Asus Zenbook Duo review: An (almost) perfect productivity laptop

Price When Reviewed

$2,299.99

Best Prices Today: Asus Zenbook Duo (UX8407A)

I’m an enormous fan of long-lasting laptops that may maintain up as a productiveness resolution for the street. In this case, the brand new iteration of the dual-screen Asus Zenbook Duo has the whole lot I need and extra.

For years, my go-to has been the Microsoft Surface Laptop Studio 2. But the brand new 2026 version of the Zenbook Duo arguably does all that in a single laptop computer.

The new Zenbook Duo was the launch car for Intel’s new Core Ultra Series 3 or “Panther Lake” chip, which Intel claims presents the facility of an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 with battery life that may final so long as a full day or extra. That’s helped by packing the biggest allowable battery inside this new iteration of the Duo.

Essentially, the Zenbook Duo’s “Panther Lake” iteration improves each as a productiveness machine and as an leisure choice over the 2025 Zenbook Duo (Lunar Lake), with extra highly effective gaming choices and smaller display screen bezels that enhance the appear and feel. It’s nonetheless a surprisingly chunky laptop computer, nevertheless, pushing close to 4 kilos.

Asus Zenbook Duo: Configurations

Normally, we’d evaluation a laptop computer with a worth and ship date hooked up. In this case, Intel despatched us the laptop computer, not Asus. The top-of-the-line mannequin, which we’ve reviewed right here, prices $2,299.99, and it’ll ship later this quarter. Other configurations shall be accessible, as indicated under.

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Asus Zenbook Duo: Specifications

• Model quantity: UX8407A
• Display: Two 14-inch (2880 x 1800) contact OLED w/stylus help, HDR
• Processor: Intel Core Ultra 7 355/ Ultra 9 386H / Ultra X9 388H (Ultra X9 388H as examined)
• Graphics: Intel Arc B390
• NPU: Yes, as much as 50 TOPS
• Memory: 32GB LPDDR5X, built-in / non-upgradable
• Storage: 1-2TB M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD (1TB as examined)
• Ports: 2 USB-C (Thunderbolt 4), 1 10Gbps USB-A, HDMI 2.1, 3.5mm audio jack
• Security: Windows Hello (digital camera)
• Camera: 1080p30
• Battery: 99Wh
• Wireless: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
• Operating system: Windows 11 Home / Pro
• Dimensions: 12.21 x 8.21 x 0.77 to 0.92 inches
• Weight: 3.54 kilos
• Color: Moher Gray
• Price: $2,299.99

Fun reality: I wasn’t instructed that I might be reviewing the Asus Zenbook Duo, and I used to be anticipating a extra typical clamshell laptop computer once I eliminated it from the field. What’s stunning about this laptop computer is that it seems to be simply that: a barely thicker clamshell. Only if you take away it from the field do the twin screens and the floating keyboard emerge.

Normally, a clamshell laptop computer has each a display screen in addition to a keyboard deck. In the case of the Duo, the deck is changed by a further, 14-inch display screen. A “floating” keyboard can sit above one in every of them, held down by magnetic pogo pins. The secondary display screen can be supported by a small kickstand. This new Duo replaces the Intel Core Ultra Series 2 (Lunar Lake) model of the Zenbook Duo that we reviewed last year.

What makes the Zenbook Duo completely different is how one can align the screens. You can disguise one to create a “traditional” clamshell; orient each screens on prime of one another in panorama mode to create an “elevated” display screen; align them vertically, one subsequent to a different, in portrait mode; or lay each screens flat, which creates a “sharing” mode that flips one display screen to face a secondary consumer. The kickstand is now built-in, and Asus has minimized the person display screen bezels even additional to present the shows a extra cohesive look.

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There’s a mammoth benefit that the Asus Zenbook Duo presents, which doesn’t instantly stand out: a 99 watt-hour battery, mainly the biggest that may be put inside a laptop computer or exterior battery pack to fulfill FAA airline laws. (Part of the battery sits behind one display screen, a part of it sits behind the opposite, however Windows treats it as a single complete.) Think of it this manner, you’re getting the biggest battery accessible paired up with a processor designed to sip energy.

Don’t neglect to learn our efficiency analysis under to see if this laptop computer lives as much as these claims, particularly the Panther Lake processor’s highly effective gaming efficiency! Physically, this laptop computer appears to be like considerably like the sooner Asus Zenbook S 14, itself the launch car for Intel’s Core Ultra Series 2 (Lunar Lake) chip. It’s mainly the identical dimensions, however a quarter- to a half-inch thicker and virtually a pound heavier than a extra conventional thin-and-light. The Duo has the heft of an older, chunkier laptop computer however with the promise you can go away its 100W charger at dwelling or in your resort room.

All of the Zenbook Duo is made out of “ceraluminum,” which Asus touts as having lightness of aluminum in addition to the sturdiness of ceramic. It all feels a bit plasticy, however I don’t actually care what a laptop computer is made out of so long as it holds up.

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I carried out most of my testing in a standard clamshell configuration, with the keyboard perched over one of many shows, which shuts off to save lots of energy. In this case, the keyboard and touchpad use the bodily connection, even when the laptop computer is in airplane mode.

You actually can use the Zenbook Duo in its portrait mode, the place the paired shows create two vertical columns for studying a column of e mail and a vertical internet web page. I believe extra individuals will desire unfolding the kickstand, nevertheless, and positioning the 2 panorama shows one over the opposite. This feels extra like my conventional on-the-go setup, with one major and a further secondary display screen for reference.

Mark Hachman / Foundry

In both situation, each screens are bodily separate, which feels a bit insecure in a public area, and mainly makes engaged on a aircraft inconceivable. Otherwise, that is the primary dual-screen laptop computer I’ve reviewed, and I might see the productiveness good points instantly.

Well, kind of. Placing the shows one above the opposite doesn’t pose a lot of an issue, however in portrait mode the “sides” of the display screen on the keyboard deck grow to be the highest and backside. On the left-hand aspect of the Zenbook Duo are an undisclosed HDMI port, a Thunderbolt 4 (USB-C) port, and a headphone jack.

On the suitable is the laptop computer’s energy change, one other Thunderbolt 4 port, in addition to a legacy USB-A port, too. In portrait mode, one aspect is the highest, and the opposite the underside, making a kind of ports inaccessible. It additionally makes it a bit awkward to cost the laptop computer shows, because the wire from the laptop computer to its 100W charger will sprout from the highest of the gadget.

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Asus says that the laptop computer will ship with a pen (the SA205H) with MPP 2.6 help, however that equipment will differ by nation. I don’t suppose my evaluation unit shipped with one inside.

An underappreciated energy of the Duo is its cooling. Though it partially failed my efficiency stress exams — the place it efficiently looped a Cinebench CPU benchmark with out a important drop in efficiency, however did not do the identical in a GPU take a look at — the cooling followers are exceptionally quiet even beneath load. Air seems to be pulled from the underside of the Zenbook and is pushed out the perimeters, however very quietly. It could be noticeable in a quiet workplace, however simply barely. In a traditional setting, it’s completely quiet beneath the Windows “Balanced” energy settings, the default.

Asus Zenbook Duo: A implausible, power-saving show

OLED screens have grow to be vastly extra commonplace over the previous few years, particularly in laptops, as a result of their inky blacks make for a extra visually putting expertise. However, OLEDs with excessive display screen refresh charges are a bit much less widespread. And a pair of screens? Well, that’s practically distinctive.

As a fan of Lenovo’s ThinkBook Plus Rollable and subsequent prototypes, I actually like a pocket book that may increase to ship extra display screen area on the street. The Rollable, although, is a single display screen. The smaller bezels separating the 2 shows nonetheless aren’t as handy as a foldable, however the smaller hole (lower than 10mm) feels cohesive and permits your eyes to “create” a single picture if you’re truly trying a pair of screens.

OLED screens look nice, in fact, and the shows are VESA licensed as True Black 1000, masking 100 p.c of the DCI-P3 coloration gamut. The Asus Lumina Pro LED shows are able to a virtually excellent DCI-P3 coloration gamut and with a variable refresh charge than can go to 144Hz and as little as 48Hz. That’s extraordinarily useful each for clean refresh charges — together with gaming — in addition to saving energy by decreasing the refresh charge, too. Finally, Asus says that the shows can cut back blue gentle by as much as 70 p.c, although I lack the flexibility to check that.

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(To be honest, I examined this laptop computer at a set refresh charge of 60 Hz, which will be manually adjusted to 144Hz whereas working on wall energy. The laptop computer features a setting to dynamically regulate that right down to 48 Hz, which I usually don’t do due to the variability. But the unbelievable battery life that you just’ll see under could possibly be even better with that management enabled.)

Asus says that the 2 shows can put out 1,000 nits apiece in HDR mode; our gentle meter measured them producing 480 nits apiece in SDR mode. That’s excess of needed for outside use. Unlike the 2025 model of the Zenbook Duo, these screens characteristic a brand new anti-reflection coating that may minimize gentle reflection by 65 p.c, however they’re nonetheless too shiny for my style.

From a structural standpoint, the dual-screen development feels fairly robust. It jogs my memory of Lenovo’s early tablets, with a steel kickstand that holds the higher show in place, even when tilted ahead. I’m not as keen on the show setup in portrait mode; there’s no different technique to safe the shows besides through the use of the angle to prop them up. Put one other approach, the shows shall be much less vulnerable to be knocked over in portrait mode when folded shut to at least one one other, which robs them a little bit of their utility.

I additionally don’t just like the Asus five-finger gesture the place you shut all fingers collectively, after which increase or “explode” them outwards. This takes a window on a single display screen and tasks it throughout the whole lot of the show, however it’s robust to get proper and due to this fact works intermittently.

The Zenbook Duo ships with the MyAsus app, the overarching system utility that supply efficiency changes, and the flexibility to configure particular facets of the laptop computer. I’ve all the time thought that the MyAsus app is among the extra helpful, well-organized collections of laptop computer utility features. I ended up mildly hating the ScreenXpert software program, which hovers within the backside right-hand nook of your display screen. I might wade via a collection of menus to show it off, inadvertently set off it once more, then should rediscover the method to banish it as soon as once more.

Asus Zenbook Duo: Audio improves to superior ranges

Asus has made extra enhancements within the audio subsystem, transferring to a complete of six audio system, with two firing to the entrance. It’s a bit odd looking for the place the sound originates from whereas the screens are unfolded, however there’s little doubt that the audio high quality is great, although a bit flat. The Zenbook Duo provided Dolby Atmos as an audio enhancement, delivering sound that was fairly clear even from the bass on as much as the higher finish. The audio system delivered sufficient quantity to comfortably fill my workplace with sound, too.

I believe some conventional clamshells produce a barely richer sound, however you gained’t be dissatisfied with how this laptop computer’s audio system sound in any respect.

Asus Zenbook Duo: On paper, the keyboard is nice. Under my fingers…

My first response when typing on the Asus Zenbook Duo was… I’ve felt this keyboard earlier than. To my fingers, it felt very very like the Microsoft Type Cover keyboards: flat, with out an infinite quantity of help. Asus says the keyboard has 1.7mm of key journey, which feels proper. That’s a tad greater than the 1.5 mm journey of a midrange laptop computer keyboard.

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When docked, the keyboard expenses itself by way of the pogo pins. Undocked, it runs off a devoted battery contained in the keyboard itself. Asus charges the keyboard’s battery at over 11 hours by itself, although I didn’t take a look at this particularly. You may change off the keyboard whereas undocked by way of a small change. There are three layers of backlighting.

Typing on the keyboard itself was reasonably snug, at the least whereas docked. I wasn’t as completely satisfied utilizing it in undocked mode, as the skinny flat keyboard rests flat on no matter floor you relaxation it in. Personally, I prefer it raised or angled a bit. But even when utilized in a clamshell mode, my fingers felt a bit unfamiliar on the spongy keys — I typed the vast majority of the evaluation utilizing this laptop computer, simply to realize some added familiarity. It’s not my favourite keyboard.

Asus contains devoted keys to launch its ScreenXpert software program, which incorporates brightness controls for each screens, in addition to the flexibility to sync that brightness degree. (The software program additionally lets you already know the battery capability, in proportion, of the keyboard.) There are additionally devoted keys to swap content material between screens and even disable one solely.

The trackpad is nothing to jot down dwelling about, however it does the job.

Asus Zenbook Duo: The webcam’s not nice, however it does the job

The Zenbook Duo features a full HD (1080p) webcam with Windows Hello capabilities, which labored acceptably throughout the course of the evaluation interval, although I needed to log in manually often.

The webcam didn’t focus exceptionally properly, although these examples taken in my workplace and upstairs in my front room got here out pretty properly. In common, it’s a softer picture than I’d like. But I’m unsure if one of our best webcams would overbalance the shows of their prolonged mode.

The Zenbook’s mics proceed to be glorious. I’ve used the Asus Zenbooks as an example of superlative noise filtering, assisted by the NPU’s AI powers. Those controls reside inside the MyAsus app, a helpful assortment of utilities to regulate the laptop computer’s efficiency and extra.

Asus Zenbook Duo: Standout efficiency due to Panther Lake

I spent the higher a part of two weeks with the Asus Zenbook Duo, testing it as a representative of the Intel Core Ultra Series 2 “Panther Lake” platform. You’ll discover quite a lot of efficiency exams there that aren’t included right here, explicit battery efficiency exams, together with some extra video games.

At this level, the Asus Zenbook Duo is the one Panther Lake system I’ve to check, although extra evaluations shall be launched quickly. For now, I’ll examine it to the sooner Zenbook Duo, in addition to a few of that laptop computer’s rivals. Again, my Panther Lake overview compares this laptop computer to consultant laptops that use Intel’s Core Ultra Series 1 and Series 2 chips, AMD’s Ryzen AI 300, and the Qualcomm Snapdragon X Elite. (The AMD Ryzen AI 400 and Snapdragon X2 Elite have but to ship.)

Intel additionally claims that the Panther Lake’s efficiency is as quick as a barely older gaming pocket book with an Nvidia GeForce RTX 4050 inside. That’s an enormous declare, and it’s partially true. Again, it’s value trying out the other article for a deeper explanation.

I believe it’s value starting our have a look at the Zenbook Duo’s efficiency, nevertheless, by inspecting a key promoting level, which is its battery life. The laptop computer incorporates the biggest battery allowable for transport on an airplane: 99 watt-hours, which is generally the dimensions you see in a chunky, heavy gaming laptop computer. In this case, the battery accounts for a lot of the additional pound, bringing the laptop computer’s weight to about 3.5 kilos.

I’m not an enormous fan of our historical video rundown exams, solely as a result of chipmakers now deal with video playback as comparatively trivial and a activity that doesn’t take up a lot energy in any respect. (This take a look at loops a 4K video file till the battery runs out of juice.) I’ve a bit extra respect for exams that simulate work equivalent to UL’s Procyon Office benchmark, which slowly hundreds exams in Microsoft Office and Outlook, simulating your workday. There’s a further wrinkle, in fact. Do you wish to know the outcomes for one display screen or two?

I’d wish to suppose that PCWorld readers need all the data they will, so I examined all eventualities. Here’s what I discovered:

• One display screen, video rundown: 22 hours, 15 minutes
• Two screens, video rundown: 13 hours, 29 minutes
• One display screen, Procyon Office rundown: 13 hours, 56 minutes
• Two screens, Procyon Office rundown: 8 hours, 49 minutes
• One display screen, video rundown at most efficiency settings: 13 hours, 32 minutes

In my earlier review of Intel’s Core Ultra 2 chips, my exams of the opposite platforms topped out at 17 hours, 17 minutes for the Core Ultra 2 platform and simply over 16 hours for Qualcomm’s Snapdragon X Elite. I mistakenly examined the Zenbook Duo utilizing Windows’ most battery settings for a video rundown, however it created an additional knowledge level.

As you may think, even two weeks of testing time didn’t enable for 3 runs of battery testing like I’d desire, together with the assorted efficiency exams and rundown iterations. However, Intel offered us with a further single-screen Lenovo laptop computer that produced 25 to 28 hours of battery life as a examine in opposition to the Zenbook Duo. I additionally left the laptop computer working in a set 60Hz refresh charge throughout all of my exams, which might be immediately akin to different laptops. Since the Zenbook Duo will be set to dynamically drop right down to 24 Hz when wanted, much more battery life could be attainable.

For comparability, we’re utilizing the $1,679 HP OmniBook Ultra 14, the $999 Asus VivoBook S 14, the $939 Acer Swift 16 AI, and the $1,999 Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 13 Aura Edition, along with the $1,699 Asus Zenbook Duo with Intel’s Lunar Lake chip inside in addition to the $3,299 ThinkBook Plus Gen 6 Rollable.

I examined the laptop computer utilizing our suite of normal benchmarks. I stored the laptop computer in its conventional clamshell mode throughout the exams. Additional screens imply extra pixels, and that’s not a direct comparability to its single-screen competitors.

I first started with the PCMark benchmark, one in every of my favorites. It measures general efficiency throughout a wide range of purposes, and it chewed up the CAD workouts with ease.

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We use the Cinebench benchmark to measure the CPU efficiency on apps that the PCMark take a look at doesn’t cowl.

Here, we use the multithreaded portion of the take a look at. CPU-specific duties embrace the working system, file decompression, and a few video games. Again, the Asus Zenbook Duo flies via it with no issues. However, AMD’s Ryzen is correct behind! We’re nonetheless awaiting the next-gen Ryzen AI 400 chips, and that’s a constructive signal for AMD.

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We run the Handbrake take a look at as a lot as a measure of the laptop computer’s computational means as a take a look at to see how properly it could execute at full load, throughout a protracted interval. It’s a measure of the laptop computer’s cooling as a lot because the efficiency of the chip.

Again, Intel’s Panther Lake is holding on to a slender lead.

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However, as our Intel Core Ultra Series 3 (Panther Lake) analysis confirmed, 3D graphics is a killer energy of this chip and, by extension, the Asus Zenbook Duo.

If you have got work (or play) that calls for strong graphics, this pocket book could possibly be for you.

Mark Hachman / Foundry

I virtually didn’t compile a chart of the battery-life figures of the rival laptops, as a result of 1) there’s an excessive amount of variability in what the Asus Zenbook Duo presents between the a number of screens and rundown exams and a pair of) as a result of it’s not significantly shut, proper?

Wrong. While I did see 22 to 25 hours of battery life in a Lenovo laptop computer Intel offered us, the Zenbook Duo truly squeaked by a bit nearer than I assumed it will over the competitors. I’ll have an interest to see what notebooks just like the Samsung Galaxy Book 6 finally produce. At CES, Samsung management was talking about 30 hours of battery!

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Asus Zenbook Duo: Conclusion

Nevertheless, when you’re available in the market for an progressive, dual-screen laptop computer, you actually can’t go improper with the Asus Zenbook Duo. It’s merely excellent in virtually all facets of the expertise, though I’d desire utilizing one other keyboard if I had the possibility.

Part of that’s the Panther Lake chip, actually, however Asus engineers have nonetheless crafted a Zenbook Duo that’s higher than the final. This is an excellent productiveness machine, one which street warriors, enterprise vacationers, and shoppers alike ought to take into account for his or her subsequent laptop computer.