Summary

• Lenovo led the charge on dual-screen laptops with the Yoga Book, addressing early challenges to improve the user experience over time.
• As the Zenbook Duo hits the market with its own unique features, competition grows for innovative dual-screen laptops in the future.
• While the Yoga Book excels in unique design and functionality, improvements in areas like port selection and performance options are necessary.

Dual-screen laptops didn't just appear out of nowhere in recent years. A long list of prototypes dates back to the early 2000s, with standouts like the Acer Iconia 6120 and Toshiba Libretto W100 coming in as a couple of the first Windows-based products to actually see a full release.

Where I really started to pay attention was with the original Lenovo Yoga Book, a 2016 release that brought us a 10.1-inch primary display paired with a slate-style base that could display a digital keyboard or act as a drawing pad with the included Wacom pen. It was incredibly cool, but it suffered from poor Intel Atom performance. It also wasn't quite a true dual-screen laptop (at least as we know them now), but Lenovo forged ahead with the Yoga Book C930 in 2018.

The Yoga Book C930 had two 10.8-inch touch displays joined by a watchband hinge. The main IPS LCD display had a 2560x1600 (QHD) resolution, while the bottom screen had a 1920x1080 (FHD) resolution with e-ink technology. You could use the bottom e-ink display as a keyboard, as a sketchpad, or as an e-reader, with haptics built in to accommodate a more realistic feel.

Microsoft teased us with the Surface Neo back in 2019, but it never actually made it to a full release. But as XDA Senior Editor Rich Woods noted in his hands-on time with 2023's Yoga Book 9i, Lenovo picked up the yoke and gave us the Neo that Microsoft never could.

Lenovo has now launched its Yoga Book 9i for 2024, complete with more powerful Intel Core Ultra CPU and some improved software features to make the user experience more streamlined. It remains physically unchanged from the 2023 model, with dual 13.3-inch OLED touch displays at a 2.8K resolution, separate keyboard and folio stand, and premium aluminum body with soundbar hinge splitting the displays.

Another device that caught my attention, unveiled at CES 2024, is the Asus Zenbook Duo. It's also a dual-screen laptop with OLED touch displays, but it does a few things differently compared to the Yoga Book 9i. I'm expecting to see more dual-screen laptops announced in the near future, and while I love the Yoga Book 9i, there are some areas where it could be improved to help keep it in healthy competition with other makers.

4 Incorporate a touchpad into the keyboard

And give the keys a backlight!

One of the first things that stood out to me about the Zenbook Duo 14 is its keyboard design. Whereas the Yoga Book 9i has a half-keyboard without a touchpad — it connects magnetically to the bottom display where you can use the screen's glass as a touchpad — the Zenbook Duo has a full keyboard with sizable touchpad built right in.

This makes it a lot easier to use when separated from the rest of the laptop, like when you have it stood up in dual-display mode. Sure, you can use an external mouse, but, in my opinion, you're already carrying around enough Yoga Book 9i hardware (folio stand, keyboard, pen, and laptop are all separate pieces).

The Zenbook Duo's keyboard also stores itself between the two displays. This results in an unsightly gap if you close the laptop without the keyboard, but it packs down easier than the Yoga Book 9i and its external keyboard (and stand) storage.

Also, let's get some backlighting on the keyboard. I don't want to spend $2,000+ on a laptop and not get a backlight to help with working after hours.

3 Improve the port selection

The Zenbook Duo gets it right

The Yoga Book 9i offers just three Thunderbolt 4 ports. There's not even a 3.5mm audio jack, but I'll forgive that in the face of the rotating soundbar hinge with quad-speaker setup and Dolby Atmos.

Narrowing port selection to two or three Thunderbolt 4 isn't out of the ordinary for modern, high-end laptops. But even the more traditional Yoga 9i adds USB-A and a 3.5mm audio jack to the three USB-C ports (two of which support Thunderbolt 4).

The Yoga Book 9i makes a case for itself as a mobile workstation of sorts thanks to the two displays always ready to go, but forcing users to carry around a dongle or USB-C hub in addition to all the other accessories isn't ideal. The Zenbook Duo's two Thundebolt 4, USB-A, HDMI 2.1, and 3.5mm audio jack should make a lot more sense for most workflows.

2 Add optional 5G connectivity

Surely there's room for one more antenna?

I know, I know. There's already more than I can imagine going on inside the laptop, with every bit of space utilized in the most efficient way. But couldn't we sneak in some extra wireless connectivity? 5G wireless is becoming evermore common in modern business laptops, but I think it would be a great addition to the more consumer-focused Yoga Book 9i.

In our Yoga Book 9i (2023) review, XDA Editor-in-Chief Rich Woods mentions that the dual-screen mode "really turns your laptop into a desktop workstation on the go." That means an appeal for busy professionals who can't sit at a desk, which is where the mobile connectivity could really become a boon.

1 Offer more performance hardware options

Make it more affordable in the process

Looking at Lenovo's storefront at the time of writing, there's just one pre-made configuration option available to buy. It has an Intel Core Ultra 7 155U CPU with integrated graphics, 16GB of LPDDR5x RAM, and 1TB M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSD. While Lenovo lists in some reference documents up to 32GB of RAM, I'm afraid the extra memory might not make it to all markets. And with everything going on in a dual-screen laptop, 16GB just seems a bit low to not cause at least mild performance issues.

Beyond that, the Zenbook Duo is equipped with the more powerful Core Ultra H-series chips, with up to a Core Ultra 9 185H option. That's going to bring better performance to appeal to those with more intensive workflows, but it comes at the cost of an overall design that isn't quite as streamlined or appealing.

A few more things

The Zenbook Duo's incorporated stand is certainly compelling from a mobility standpoint. Being able to fold it up against the laptop's base and not worry about it falling off in transit is appealing, but is it actually better than the Yoga Book 9i's folio-style stand? Hard to say, as I haven't yet tested the Zenbook Duo first hand. It makes sense from a mobility standpoint, which is where the Yoga Book 9i certainly falls behind with its array of standalone accessories.

There's also the matter of pricing. The Yoga Book 9i starts, at the time of writing, at about $2,060. The Zenbook Duo 14, on the other hands, starts at $1,500. True, the displays in the most affordable model are only set at a 1920x1200 resolution, but they're still OLED with 100% DCI-P3 color and 500 nits brightness with HDR enabled. And the Zenbook Duo at least partly makes up for it by offering the more powerful H-series CPUs. Having these more affordable models will no doubt appeal to more users, which ties into my last point listed above.

Be sure to check out our Asus Zenbook Duo (2024) vs. Yoga Book 9i (2024) comparison for more details if you're interested in buying either device.