Asus ZenBook Duo 14 (2021) Review: A premium laptop with two screens that compromises little

If you are worried about the heft that comes with having two screens, I’d urge you not to worry. The ZenBook Duo 14 looks and feels pretty much like a run-of-the-mill premium ultrabook.

Ports

In terms of I/O, you get two USB Type-C ports on the left along with a full-size HDMI port. On the right, there’s a USB Type-A port, a microSD card slot, and a headphone jack. I think the ZenBook Duo would have benefited from a second USB Type-A port, but this is the standard array of ports on a 14-inch notebook, although the microSD card slot will be a boon to content creators.

Keyboard and Touchpad

As with all of Asus’ Duo laptops, the second screen sits right below the main screen, so the backlit keyboard is shifted to the bottom. The keys offer a great 1.4mm travel distance, are well spaced out, and the base of it is quite sturdy, ensuring zero flex. The keyboard is very comfortable to type on, although its position makes it uncomfortable to use on a lap. I wouldn’t recommend using the keyboard without the wrist-rest when placed on a surface.

Despite the limited space on the laptop, Asus has still managed to cramp a trackpad into the chassis. The trackpad is located to the right of the keyboard and has two physical left and right-click buttons. And while it does work well, it is rather inconvenient and at times difficult to use because of its size and position, which is where a second USB port would have come in handy, but an adapter works just as well.

DisplayS

The Duo 14 features a 14-inch Full HD IPS panel and a secondary 12.6-inch touchscreen with a 1,920x515-pixel resolution. The main display features 400 nits of brightness and 100 percent sRGB coverage. The screen is also Pantone calibrated, which means it is a perfect fit for content creation as well. The primary display also features stylus support. In terms of output, the display features vibrant colours and gets quite bright, while the viewing angles are pretty good, and bezels are minimal.

The second screen is just as bright as the main panel and is elevated up to a 7-degree angle. The gap between the main and secondary display creates a nice gap to improve airflow. The great part about this secondary panel is that it isn’t simply a novelty feature and offers tons of utility, especially for running apps like Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere, and other such apps. I used the main display to run MS Word and Google Chrome, while I had an email, Slack, and YouTube tab in the second display. You can have up to three tabs opened on the second screen, but I felt two seemed like the right number of tabs so that their content is properly visible.

What adds to the second screen’s utility is Asus' ScreenXpert 2.0 software with improving UI and shortcuts. There’s a new customizable control panel for Adobe software and the improved action menu enables seamless app migration between the two displays. There’s a quick access menu on the left that can be used for everything from launching your favorite apps to configuring the second display.

You remember the part about the touchpad not being so good. ScreenPad now allows you to go into Touchpad mode and use the new second screen as a touchpad. While ScreenPad Plus does offer excellent utility for most tasks but it still leaves a stain on the neck if you use it for long enough, despite the included accessory that further elevates it.

Performance

For performance, the ZenBook Duo 14 can be configured with an Intel Core i5-1135G7 or i7-1165G7 processor. The processor is paired with integrated Intel’s Iris Xe Graphics or dedicated Nvidia GeForce MX450 graphics. The laptop also comes with up to 16GB of LPDDR4X and up to a 1TB M.2 NVME PCIe SSD. Certain Duo 14 models also have Intel’s Evo branding for excellent standards of productivity.

In Geekbench, the Duo 14 hit a single-core score of 1568 points and a multi-core score of 5381 points. In Cinebench R23, the laptop managed 1562 and 5370 points in the single-core and multi-core tests, respectively. Additionally, data transfer speeds were among the fastest we’ve experienced in the segment. It is worth noting that our model came with dedicated graphics.

Intel’s Iris Xe Graphics are surprisingly good on the 11^th Gen Core i7, but our model had some extra power courtesy of the dedicated Nvidia graphics. We managed to get more-than-decent frame rates in Overwatch, Apex Legends, DOTA 2, and Counter-Strike: Global Offensive, although graphics were set to low. The laptop easily handled multi-tasking as I ran MS Word and Google Chrome on the main screen and Raid: Shadow Legends (Mobile Game) on the second display without any stress.

The ErgoLift hinge design and a decent gap between the second screen and main display offer better heat dissipation. The Duo 14 is by no means a gaming laptop, so we didn’t push it to the limits while gaming. I only used the machine for a bit of casual gaming. In terms of overall performance, the ZenBook Duo 14 is not far off the top in the segment.

Audio 

The ZenBook Duo 14 (2021) also features dual downward-firing speakers backed by Harman Kardon. These speakers pump out some impressive audio quality, delivering some of the best sound I’ve heard on a 14-inch laptop. There were definitely times I had no problem using the laptop speakers for listening to music or podcasts, which is something rarely seen on a thin-and-light laptop. The hinge design also plays a role in amplifying audio output on the laptop.

Battery

Considering the laptop’s performance and the second screen, the 70Whr battery really manages to deliver. The notebook lasted almost the full eight hours of my workday with the second screen turned on and brightness on both turned down to 40 percent. Turning the second screen off will add a couple of more hours to the current battery life. The ZenBook Duo 14 also offers fast charge functionality that can take the notebook from 0 to 60 percent in around 50 minutes.

Verdict 

At a starting price of Rs 99,990, the 2021 version of the ZenBook Duo 14 doesn’t come cheap, while you push specs to the max, like our model does, you’ll see yourself shelling out Rs 1,34,990. However, the ZenBook Duo 14 is not far off from most premium laptops, both in terms of pricing and performance. But the ZenBook Duo 14 (2021) is more than just a premium notebook, it is a premium notebook with two screens. And as far as dual-screen form factors in laptops go, it doesn’t get any better than this. What’s more is that the new Duo 14 manages to excel in every area including performance, panel quality, battery life, and build.

Add to that a second screen and the premium price doesn’t seem all that premium anymore. However, there’s no doubt that the ZenBook Duo 14 (2021) isn’t without faults. Continually looking down at the second screen is a hassle, the keyboard position makes it uncomfortable to use on a lap, and the trackpad is inconvenient to use. But I rather have these minor inconveniences that are easily remedied, than not having a second screen. The ZenBook Duo 14 (2021) picks up where its predecessor left off, making its dual-screen form factor more accessible to consumers, offering an innovative and utile new take on the premium laptop.