2024 ASUS Zenbook Duo UX8406 Review: The Future of Dual-Screen Laptops?

We’ve seen several versions of the ASUS Zenbook Duo—from those with a touchscreen in the trackpad to those with a folding display. We’ve come a long way. Now, I have an even more advanced iteration of the Zenbook Duo series that features two 14-inch displays. And no, this is not just a gimmick—it’s a productivity powerhouse. 

The ASUS Zenbook Duo caters to a niche audience that wants to enhance its productivity and creativity on the go. But does it deliver? Let’s find out in this review. 

2024 ASUS Zenbook Duo UX8406 Review

ASUS Zenbook Duo UX8406 Review: Design and Build

The ASUS Zenbook Duo is all about the design. It features a unique dual-display design that is made of carbon fiber and aluminium chassis, thanks to which, the laptop is pretty lightweight at 1.35 kg (1.65 kg with attachment). Although it’s made of carbon fiber, the laptop feels sturdy and is easy to carry around, even with the detachable keyboard and trackpad.

The laptop has a kickstand that you can use to mount the dual display on a flat surface and start your productivity work. The kickstand is sturdy and adjustable from 40 to 70 degrees, allowing you to use it at your preferred angle. Additionally, the detachable keyboard and trackpad work wirelessly. Unfortunately, I found the screen wobble to be a bit too much.

There is one concerning issue with the laptop, though. If you close the laptop without the keyboard and trackpad attachment, it leaves a huge gap, which could potentially damage the upper screen. So, make sure to always close the laptop with the keyboard and trackpad attachment inside.

As for the I/O, you get a full-size HDMI 2.1 port and a 3.5mm audio jack on the right. As for the left side of the laptop, you get 2x Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports (40 Gbps) with support for PD and DP and 1x USB-A 3.2 port (5 Gbps). The USB-C ports support up to 65W PD charging.

ASUS Zenbook Duo UX8406 Review: Keyboard and Trackpad 

Now, let’s talk about the keyboard—or, should I say, keyboards. The ASUS Zenbook Duo supports a detachable keyboard as well as a virtual keyboard for when you don’t have it or when it’s out of charge.

As for the detachable keyboard, it’s a full-size Bluetooth keyboard with 1.4mm key travel. The typing experience is good, and it is also single-color backlit with three brightness levels. There are two ways to use this keyboard: you can either dock it magnetically on the bottom display or use it as an external keyboard.

The keyboard, as I mentioned earlier, runs on Bluetooth (when detached) and hence requires charging. Thankfully, there’s a USB-C port that you can use to juice it up. You can even use your laptop to juice up the keyboard’s battery.

The virtual keyboard is something you will want to avoid. There is a noticeable lag or delay when using it, and the typing experience is rather awful. While there is haptic feedback, it doesn’t compensate for the poor experience of typing on a sheet of glass. The same goes for the virtual trackpad.

Speaking of the trackpad, the physical glass trackpad is sufficiently large, responsive, and supports haptic feedback. This means that you can click anywhere on the trackpad.

ASUS Zenbook Duo UX8406 Review: Display 

Done with the keyboard? Let’s talk about the displays now. The ASUS Zenbook Duo has two identical 14” OLED 60 Hz displays with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 and an aspect ratio of 16:10. The slightly taller aspect ratio means that you can see more content or text on your screen. 

Both displays support HDR, and the colors are PANTONE Validated. Speaking of colors, the display covers 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut while achieving an impressive 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio. If you’re a creator who edits photos or videos, these displays will not disappoint you.

The brightness is ample at 500 nits but only goes up to 350 nits in SDR (non-HDR). There is support for both HDR10 and Dolby Vision. Interestingly, both displays come with Corning Gorilla Glass protection, although the exact version is unknown.

The display is glossy, so you’d have to bear with the refractions when working in a well-lit environment. The bezels are quite slim on the three sides, giving the laptop a modern look. Finally, ASUS has taken a few measures to reduce the risk of a burn-in.

The display can be used in multiple modes. You can use it as a regular laptop with the keyboard attached, as a desktop with the keyboard detached, as a tablet, as a book-style laptop, or even share the screen between two people sitting on opposite sides. The possibilities are endless.

Since the laptop has a touchscreen, there’s support for a stylus as well. And the good thing is that ASUS bundles the stylus with the laptop. The stylus is pressure sensitive and charges via a Type-C port. Unfortunately, there’s no magnet on the laptop that can be used to dock the stylus.

ASUS Zenbook Duo 2024 Review: Performance and Thermals 

The performance of this laptop will not disappoint you. It comes with an Intel Core Ultra 9 185H CPU clocked at up to 5.1 GHz. It has 6 performance cores, 8 efficiency cores, and 2 low-power cores, totaling 16 cores. The max TDP of the machine is rated at 45W, although the combined (CPU + GPU) TDP is 35W.

The Zenbook Duo uses an integrated graphics card from Intel called the Intel Arc GPU. It also has the Intel AI NPU for executing AI tasks on the device. While the GPU is not meant for gaming, you can do some lightweight gaming on it. However, the laptop does get hot quickly, even though the fans kick in.

The benchmark scores are impressive: PCMark 10 – 6554, Cinebench 2024 – 104,522, 3D Mark Time Spy – 3897, and Geekbench 6 – 2416 (single-core) and 12130 (multi-core).

In terms of thermals and noise, the fans kick in during intensive tasks but remain relatively quiet. The laptop gets warm at the bottom, so it’s better suited for desk use. The display itself does not get hot.

For storage, the CrystalDiskMark test shows read speeds of 5203 MB/s and write speeds of 4501 MB/s. The laptop comes with 32 GB of LPDDR5 RAM clocked at 7467 MHz. 

It has one storage slot, which is swappable up to 2 TB. Other features include WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.3, and Microsoft Office 2021 pre-installed.

ASUS Zenbook Duo 2024 Review: Battery Life & Charging 

The battery life depends on how many screens you use. If both screens are used, you can expect around 5-6 hours of screen-on time. If you use just one screen, you can expect 9-10 hours of screen-on time. The battery size is 75 Wh.

The laptop comes with a 65W PD adapter that’s compact, unlike most other laptop adapters. This adapter can charge your laptop from 0% to 60% in about 50 minutes. It uses a Type-C to Type-C port for charging.

ASUS Zenbook Duo 2024 Review: Speakers

The ASUS Zenbook Duo has a dual stereo speaker setup located at the bottom. The speakers have been tuned by Harmony Kardon and also support Dolby Atmos. Despite all of this, the audio quality is quite underwhelming. Don’t get me wrong; the speakers are loud enough but it’s the audio quality that’s not up to the mark.

ASUS Zenbook Duo 2024 Review: Webcam 

You’ll find a Full HD webcam on this laptop, which is good for video conferencing but nothing spectacular. The microphones capture the voice well. The webcam supports all the Windows Studio Effects including Automatic framing, Eye contact, and Background effects. There’s also an IR sensor for facial unlock with Windows Hello support.

Should You Buy the ASUS Zenbook Duo 2024?

The ASUS Zenbook Duo 2024 starts at INR 1,59,999. If you’re looking for a laptop that truly stands out in a sea of similar devices, the ASUS Zenbook Duo 2024 is the one to get. Whether you’re a student balancing assignments and social media, or a professional managing multiple projects, these screens make everything easier. Plus, the high-performance Intel Core Ultra 9 CPU and impressive storage options ensure it can handle demanding tasks with ease.

On the flip side, if you’re sensitive to thermal issues, this laptop might not be for you. It tends to get warm quickly, and the fan noise can be noticeable during heavy use. The speakers are also underwhelming, so if you rely heavily on audio quality, you might be disappointed. 

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