Asus today revealed an all-new Zenbook Duo at CES 2024 that takes the design of its past dual-screen devices up a level with twin 14-inch displays and a built-in kickstand.
We’ve been fans of the past two-screen efforts from Asus, ranging from other Asus Zenbook Duo devices to the Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 16 gaming counterparts, but this model supersizes the second display to match the primary one. It’s always been a caveat that, while useful, the unusual, elongated size of the second screen on past Duo devices was limited, but it’s immediately easier to see how useful this new layout can be.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)The 2024 Zenbook Duo combines those efforts with the concept behind the Asus Zenbook 17 Fold, a device with a single large panel that folds in half across a hinge. That has its own downsides, but here, a physical hinge separates two distinct screens.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)We were able to go hands-on with the new Duo in a private meeting prior to CES; you can watch for a closer look in the video above, and find more details below.
Dual Displays and Design Versatility
Where the past efforts had mismatched screens, these are two equally sized panels. They’re shiny ones, too: Each is a 14-inch 3K OLED touch screen with a 120Hz refresh rate—an immediately impressive statement.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)That’s a total of 19.8 inches of screen real estate to work with, which is a lot more screen than the squashed lower display on past Duo devices. They were useful still, but even the Zenbook 17 Fold's larger single display divides down into two 12.5-inch screens when you fold it in half.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)As nice as the screen sizes are, its utility is really in the design flexibility. A built-in kickstand and an included removable keyboard crucially add a load of versatility to these two screens. Obviously, the full-size second display takes the place of a normal keyboard, but—through a connector and magnets—you can place the keyboard right down on top of the lower display, using it and only the top display like a normal laptop.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)That layout will serve you well in plenty of work scenarios. The Duo is pictured with the keyboard on top of the lower screen in the photo above, with the kickstand extended. Of course, a more natural typing position is to collapse the kickstand, and with the keyboard over the lower screen, you have a pretty standard laptop layout.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)In addition to laying both screens flat, which is helpful for sharing content, the kickstand is key in making most use of both displays at once. You can set the screens up in a vertical stack, or side by side. This is like bringing a second monitor on the road with you, and the keyboard can work wirelessly over Bluetooth.
(Credit: Joseph Maldonado)Manipulating the stand only took a little getting used to, and the keyboard comes away and attaches easily. You can quickly see how useful a dual monitor setup with one slick machine is. All told, it weighs only 3.2 pounds and measures just 0.75 inch thick.
Intel Core Ultra Arrives in Duo
Driving this advanced design are Intel’s “Meteor Lake” Core Ultra processors, which were announced before CES and have featured heavily at the show. We even ran initial tests on our first chip already. These have their own 5, 7, and 9 tiers like the long-running Core i series, but also include an onboard neural processing unit (NPU) for local AI tasks.
(Credit: Intel)The new Duo will run on up to the Intel Core Ultra 9 185H, which is serious muscle for heavy-duty processing work, so this machine shouldn’t be all style over substance. We will have to see what it can do first hand once we get our hands on our own test unit.
A discrete Nvidia or AMD GPU did not make it into this design, though that really would have been impressive. This device runs on Intel's new integrated Arc graphics, with up to 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD. Connectivity includes two USB-C ports with Thunderbolt 4, a USB-A port, an HDMI connection, and an audio jack.
Details on pricing and availability are yet to be finalized, but it is coming in Q1 of this year, and it’s safe to say that it won’t be the most affordable system. Check back for a full review when units become available.