ASUS Announces ZenBook Pro Duo (UX581) with Revolutionary ScreenPad Plus

As many computer users can attest when it comes to using a laptop there is never enough screen real estate.  On a desktop this has been solved by adding more monitors which can also be done with laptops however, it often requires a docking station or expansion module to support the additional displays.

ASUS has finally answered the issue of small laptop screens by simply adding a full width 4k panel with touch support to the unused section of their ZenBook Pro series laptops.  At CES we saw these laptops and the huge blank area was where you could find the desktop graphics and multi core processor.

The addition screen works seamless with the existing panel allowing you to spawn off separate processes and interact with them.  A good example is with sound editing, you can have the waveforms showing on the main screen while the mixer controls that you normally use a mouse to interact with are now touch enabled on the secondary screen.

The same goes for video editing and for streamers and other gamers the chat windows and cheat sheets can be shown on the secondary screen with no impact on what is playing on the primary screen.

World's first ScreenPad Plus laptop: 14" full-width 4K ScreenPad Plus touchscreen interacts seamlessly with main display for enhanced creativity

Ultrapowerful performance: Built for effortless creativity with up to 9th Gen Intel Core i9 CPU, gaming-grade GeForce RTX 2060 GPU and Wi-Fi 6

Brilliant visuals: Frameless four-sided 4K OLED HDR NanoEdge main display with 100,000:1 contrast ratio and DCI-P3 100%, delivering breathtaking quality

ZenBook Duo (UX481): Smaller 14" ultraportable version is also available with 12.6” FHD ScreenPad Plus, Intel Core i7 CPU and GeForce MX250 GPU

TAIPEI, Taiwan, May 27, 2019 — ASUS today announced ZenBook Pro Duo (UX581), a groundbreaking laptop featuring the new ASUS ScreenPad™ Plus, a revolutionary 14-inch full-width secondary touchscreen that expands and enhances the interactive capabilities offered by the original ASUS ScreenPad.

ScreenPad Plus offers endless creative possibilities for content creators, allowing productivity-enhancing workflows and easy multitasking. It integrates seamlessly with the primary display, and the built-in ScreenXpert software includes a wide selection of useful apps, tools and utilities that allow users to easily enjoy the efficiency benefits of ScreenPad Plus.

Extreme performance for effortless creativity is provided by up to 9th Generation Intel® Core™ processors, combined with up to 32GB RAM and an NVIDIA® GeForce RTX™ 2060 GPU, with ultrafast storage provided by up to a 1TB PCIe® 3.0 x4 SSD.

ZenBook Pro Duo features a stunning 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) OLED touchscreen for breathtaking visuals, a 4K (3840 x 1100) ScreenPad Plus and an ASUS NumberPad dual-function touchpad. The display is a frameless four-sided ASUS NanoEdge design, with ultraslim bezels for immersive visuals and an ultracompact form factor.

The brand new Celestial Blue color gives ZenBook Pro Duo a sophisticated air of timeless innovation. It’s also decorated with a unique asymmetric version of the iconic Zen-inspired spun-metal finish: an intriguing design detail that gives ZenBook Pro Duo a totally unmistakable identity.

A 14-inch ultraportable variant, ZenBook Duo (UX481), is also available, featuring a frameless four-sided NanoEdge FHD display and an FHD ScreenPad Plus. It's powered by up to an Intel Core i7 processor and a GeForce MX250 GPU.

Create the uncreated: ultimate productivity
The unique 4K ScreenPad Plus on ZenBook Pro Duo gives users the ability to enjoy the productivity and efficiency benefits of using two separate LCD displays on a single portable device. The full-width, high-resolution 32:9 aspect-ratio touchscreen sits directly above the laptop's keyboard, providing a greatly enlarged visual workspace while preserving the standard laptop form factor.

ScreenPad Plus can be used just like any standard second display in Windows to display visual content, or users can take advantage of many time-saving features and functions built into the ScreenXpert control software to simplify multiscreen window and app management. These include handy quick controls such as App Switcher, ViewMax and App Navigator that enable intuitive interactions and easy cross-screen referencing between the main display and ScreenPad Plus. Task Group lets users lock instantly into work mode by opening multiple tasks with a single touch.

Users can also drag discrete apps, toolbars or menus onto ScreenPad Plus to reduce clutter on the main screen and enhance work efficiency. Creators can dock their tools such as video previews, timeline controls, code windows or audio mixer panels onto ScreenPad Plus to optimize their workflow. Social communications apps placed on ScreenPad Plus allow users to keep up to date and respond instantly to messages while working, without having to switch between windows.

Adaptive functions, pioneered in the original ScreenPad, also offer enhanced workflow. ASUS is working with developers including Corel® to optimize adaptive ScreenPad tools for the ultimate productivity. However, any Windows app can be used with ScreenPad Plus, with no need for a specific ScreenPad Plus-enabled version1.

Using the bundled stylus2 — or any other active stylus — enables yet another layer of interactivity for users, with ScreenPad Plus offering a superbly stable platform for writing or drawing. A bundled deluxe palm rest3 enhances the ErgoLift tilting keyboard design even further for the most comfortable drawing or typing experience ever.

ZenBook Pro Duo features the latest version of the ASUS NumberPad, an LED-illuminated numeric keypad integrated into the touchpad. There's also Amazon Alexa voice support, with a dedicated light bar at the front of the laptop that illuminates to indicate it’s listening.

Ultrapowerful performance
ZenBook Pro Duo is designed for extreme performance to enable effortless creativity. It's powered by up to a 9th Generation Intel Core i9 eight-core processor with up to an unprecedented 5GHz Turbo Boost frequency and 32GB of DDR4 RAM. The gaming-grade NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 GPU, powered by the NVIDIA Turing™ architecture, is a game-changing GPU that offers users the power of ray-tracing for the ultimate visual realism.

An up to 1TB PCIe 3.0 x4 SSD ensures ultrafast data access at all times, and the full set of I/O ports includes a Thunderbolt™ 3-enabled USB Type-C™ (USB-C™) port. The latest Intel Wi-Fi 6 with Gig+ (802.11ax) takes wireless speeds to the next level, for supersmooth connections to the world.

To ensure silky-smooth operation and maximum performance are available at all times, there’s a dedicated Turbo Fan button to boost cooling at any time, and the ErgoLift hinge improves airflow under the laptop for better thermal performance.

This potent specification makes ZenBook Pro Duo one of the most powerful laptops available for discerning on-the-go creative professionals, and ensures an ultra-fluid cross-screen workflow when using ScreenPad Plus.

Brilliant visuals
The 4K UHD NanoEdge OLED touchscreen on ZenBook Pro Duo is truly amazing, with a four-sided frameless design featuring an 89% screen-to-body ratio that gives users more screen, and fewer distractions. This brilliant display technology delivers ultra-vivid colors and deep blacks.

To display the most vivid, most realistic colors possible, ZenBook Pro Duo supports an exceptionally wide color gamut with 100% DCI-P3 coverage and HDR. The DCI-P3 color space — widely used in the motion picture industry — is increasingly the preferred choice of creative professionals for its increased range of possible colors, and makes images on ZenBook Pro Duo look simply stunning.

Meet the family
For users requiring a smaller and more affordable ScreenPad Plus laptop, the ultraportable 14-inch ZenBook Duo (UX481) is the perfect choice. It supports the same great ScreenPad Plus features as its larger sibling, but in a lighter and smaller chassis. Powered by up to an Intel Core i7 processor and GeForce MX250 graphics, it has an FHD NanoEdge display and an FHD ScreenPad Plus.