Stuff - UK (2021-08)

KEY SPECS

O 14in 1920x1080 + 12.6in 1920x515 IPS

touchscreens O 11th-gen Intel Core i7

O 16GB RAM O 512GB O Windows 10

Home O 2x Thunderbolt 4/USB-C,

USB 3, microSD, 3.5mm O Up to 17hrs

O 234x222x17mm, 1.58kg

STUFF SAYS ++++,

It has its flaws, but the Duo 14 is an

innovative option for Apple-dodgers

ASUS

ZENBOOK

DUO 14

£1299 / stuff.tv/Duo14

THE ARTY TYPE

Forget paintbrushes and modelling clay – today’s creative geniuses need a totally

different set of tools to flourish (disclaimer: you may also need some talent)

GET MORE DONE

47

aptop design hasn’t changed much

in the past 40 years: screen at the

top, keyboard at the bottom, hinge

in between. While the displays sometimes

fold both ways, twist or detach completely,

it’s always a variation on that common

theme – but Asus’s Zenbook Duo 14 isn’t

like other laptops.

Lift the lid to reveal its 14in touchscreen

and you’ll be greeted by a second, 12.6in

one – dubbed the ScreenPad Plus – taking

up some of the space that would normally

be filled by the QWERTY. You can use it

for toolbars, timelines, control panels and

anything else that you need constant

access to but don’t want clogging up the

main display – a bit like a supercharged

version of Apple’s TouchBar. It also comes

with a 4096-point stylus.

Squisherman’s blues

That second display’s inclusion means the

keyboard is slightly condensed – so some

keys are on the small side, there’s no room

for anything to rest your wrists on, and the

trackpad has to be squeezed in at the side.

The buttons themselves are decent, with

good consistency and a nice level of snap,

but it all feels a bit awkward – at least until

you get used to it. Well, compromises are

inevitable with a design like this.

An 11th-gen Core i7, a GeForce MX450,

16GB of RAM and a 512GB SSD make for

a solid rather than spectacular loadout, but

battery life is impressive.

NOW

APP

THESE

BRAINSPARKER

CREATIVITY

CARDS

Struggling to

get inspired?

Brainsparker

offers a random

quote, image,

action or

question to help

lube up your

synapses.

£free (IAP) / iOS

BLEK

Playing games

when you’re

supposed to be

grafting? Tsk...

but what if the

game doubles

as work? Blek is

designed to get

your imagination

firing – just don’t

play it all day.

£4.99 / iOS

SMARTIFY

Like Shazam for

artists, Smartify

gets to the heart

of art, letting you

scan a picture

to uncover its

story. It’s a nifty

shortcut for

anyone needing

arty inspiration.

£free (IAP) /

Android, iOS

L

NANOLEAF

ELEMENTS

While some people

could work in a dark

cupboard, others

need a less ‘hostagey’

environment to get

anything done. When

switched off, the

seven panels of

the Elements make

up a wall-mounted

sculpture, but turn

them on and you can

use your smart home

platform or Nanoleaf’s

app to pick from 12

lighting scenes.

£200 / nanoleaf.me

BELLROY

TOKYO

TOTEPACK

If you have a laptop

that’s as keen on

multitasking as the

Zenbook Duo 14,

you need a bag that’s

equally flexible – like

the Tokyo Totepack.

Is it a tote bag, or is it

a backpack? It’s both!

Tuck-away straps

allow you to switch

from one to the other,

with various pockets

and a padded space

for a laptop up to 16in.

£159 / bellroy.com

HP OFFICEJET

PRO 7720

Sometimes there’s

just no substitute for

printing something

out and seeing how

it looks squirted onto

a very thin slice of old

tree. HP’s OfficeJet

Pro 7720 will take

paper up to A3 in

size, so you can get

a proper idea of what

your latest creation

looks like, with up

to 34 colour pages

churned out every

minute. It also scans.

£150 / hp.com

JBL CHARGE 5

It can be tough to get

those creative juices

flowing without the

aid of some tunes,

but it’ll only ever be

a dribble if you rely on

a laptop’s speakers.

JBL’s Charge 5 is

tough enough to take

out and about, but

sounds good enough

to be your daily work

companion. And

it’ll easily get you

through a couple

of working days

between charges.

£160 / uk.jbl.com

SONY

XPERIA PRO

Most of us don’t

need a phone with

an HDMI input, but if

you shoot video for a

living you can use the

Xperia Pro’s 6.5in 4K

screen as a monitor

for your camera,

before piggybacking

on its 5G connection

to share the footage.

Even on its own, the

Pro’s three 12MP

Zeiss lenses can

shoot Ultra HD video

with eye-tracking AF.

£2299 / sony.co.uk

REMARKABLE 2

You can’t beat a

good old-fashioned

notepad for jotting

down ideas – but this

is Stuff, we’re hardly

likely to recommend

a stack of A4. The

ReMarkable 2 is a bit

like a cross between

a Kindle and an iPad,

letting you scribble

stuff down on its

10.3in E Ink screen

before converting

your handwriting into

cloud-synced files.

£399 /

remarkable.com

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