Asus Zenbook Duo 14 UX482

Two-screen laptop offers another view

As its name implies, the Asus Zenbook ook k Duo UX482 is a laptop with two screens. een ns. The main 14in screen is in the usual place, taking up most of the underside de e of the lid, while the second 12.6in, letterbox-shaped, ‘Screenpad’ is sandwiched between the main screen en and the keyboard. Together they provide about the same amount of screen space as you’d expect from a 17in laptop, though it folds up into a chassis the size of a regular

14in model.

The presence of that second screen pushes up the price, and as a result it’s more expensive than standard laptops with otherwise similar specifications. The model we tested has an Intel Core i5-1135g7 processor and costs £1,500 – that’s the cheapest in the range. It’s also available with a Core i7-1164g7.

The second screen is an interesting idea, but makes the laptop awkward to use

When the lid is closed there’s little to distinguish this from a regular laptop. Open it up, however, and the differences become clear. The second smaller screen tilts up at a slight angle (pictured below), making it easier to view than previous dual-screen laptops we’ve seen.

The second screen stretches across the full width of the laptop. You can use it to extend yyour main workingg area, , placing extra apps, File Explorer windows or tool panels on it, as if it were a second monitor. It can double-up as a giant touchpad and lets you enter text in your own handwriting, either using your finger or an optional stylus (not included).

It leaves less room for the keyboard, which has been pushed over to the left, so the trackpad can be accommodated on the right-hand side instead of below. The keys are smaller than you might expect on a 14in laptop and it feels cramped to work on. Its unusual location also makes it hard to learn where the keys are.

The range of connections is pretty decent, with one standard USB port, a pair of USB-C ports and a full-sized HDMI output, alongside a 3.5mm headset jack and a microsd card reader. Performance is standard and compares well with other laptops we’ve seen with similar specifications (though we’d expect more for the price). The main screen is bright and recreates colours well, showing 98.5 per cent of colours in the SRGB standard in our tests. The smaller screen is disappointing, though, only managing 57.9 per cent.

Overall, the extra screen makes this laptop too expensive, unless it’s something that you particularly crave. It isn’t as high-quality as the main screen and it creates too many compromises in the keyboard and trackpad.