Asus has announced the second generation of its dual-screen laptops and is targeting them at creative professionals, thanks to software and hardware improvements. The original dual-screen design looked more like a novelty, but this sequence looks much more practical.
The company revealed two different versions of the dual-screen laptops, the ZenBook Pro Duo 15 OLED (model number UX582) and the ZenBook Duo 14 (model number UX482). Both models add a feature that should make the dual-screen nature of the design much more usable: they tilt. Called the Asus ScreenPad Plus, it is a full-width secondary touch screen with a new automatic tilt mechanism that, according to the company, improves readability, has 36% better airflow for cooling purposes and allows it to function more integrated for multitasking and creative applications.
The second screen tilts up about 9.5 degrees on the Pro Duo and 7 degrees on the Duo 14, which the company says reduces glare and reflections, making it much easier to read.
When laptops are placed on the supplied Duo Stand, the tilted screen is at a friendly angle with the pen, and both screens support the latest 4096 pressure level devices, including the ASUS Pen.
ScreenPad Plus is powered by an updated version of the ScreenXpert 2 software that hosts a collection of new and updated applications designed to increase productivity.
The new Window Flick feature that allows users to simply move windows between screens. The popular Task Group application has an updated design, so users can see their Task Groups at a glance and lock into work modes instantly, launching multiple applications with a single touch.
Asus also announced that the ScreenXpert 2 software has a new feature called the Control Panel, which is a fully customizable application that currently works with Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom Classic, Premiere and After Effects. Very clearly aimed at creatives, the Control Panel allows you to gain precise control over Adobe applications, such as adjusting brush size, saturation, layer opacity and others through a Dial, Button, Slider or Scroll control setting. Asus says that each works in a different way to provide smooth and precise control over a set of parameters.
ZenBook Pro Duo 15 OLED
The Zenbook Pro Duo 15 OLED is the flagship dual-screen model and features a high-performance Intel Core i9 processor, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3070 laptop GPU, up to 32 GB of RAM and up to 1 TB of PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD. The 14-inch 4K UHD ScreenPad Plus has an enhanced brightness of 400 nits and sits below the main 15.6-inch screen.
Asus says the Pro Duo is one of the first NVIDIA Studio laptops to feature an RTX 30 series GPU, which it says offers GPU acceleration for lightning tracking, artificial intelligence and high-speed video encoding.
The Pro Duo includes two Thunderbolt 3 ports that support an additional 8K external monitor or two 4K UHD monitors. The laptop is also equipped with Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) which is up to three times faster with wireless connections than Wi-Fi 5.
The OLED screen is a 4K NDR NanoEdge touchscreen that has a thin, four-sided frameless design with a 93% screen-to-body ratio that Asus says maximizes screen space for the size of the laptop. This OLED screen also offers incredible contrast, something that OLEDs are always praised for achieving. Asus says it also has excellent color accuracy and reaches 100% of the DCI-P3 range and has a PANTONE Validated certification (the Adobe RGB specification was not provided, however).
The ZenBook Pro Duo 15 OLED is scheduled to launch in April with prices to be announced at a later date.
ZenBook Duo 14
The Zenbook Duo 14 has many of the same features as the Pro Duo, but scaled down to be more accessible. It is powered by an 11th generation Intel Core i7 with Intel Iris Xe graphics and an NVIDIA GeForce MX450 graphics option, up to 32 GB of RAM and up to 1 TB of PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD. It features a 12.6-inch secondary ScreenPad Plus along with the 14-inch Full HD main touchscreen.
The Duo 14 has a pair of Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports that support power supply and offers the ability to connect an external 8K monitor or two 4K UHD monitors. It is also equipped with WiFi 6.
Asus uses the term “casual creators” to describe those who would be attracted to Duo 14, clearly drawing a line between it and the much more powerful Pro Duo.
Duo 14 is expected to be available long before the Pro Duo, with pre-orders starting January 14 in North America for just $ 999.