ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo has a Massive Touch Bar

ASUS today has announced the innovative ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo that sports a secondary display above the keyboard. This is probably the lovechild between a ZenBook and the Project Precog.

ASUS ZenBook Pro Duo

Have you guys ever seen anything like this before? We know Apple had the OLED Touch Bar to replace the function row for 3 years already. While some loved the Touch Bar’s flexibility to display different functions according to the display context, many have voiced out their dissatisfaction for the premium pricing and limited functionality. ASUS’s implementation of the second touch screen is indeed making us rethink how one can actually fully utilise the surface asset of a laptop.

The 15.6-inch UX581 features a 15.6-inch 4K UHD OLED touch screen and a massive 14-inch secondary touch screen above the keyboard. Meanwhile, the smaller 14-inch UX481 has a standard IPS FHD touch screen and 12.6-inch secondary touch screen.

Dubbed as the ScreenPad Plus, it is the expansion of the original ScreenPad which was first introduced in the ASUS ZenBook Pro 15 last year. This additional touch panel allows the user to enjoy the benefit of the dual screen on a single portable device.

The screen has a 32:9 aspect ratio and the operating system is recognizing it as a standard secondary display. Hence there’s minimal compatibility issue when it comes to multitasking on both displays. ASUS has conveniently included a couple of features to make use of the second display such as App Switcher, ViewMax and App Navigator that enable intuitive interactions and easy cross-screen referencing. It is also noteworthy that ASUS is working with developers including Corel to fully optimize the use of Screenpad tools for ultimate productivity. The UX581 comes bundled with an active stylus as well as deluxe palm rest.

Under the hood:

	ZenBook Pro Duo UX581	ZenBook Duo UX481
Processor	Intel Core i9-9980HK Intel Core i7-9750H	Intel Core i7-9750H
Display	15.6” OLED 4K touchscreen 14” 4K touchscreen	14” IPS FHD touchscreen 12.6” FHD touchscreen
Graphics	NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 6GB GDDR6	NVIDIA GeForce MX250 2GB GDDR5
Memory	Up to 32GB DDR4-2666	Up to 16GB LPDDR3-2133
Storage	1TB PCIe x4 NVMe SSD 512GB / 256GB PCIe x2 NVMe SSD
Connectivity	Intel WiFi 6 with Gig+ (802.11ax) Bluetooth 5.0
Cameras	IR webcam with Windows Hello
Interfaces	1x Thunderbolt 3 2x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type A 1x HDMI 1x Audio combo jack 1x DC in	1x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type C 1x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type A 1x USB 3.1 Gen 1 Type A 1x HDMI 1x Audio combo jack 1x MicroSD Card reader 1x DC in
Battery	71Wh 4-cell Li-Po	70Wh 4-cell Li-Po
Dimensions	359 x 246 x 24 mm	323 x 223 x 19 mm
Weight	2.5kg	1.5kg