Expert’s Rating
Pros
- Robust, sturdy hardware
- Fast performance
- Cool dual-screen form factor
- Includes stylus and removable Bluetooth keyboard
Cons
- High price
- Half a pound too heavy
- Middling battery life
- Some confusing software quirks
Our Verdict
The second-generation Asus Zenbook Duo offers unparalleled multitasking prowess with its dual-screen configuration, but it’s hefty and expensive.
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Laptops are infinitely more portable than a desktop system, but you have to sacrifice a lot of computational might for a computer that slips in your bag. The Asus Zenbook Duo gives you some of that power back with a second built-in display under the keyboard. And behind that second screen is some of the best hardware you’ll find in a 2025 laptop.
With double the screen real estate of most laptops, this machine can help you get more done on the go, and the design is surprisingly well-thought-out. However, it’s still a heavy, expensive laptop that you should only consider if you demand the most from your PC experience, even on the road.
Asus Zenbook Duo: Specs and features
This is the second-generation version of the Asus dual-screen Zenbook. The original Zenbook Duo shipped with Intel Meteor Lake processors, but the machine has now been updated with the latest Lunar Lake chips.
The model I’ve been testing has two identical 2880×1800 OLEDs, but there is another model with 1200p OLED panels and twice the storage that will be available at Costco for the same $1,699.99. There is one cheaper model coming at a later date, featuring the 1200p OLED and a Core Ultra 7 265H instead of the Core Ultra 9 in the other SKUs. However, it’s only $100 cheaper. For my money, the model featured in this review (UX8406CA-PS99T) is the one to get.
- Model number: UX8406
- CPU: Intel Core Ultra 9 285H
- Memory: 32GB LPDDR5X
- Graphics: Intel Arc 140T
- Display: 14-inch 2880 x 1800 OLED
- Storage: 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD
- Webcam: 1080p IR Webcam
- Connectivity: 2x USB-C (Thunderbolt 4, 40Gbps), 1x USB-A (5Gbps), 3.5mm audio jack, HDMI 2.1
- Networking: Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 5.4
- Battery capacity: 75Whr, 65W charging
- Dimensions: 12.34 (W) x 8.58 (D) x 0.57-0.78 (H) inches
- Weight: 3.64 lbs (1.65 kg)
- MSRP as tested: $1,699.99
The 2025 Asus Zenbook Duo is an undeniably cool laptop. It’s a fast machine with two gorgeous OLED displays. Along with the clever removable keyboard, this machine offers unparalleled multitasking capabilities on the go.
Asus Zenbook Duo: Design and build quality
IDG / Ryan Whitwam
Looking at the Zenbook Duo, you might not immediately realize it’s far from your average laptop. The aluminum-magnesium chassis is a bit chunky but not enough that it stands out. The body is robust enough that there’s very little discernible flex. Even the fan grilles on the bottom feel sturdy.
The Zenbook has a bright 14-inch OLED touchscreen and what appears to be a standard laptop keyboard. However, the keyboard is held in place by magnets, making it quick to remove. Under that is a second OLED touchscreen with plenty of options for expanding your mobile computing experience.
The keyboard feels solid when attached—not at all like something you can yank free with one finger. It connects to a cluster of pogo pins on the machine when attached, but it has Bluetooth to stay connected when removed. There’s also a USB-C port on the keyboard for charging (no data), as well as an on/off switch.
The machine’s actual ports are on the left and right edges on the lower screen portion. There’s a full-sized HDMI and USB-C on one side, and opposite that is another USB-C, and USB-A, and the 3.5mm jack. I appreciate that the USB-C ports are split up, allowing you to attach a charger to either side.
With the keyboard removed, you have several options to use the Zenbook’s dual screens. There’s a custom on-screen keyboard that can consume half or all of the lower screen, giving you a virtual trackpad to control the mouse. Alternatively, you can use handwriting input with the included Asus stylus. However, I didn’t find the handwriting input to be very accurate.
Typing on the screen isn’t ideal, either, but it’s fine for tapping out a short email or social media post. If you intend to get more writing done, you should make use of the Bluetooth-enabled keyboard.
There’s a 1080p webcam above the main OLED screen. It has acceptable video quality and is good at keeping you in the frame. Since this is a Copilot+ machine, it also has AI-assisted video effects. The webcam also supports IR for Windows Hello biometric login. That’s good as there’s no fingerprint sensor on this computer.
Around back, the second-gen Zenbook Duo has an aluminum kickstand that can prop it up vertically, making the two screens easier to see. This “stacked” mode, combined with the wireless keyboard, was the most compelling way to use both of the Zenbook Duo’s screens in my testing.
You can also turn the machine sideways to use the panels vertically. Regardless of orientation, the dual-screen setup is great for multitasking, which is usually difficult on laptops that lack screen real estate.
Admittedly, the Asus Zenbook Duo isn’t the most practical machine. It’s noticeably heavier than other 14-inch laptops, and using both screens will drain your battery quickly. However, no other laptop can match its multitasking and productivity chops.
Asus Zenbook Duo: Displays and speakers
IDG / Ryan Whitwam
Both of the 2880×1800 OLED panels on this machine look superb. The resolution offers a crystal clear image, along with the perfect blacks and vibrant colors of OLED. The brightness is excellent, clocking in at 500 nits for both panels. That’s bright enough to display HDR content (which is supported) the way it’s meant to be seen. The touch response on both screens is precise, as well.
The only issue with the screens is the extremely reflective glass cover. You’ll need every bit of that high brightness to make the Zenbook Duo readable outdoors or under very bright lights. Asus brands its OLEDs as “Lumina,” which guarantees a set of capabilities and features; the screens are certified for Dolby Vision, Pantone Color, and more.
Lumina screens also get Asus’ OLED Care features, which refresh and shift pixels over time to reduce image persistence and burn-in, which is a concern for any OLED that will display the same UI elements (like the Windows taskbar) day after day. I haven’t used the laptop long enough to know if these features make a difference, but it’s nice that Asus is cognizant of this potential issue.
The Zenbook Duo does not double up on speakers like it does screens. You get two speakers on the bottom with Dolby Atmos support. If you’re hoping for home cinema-level Atmos audio, think again—there’s only so much you can do with down-facing laptop speakers. That said, the speakers get very loud, and audio is crisp even if it’s turned almost all the way up. The speakers are above average for a non-gaming machine.
Asus Zenbook Duo: Keyboard and trackpad
IDG / Ryan Whitwam
The Zenbook Duo’s keyboard feels surprisingly similar to other Asus laptops despite being a removable Bluetooth-enabled slate. There’s a small USB-C port on the left edge to recharge the board, but it also receives power from the laptop when connected. Next to the port is an on/off switch for the Bluetooth functionality.
There’s very little key travel, which is expected given the thin form factor, but the bottom of each press is at least quite solid and not mushy. Unfortunately, there’s no backlight in the removable keyboard. The layout is at least pretty standard, so touch typists won’t need the LEDs. The only aspect of the layout I don’t like is the arrow cluster, which uses half-sized keys even though there’s plenty of wasted space.
The trackpad is integrated with the keyboard. Like the keys, the trackpad feels surprisingly sturdy for something not permanently attached to the laptop. It’s reasonably large—bigger than the trackpad on business-oriented machines like the ThinkPad X1 Carbon. The click mechanism is quiet and consistent, and touch response has been perfect. The only issue I noticed was a bit of lag for a few seconds after switching from attached to wireless modes.
Asus Zenbook Duo: Software and performance
The Asus Zenbook Duo runs the same underlying Windows 11 software as every other 2025 Windows laptop. However, Asus has included a suite of tools to help you take advantage of its distinctive form factor. For example, you can instantly move windows between the screens, open and close the custom on-screen keyboard with a floating icon, and launch customizable control interfaces specific to your apps.
Most of these features are accessible from the Asus ScreenXpert software. Unfortunately, these features aren’t very discoverable. There’s no tutorial when you start up the computer for the first time, and the included manual had nothing to say about the software. It’s not the smoothest software experience, but with some tinkering, you’ll be able to make the most of the dual screens.
There’s also an Asus app that includes system settings and updates. This app does fire off some notifications hoping to upsell you on the premium version of the Asus GlideX cross-device software, which is also pre-installed. After silencing these pop-ups, you can ignore the Asus app until you need it.
With 32GB of RAM and the top-of-the-line Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, the Zenbook Duo is a very fast laptop. I never felt like I was waiting on the machine to catch up, even when running multiple apps across both screens. While this is a Copilot+ machine, Asus didn’t go out of its way to add generative AI tools. Those have been more miss than hit on other AI PCs, so that’s no great loss.
To give you a better idea of how the laptop performs, here are our standard benchmark tests.
IDG / Ryan Whitwam
PCMark 10 is designed to test a machine across a variety of metrics like web browsing, video chat, and photo editing to produce scores for various tasks as well as an overall score. The Asus Zenbook Duo managed a very impressive overall score of 7,261, topping the charts for Intel-powered laptops. The latest high-end chips from AMD are a few hundred points ahead, but the Core Ultra 9 is no slouch.
IDG / Ryan Whitwam
Cinebench is a CPU-focused test that shows how a PC handles heavy but brief multi-core workloads. More CPU cores grant higher scores in Cinebench and cooling doesn’t matter very much. Intel’s Lunar Lake chips struggle a bit more in Cinebench because they lack hyperthreading. As a result, the AMD-powered HP Omnibook Ultra 14 takes the lead. The Core Ultra 9 285H does show a substantial improvement over other Intel CPUs, though.
IDG / Ryan Whitwam
The Handbrake test is similar to Cinebench in that it shows how a computer handles multithreaded tasks, but this is a longer-duration test where thermals matter more. It’s the same story here, with the Ryzen 9 and its gaggle of processing threads way out in front. The Zenbook Duo is king among Intel laptops, though.
IDG / Ryan Whitwam
Our main gaming test is 3DMark Time Spy, a graphical benchmark that focuses on GPU performance. This isn’t a gaming laptop, but Intel’s latest iGPUs are quite good, and the Core Ultra 9 285H has the best version of Intel’s Arc graphics. The Arc 140T iGPU beats out all the other Lunar Lake variants, as well as the latest from AMD. Intel’s latest chips are good enough to play simpler modern games or premium titles that are a few years old.
Asus Zenbook Duo: Battery life
The 2025 Asus Zenbook Duo has a healthy 75Whr battery, slightly larger than most 14-inch laptops. However, its power demands are significant with dual OLEDs and a Core Ultra 9. The machine comes with a bulky 65W USB-C charger, but I’ve tested it with a variety of more compact third-party USB-C chargers that hit the same 65W peak charging speed.
IDG / Ryan Whitwam
In the standard PCWorld battery rundown test, the Zenbook Duo trails other recently released laptops by an hour or more. It’s still a usable laptop for a full workday, but you won’t have as much buffer as some of the competition.
That’s just in single-screen “laptop” mode. If you have both screens running, the battery life takes a predictable dive of a little more than one-third. It might be hard to get a full workday out of the Zenbook Duo in dual-screen mode, especially as the battery ages. This benchmark was run in the default 60Hz mode, so switching to 120Hz will also reduce its longevity.
Asus Zenbook Duo: Conclusion
The 2025 Asus Zenbook Duo is an undeniably cool laptop. It’s a fast machine with two gorgeous OLED displays. Along with the clever removable keyboard, this machine offers unparalleled multitasking capabilities on the go. And the Core Ultra 9 is more than fast enough to keep up. However, the battery life is just okay.
Windows 11 is still not a very compelling touch OS, but Asus has included several features that improve matters somewhat. The on-screen keyboard is better than the default Windows version, and the customizable control panels are useful. I also appreciate that the Zenbook Duo comes with a stylus, even if handwriting input is hit and miss.
For people who want all this dual-screen power, they won’t be disappointed. However, the Zenbook Duo is a bit heavier and thicker than competing laptops. The price, while reasonable for a machine with two 1800p OLEDs, is still objectively a lot of money for a laptop. There are machines that are just as good at being a laptop while also offering a thinner, lighter frame and a lower price. So, you should only pick up the Zenbook Duo if you intend to unleash the dual-screen power.
