays the king proper right here.
Related: Best Headphones 2020
Asus ZenBook Duo Effectivity – Laborious worker
The ZenBook Duo UX481 model makes use of a Core i7-10510U processor – a low-power Intel 10th Gen chip. It has 4 hyper-threaded cores and base and improve clocks of 1.8GHz and 4.9GHz.
It’s joined by 16GB of memory and a 512GB Intel SSD that delivers middling study and write speeds of 1858MB/s and 974MB/s – adequate velocity to keep up Residence home windows feeling snappy, nonetheless a good way behind the Dell and Apple SSDs. The specification is rounded out by WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.
An Nvidia GeForce MX250 graphics core is included, nonetheless Asus has used the weaker of the two variations of that chip, with slower clock speeds and 2GB of memory comparatively than 4GB.
In Geekbench 5’s single- and multi-core exams, the Asus returned scores of 1290 and 4498. The earlier outcome’s a bit sooner than the Dell XPS 13, whereas the latter is a tad slower.
| Asus ZenBook Duo | Dell XPS 13 2020 | |
| Geekbench 5 single-core | 1290 | 1078 |
| Geekbench multi-core | 4498 | 4548 |
| 3DMark Fire Strike | 2773 | 2699 |
The Asus will cope with Office and browser-based multi-tasking with no draw back, and it’ll cope with some photo-editing. With reference to mainstream work duties, this machine is certainly succesful. It’s an outstanding thermal performer: even when harassed, fan noise is modest, and the surface doesn’t flip into scorching.
The Nvidia graphics core is simply not considerably spectacular. Its 3DMark Fire Strike ranking of 2773 is barely ahead of the improved built-in Intel chip contained within the Dell and Apple machines. Basic photo-editing devices will run pretty correctly, nonetheless by means of gaming, the Asus will solely cope with eSports titles like Fortnite and League of Legends.
Asus ZenBook Duo battery life – Reasonably priced outcomes
In our battery benchmark, the Asus lasted for eight hours and 23 minutes. That’s low-cost longevity and on par with most completely different Core i7-based slim laptops – it’s solely a bit behind the 1080p mannequin of the Dell XPS 13.
You’ll have the flexibility to make it by lots of the working day, notably once you’re cautious with the weather and show display screen brightness. Don’t rely on the Duo to last by to a second day, though.
Related: Best iPhone 2020
Should you buy the Asus ZenBook Duo?
The ZenBook Duo pushes boundaries, nonetheless design compromises indicate it gained’t swimsuit many potential clients.
Its foremost show display screen gives good prime quality for mainstream work, and the second show display screen has neat choices alongside poor viewing angles. That talked about, it’s a contact panel, and in case your workflow benefits from its further precise property, then it would present invaluable.
The Asus’ dual-screen design is revolutionary, and it’ll swimsuit a great deal of workflows – notably ingenious duties. The ZenBook Duo bolsters its distinctive form challenge with secure effectivity and battery life alongside robust assemble prime quality. However, the second show display screen hampers the keyboard and trackpad and makes this machine thicker and heavier than rivals. Solely make investments once you’re going to make the most of every reveals.
Comments