Tag Archives: dual-screen

2026 ROG Zephyrus Duo, ASUS Zenbook DUO: Versatility You Can Use Today

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We have seen quite a number of laptops bearing mind-blowing flexible screens that fold or roll, and while they do help push the envelope of laptop design, they might be the future, but it is definitely not yet here. Foldables still scratch easily and are expensive, rollables are at a concept stage, and both rely on technology that is impressive in a demo booth but nerve-wracking when you actually need to get work done and cannot afford downtime or repair bills.

At CES 2026, ASUS and its gaming brand Republic of Gamers are offering two designs for people who need to get stuff done here and now. Although less spectacular than a screen that folds like paper, the ROG Zephyrus Duo 2026 (GX561) and the ASUS Zenbook DUO 2026 (UX8407) promise a more versatile and more reliable experience, using two rigid OLED panels, conventional hinges, and software layouts that treat dual screens as a workflow multiplier instead of a party trick.

Designer: ASUS

Dual Screens, Multiple Possibilities

With a foldable laptop, you get a large screen that folds down to the size of a normal laptop, or a laptop-sized screen that folds down to half its size. A rollable laptop, on the other hand, starts with a normal size and then expands for more real estate. They both try to offer more screen space with a manageable footprint, but it is still a single panel with a limited set of poses. You can fold it like a book or lay it flat, but you cannot flip one half around into a true tent or dual-monitor arrangement, and the panel itself stays soft and fragile under your fingertips.

The dual-screen design sported by the new Zephyrus Duo and Zenbook DUO uses two independent but connected screens, practically dual monitors connected by a hinge. They are conventional, rigid OLED panels, so none of the soft, scratch-prone flexible displays of foldables. It feels almost like a normal laptop, just one that has a second monitor permanently attached, hinged, and ready to be stood up, laid flat, or folded back into tent mode for sharing across a table.

More importantly, however, this design offers more versatility in terms of how you actually use the machine throughout the day. You can use only a single screen in laptop mode if space is a constraint or if you want to stay focused. You can flip the whole thing into tent mode to share your screen with someone sitting across from you. You can detach the keyboard entirely and stand both panels up as a tiny dual-screen desk, with the keyboard floating wherever your hands are most comfortable. ASUS brings this design to two different kinds of laptops, really just two sides of the same coin, offering the same core idea with the flexibility you can use today.

ROG Zephyrus Duo 2026 (GX561): Not Just a Gaming Laptop

This is not the first Zephyrus Duo, but the first one launched nearly six years ago was more of a one-and-a-half-screen laptop. There was a smaller touchscreen right above the keyboard that offered some space for tool palettes and chat windows, but it was still very much a secondary strip. This 2026 redesign, in contrast, is a bold new direction, going full dual-screen with two large OLED panels and a detachable keyboard like no other gaming laptop has dared to go.

It is a true gaming laptop, of course, and the specs show its pedigree. An Intel Core Ultra 9 processor, paired with up to an NVIDIA GeForce RTX 5090 Laptop GPU pushing up to 135W TGP, backed by up to 64GB of LPDDR5X memory and up to 2TB of PCIe Gen5 SSD storage with easy swap access. The 90Wh battery supports fast charging, hitting 50% in 30 minutes.

The main display is ROG Nebula HDR, a 3K OLED panel running at 120Hz with 0.2 ms response time, HDR 1100 nits peak brightness, 100% DCI-P3 coverage, and ΔE below 1 color accuracy, protected by Corning Glass DXC. All of that is cooled by ROG’s Intelligent Cooling system, with liquid metal on the CPU, a vapor chamber, graphite sheets, and 0 dB Ambient Cooling mode for silent operation when you are not rendering or fragging.

At 6.28 lb and just 0.77 inches thin, it is heavy enough to remind you there is serious silicon inside, but still portable enough to live in a backpack. The machine includes Wi-Fi 7, Thunderbolt 4, HDMI 2.1, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, and an SD card slot, plus a six-speaker system with two tweeters and four woofers running Dolby Atmos, so you can actually enjoy game audio without always reaching for headphones.

Where the ROG Zephyrus Duo 2026 really shines is in versatility. Because a laptop that can run AAA games can practically do anything as well, including content creation, programming, video editing, and 3D work. Designers and creatives will definitely love the freedom such a design offers, paired with powerful hardware that does not compromise just to fit two screens. You can keep After Effects timelines on one panel while the preview lives on the other, or split code and output, or run a game on the main screen with Discord and guides on the second, all without alt-tabbing or shrinking windows.

ASUS Zenbook DUO 2026 (UX8407): Dual-Screen Goes Lux

The ASUS Zenbook DUO 2026 shaves off some of the gaming hardware to offer a dual-screen laptop that is slimmer, lighter, and a little more stylish. It is no slouch, though, and carries plenty of muscle to handle any productivity task you might throw at it. That also includes content creation, with a bit of light gaming on the side when you want to unwind between meetings or deadlines and do not need RTX power for every session.

The Zenbook DUO 2026 runs a next-gen Intel Core Ultra processor with up to 50 TOPS NPU for AI workloads, paired with Intel Arc integrated graphics, up to 32GB of memory, and up to 2TB of SSD storage. It supports up to 45W TDP with a dual-fan thermal solution, keeping the machine stable during sustained loads without the heavy cooling overhead of a discrete GPU, which helps keep the chassis thin and light.

The main display is an ASUS Lumina Pro OLED with 1000 nits peak brightness, and both screens are treated with the same level of care, making them equally usable for productivity, media, and light creative work. What differentiates this next-gen dual-screen from its predecessor is the new hinge design that puts the screens closer together. With thinner bezels, they now sit just 8.28mm apart, a 70% reduction, and they almost look like a single continuous piece.

ASUS has adopted its Ceraluminum material for the Zenbook DUO 2026’s laptop lid, bottom case, and kickstand, making it not only look and feel more luxurious but also be a bit more resilient to accidents and daily wear. The Zenbook DUO weighs just 1.65kg and has a 5% smaller footprint than previous generations, which makes it easier to carry and fit on smaller desks or café tables.

It is packed with ports, including two Thunderbolt 4 connections, HDMI 2.1, USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, and an audio jack, plus six speakers with two front-firing tweeters and four woofers for surprisingly rich audio from a thin chassis. The keyboard connects via magnetic pogo pins or Bluetooth, and the machine supports ASUS Pen 3.0, turning both screens into writable surfaces for notes, sketches, or annotations during video calls or brainstorming sessions.

Like the Zephyrus Duo, the Zenbook DUO 2026 can be used in multiple orientations. Laptop mode with the keyboard on top of the lower screen for traditional clamshell use. Desktop mode with both screens stacked or side-by-side, the detachable keyboard placed separately, and the built-in kickstand propping the whole thing up like a tiny dual-monitor workstation. Tent mode for presentations or sharing content across a table without needing an external display or awkward screen mirroring. The flexibility is the point, and it works without asking you to trust a flexible panel not to crease or scratch under normal use.

Trade-offs and Potential

Dual-screen laptops are not perfect, of course. You need to keep track of a separate keyboard you hope you will not lose, though that is also the case for some foldable laptops anyway, and the detachable keyboard is also what lets both the Zephyrus Duo and Zenbook DUO behave like tiny dual-monitor desks in tent or desktop modes. These machines are easily heavier than single-screen laptops with equivalent specs, and they will likely be priced firmly in premium territory, though still far below the stratospheric costs of early foldables.

There is also that unavoidable divider between the two screens, though ASUS has gotten it down to 8.28 mm on the Zenbook DUO, and at that point it starts to feel more like a subtle pause than a major interruption. The hinge is still visible, the gap is still there, but it is less about accepting compromise and more about acknowledging that two rigid, high-quality OLED panels with a small gap are more practical than one fragile foldable panel with no gap at all.

Despite those limitations, these designs offer a kind of versatility that neither conventional laptops nor foldable laptops can match. You get to decide how to use the laptop, unrestricted by a single panel or a prescribed set of folds. You can boost your productivity with two screens for timelines and tools, or save space with just one when you are working in a tight spot. You can stand them up for presentations, lay them flat for collaborative work, or use them as a traditional clamshell when muscle memory takes over.

Maybe someday, we will have foldable laptops that can bend both ways, support multiple modes, and will not easily scratch with a fingernail or develop a permanent crease after a few months of daily folding. But if you want to be productive and create content today, the ROG Zephyrus Duo 2026 and ASUS Zenbook DUO 2026 could very well be among the most productive and most versatile laptops of 2026, delivering the dual-screen promise without the fragility, the expense, or the anxiety that comes with carrying a piece of still-experimental tech into the real world.

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This Phone Concept Stacks a 3.5-Inch LCD Above a 5.2-Inch E Ink Screen

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Modern phones have turned into pocket TVs, huge OLED slabs that are great for video and games but terrible for focus. Most E Ink phones go to the opposite extreme, either dropping color screens entirely or putting an E Ink panel on the back while keeping a full-size color display on the front. This dual-screen concept tries a different take, stacking both screens on the same face, with a small color LCD above a larger monochrome E Ink panel.

The basic layout is a 3.5-inch IPS LCD at the top and a 5.2-inch E Ink panel below, both on the front. The numbers are 1280 × 800 resolution at 120 Hz for the LCD and 1300 × 838 at 300 ppi for the E Ink. The clear back with a single camera and simple branding quietly signals that this phone is not chasing the usual multi-lens, all-screen spec race, instead treating the front as a composition of two very different surfaces.

Designer: Mechanical Pixel

The smaller LCD becomes the “burst of color” zone for time, notifications, music controls, and quick interactions, while the larger E Ink area is reserved for reading, notes, and simple widgets. This creates a hardware-level hierarchy; the calm, monochrome screen is where you spend most of your time, and you consciously move your attention to the smaller, brighter panel when you really need it, which changes the default state of the device from hyperactive to quiet.

The obvious pros are less visual noise, better eye comfort, and potentially much better battery life. E Ink only draws power when it refreshes, so a reading-first layout means the phone can idle for long stretches without burning through charge. For people who mostly message, read, and check calendars, the big E Ink panel could handle most of the day while the LCD stays off or in a low-duty role, extending runtime significantly.

The trade-offs are nothing to scoff at, though. A 3.5-inch LCD, even at 120 Hz, is not ideal for immersive video, complex productivity apps, or touch-heavy games. UI designers would need to rethink layouts for that smaller window, or accept that some tasks are better on a tablet or laptop. The E Ink panel’s slower refresh also limits it to taps and page turns, which is fine for reading but not for fast, gesture-driven interfaces that rely on immediate visual feedback.

This concept uses hardware to enforce a kind of digital minimalism. Instead of relying on focus modes and grayscale filters, it bakes the idea into the front of the phone, a big, calm screen for reading and a small, hyperactive one for everything else. For people who like the idea of a phone that nudges them toward books and away from endless feeds, that stacked layout feels like a surprisingly sharp design argument, where the very shape of the device encourages a different relationship with what lives on it.

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This Chinese dual screen business laptop is first horizontally foldable 360-degree laptop ever

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Dual screen laptops are still in their infancy. Whether there are takers for such a technology, doesn’t matter; OEMs are constantly developing laptops with multiple screens. Chinese company Acemagic is the latest entrant in the category. After having surprised us with a gaming router-esque mini-PC previously, Acemagic has now announced the X1 laptop: considered the world’s only horizontally foldable 360-degree laptop.

It was back at the Computex 2024 in Taiwan when Acemagic first revealed its dual screen laptop. It was then called the Z1A, but eventually now, when it was launched, it was called the X1 and it is meant for consuming different content simultaneously, working on different screens, or multitasking work without switching between screens – as I end up doing all day, with a 27-inch monitor attached to my usual single screen laptop.

Designer: Acemagic

The Acemagic X1 is a usual laptop with another screen attached horizontally, which can swivel all the way back, flush against the primary display. Comprising two 14-inch 1080p displays, the laptop allows users to fold the screens down over the keyboard for use in tablet mode with one screen. Whatever the use case you choose, the 360-degree rotation and folding dual screen laptop is meant for business and productivity usage.

So, you can during work, swivel the second screen backward and present the slides to your team sitting across the table from you. Or maybe, when your little one is disturbing you while working; you can swing the additional screen all the way back to play their favorite cartoon while you continue working unhindered. There are a lot of use case possibilities, but it’s not the most powerful machine for your needs.

Under the hood, the Acemagic X1 dual screen laptop runs a two-year-old Intel Core i7 1255U processor. It’s paired with 1 TB 3.0 SSD for onboard storage and features 16GB DDR4 RAM.  For connectivity, the laptop supports up to 5Gbps of transfer speeds and has a USB-A, 2 USB-C (one only for charging), and an HDMI 2.0 ports. With its distinctive appeal, the laptop will make a buzz but for now, we don’t have a price or its release date to share.

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Dual screen laptop proposes a unique design to solve the laptop monitor problem

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In exchange for portability and mobility, laptops give up some power and flexibility, especially when it comes to things you can connect to. Sure, you can still connect plenty of peripherals, but you’re limited not only by the amount of ports available but also by the space you have around your laptop. A dual monitor laptop, for example, is inconvenient and even impossible in some circumstances, so a few solutions have been designed to address that limitation, from portable monitors to laptops that are just two screens and nothing else. The latter has been billed as “dual laptops,” though their appearance and use are far from what most people expect from laptops. This “true dual screen laptop” wants to fix that problem with a design that is both intriguing but perhaps also questionable at the same time.

Designer: GPD

You can’t change a laptop’s screen after the fact, so you can only expand it with an external portable monitor that adds yet another thing to your bag. Dual-screen laptops like the ASUS ZenBook Duo and Lenovo Yoga Book 9i are actually more like two monitors with integrated computer hardware rather than like a laptop with two screens. One of the biggest problems is requiring the use of a Bluetooth keyboard in ways that are unfamiliar to most laptop users.

The GPD DUO’s solution is to combine all these parts into a single whole, delivering a completely traditional laptop experience when needed and a dual-screen or even tablet when wanted. It does this by actually having two folds, one with a traditional laptop hinge that can fold open up to 135 degrees, and another for the second monitor that can fully swing 360 degrees. This second screen is permanently attached to the top of the first, creating a vertically stacked dual-screen setup when unfolded. But unlike ASUS’s and Lenovo’s designs, the keyboard is still attached to the primary screen and functions as expected.

This rather unconventional design means that, if you don’t want or can’t use a tall dual-screen setup, you can simply fold back the second screen and use the GPD DUO as a regular laptop. That said, the second screen in that position could actually still be used to present content to people in front of the user, sort of like the “tent mode” of some 360-degree laptops. And when you close the laptop down in this configuration, you get a tablet that you can draw on.

While the design of the GPD DUO sounds reasonable, it does raise a few concerns, especially in terms of the weight and bulk of the laptop. Although GPD claims that the 13.3-inch laptop is only the size of an A4 paper when folded, it hasn’t yet revealed the thickness or weight of the device. The design also forces the dual screen orientation to only be vertical, and you have no other option on how to use or position the screens. It does seem that the GPD DUO trades one feature for another, so it remains to be seen how this design will resonate with laptop users.

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Compal Dual-Screen Laptop Concept can be unfolded in either direction

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It’s still a very niche design, but it seems that dual-screen laptops are being adopted by major PC makers. Unlike a foldable laptop that mimics a foldable phone, a dual-screen laptop simply offers two separate displays joined by a hinge, sort of like offering a second monitor that’s permanently attached to the laptop. Given this design, however, the only available design was a book-type foldable like the aborted Microsoft Surface Duo, the ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo, and the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i. That, however, only covers about half of the use cases you might have for a dual-screen configuration and lacks the flexibility you’d enjoy with a detached second screen. That’s the kind of design problem that Compal’s concept is trying to solve and it does so in a very intriguing way.

Designer: Compal

The way dual-screen laptops are designed today is pretty much a product of familiarity rather than innovation. It’s the closest that resembles a regular laptop and is the easiest to implement. Ironically, it’s actually not the way people with two monitors arrange their screens in normal circumstances. Most have two horizontal monitors side by side or one stacked on top of the other. While current dual-screen laptops do support the latter use case, putting the monitors side by side requires having them standing vertically, opened like a book.

The Compal DualFlip concept flips that design on its head, pardon the pun, by giving the user the freedom to choose the configuration they need or want. They can have it stacked or side-by-side or even in the conventional book style. Or they can have only one screen active with the wireless keyboard sitting on top of the other, turning it into a regular laptop. The key point is that they dictate how they want to use the product rather than the other way around.

This opens the device to even more applications and users who have different needs and working conditions. Those monitoring data will probably appreciate having the monitor on top while those coding and writing might put the screen to the side. The latter is also the configuration that most will use for making digital art. Interestingly, having the screens stacked on top of each other also solves one of the biggest problems with dual-screen laptops and manages to “hide” the hinge and the gap that it creates between the two displays.

The key to this flexible design is the hinge that can fold or flip the screen as needed, hence the name. Of course, it’s still a concept and it’s uncertain if Compal already has working prototypes for this, but it definitely looks doable. If Compal manages to pull it off, it will definitely raise the brand’s profile and put it back on the map. That is unless its bigger rivals figure out another design that also solves that problem and actually puts it into production first.

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Dual-screen E Ink reader doubles as a laptop for double productivity

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Just like smartphones, laptops are undergoing a bit of change and experimentation with foldable, dual-screen, or even transparent laptops coming out of the woodwork. It’s only a matter of time before that trend makes its way to other devices, though there are signs of that happening in the e-book reader industry already. E-readers, as they are called, are breaking out of their shell, and some are even Android tablets that just happen to use e-paper displays. Compared to this unexpected design, however, those Android-powered E Ink readers sound almost unambitious, because this particular device actually puts together two E Ink displays to offer an almost literal book reader, a notebook, and a laptop all rolled into one.

Designer: LCFC (Hefei) (a Lenovo subsidiary)

Dual-screen laptops might not be new to our ears after the aborted Microsoft Surface Duo, the ASUS ZenBook Duo, and the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i. The idea behind this design is to bring the same dual-screen experience some users enjoy on desktops to the laptop without completely losing the advantage of portability. That use case might make perfect sense for a laptop that runs a conventional operating system with plenty of applications, but it isn’t as straightforward for e-book readers, even the ones running Android.

And yet, that’s exactly what the Gemini “Dual Screens Wisdom E-Ink Book” is trying to do, albeit with a slightly different focus. It connects two 7.8-inch E Inks screens using a 360-degree hinge that lets you fold it close like a book or fold it in the opposite direction completely to transform it into a tablet. In addition to reading, the device is designed to make it more natural to write down notes, possibly on what you’re reading. Note-taking is so central to the Gemini’s purpose that other features are framed in that perspective.

You can, for example, fold it half upright like a laptop for typing out notes. Of course, you’ll have to make do with an on-screen keyboard, but typing on an E Ink screen is notoriously awkward, uncomfortable, and inefficient, far worse than typing on a regular LCD or OLED display. You could potentially connect a Bluetooth keyboard, though that does lose the charm of being able to use this as a laptop. The Gemini also has a stylus you can write with, but the more interesting aspect of the pen is the detachable microphone module that you can use to record voice notes or even lectures.

The design of the Gemini is actually a bit peculiar thanks to an extended edge that’s thicker than the rest of the device. Not only is this where most of the electronics are housed, but it also seems to have controls like a dial and buttons, almost reminiscent of those display tablets for drawing. When using the Gemini like a laptop, you will be resting your wrist on this “bump,” but that will actually force you to reach further down to actually type on the E Ink screen, not to mention you risk triggering those buttons. There is no definite word yet on when and where the Gemini will launch, but it will happen sometime this year, though it remains to be seen whether it will elicit the same interest as dual-screen laptops.

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Odd laptop for creatives has a 7-inch tablet beside its keyboard

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Laptops are extremely powerful machines designed to cater to a wide range of users, but some are designed to address the specific needs of a few. Bulky gaming laptops cram all the power possible in a portable machine, while a few “convertibles” straddle the fine line between laptop and tablet to offer artists and designers a digital tool for their work. This rather curious laptop seems to fall somewhere with the latter group, with a somewhat unique feature not found in any other laptop. Instead of the laptop screen supporting touch and pen input, it puts what is basically a 7-inch tablet to the right of the keyboard, offering a second screen that can also be used to write and draw on. Definitely an interesting proposition, but one that comes with too many caveats that make it less than ideal even for its target audience.

Designer: Topton

To be clear, this actually isn’t the first time this kind of distinctive design landed before our eyes. At CES 2022, Lenovo showed off the ThinkBook Plus Gen 3 with exactly that very feature. It positioned this design as the perfect solution for power multi-taskers, providing a second screen for showing information on the side, a digital pad for scribbling meeting notes, or a small canvas for drawing. Great on paper, but the implementation left plenty to be desired. Worse, its $2,000 price tag at the time of its launch made it something that only adventurous spirits would want to risk getting.

Lenovo ThinkPad Plus Gen 3

Lenovo ThinkPad Plus Gen 3

Chinese manufacturer Topton is trying to address one of those issues with the Topton L10, a 15.6-inch laptop with the exact same setup. It compresses the laptop’s keyboard and shoves it off to the left side to make room for a 7-inch touchscreen display that acts as a second monitor. And yes, it can work with a stylus, though it’s not clear whether it’s the same pressure-sensitive technology used by the likes of Wacom, a brand that digital creatives are very familiar with. Plus, you need to buy that stylus separately as well.

The biggest difference between the Lenovo original and this Topton L10 is the specs. You’re only getting an Intel Celeron N5095, one of the weakest from the chipmaker’s catalog, though also advertised to be more power efficient. And with 16GB of memory, it’s meeting only the minimum requirements for today’s creative software, not to mention limiting your multi-tasking capabilities. The display resolution of both screens is also a lot lower, which means it isn’t even good for doing art and design. It does have RGB backlights for the keyboard, stereo speakers, and a fingerprint scanner, features you wouldn’t expect from this price point, but last-gen Wi-Fi 5 and Bluetooth 4.2 also cap this computer’s potential.

As for that price point, the Topton L10 starts at $329 for a 128GB SSD drive, quite a ridiculously low amount of storage space these days, especially for a Windows 11 computer. The price tag might look tempting at first, but given the overall package, this unusual spin on the dual-screen laptop concept remains just a novelty that won’t be able to meet the high expectations that it sets up.

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ASUS at CES 2024 reveals 14-inch dual-screen laptop, sustainable solutions

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Laptops are an integral part of modern-day computing, practically replacing laptops because of their increasing capabilities and versatility. For years, it almost seemed as if innovation in this space has mostly plateaued, simply getting more of the same things, such as more processing power, more heat, more weight, and more costs. That’s no longer the case, thankfully, as major PC brands start taking risks and pushing the boundaries of what laptops are capable of, like the world’s first 14-inch dual-screen laptop that ASUS is showing off at CES 2024. In its search for incredible, however, ASUS has also learned of the weight of its responsibility to help heal the planet and keep it alive far longer, and it is showing exactly how much it has progressed in its commitment to improving not only the quality of its products but also their sustainability.

Designer: ASUS

ASUS ZenBook DUO (2024)

There will come a time when the foldable craze in the smartphone industry will also grip PCs, but that time hasn’t come yet. Instead, there is a precursor to this fad, one that is both more usable but also admittedly a bit more novel. Taking a cue from the canceled Microsoft Surface Neo, ASUS revealed the first commercial dual-screen laptop back in 2019 and is now showing off the refinement it has accomplished that makes the new ZenBook DUO (2024) more than just a novelty.

The ZenBook DUO’s spiel is simple enough. Why settle for a single screen when you can have two wherever you go? And you don’t have to carry around a portable monitor along with your laptop just to accomplish that, because that second screen is your laptop. With a detachable full-sized Bluetooth keyboard that can instantly snap into place, you can have a traditional laptop experience when you want to and a portable two-monitor setup when you need to. This year’s model takes that design up a notch with the largest screens in this niche category, two 14-inch 3K 120Hz OLED screens, to be exact. When unfolded, you’re practically getting a 19.8-inch monitor, albeit one that has a rather wide split down the middle.

Of course, the ZenBook DUO (2024) also steps up the game with upgraded specs, starting with an all-new Intel Core Ultra 9 series processor and up to 32GB of LPDDR5x RAM. That means that the dual-screen laptop is well-equipped to handle AI-related tasks, like optimization, content creation, and more. Both of the screens support high-precision stylus input, making it a superb tool for digital design and collaboration. Thanks to its flexible and versatile design, the ZenBook DUO can offer value to any user, whether they’re a knowledge worker, a programmer, a creator, or anything in between. The ASUS ZenBook DUO (2024) UX8406 goes live in Q1 2024, with availability details to be announced closer to the launch date.

Computing for all

Of course, ASUS has more than a handful of new computers to show off at CES 2024, and, unsurprisingly, quite a number of them are carrying the AI flag. The business-minded ASUS ExpertBook B5, for example, has three AI engines courtesy of an Intel Core Ultra 7 processor. With NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2050 laptop graphics, it can handle plenty of workloads, including creating graphics or maybe even a bit of gaming on the side. A magnesium-aluminum alloy chassis gives it a professional aesthetic, while the US MIL-STD certification guarantees its survival against accidents.

The ASUS ExpertBook CX54 Chromebook Plus brings that same business sense to Google’s fleet of Chrome OS notebooks. Equipped with Intel Core Ultra processors and enterprise-level management tools, this eco-conscious Chromebook is an ideal candidate for workplace deployment, whether it’ll be used in the office or out in the field.

The ASUS Vivobook S laptops, on the other hand, offer thin and lightweight options for more budget-conscious consumers. Bearing a choice of Intel Core Ultra or AMD Ryzen processors, these ultra-portable computers are more than capable of supporting AI-enabled applications and services, as proven by the dedicated Windows Copilot key that is trending on this season’s laptops. Designed with collaboration and entertainment in mind, the Vivobook S14 and S16 laptops can lay flat at 180 degrees, have an IR camera with a physical shutter button, and immersive Dolby Atmos audio firing off Harman Kardon-certified speakers for an unbeatable user experience.

In addition to its Republic of Gamers brand, ASUS is also growing its own TUF line of gaming laptops. Putting durability and military-grade toughness as a top priority, these powerful machines make no apologies for their rugged looks. Thankfully, those rugged looks have their own charm, and ASUS didn’t go overboard with RGB styling other than on the keyboard. The latest Intel Core Ultra and AMD Ryzen 9 processors not only give it the silicon muscles every gamer needs but also enable AI-assisted capabilities for better performance, whether for play or for work.

Sustainability for a Greener Tomorrow

With this many laptops every year, it’s only natural for a giant like ASUS to ask itself how much its products and their production are affecting the environment. The answer, of course, isn’t that encouraging, but thankfully ASUS is committed to changing that for the better. It has been pushing forward multiple initiatives across its businesses to reduce its negative impact or at least offset them by doing good work to heal the environment.

Focusing on the products themselves, ASUS is ensuring that many of its laptops meet the MIL-STD 810H durability standard so they don’t end up in landfills sooner than they should. It has also been increasing the use of post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastics and other recycled materials in these devices. The ASUS ZenBook DUO (2024), for example, is made from 90% post-industrial-recycled (PIR) magnesium-aluminum alloy. Similarly, the ASUS Expertbook CX54 Chromebook Plus uses 30% PIR eco-friendly material and is crafted using renewable energy. And, of course, it has been using recycled materials in its packaging to further reduce the impact of even the smallest accessory.

Whether it’s in the products themselves, the way they are produced, or its day-to-day operations, ASUS is loudly displaying its unwavering commitment to sustainable practices as it continues to search for the incredible. After all, innovation (and profits) will definitely take a backseat when humanity struggles to survive in a damaged world.

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Dual-screen laptop clone puts a tempting price tag on poor design

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Foldable smartphones are starting to become more mainstream, so it’s not that surprising that even laptops are slowly starting to follow suit. These computers with large foldable screens are admittedly a harder sell, but it’s not the only “foldable” design available for laptops. There was a point in time when it seemed more feasible, not to mention more practical, to have a dual-screen laptop than a single foldable screen. But while those do exist, they tend to carry a pretty hefty price tag for what can be considered new and experimental technologies. An affordable option like this dual-screen laptop that seemingly popped up out of nowhere would normally be a welcome arrival, except for the fact that it fails to deliver the benefits of having two screens instead of one.

Designer: SZBOX

A dual-screen foldable device isn’t exactly that new and smartphones with this design came out way before there were foldable phones. Those designs were a bit awkward, though, especially considering a phone or tablet is often considered to have a single, unified screen. A laptop with two screens, on the other hand, seems to be a bit more useful. You still have a whole screen if you need it but can span the content across two screens if you want to. It’s like having a second screen permanently attached to the laptop, except that that second screen can function as your keyboard or drawing canvas as well.

In theory, this design should be more practical and less expensive to make since there are no experimental or expensive components like flexible displays and specially designed hinges. In practice, however, they’re still just as expensive as foldable laptops because of production and market dynamics. The SZBOX DS135D dual-screen laptop from a lesser-known Chinese brand is trying to impress buyers with its $699 starting price. The only problem is that the specs, design, and configuration of this device will prove to be more trouble than it’s worth.

The Intel N100 processor is an underwhelming piece of silicon, even when paired with 16GB of RAM. Since it’s running Windows 11 on two, large 13.5-inch touch screens, it will have to take on more work than it should normally be capable of. And while you can use one of the screens as the virtual keyboard for the laptop, experience has proven time and again that people will only use that as a final resort. Most will prefer a Bluetooth keyboard in this situation, and that price tag doesn’t include one. Neither does it include the stylus it advertises to be such a helpful tool, leaving buyers trying to figure out which pens are compatible in the first place.

The design of this dual-screen laptop also differs from others in that it doesn’t seem to fold beyond 180 degrees. In other words, you can’t fold it backward and use it like a tablet, let alone in a tent mode for sharing content with others around you. The SZBOX DS135D functions pretty much like a laptop with a second screen permanently attached, and that is also how it’s advertised to be used. While it could still potentially do more than a regular laptop, its mediocre hardware might not be up to the task anyway. Making a product more affordable is definitely commendable, but not if it results in a crippled and unpleasant experience.

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