Asus ZenBook Duo (2024)
Laptops, eh? We all know what they are. L-shaped things that open like an oyster to reveal the pearl of PC gaming (or just a web browser) within. Asus seems to have decided this isn't good enough, and has attempted to shake up the tired and complacent laptop world with a portable PC that has two screens, and impressive specs to go along with them (though no gaming GPU). And do you know what? It's excellent.
Excellent, that is, for a lot of things that we do with our PCs that have little to do with playing games on them. This is a $1,700 (£2,000) laptop, and if your aim in life is to click on people's heads while watching the numbers go up, then it's maybe not the one for you.
There are many portable machines out there with AMD and Nvidia graphics chips and high refresh rate screens that are going to give you a better experience in games than this one.
But where the Zenbook Duo comes into its own is when you slap it on the table in a coffee shop or other MacBook-infested area and watch the thick-framed glasses drop from the faces of trainee architects and social media executives who've gathered around to see what you've got.
CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 185H
GPU: Intel Arc Graphics
RAM: 32GB
Storage: 2TB SSD
Screen: 2x 14in 2880x1800 120Hz OLED
Connectivity: Wi-Fi 6E, Bluetooth 5.3, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A, 2x Thunderbolt 4, 1x HDMI 2.1, 3.5mm combo jack
Dimensions: 31.35 x 21.79 x 1.46cm
Weight: 1.65kg
Price: $1,700 | £2,000
The Zenbook Duo really is extremely impressive. Open the lid, and it looks just like any other laptop, but slip the keyboard module out of the way (it hangs on through a combination of magnets and a dedicated connector) and you unveil a second OLED panel stashed beneath it. The keyboard remains connected via Bluetooth, and has its own charging port, allowing you to stand the two screens up like a book for two portrait screens, or use the stand on the back of the lower one to assemble them in a horizontal arrangement with one on top of the other.
The two
