Asus ZenBook Duo (UX482) evaluation
Very similar to the Sith and a sure exhaust port vulnerability on the Dying Star, I’ve largely ignored dual-screen laptops. To me, they appeared to be an excessive amount of of a gimmick to be helpful, however corporations have soldiered on into the class, touting their multi-screen units as the way forward for computing.
Asus’ mission to make dual-display setups accessible to the lots began with the ZenBook Duo (UX481), which we heralded as an revolutionary laptop computer at an inexpensive value. It arrived with a justifiable share of ergonomic issues, although: the keyboard place was uncomfortable; the mounted place of the second show restricted usability; and the trackpad was too slim.
However now, we’re in sequel territory. Does this new model deal with the primary era issues whereas upgrading all the things else to present us one thing I can put my stamp of approval on? Sure and no — the actual reply is considerably murky.
Asus ZenBook Duo (UX482): Worth and compatibility
Asus made the ZenBook Duo 14 extra accessible this yr with extra configurations however availability is odd.
The bottom mannequin is US-only and options an Intel Core i5-1135G7 CPU, 8GB RAM and a 256GB SSD for $999.99. For $500 extra, you possibly can snap up one with an Intel Core i7-1165G7 CPU, double the RAM, a devoted Nvidia GeForce MX450 GPU and twice the storage.
However within the UK solely, you possibly can spec this all the way in which as much as the absolutely loaded mannequin we examined with eleventh Gen Intel Core i7 CPU, 32GB RAM and a 1TB SSD, which is able to set you again £1,699.99.
Asus ZenBook Duo (UX482): Design
Not a lot has modified because the 2020 mannequin, however that’s not a nasty factor in relation to the ZenBook Duo. To place it merely, this laptop computer is a sight to behold. The concentric round metallic look is unmistakably premium, the Celestial Blue shade is beautiful, and the styling is refreshingly restrained.
It’s putting sufficient to seize the eye of any artistic professional whereas additionally sustaining sturdy sturdiness as confirmed by its military-standard certification towards drops and excessive situations.
Final yr’s ZenBook Duo UX481 was chunky and heavy as you’ll count on from one thing with two screens. However Asus made some incremental enhancements with the thickness and weight.
Dimensions measure 12.8 x 8.7 x 0.7 inches and the UX482 sheds half a pound over final yr at 3.5 kilos. That is nonetheless a little bit heavier and thicker than the competitors, just like the Samsung Galaxy E book Flex 15 (14 x 9 x 0.6 inches, 3.5 kilos) and Lenovo’s Yoga C940 (12.6 x 8.5 x 0.6 inches, 3 kilos), however the small modifications make an affect on portability.
For added comfort, the ZenBook Duo UX482 comes with a sleeve case and a snug stylus for contact interactions.
Asus ZenBook Duo (UX482): Ports
The first rate collection of ports from the UX481 made the transition to the UX482 with a few new additions.
On the suitable aspect, you’ll discover a microSD card slot, 3.5mm headphone/mic jack, and a USB 3.1 Kind-A port.
The principle modifications will be discovered on the left aspect, the place you’ll discover an HDMI port and two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports to permit for quick switch speeds and connecting to a number of 4K screens.
Asus ZenBook Duo (UX482): Show
Particulars are crisp and colours are brilliant on this 14-inch, 1080p show, which has been Pantone-validated for coloration accuracy. Even higher, TÜV Rheinland licensed the panel for its low blue mild and flicker-free know-how.
This makes for a show nice to have a look at with very minimal eye pressure over lengthy intervals of time. Artistic work utilizing Photoshop stays color-accurate to an expert grade and also you get responsive contact management together with extremely slim bezels for a 93% screen-to-body ratio.
After measuring the colour protection utilizing a colorimeter, we noticed some good upgrades to the sRGB coloration gamut protection which hit 114.7%, in comparison with 107% on the UX481. It nonetheless doesn’t fairly meet the premium laptop computer common of 123%, and many of the competitors beats this with the Samsung Galaxy E book Flex 15 hitting 158.2%; the Lenovo Yoga 9 is left trailing at 107.3%. Nevertheless, your eyes will respect the vivid colours nonetheless..
As for leisure, colours popped off the display screen once I watched a number of episodes of Breaking Dangerous; there was no blur in any of the shifting photographs and the matte end eradicated reflections. Placing distinction to the check with the trailer for A Quiet Place Half II, you possibly can see the IPS panel begin to wrestle with among the darkest elements of the surroundings, however the distinction is usually satisfactory.
The one actual gripe is the brightness, which stays dim regardless of enhancements. The UX482 outshone its predecessor at a mean 307 nits. However that is nonetheless underwhelming in comparison with the class common (368 nits) and makes the UX482 tough to view outside.
Asus ZenBook Duo (UX482): ScreenPad Plus
After all, that’s only one display screen. We’ve one other show to speak about within the 12.65-inch ScreenPad Plus with a 1920 x 515 decision. High quality-wise, this contact panel stays the identical by way of being brighter (392.3 nits) however not as colourful (64.6% sRGB coloration gamut) as the principle panel, however the upgrades include its usability.
This contains the App launcher menu, a window navigator view that provides you visibility to maneuver packages between shows, fast entry to laptop computer settings and the most-used apps (like Spotify), and the flexibility to open helpful management panels on prosumer apps like Premiere Professional.
And that’s the great thing about ScreenPad Plus — the software program assist is there and it is as much as you to determine the right way to make it work finest for you. My workload benefitted from having Slack, Spotify and any press releases I’m working from within the backside display screen, together with the remaining Chrome tabs and any artistic apps on high. The division helped me give attention to key duties, whereas placing vital extras that could be distracting on a special show altogether.
One huge enchancment is the mechanism that tilts the ScreenPad Plus as much as an angle of seven levels, which tremendously reduces the necessity to hunch over the second display screen.
Asus ZenBook Duo (UX482): Duo keyboard and touchpad
Similar to final yr, the keyboard itself is nice, however the placement of it’s lackluster. Plus, the criticism of the touchpad stands, too — at 2.1 x 2.6 inches, it’s too small and too slim for energy customers.
Echoing the UX481, the actual property on the underside deck of the laptop computer is restricted due to the second display screen, so the keyboard was pushed to the entrance with a small touchpad subsequent to it filling the underside proper aspect of the deck. With out anyplace to relaxation my wrists whereas typing, I began to really feel fatigue after about an hour of typing, which is additional annoyed by a pointy lip surrounding the periphery.
On condition that there’s no enchancment on this space over final yr’s mannequin, it is truthful to say it is a design compromise out of necessity for becoming within the second show. Is the additional display screen price a drop within the keyboard and touchpad usability? If the reply is “sure,” you’ll simply must study to get used to it.
Asus ZenBook Duo (UX482): Audio
The Harmon Kardon audio system within the ZenBook Duo present spectacular readability and an honest little bit of bass so as to add to this laptop computer’s leisure credentials.
They even dealt with the depth of Set Your Objectives’ album “This would be the dying of us,” which is an all-out assault of hovering vocals, thunderous percussion and chugging guitars. In contrast to the UX481, the audio system get good and loud with no actual distortion to be heard, so these can comfortably fill any small/medium room with a nice wall of noise.
Asus ZenBook Duo (UX482): Efficiency
Below the hood, Asus dialed up the facility on this top-of-the-line mannequin with an eleventh Gen Intel Core i7-1165G7 CPU, 32GB of LPDDR4X RAM and a 1TB M.2 NVMe PCIe SSD.
I threw all the things I may at this machine together with a number of 1080p YouTube movies performed side-by-side on each shows together with a Twitch stream. Even underneath such strain, contact responsiveness didn’t lag and the system stored working easily. Not solely that, however high-capacity information are saved and loaded with a decent pace on the M.2 SSD. Relaxation assured, this beast will sustain together with your intense workload.
You should purchase totally different configurations with as little as 8GB RAM and a 512GB SSD. This base setup is the one we benchmarked and it hit a Geekbench 5.3 rating of 1,528 single core and 5,330 multi-core. These numbers simply edge out the Lenovo Yoga 9 (5,312 multi-core) and handily beat the premium laptop computer common (4,467).
Persevering with this efficiency development, the ZenBook Duo UX482 transformed 4K footage to a 1080p decision utilizing the Handbrake app in 14 minutes and 55 second, which is greater than 4 minutes quicker than final yr’s mannequin (19:03) and practically two minutes faster than the common of 16:37.
The SSD can be speedy, with a 25GB file switch taking simply 30 seconds to finish — equating to a pace of 921 MBps. That beats out the common of 825 MBps and demolishes the Lenovo Yoga 9 (692 MBps), however is pipped to the put up by the Samsung Galaxy E book Flex 15 (1,011 MBps) and is definitely barely slower than the earlier ZenBook Duo (958.4 MBps).
Asus ZenBook Duo (UX482): Graphics
The configuration I reviewed presents built-in Iris Xe graphics, which might sustain with even probably the most visually intensive elements of my workload like photograph and video enhancing. You’re not going to play any critical video games right here, however the graphics chip can greater than maintain its personal for informal play.
The ZenBook Duo hit a steady 30 frames per second on Sid Meier’s Civilization VI: Gathering Storm at 1080p. On the 3DMark Fireplace Strike check, the Duo UX482 proved its graphics energy by doubling the rating of the UX481 with a whopping 4,985. The costlier Lenovo Yoga 9 pips it to the put up with 5,014, however that is a formidable rating for a laptop computer counting on built-in graphics.
When you want additional horsepower, you possibly can improve to a devoted Nvidia GeForce MX450 GPU. That being stated, the built-in graphics are greater than adequate for most individuals.
Asus ZenBook Duo (UX482): Battery life
Of all of the classes, I got here into this evaluation most nervous in regards to the battery lifetime of this dual-screen laptop computer. Don’t get me unsuitable, I’ve seen how good final yr’s mannequin did on our endurance check, however I couldn’t assist however be apprehensive.
Fortunately, I used to be unsuitable. Whereas we haven’t put the top-of-the-range mannequin by means of our battery check but, I made it by means of a complete working day on one cost with none issues.
My day includes a number of Chrome tabs, Spotify and Slack working consistently, and the occasional use of Photoshop. Beginning at 9am, I obtained to 6pm with about 10% battery remaining. When you’re economical with energy over these lengthy intervals away from plug sockets, you can also make this final.
As for the bottom mannequin we benchmarked, this yr’s ZenBook Duo noticed a one-hour enchancment over final yr with a formidable 10 hours and 37 minutes of battery life with each panels turned on. Flip the ScreenPad Plus off and that goes as much as 14 hours and 11 minutes. This beats the premium laptop computer common of 10:21.
Asus ZenBook Duo (UX482): Webcam
The image high quality of this 720p webcam leaves quite a bit to be desired. Even in a well-lit area resembling my spare room, photographs are fuzzy and missing sufficient element to be good for something apart from the occasional Zoom name. Photos are both very grainy or comfortable, missing element on my face with colours trying drained and my hair turning into the equal of an attachable Lego quiff.
A minimum of it’s good to have Home windows Hey assist because of the IR digital camera which makes use of facial recognition to quickly log you into the system.
Asus ZenBook Duo (UX482): Warmth
We haven’t examined the highest spec but, so I can’t offer you particular numbers or verify how shut this may increasingly get to our 95-degree consolation threshold. The mid-range mannequin, nevertheless, reached a max temperature of 97 levels Fahrenheit, however the keyboard and trackpad are a few levels cooler at 80 and 81 levels, respectively. Merely put, all the things feels cool to the contact even underneath a big processor load.
The truth is, because of the elevation of that second show, the followers have extra room to dissipate warmth, which made me really feel extra snug utilizing this laptop computer on my lap.
Asus ZenBook Duo (UX482): Software program and guarantee
Asus leaves you a number of surprises on the brand new ZenBook Duo past the MyAsus app and software program used for the ScreenPad Plus.
A few of that is thought-about bloatware just like the inclusion of Sweet Crush and McAfee safety dropping you common notifications. However plenty of it feels helpful, such because the EQ controls, fan customization choices, and the flexibility to regulate the white stability of the display screen.
So far as after-purchase assist goes, the ZenBook Duo comes with a one-year guarantee. See how Asus did on our Tech Assist Showdown and Greatest and Worst manufacturers particular stories.
Backside line
For some, together with myself, Twin-screen laptops have felt like a gimmick over the previous few years. I’m glad to confess the Asus ZenBook Duo has confirmed me unsuitable.
Due to the seamlessness of the expertise by means of {hardware} and software program integration, you can also make the second contact panel actually be just right for you. Plus, the leap to eleventh gen Intel chips makes for a pleasant efficiency improve and aids the all-day battery life.
Nevertheless, some elementary design points stem from having to accommodate the extra display screen. The keyboard is awkward to make use of due to the dearth of a wrist relaxation and the touchpad is simply too small for any long-term work.
But when your coronary heart is about on a twin show life, yow will discover workarounds to make the ZenBook Duo UX482 be just right for you, like shopping for a separate wrist relaxation and wi-fi mouse.Take it from me, you’ll not be upset.
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