WINNER ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo

INNOVATION AWARD Massive advances in cellular and wireless connectivity means mobile computing is now more important than ever. Certainly, apart from phones, notebooks have seen the biggest changes and improvements in terms of form factor and design. Hybrid form factor notebooks such as convertible and detachable notebooks are more popular than ever and have helped people become more productive. And now, it seems like we are on the cusp of a new era of notebooks thanks to the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo UX581, which features not one but two displays.

To be fair, dual display notebooks are not entirely new but the ZenBook Pro Duo UX581 deserves accolades for being the most refined and thoughtful dual display notebook that we have seen yet. Most importantly, it overcomes the issue of a second display just for the sake of it. On the ZenBook Pro Duo UX581, the second display, called the ScreenPad Plus, is 14 inches large and shares the same horizontal pixel count as the main display so that content flows seamless from one display to the next. ASUS has even gone to the trouble of ensuring it has a matte display and that it’s placed as close to the main display as possible and at a fixed angle so that users’ eyes can glance at the two displays easily. In short, the two displays isn’t just a gimmick, it really works and, in the right hands, can be really helpful.