The Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo 15 is a gaming laptop built for a world that doesn’t exist anymore, and maybe never did. That’s not to say that gaming laptops aren’t important in our new and ruined world, but one this ostentatious somehow feels like a relic of a bygone age.
It has two screens. That’s the Duo part. It's also the whole “why does this exist” part. Imagine the MacBook Pro’s Touch Bar, but if it was as big as a keyboard. The Duo’s secondary display takes up half of the lower part of the laptop. Otherwise, this is essentially the standard Asus ROG Zephyrus chassis we’ve seen on the non-Duo Zephyrus 15. Same dimensions, same display, same hardware. Which means it’s a good and capable gaming laptop. So why does it need a second display? It doesn’t.
Two Displays, Both Alike in DignityThis is not the first dual-screen laptop from Asus. And on paper, it’s not a bad idea for content creators.
When you’re working in Adobe Photoshop or Premiere, a laptop display can feel cramped. That’s why you see so many creative professionals hooking up MacBook Pros to full-size desktop monitors. Extra screen real estate is nice to have when you’re juggling so many windows. Similarly, a secondary display like the one on the Duo could be helpful when you’re doing intensive work—like videogame livestreaming.
There’s a catch though. OK, several catches. First, and this is the same one that makes Apple’s Touch Bar a misfire from a design perspective: It’s just not intuitive to look down from your main screen to check out the fun-sized second screen that’s at keyboard-height. It’s like typing on a tablet—you have to keep looking down, not to mention it feels stilted and uncomfortable.
The second screen does sit at an angle, but I kept wanting to swivel it out and just have it beside the main display on the Duo. There’s something about having two displays side-by-side that feels more intuitive than having them stacked on top of each other.
