I’m sure you’ve heard about the MacBook’s touchbar – a small OLED strip then runs along the top of the keyboard, replacing the traditional Fn strip. Some find it useful, some find it a gimmick. Other’s wished it was bigger.
And ASUS made that wish come true. Instead of a small OLED strip, ASUS is giving you two screens on a laptop. And they are on the new ZenBook Duo UX481 and ZenBook Pro Duo UX581.
Let’s talk about the larger one first – ZenBook Pro Duo UX581.
ZenBook Pro Duo UX581
This machine is a beast. Having said that, it boast amazing specs but it isn’t meant for the average individual. It is meant for professional use. It is a portable powerhouse machine targeted at creative content creator such as video editors, photographers, and even gamers. Some of its competitors include the HP ZBook Studio x360 and the Gigabyte Aero OLED XA.
Just take a look some of the key specs:
- Octa-core Intel Core i9-9980HK processor
- 32GB 2,666MHz DDR4 RAM
- NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6GB GDDR6
- 1TB PCIe 3.0 x 4 NVMe M.2 SSD
UX581GV-H2001T
Windows 10 Home/i9-9980HK/RTX 2060/32GB RAM/1TB PCIe SSD/UHD IPS Touch Display/Celestial Blue
$4,998
All these power comes at a whopping S$4,998. Clearly not for an average user. If you feel this laptop fits your profile, a comprehensive review has been done by Hardwarezone.
I’d like to turn your focus on the laptop that presents great value and innovation for the average user – the ZenBook Duo UX481, the main character of this post.
ZenBook Duo UX481
The ZenBook Duo UX481 is a 14-inch laptop that shares the same two screen design like the powerhouse UX581, with a top end ultrabook specs but comes in at a very reasonable price. The ZenBook Duo UX481 retails at S$2,198.
For around S$2,200 you can get to enjoy an innovative technology of two screens, I’d say it’s a pretty good deal!
Here are some of the key specs:
- 10th Gen Intel® Core™ i7-10510U Processor 1.8GHz
- 16GB 2133MHz LPDDR3 RAM
- NVIDIA GeForce MX250 2GB
- 1TB PCIe 3.0 x 4
UX481FL-BM039T
Windows 10 Home/i7-10510U/GeForce MX250/16GB RAM/1TB PCIe SSD/FHD Non-touch Display/Celestial Blue
$2,198
Specs wise, it is like the new ZenBook UX434 but an additional screen, updated 10th Generation Intel CPU and slightly thicker. For S$100 more to enjoy these differences, I’d think it is really quite worth it. Although you might have to get used to using the trackpad on the right (but its i like how you’d normally use a mouse so… it might not be that much of a problem).
The ZenBook also gives you the latest specs in connectivity with the latest Intel Wi-Fi 6 with Gig+ (802.11ax), bringing you super fast network speeds. Ports selection are decent, but I do wish there were Thunderbolt 3 support.
With the latest 10th Gen Intel processors, innovative two screens setup coupled with powerful and versatile specs (1TB SSD, 16GB RAM and discrete GPU), the ZenBook Duo UX481 is compelling option for anyone looking for a portable laptop with power and flexibility in your workflow. At S$2,198, it is priced so well against its competition. Also, two screens on your laptop is bound to turn some heads at your University library or at Starbucks.
Having a second screen on a laptop is an innovation I believe that will come good in the future. I’m glad that ASUS offered a cheaper variant to regular consumers like us with the UX481.