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Everybody knows the portability of a laptop comes with a trade-off in screen size. Not for the new Asus Zenbook Duo 2024, unveiled at CES 2024: this dual-display laptop can be unfolded and used in various positions, giving you twice the screen space of a regular laptop – for a surprisingly affordable price.
We’ve spotted a trend at CES for expanding screen real estate, with various companies making extra screens that clip onto your laptop or even appear in your augmented reality glasses. The Zenbook Duo 2024, however, comes with a full-sized bonus screen as part of the package.
Asus already has a range of dual-screen laptops, but previous models simply added a small second display next to the keyboard. This new model comes instead with two full-size screens that unfold to give you a double-sized display supported by a little kickstand.
Both are 14in, 16:10 OLED screens with resolutions up to 2,880 x 1,800.
The Zenbook Duo also has a detachable Bluetooth keyboard with trackpad, which sits between the screens when the whole thing is folded so you can carry it like a regular laptop. Because the keyboard comes off, you can place the screen and keys wherever you like. You can even unfold the whole laptop into different positions to use it in assorted different ways.
First, you can use it like a regular laptop, with the keyboard attached and the screen in the usual place. You can also ditch the physical keyboard completely, unfolding the bottom screen so it looks like a normal laptop but with a touchscreen where the keys usually are.
Things get interesting when you fold out the second screen. The two displays give you 19 inches of on-screen space, and you can have it in portrait or landscape position next to your detached keyboard.
Most unusual is ‘Sharing’ mode, where you flip the screens over so you see one screen and a person sitting opposite you sees the other. That sounds handy for collaborating or quickly sharing your work without the rigmarole of a full-blown presentation, or when your colleague just doesn’t fancy coming round the table to sit next to you. You could also keep working while your kids watch a video on the opposite screen, which sounds like a godsend when working from home.
Despite the extra screen, at 0.78in/19.8mm thick and weighing 3.64lbs (1.65kg) it isn’t much chunkier than a regular laptop. Compared to other dual-screen laptops, the Asus Zenbook Duo 2024 is similar to the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i. But the Zenbook’s advantages include bigger screens, a physical trackpad and kickstand, and a lower price.
The Zenbook Duo’s specs are also decent. Options go up to an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H processor with 32GB of RAM. You can choose up to 2TB of storage. It comes with two Thunderbolt 4 ports, a USB-A port, full-size HDMI 2.1 socket and a 3.5mm headphone jack.
The whole thing is powered by a 75Wh battery, but bear in mind it has to power twice the number of screens and that will impact your battery life.
The Zenbook Duo is expected to come out in early 2024 and will start from £1,699.99 in the UK, €2,099.99 in Europe and $1,499 in the US.
