Yet even the freedom to make music at home isn’t quite enough freedom for many of today’s musicians. And as your skills and knowledge grow, there’s high-end equipment ready to help you take things to the next level. With a PC, cheap or free digital audio workstation (DAW) software and plugins, a basic USB audio interface, and a halfway-decent microphone, you can record, mix, and export from the comfort of a home studio. There are quite a lot of changes to this machine, but I will reserve the more in-depth look for my full review on the ASUS ZenBook Duo 14.Time was when musicians needed access to professional studios to create cutting-edge sounds and high-quality published music. They not only improved on the hardware end of things with the new tilting ScreenPad Plus, but they also managed to add more functionality to the ScreenPad Plus so it can be used more efficiently by content creators. ConclusionĪSUS’ rework of the ASUS ZenBook Duo family is really quite amazing. I will definitely have to spend more time with it to see if I will get used to it and fall in love with it.
But I guess it definitely beats trying to zoom in by scrolling with the trackpad gestures, as that is just disgusting to use. I mean, even when it comes to volume control, I am quite particular, so this is actually annoying to me. It moves in steps instead of being more linear, which kinda sucks if you are a stickler. Content creators can take full advantage of it, but I do find that the dials do not feel “analog” enough, if you get what I mean. It is very customizable and supports a few of the popular Adobe creativity apps. Now one of the key highlights of the ASUS ZenBook Duo series this year is the release of the ASUS Control Panel feature to take full advantage of the ScreenPad Plus. It is different from the one in the ROG Zephyrus Duo 15, streamlined to fit into a thinner design like the ASUS ZenBook Duo 14.
I think the latter needs no introduction, but the new ScreenPad Plus mechanism is definitely worth a look. Now let’s take a look at the awesome mechanism that powers the whole ScreenPad Plus lifting and also the ErgoLift hinge. Even then, the ErgoLift hinge should prevent the hottest parts of the bottom lid from touching you. Considering that the ScreenPad Plus is lifted, and the keyboard is shifted downwards to the lower edge of the device, you won’t actually be able to feel how hot this laptop gets in use, unless you use it on your lap. ASUS claims that this allows the fans to draw in up to 49% more air, but we haven’t gotten to benchmarks and thermal testing, so that will have to wait. I still think that the secondary display is quite a bit dimmer than the main one, which doesn’t allow for a truly seamless viewing experience, but at least it is better than what we had on the first generation.Īside from the improved angle, this tilt also opens up extra room for the fans to intake fresh air. Now the tilt improves the visibility of the second display. While the original ASUS ZenBook Duo had ErgoLift, the screen was flush with the keyboard, which didn’t exactly put it at a great angle. Active Aerodynamic System Plus + ErgoLiftĪnother highlight is the new ScreenPad Plus with a tilting mechanism. Considering the lack of a palm rest, this is literally a necessity on the ASUS ZenBook Duo 14 to offer any form of biometric security. It also makes using it outdoors a bit easier, but it does take away a bit of the display panel’s “punch”, which can be a bummer.Ībove the display is a webcam and the IR facial recognition system, allowing for unlocks with just a glance. That’s fixed with the ASUS ZenBook Duo 14, and its really nice to see ASUS even decide to use a matte finish to keep the main display free from smudges, which are inevitable when you use a touch screen. Huge improvements from the ASUS ZenBook Duo (UX481) A touch panel for its main display!ĪSUS did attempt to provide content creators with a more portable machine than their ZenBook Pro Duo, but it was gimped by a peculiar decision to not offer touch sensitivity on the primary display. We do have a Taiwanese sample here, so the plug is not our local UK plug, but you should be getting a UK plug with the local sets. Yes, a stylus now comes in the box of the ASUS ZenBook Duo 14, which is pretty neat to enhance the overall functionality of the laptop for digital artists from the get go. There’s the laptop itself, some basic documentation, a foldable laptop stand that we will get into a bit later, the 65W USB-C power adapter and a stylus.