ASUS Zenbook Duo Laptop, Dual 14” OLED WUXGA Touch Display, Intel Evo Certified, Intel Core Ultra 7 CPU, Intel Arc Graphics, 16GB RAM, 1TB SSD, Windows 11,UX8406MA-DS76T, Inkwell Gray

Dual Monitor Laptops are the Future of Productivity!
I had seriously considered the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i last year as I’ve long wanted a dual monitor laptop. However, I could never pull the trigger, partially due to the cost, but mainly because the “stand” and keyboard solution Lenovo came up with seemed to be just as cumbersome to travel with as a second monitor would be. What I had really wanted was a dual monitor laptop with the keyboard stowed in-between the screen like Lenovo did with their X1 foldable, and with a built-in kickstand. Just waiting one more year after the Yoga Book 9i came out allowed me to purchase this ASUS Zenbook Duo 2024.My model is the “lower” end Core i7 with 16GB RAM and 1080p monitors. For my purposes, the i7 and 16GB RAM are plenty, as is the 1080p resolution. I’m not even sure why the higher end model has such high resolution displays, as the screens are only 14″ so 1080p is plenty for me, while 3K displays on such a small footprint means more battery drain pushing all those additional pixels. The additional cost is worth it if you need the RAM and higher speed processor, though I’d still lower the resolution to 1080p had I purchased that model.Regarding build quality, I did not buy in the first production run, (which didn’t even include this model as far as I can tell) and I have zero complaints. No creaking, ill-fitting, or unproperly spaced components. It feels extremely solid and well made. If there were early production-run QA issues it seems that they’ve been addressed by ASUS at this point. The laptop is on the heavier side, but for what it includes it is well worth it, and still significantly lighter than carrying a laptop along with a second monitor.Upon receiving and booting up the laptop there were definitely some software quirks related to the displays, (they wouldn’t properly rotate when the physical orientation changed). However, I went in to Windows Update and had it download all new updates, which also came with new ASUS drivers and that fixed the rotation related issues I was having while also making the system run much more smoothly. Obviously the system was manufactured some time ago while software development has continued, (and still continues). I had expected some Windows-related issues as this is a new form factor, but other than the first rotation bug, it’s been pretty seamless and you can just use the second display exactly like you would any other second display – it is just built in!The keyboard solution is great, as is the keyboard itself. No compromises here and all keys register quickly and easily, whether docked or on Bluetooth. I’m quite happy with the keyboard and trackpad, and when using it in regular laptop mode, (with just the top display) you’ll easily forget that there’s a second display underneath.Opening up the laptop and propping it up with the built-in kickstand is a game changer. Everything you need, (with the exception of an external mouse) is built right into the machine. You can carry it all with you in a compact and relatively lightweight package. If you are the kind of person whose work benefits significantly by having a second display, this is a form factor you should highly consider.I am also quite pleased with the quality of the displays themselves. They get plenty bright for outdoor use, (I used them outside for a week on a recent trip to Grenada) and “pop” with bright colors while being easy to read in just about any environment. These seem to be quite high quality panels, which I would expect given the price, but you never know.I can’t really comment much on system performance as all of my work is browser based, but I can say that it is extremely snappy with dozens of open tabs and at least four applications running side by side across the two open displays. If you’re running Photoshop, editing CAD drawings, or other CPU/RAM intensive programs I’d probably just opt for the higher-end model as it is only a few hundred dollars more. Still, for my use, this model has been fantastic and a significant performance upgrade over my previous 2021 laptop.Overall I am extremely happy with this purchase. The ability to have a second display is crucial for my business, and working without one adds a significant amount of time to any task I need to complete. In many cases my work is very time sensitive, and I value my time highly, so this is the perfect solution. I am excited to see how ASUS continues to innovate on this idea.

This will change laptops as we know them
I’ve expected this form factor for a while now. I saw the writing on the wall 10 years ago and I understood why they couldn’t exist then. I was really wondering how the touchscreen keyboard was going to play out when these dual screens start coming to the mainstream and Asus solved that issue entirely on the first try. In order to make the products we dream of we have to work around the battery limitations and up till about 3 years ago, this concept just wasn’t possible without making it very thick and heavy. The advancements made in power management have been significant and Intel now offers a powerful 9 Ultra SoC that sips battery usage. I review laptops that are sent to me all the time (not for Amazon) and some have cutting-edge tech but nothing like the Asus UX8406.Asus gets so much right that it is hard to find a fault in anything. They have covered just about every little thing that you could complain about. Since I mentioned the keyboard first, lets start with that. The typing experience is probably the best I have ever tried. You truly sacrifice nothing. The key travel, backlighting, and terrific touchpad that supports gestures all come together to make for an amazing input experience.When disconnected from the laptop, you can burn through the keyboard battery in 45 minutes if you use the backlight heavily. Asus thought of that scenario already and offers a USB C charge port built-in on the side of the keyboard. So if you need to have backlight, you can.The dual 3K 120 MHz displays look as good as you would expect they would. I would easily say that they have no equal as far as laptop displays go. You can crank up the resolution and use Windows zoom to about 150% and get excellent results.On to the new Intel Arc 8 core graphics chip. This thing games! GTAV, Forza 5 Horizon (at the highest resolution), and Ultimate Spiderman are all I’ve tested but I came away shocked. Its really good. I didn’t buy it for games but it’s a huge bonus!The Intel 9Ultra and 32GB RAM mean that I’m never waiting for this laptop. It is as fast as you are at commanding it. I have had very few hiccups in performance and since the last BIOS update, I have had zero. My use case is remote IT support and Adobe CC 2024 apps and it handles both exceptionally. Before this laptop, I was using a Surface Studio Laptop 2 and I swear that thing (still under warranty) seems like a relic now. I’m sure that you have your use case in mind if you’re shopping for this laptop so I wont gush about the dual screen utility. You probably are like me and are used to carrying a USB monitor or two to create the extra real estate needed for enhanced workflow. Desktop Mode is my go to.There is some decent utility is the included My Asus app and I was surprised how well it worked. RAM dumping. Push one GUI button and dump your RAM. I know you can do this in a command prompt but Asus has this tool and a lot more in the My Asus app. I normally don’t give the include manufacturer system app any usage other than driver updates but Asus has something here.To sum it up, I welcome this new category of laptop and look forward to the innovation that will come from this pioneering product. It’s great to see a company (or two) breathe some excitement into a market that was all too complacent for way too long.