The ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo doesn't look like anything on the outside. At first glance, the notebook looks like a classic companion for the business world. Visually unobtrusive, kept in a very dark blue, the metal housing appears robust all around and is excellently processed. Even thick rubber feet for a safe stand were thought of.
Not overweight despite the second screen
The real special feature becomes apparent when you open it: the surface of the substructure is shared by the keyboard, touchpad – and a second display. And that doesn't really matter: At 1.75 kg, the notebook with a 14.5-inch display is anything but lightweight, but it doesn't feel like a sack of cement in your hand either.
The second screen hardly affects the external dimensions either, because at 33.1 x 22.1 cm the area of the ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo is not even large. Everything is sewn close to the edge. With a height of just under 1.7 cm, the ASUS notebook is not a flat flounder, but ultimately the surcharge for the additional component remains small.
Second screen as additional work surface
Crisp, but not oversaturated colors and high contrasts – the 14.5-inch display of the Zenbook knows how to please at first glance. A rich black value indicates that this is an OLED. In addition, there is a high frame rate of 120 Hz. A Pantone certification ensures a true-color display. In addition, the panel has a decent resolution with an aspect ratio of 16:10. With 2,880 x 1,800 pixels, even the fine details appear razor-sharp.
A display as a work surface
The ASUS notebook is intended to appeal to content creators and will also feature an additional IPS display with a diagonal of 12.7 inches and a resolution of 2,880 x 864 pixels. The keys and the touchpad are underneath.
Good workmanship up to the folding mechanism of the second display
Little space for keys and touchpad
However, the compact design also has its shortcomings. If you often write longer texts, you will hardly get used to the missing palm rest. Even if the keyboard is successful despite the rather small keys with an edge dimension of 1.5 cm. The keys have quite a bit of drop and a pleasant but not too soft stroke. Only the function keys on the side can sometimes be mistyped, which is particularly annoying with large and small letters.
Equally unusual is the shape and positioning of the touchpad, which has an area of 8.8 x 5.3 cm and is placed upright on the left side and has two classic buttons. At least for right-handers, it's easy to use, and not just because of the position. Speed and precision are excellent.
Fast arithmetic unit in the ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo
In order to oppose the creative power as little as possible, ASUS uses Intel's i7-12700H. The processor of the more powerful H series is made up of six performance and eight efficient cores: you can process a total of 20 threads in parallel, with a maximum of 4.7 GHz (P cores) or 3.5 GHz (E cores). go to work. The base clock is 2.3 GHz. This means that even demanding tasks do not become insurmountable challenges: If only one CPU core is used, the performance is on the level of the i7-1260P located below it; it is a good ten percent higher when all cores are used. Merely the main memory is rather tight with 16 GB in DDR5 format for production with multimedia content.
ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo
Display: 14.5 inch, OLED, 2,880 x 1,800 pixels)
Processor:Intel Core i7-12700H
Graphics: Intel Iris Xe
Memory: 16GB, LPDDR5
Data storage512 GB, SSD
Connections: 2x USB Type-C 3.2 Gen2, 1x USB Type-A 3.2, HDMI 2.1, Micro SD card
Wireless: WiFi 6E, Bluetooth 5.2
Battery: 76Wh
Scope of delivery: power supply
Dimensions: 35.8 x 23 x 1.7 cm
Weight: 1.75kg
Operating system: Windows 11 Home
Price: €1,899
As far as the graphics card is concerned, ASUS relies on the Iris Xe implemented in the Intel chip, which already cut a fine figure in conjunction with the previous eleventh core generation. The graphics performance seems to benefit from the potential of the processor as a whole. The performance achieved by the GFX benchmark is slightly above that of the Core i7-1260P, which last showed its prowess in the Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360.
In order to slow down the performance development of the components as little as possible, Asus doesn't just rely on large air vents on the sides. Under the second display, which is turned on automatically when the notebook is opened, are two thick fans – which make themselves felt acoustically under load.
The SSD of the ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo should have been bigger
The Zenbook Pro Duo should be particularly appealing when complex content is to be created, primarily in the area of (moving) images and sound. And that takes up storage space. However, ASUS is stingy at this point: The built-in NVMe SSD from Samsung comes with only 512 GB, a terabyte would have been much better for the notebook. After all, the storage drive already supports PCIe x4, so that high transfer rates of around 6,800 MB/s for reading and 3,300 MB/s for writing are possible.
Typical Zenbook: Concentric circles in the metal
Limited number of slots
When it comes to the connections, ASUS has to pay tribute to the powerful processor in the tight-fitting case and give the cooling a lot of space. On the left side, too, the air displaces the space for ports in the ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo. Although there is an HDMI 2.1 port and a slot for micro SD cards on the back, three USB ports have to suffice. Only one of these is available in the classic Type A format. A whole series of peripheral devices are often used, especially when generating content. So you can hardly miss an additional hub. Intel's AX211 module provides WLAN 6E and Bluetooth 5.2.
Second screen increases power consumption
Two displays and a powerful processor are also noticeable in terms of power consumption. Accordingly, a quarter of the reserve carried along is already consumed in one hour in the browser. And that despite the fact that the battery is not the smallest at 76 Wh. In demanding applications, such as the usual test game Asphalt 9: Legends, the battery level is specified as 54% after one hour. Much more than four hours are hardly possible with demanding tasks.
Conclusion on the ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo
The ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo appeals to a special user group. Because in most application scenarios, the benefits of this second screen are limited. However, if you know how to use it, you will certainly be able to get over the associated disadvantages. Prolific writers will be bothered by the keyboard squeezed into the lower half.
Design / Processing109
Display1513
Processor2016
Storage105
Battery and consumption105
Keyboard54
Connections105
Price / performance 2015
Total 10072
In addition, the overall package of the ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo is convincing. The workmanship is of high quality, the performance of the hardware is at a level that is up to the intended use. The memory configuration could be a bit more lavish. But this is also due to the price, which at 1,900 euros is reasonable for such a specialist.
Per
Second screen as an additional work surfaceHigh-quality main screen with Pantone validationHigh processing quality
Cons
Moderate battery lifeWriting pleasure limited due to the second display
