ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo UX581 Laptop

Key Features of ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo UX581 Laptop

The ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo UX581 is a high-end laptop designed primarily for creative professionals, blending robust performance with innovative features. Its defining characteristic is the dual-display setup, featuring a primary 15.6-inch 4K UHD OLED touchscreen and an additional 14-inch 4K ScreenPad™ Plus, offering extended visual workspace and enhanced multitasking capabilities.

Key specifications include:

1. Processor: Options range from the Intel® Core™ i7-9750H to the high-performance Intel® Core™ i9-10980HK, providing up to 5.3 GHz of processing power with 8 cores.
2. Graphics: The Zenbook Pro Duo laptop is equipped with NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX™ 2060 and 6GB GDDR6 VRAM, offering robust graphics performance suitable for demanding creative tasks, gaming, and VR experiences.
3. Memory and Storage: It offers up to 32GB DDR4 onboard memory and 1TB M.2 NVMe™ PCIe® 3.0 Performance SSD, ensuring swift data access and ample storage space.
4. Display: The primary display is a 15.6-inch 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) OLED touchscreen, known for its vivid colors and deep blacks. The ScreenPad™ Plus adds a 14-inch 4K IPS-level Panel, also supporting stylus input, enhancing productivity for creative tasks.
5. Connectivity: The Zenbook Pro Duo laptop includes a variety of I/O ports, such as 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A, 1x Thunderbolt™ 3 (supports display and power delivery), and 1x HDMI 2.0a. It also features Wi-Fi 6 (802.11ax) for high-speed wireless connectivity.
6. Audio: The audio system, tuned by Harman Kardon, delivers premium sound quality, enhancing the multimedia experience.
7. Build and Design: It meets the MIL-STD 810G military standard, indicating a durable and reliable build. The design is sleek, finished in Celestial Blue, and includes an ergonomically designed backlit Chiclet Keyboard.
8. Additional Features: The laptop comes with an HD camera with IR function to support Windows Hello, providing secure and convenient biometric login. It also has Alexa built-in with a dedicated light bar for voice control.
9. Gaming Performance: With its RTX 2060 GPU, the Zenbook Pro Duo can handle modern games efficiently at Full HD resolution, offering a decent balance between performance and visual fidelity in various settings.

Overall, the ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo UX581 stands out for its dual-display design, powerful hardware, and range of features tailored for professionals in creative fields. Its robust performance capabilities also make it a competent choice for gaming and entertainment​​​​​​​​​​.

Specification

Performance

The ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo UX581, designed as a dual-screen workhorse, offers a unique and powerful experience in day-to-day usage, particularly for users involved in multitasking or creative work.

Key Features and Daily Performance:

1. Dual-Screen Setup: The ZenBook Pro Duo features a primary 15.6-inch 4K OLED main display and a secondary 14-inch 4K matte touchscreen, known as the ScreenPad Plus. This setup allows for extended screen space, ideal for multitasking, with the ability to split windows and apps across both displays​​.
2. Display Quality: The main OLED screen offers 100% DCI-P3 color coverage, 133% sRGB, and HDR500 True Black certification, making it suitable for color-sensitive work. The ScreenPad Plus also delivers a responsive touch experience, though it exhibits some differences in brightness and image quality compared to the main screen​​​​.
3. Keyboard and Touchpad: The keyboard provides a comfortable typing experience, similar to the ROG Zephyrus notebooks, with quick, springy keys. However, it requires adaptation due to its sensitivity and layout. The touchpad, positioned to the right of the keyboard, is functional but small, making an external mouse a preferable option for many users​​​​.
4. Build and Design: The ZenBook Pro Duo is constructed with an all-aluminum build, featuring a blue tinge and a brushed metal finish. Its ErgoLift design improves the typing position and enhances cooling efficiency. However, its size and weight make it more of a desktop replacement than a portable laptop​​.
5. Connectivity: The laptop includes essential ports like USB Type-C with Thunderbolt 3, HDMI, and USB 3.1 Type-A. However, it lacks a MicroSD reader and has fewer ports compared to some previous models​​.
6. Performance Hardware: It is powered by up to a 9th generation Intel Core i7-9750H Quad Core Processor with NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, 1TB PCIe NVMe SSD, and 16GB DDR4 RAM. This configuration is capable of handling professional-quality tasks like photo or video editing, 3D graphics rendering, and even game live-streaming​​.
7. Wireless Connectivity: The laptop features Wi-Fi 6 compatibility for high-speed internet access, although some users have reported issues with wireless connectivity that may require checking immediately after purchase​​.
8. Accessories and Warranty: It includes an active WACOM stylus and a plastic wrist rest, enhancing the creative and ergonomic experience. The laptop comes with a standard one-year limited warranty​​.

In summary, the ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo UX581 excels in providing a unique dual-screen experience, powerful performance, and high-quality displays, making it particularly suitable for creative professionals and multitaskers. Its keyboard and touchpad design, along with its size, orient it more towards being a stationary, rather than a portable, device. Users should be aware of potential connectivity issues and the limited port selection.

Pros

1. Dual-Screen Setup: The primary 15.6-inch 4K OLED display and secondary 14-inch 4K ScreenPad Plus offer extended screen space and are ideal for multitasking, enhancing productivity and creative workflows​​​​.
2. High-Quality Displays: Both screens are of high quality, with the main OLED screen offering excellent color coverage (100% sRGB, 97% AdobeRGB, 100% DCI P3) and the ScreenPad Plus also delivering a good visual experience​​.
3. Keyboard Design: The keyboard provides a comfortable typing experience, similar to desktop keyboards, with decent key travel and responsiveness​​​​.
4. Powerful Performance: Equipped with high-end processors (Intel Core i9 or i7), substantial RAM, and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GPU, it delivers strong performance suitable for demanding tasks​​.
5. Quiet Operations: The laptop operates quietly, adding to the comfort of use​​.
6. Innovative Design: The unique dual-screen design is praised for its innovation and usefulness​​.

Cons

1. Size and Weight: The laptop is relatively heavy and bulky, impacting its portability​​.
2. Limited Connectivity Options: There’s a lack of certain ports like a MicroSD reader and additional USB Type-C ports​​​​.
3. Cramped Trackpad: The trackpad is small and positioned to the right, which might be inconvenient for some users, especially left-handed ones​​​​.
4. Potential Wi-Fi Issues: Some units have experienced issues with Wi-Fi connectivity, which might require checking immediately after purchase​​.
5. Battery Life: Due to its powerful hardware and dual screens, the battery life is limited, especially when both screens are in use​​.
6. Cost: The laptop is quite expensive, which could be a significant factor for budget-conscious buyers​​.

In summary, the ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo UX581 excels in display quality, performance, and innovation with its dual-screen setup. However, these features come at the cost of portability, battery life, and affordability. The trackpad design and potential connectivity issues are also points to consider.

Final Thoughts

The ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo UX581 stands as a testament to ASUS’s commitment to innovation and performance in the laptop market. This model, characterized by its dual-screen setup, addresses the evolving needs of multitaskers and creative professionals, offering a unique blend of functionality and design. Here is an expert perspective on the laptop:

Design and Build

The UX581’s distinctive feature is its dual-screen design, consisting of a primary 15.6-inch 4K OLED display and a secondary 14-inch 4K ScreenPad Plus. This setup is not just a gimmick but a functional extension of the workspace, ideal for creative tasks like video editing, 3D modeling, or even for simpler multitasking like browsing and content consumption. However, this design choice dictates the placement of other components like the keyboard and touchpad, leading to a unique user experience​​​​.

Keyboard and Touchpad

The keyboard, pushed forward due to the second screen, feels akin to a desktop keyboard, offering a comfortable typing experience with 1.4mm key travel. The keys have a solid feel, but the layout might feel cramped for some users, and the elevated front edge can interfere with the usage of the space key. The clickpad, positioned on the right, is smaller than usual, making an external mouse a recommended accessory for prolonged use. The presence of shortcut keys for screen and performance control adds functionality but also requires a period of adjustment for the user​​​​.

Performance and Usage

Powered by high-end Intel processors and NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060, the UX581 delivers robust performance for most tasks, from everyday computing to more demanding creative work. However, the system’s ergonomics and weight lean more towards a desktop replacement than a portable notebook. This aspect is crucial for users who value mobility. The device runs cool and quiet, which is commendable given its powerful internals​​.

Display Quality

The primary OLED screen is a visual treat with excellent color coverage and brightness, making it ideal for color-critical work. The secondary ScreenPad Plus, while useful, shows noticeable differences in brightness and color accuracy when compared to the main screen. The viewing angles on the ScreenPad Plus can also affect the legibility of content, which might require users to adjust their viewing position frequently​​.

Connectivity and Maintenance

Connectivity options on the UX581 are somewhat limited, with the omission of a MicroSD reader and one USB Type-C port, which might disappoint some users. Maintenance and upgrades are relatively straightforward, but the RAM is soldered, limiting future expandability. The inclusion of an Intel AX200 module provides Wi-Fi 6 compatibility, though some units have reported wireless connectivity issues​​.

Creative and Professional Use

The UX581 shines in scenarios requiring multiple active applications or tools, where the dual-screen setup becomes a significant productivity booster. Its suitability for creative professionals, especially those in graphic design, video editing, and similar fields, is evident. However, the color accuracy and over-saturation on the OLED screen might require calibration for professional-grade editing tasks​​.

In conclusion, the ASUS Zenbook Pro Duo UX581 is a bold step in laptop design, offering unparalleled multitasking capabilities with its dual-screen setup. While it excels in performance and display quality, its ergonomics, weight, and certain design choices make it more suited as a desktop replacement than a traditional laptop. This model is ideal for users who require a powerful, stationary workstation with the added benefits of a secondary screen for enhanced productivity and creative work.

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