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Much more than a laptop – ASUS ZenBook Duo and Pro Duo




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The definition of a laptop has been simple for the longest – a keyboard, and a screen connected by a hinge, with some ports thrown in. Laptop manufacturers have tried innovating by making improvements to the screen and bezel, adding a larger trackpad and a touchscreen. ASUS it appears might have rotated the dials of innovation all the way to 11 with their new ZenBook Duo and ZenBook Pro Duo laptops. These are undoubtedly and visibly, the most revolutionary laptop designs.

The ZenBook Duo and Pro Duo come with two screens, one the traditional vertical one and the other that sits in between the keyboard and the hinge. The second serves a purpose too, and we’ll talk more about them in a bit. The ZenBook Duo it must be noted, is the more affordable, simpler laptop than the more expensive, supremely powerful ZenBook Pro Duo. The ZenBook Duo runs a 14-inch full HD (1920 x 1080) touchscreen and is based on Intel’s Core i5 and Core i7 processors, while the ZenBook Pro Duo gets a 15-inch 4K (3840 x 2160) touchscreen display with options of Intel’s Core i7 and Core i9 processors. There are other differences when it comes to performance, but functionality doesn’t change much. If you want a modest performance rig with all the fun stuff, choose the ZenBook Duo. For an unlimited performance setup, the Pro Duo is the obvious choice. We assure you, they are both great value for money if you consider what you get for the price and do you get a lot!

The second screen is the highlight of the new ZenBook Duo and ZenBook Pro Duo that spans the same widths as the screens. It’s called the ScreenPad Plus. There are several functions this second screen plays. You can simply drag and drop an application window from the larger screen to the ScreenPad Plus, much like a secondary display. If you have a few favourite software, you can add them to the launcher making it easy to launch them into the second screen. You can even club several software into a task, so it’s easily to jump from one task to another. Say for example, you’re working on multiple spreadsheets while creating a presentation, you can have that data on the lower screen, while you use the larger screen to work on the presentation.

If you’re browsing through a large web page or working on a large spreadsheet, you can choose to combine the two screens much like a foldable smartphone. The sheer workspace makes working a lot simpler, and it’s more the case with the larger ZenBook Pro Duo with its massively dense 4K display. It also doubles as a handwriting touchpad so you can scribble on it with a stylus and the ZenBook will convert it to the text. This is of course, a touchscreen just like the larger display so it lets you use all the Windows 10 touchscreen apps. ASUS shows off a few examples of how creative artists working with videos, images and music can use the two screens effectively to multi-task and switch between tools. Don’t forget, both these products support the active stylus called ASUS Pen; the Pro Duo even comes bundled with it. It lets you draw and sketch on either screen like you would on paper. The ZenBooks run Windows, so there is a plethora of software to choose from whether you’re designing 3D models, editing photos, or painting.

The ZenBook Duo and Pro Duo’s design also includes a new hinge mechanism called ErgoLift which helps the keyboard bank, making it more ergonomic. It’s also designed in a way to bring the two screens together without the hinge leaving a large gap. The other visible differences from other laptops should be the lack of the numerical pad, even on the 15-inch ZenBook Pro Duo model. The keyboard does not extend to the entire width of the laptops. There is a touchscreen on the right that can be used as a numerical pad, or a trackpad depending on the kind of work you’re working. A simple toggle icon is present to switch the functions. It’s quite comfortable to use the ZenBook Pro Duo’s keyboard, because it ships with a bundled hand-rest that lines up to the edge of the laptop.

The ZenBook Duo has a narrow bezel display with a 90 per cent screen-to-body ratio. The display has a Pantone validation so you can expect accurate colour rendition. The ZenBook Pro Duo has a lot more going for it. The 4K resolution is its biggest highlight, but it’s not just any average panel. It too has the Pantone certification for colour accuracy, but it’s also an OLED panel that is also HDR compatible. So whether you’re creating HDR content or simply watching content from online streaming services, this display is an absolute joy. The DCI-P3 and sRGB colour gamut and standards are also kept in mind, with this display.

The ZenBook Pro Duo and ZenBook Duo are both available as two variants each, with slightly varied hardware specifications. Both the ZenBook Duo variants get a corresponding increase in RAM and storage options. The exciting bit is the use of larger SSDs, instead of the annoying mix of small SSDs and hard drives seen on most other laptops. These are usable not only for installing software and games, but also for storing large amounts of photos, videos and music. Both these models use the GeForce MX250 to drive the displays, which provides a healthy amount of graphics performance for the applications that need it.

The ZenBook Pro Duo models get massively impressive hardware. The two models run on Intel’s Core i7 and Core i9 processors respectively, but with a whopping 32GB of RAM. This kind of performance is more than enough to last you a long time, while running the latest 3D designing and video editing tools around. Both laptops also use 1TB SSD drives. The benefit of solid-state storage is the lack of noise and vibration, not to the mention the extraordinary read and write speeds that hard drives simply cannot match. All this means, swift bootups and software loading. The good news does not end there. There is also a powerful NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 graphics solution on board that’s more than enough for all the graphics intensive software you want to run, but it’ll also let you run games.

There are more innovative features under the hood of the ZenBook Pro Duo. One of them is the futuristic IR camera that works even in the dark. It helps you unlock the laptop without having to use a fingerprint or typing in a password. Other areas of improvement are the presence of WiFi 6, short for 802.11ax. This new standard enables much faster wireless data transfers than the outgoing 802.11n and 802.11ac standards. The increased speeds are handy, whether you’re streaming high-quality video content or transferring large projects to and from other network devices.

Both, the ZenBook Duo and ZenBook Pro Duo come with Alexa built-in which lets you use voice commands to interact with your laptop and to handle media streaming, home automation and more. Audio performance isn’t compromised with the pursuit of new designs and performance. The speakers onboard the ZenBook Duo and ZenBook Pro Duo are made by Harmon Kardon so you get some seriously impressive sound too.
Both series of these ZenBooks come in a colour called Celestial Blue, and they are unique. The ZenBook Pro Duo comes in an aluminium shell so it’s sturdier and has a premium feel. You must see it in person to believe it. One of the simplest ways to do this, is to walk into your nearest Reliance Digital store. Our experts will be able to demonstrate some of the features of the product. If you want to purchase a ZenBook Pro Duo or ZenBook Duo from the comforts of your home, you can choose from one of the four models at RelianceDigital.in.