I come from Apple's MacBook world, so I'm used to well-built, powerful laptops that, above all, don't take risks and, after several years of the same design, are starting to feel very boring. If you're a MacBook Pro or MacBook Air user, you know deep down that the above statement is true.

That's why, when the opportunity to try out the Asus Zenbook Duo (2026) came along, I jumped at the chance. First off, it's one of the first laptops to feature Intel's Core Ultra 3 series Panther Lake CPU, offering a potent blend of Lunar Lake and Arrow Lake that, in my experience over the past week, perfectly balances great battery life and performance, easily rivaling Apple's M series chips (check out XDA senior author Joe Rice-Jones' full review of the new Asus Zenbook Duo for a deeper dive on the laptop).

With that in mind, aside from a few keyboard issues, I've really enjoyed using the Zenbook Duo for work over the past few days.

Welcome to the wild world of dual-display laptops

Two screens are indeed better than one

Beyond the notable hardware upgrade, the Asus ZenBook Duo's main draw is its pair of displays. I'll admit I was skeptical at first. How would I even use the dual screens? Am I supposed to flip them to the side? What's the deal with the super flat Surface Pro 3-like keyboard? Won't two displays mean this thing features awful battery life? But after spending several days with the Zenbook Duo, I'm all in — I've never used a laptop this versatile and productivity-focused.

I typically start my work day by answering several emails, responding to a few Slack messages, and laying out my content and editing plan for the next few hours. Usually, I'm in my basement office, but to put the ZenBook Duo through a real-world productivity test, I started things off by using it on my lap in my living room. This is one of my favorite things about the laptop's unique design — if you don't want to use the dual screens, you don't have to. Just leave the keyboard attached, and use it just as you would any other standard laptop.

After this brief portion of my day, it was time to edit a few features, including one that required some fact-checking and involved edits. I popped off the bottom keyboard, which snaps off easily from its magnetic connector despite feeling very secure when attached, and pulled out the ZenBook Duo's surprisingly firm kickstand from its back. I was immediately worried the screen portion of the ZenBook Duo would tip over, but it's surprisingly well-balanced and sturdy, though it's not exactly well-suited for use on your lap. As long as it's on a flat surface and the kickstand is nearly fully extended, you can tilt the top display to any angle you want.

Vertical dual-screen mode is where I landed

It feels like I can take my office setup with me anywhere

This meant I shifted over to my kitchen table with the ZenBook Duo still in vertical dual-screen mode. On one screen, I opened the story in question, and on the other, I pulled up a list of specs about a specified device. My office setup is an M3 MAx MacBook Pro on the left and a monitor directly in front of me, so the top-down stacked displays didn't feel natural. Eventually, I decided to flip the ZenBook Duo's screens on their side, and this is where things really clicked.

While the side aspect ratio is a little weird, it replicates the dual-screen office setup I've been hooked on for years, pretty much anywhere I want. Just like with the stacked orientation, the screen doesn't feel like it's going to tip over as long as it's on a flat surface, even with only a kickstand on one side (you just need to make sure you put it out quite a bit). With this setup, I situated the story I was editing on one side and the research on the other.

The side-set dual-screens also came in handy when I was writing a story based on a press release, as they let me pull up XDA's CMS on the right display and the press release on the left. The same applies to editing images in Photoshop for a feature I was working on. I opened Photoshop on one screen and XDA's CMS on the other, allowing me to lay out the story's images with ease, just as I would with my office monitor and laptop display dual-screen setup.

The Zenbook Duo's keyboard could be improved

Using a completely flat keyboard is not a good time

With the ZenBook Duo, I effectively have two screens at all times. Sure, you can do this on a standard laptop by splitting the display down the middle, but the experience doesn't feel as seamless as what the ZenBook Duo offers. I can see this dual-screen setup being extremely useful when I'm traveling and blogging away in a hotel room. In this less-than-ideal work situation, I often miss my at-home setup.

The overall experience isn't perfect, though. I really don't like the ZenBook Duo's Bluetooth keyboard. Compared to the high-quality look and feel of the rest of the laptop, its keyboard feels cheap, and the recessed keys remind me of Apple's ill-fated Butterfly keyboard. Additionally, using the keyboard on its own with the ZenBook Duo's screens detached doesn't feel great. If it had a kickstand that provided at least a bit of elevation, the ergonomics would be better, but even then, the keys and trackpad would still feel mushy and unresponsive. Sure, I could use any Bluetooth keyboard with the ZenBook Duo, but that sort of defeats the purpose of its portability.

Overall, I've enjoyed my time with the ZenBook Duo (2026), and I'm excited to take it on my next work trip and do some light gaming, given Intel's claims about Panther Lake's integrated graphics performance. I think that kind of on-the-go worth situation is where this unique laptop shines because it gives you the best of both worlds. It's very portable in standard laptop mode, but when you're working on the go and have the space, popping off the keyboard to take advantage of the dual-screens replicates my at-home workflow.