82 T3 MARCH 2020
Te s te d
A novel concept for a laptop that unfortunately
can’t quite pull off its grand ideas
Asus ZenBook Duo
DYNAMIC DUO
OS Windows 10 Home Processor Intel
Core i7 1.8GHz Graphics Nvidia GeForce
MX250 2GB Memory 16GB
Screen 14-inch 1920x1080 (main),
12.6-inch 1920x515 (ScreenPad Plus)
Connectivity 2x USB 3.1, USB-C, HDMI,
audio jack, Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax), Bluetooth 5
Dimensions 323x223x20mm Weight 1.5kgFrom £1,499
asus.comhile the idea of dual-
screened devices is still
interesting, it’s a far cry
from being original.
Apple’s recent foray into slim TouchBut while using the Zenbook
Duo does prove it to be an exciting
prospect, in practice the idea of a
dual-screened laptop hasn’t fully
formed yet. The Duo is a surprisingly
chunky beast for a 14-inch laptop,
weighing 1.5kg. Most of this is due to
the secondary screen, a 12.9-inch
touch-controlled rectangle that acts
as an extension to the main display
itself. A full touchscreen pressed
on top of a processor and a discrete
graphics card means there’s a lot of
heat to be dispelled, so the Duo has to
be thick enough for sufficient cooling.
Despite this, heat management
inside the chassis is handled by two
tiny fans and a single metal heat
spreader, so the Duo can get pretty
hot at times. If you’re using it for
extended periods, heat buildup isBars on MacBooks is fundamentally a
very selectively implemented second
screen; Microsoft’s promised Surface
Neo is the final extent of the concept.
With that in mind, we tried to repress
our childlike wonder when Asus
revealed the Zenbook Duo. Maybe we
shouldn’t give bonus points for doing
what Nintendo did in 2004, but when
something looks this cool, it’s hard not
to get swept up.W