Laptop of Tomorrow: Asus ZenBook Pro Duo review

Asus, a Taiwan multinational tech company established in 1989, prides itself in designing and building next-generation smart technologies to provide incredible experiences that enhance the lives of people everywhere. Its products which include desktops, laptops, netbooks, mobile phones, networking equipment and projectors among many other electronic devices have penetrated the international market. According to Asus, the idea of the company began as an over coffee conversation between ambitious engineers who were determined to create a ‘small and beautiful company’ with its first innovation being a high powered motherboard.

I have been a follower and a loyal consumer of HP products for long; I have admired every innovation that comes from Bill Hewlett’s company. I just recently started using Acer Aspire One Mini, which I found it portable for regular travels I make.

Today, I’m impressed by Asus ZenBook Pro Duo, an amazing first computer with dual screens. Multitaskers can sigh with relief as this computer will solve their screen view for multitasking functions.

Let’s take a short review of this machine.

The appearance and construction

The design of ZenBook Asus Pro Duo looks just like other laptops however, certain changes had to be made to accommodate another screen and a touchpad. The keyboard is placed down at the extreme edge, therefore, occupying the normal empty laptop space near the touchpad, the trackpad which also has numeric functionalities is shifted to the right.

Tap on the top-right NumberPad icon switches the numeric functions on and off, one can select one of the two brightness levels by tapping on the top-left icon. Surprisingly, its intelligent software keeps the cursor control functions uninterrupted when the NumberPad is activated.

While the keyboard position might not be comfortable for some people, including the left-handed, considering there is no space to rest your hands when using your computer, this majestic design gave Asus Pro Duo a totally unmistakable intriguing look.

The all-aluminum laptop is fitted with wide diamond-cut edges to reflect your surroundings in a taste of aura. The ScreenPad Plus occupies the lower half of the laptop’s body. The laptop is adorned with the reflective aluminum logo on the right side.

Cooling for a laptop is a very important factor most tech companies have not paid attention to it. Asus has hit the nail with its strategic design of the Asus Pro Duo, taking some lessons from the Strix Scar III, one of its ROG laptops which shifts its hinges to create space for a heavily ventilated 3D flow zone. Asus Pro Duo with its flexing hinges focused on cooling, structurally allows the machine to intake air.

Display

The main screen is 15.6 inches, 4K Ultra High Definition OLED. The ScreenPad Plus is a 4K UHD display with a measurement of 14-inches, just a difference of 1 inch. Designed for workflow efficiency, Asus Pro Duo gives its users an interactive secondary screen which enhances productivity by providing more space for work.

ScreenPad Plus gives a much bigger visual workspace for multitasking, enabling the user to manage tasks on the main display while using the secondary display for extra toolbars, multiple cross-references, and companion apps at the same time. The hustle of opening two windows and minimizing the other to get a view of one is definitely something that has been bothering many computer users.

Asus Pro Duo gives a better window management solution for creative workflow. Screenpad makes work easy by allowing one to manage multiple windows simultaneously, and even launch several apps with a single touch.

The desktop wallpaper set on the main display extends to the screenpad. The screenpad is slightly dimmer than the main display to enhance good color vibrancy between the two UHD screens.

The secondary screen allows designers to use a stylus to draw, write or execute any usual function that the main screen would have done. One can watch YouTube videos, write on software or launch any app. It is also possible to drag objects from the main to the secondary screen.

Specs

ZenBook Pro Duo is incredibly powerful with its Intel Core of i9. The processor is designed to deliver multitasking efficiency with unprecedented 5GHz Turbo boost performance.

Here are its specs in a list:

Battery Life and portability.

The battery life suffers badly as a result of the two screens. That alone is a turn off to many as one would love to work with a machine that doesn’t need a charge every time but the computer high power functions and the two screens must drain the battery anyway.

It is, therefore, suitable for gamers and users who are near the source of power. With the dimensions of 0.94 x 14.13 x 9.68-inches (2.4 x 35.9 x 24.6cm) and a weight of 2.5kg, Asus Dual Pro is slightly heavier than the other laptops; this causes inconvenience for people who travel a lot.

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