36 TECH ADVISOR • APRIL 2020REVIEW
monitors who wants the same experience on the road,
it’scleartoseewhytheProDuomightappeal– so
longas you can put up with the impact that second
screen has on the rest of the laptop’s design.Design
So here’s the downside: it’s tricky to fit a 14in display
into the body of a laptop. For what it’s worth, Asus
hasdonea goodjobofit,withminimalbezelsaround
thescreenandnota lotofwastedspace:mostlyjust a
thin black bar that has the ZenBook logo between the
screen and the keyboard.
But in another sense, that’s exactly the problem:
with no wasted space there’s also no free space, and
the whole design is inevitably cramped and squeezed.
There’s still a full-size keyboard, but the trackpad has
had to shift to the right-hand side of it, squeezed into
the corner, and doubling as a numpad thanks to LED
strips you can activate to illustrate the number keys.
There’s almost no unused space at all on the
mainbody,whichmeansthere’snowheretorestyour
handswhile you type. Asus also includes a detachable
palmrest,butthat’sjustanotherthingthatyouhave
tocarryaround with you in order to use the laptop
comfortably,andeitherwayyou’llprobablyfindthat
thePro Duo is tricky to use in cramped conditions.
The keyboard itself is pretty comfortable to use at
least,witha tactile,responsivefeel,good-sizedkeys
(nocompromise for space there), and a comfortable
1.4mm travel distance. The trackpad is great too,
andI quicklyadaptedtohavingit nexttoratherthan
belowthe keyboard, but you just can’t get away