Duel of the dual screen laptops

There’s no getting around owning a laptop these days, especially if we travel often or don’t have the space for a desktop computer. But as time has gone on, many of us have invested in an external monitor or two to better handle all the windows we need to have visible at the same time. We could arrange them all on one screen, but the smaller the laptop, the harder it is to read two windows side by side, let alone scroll through them. But who wants the hassle of traveling with a portable monitor? I sure don’t. So I tested the Asus Zenbook Duo and the Lenovo Yoga Book 9i head to head to see which ones would alleviate those issues the best.

The Zenbook Duo looks like a regular laptop until you remove the keyboard and trackpad that cover the entire bottom screen. I enjoyed the look of awe on my friends’ faces every time I did that. It felt like performing a magic trick. The Yoga Book, meanwhile, looks like two tablets stuck together, and its keyboard hides only half of the bottom screen, so you know right away that it’s different. “What is that? Is that a laptop?!” is the most common response I received from people when they first saw it. These and other small design differences have a big effect on the overall experience of using them.

The dual screens give you lots of options. Both the Zenbook Duo and Yoga Book 9i can be used as traditional laptops with either a physical keyboard and trackpad (Zenbook) or a physical keyboard and mouse (Yoga Book); taking notes on the bottom display in clamshell mode; or with their displays oriented vertically or horizontally. They both also have virtual keyboards and trackpads.

For the dual screens to remain stable while upright, the Zenbook Duo has a kickstand attached to the bottom chassis, while the Yoga Book comes with a keyboard folio cover that transforms into a stand with a flat, triangular back and a thick lip at the bottom to keep the laptop in place.

Only the Yoga Book has a 360-degree hinge that rotates the displays back to back, so you can use it as a tablet. (The Zenbook Duo’s top display folds back 180 degrees.) It’s thick for a tablet, but when I need to walk around my classroom as I’m teaching, it’s far less unwieldy than the Zenbook. The Yoga Book is also lighter and thinner when folded, at 2.95lbs and 0.63 inches compared to the Zenbook’s 3.62lbs and 0.78 inches.

Neither of these laptops is great for using directly on your lap, though. The Zenbook Duo can get uncomfortably hot if the processor is running as fast as it can, and there’s a vent that blows hot air directly into your lap. The Yoga Book is fine temperature-wise, but the keyboard can easily shift and twist a few centimeters despite attaching magnetically over the bottom display.

Winner: Lenovo Yoga Book 9i

The Zenbook can be configured with either an Intel Core Ultra 7 or 9 H-series processor, while the Yoga Book has only an Intel Core Ultra 7 U-series option. Both can be configured with 16GB or 32GB of memory, but the Zenbook offers larger storage options, 1TB and 2TB, compared to the Yoga Book’s 512GB and 1TB.

Both laptops have OLED displays, but the Zenbook’s are physically larger at 14 inches, with higher resolution and refresh rate: up to 2880 x 1800 at 120Hz, compared to the Yoga Book’s twin 13.3-inch, 1920 x 1200 at 60Hz. (The Zenbook also has a 1920 x 1200, 60Hz option.) The Zenbook’s displays get brighter, at 500 nits compared to 400.

The Zenbook Duo takes a Swiss Army knife approach with its port options: one USB-A, two Thunderbolt 4 USB-C, one HDMI, and even a 3.5mm combo audio jack. The Yoga Book has only three Thunderbolt 4 USB-C ports, so you’re more reliant on hubs, dongles, and Bluetooth if you connect a lot of accessories to your laptop.

Both laptops use tap or swipe gestures to pull up and put away the virtual keyboard and trackpad, flick windows from one screen to the other, extend a window across both screens and launch more than one app at the same time. The exact number of fingers or swiping motion for the gestures differ between the laptops — and Lenovo does a better job at teaching you how to use those gestures.

The Yoga Book’s User Center software is one of the first things that pops up the first time you power on the laptop. It’s both a guide and a setting portal with clear instructions and visuals and lets you turn any of the gestures on or off, including the option to automatically launch its bespoke notetaking app when you open Microsoft Teams or Zoom.

Lenovo also recently added an app group launcher that lets you launch two apps at the same time, one on the top and one on the bottom. You can customize up to four pairs or let the computer do it for you, but Zenbook one-ups the Yoga Book here. You can launch more than two apps at the same time and assign them to a specific Window’s layout.

But when it comes to teaching you how to use all the gestures and features, the Zenbook tosses you into a pool and says “Swim.” Its instructions are buried within ScreenXpert, Asus’ equivalent to Lenovo’s program. Some of its gestures don’t work consistently, either, like the five-finger gesture for expanding a window across both displays. It would zoom in on the page at the same time because it thought I was also using the two-finger gesture for zooming in and out.

Winner: Lenovo Yoga Book 9i

The 14-inch Zenbook and 13.3-inch Yoga Book are both compact enough to fit inside most bags, but the Zenbook is more convenient to stow because its lid folds right over the physical keyboard and trackpad, like a regular laptop. If the kickstand is popped out, just give it a firm pushback in and — bada bing — you’re done.

For the Yoga Book, you have to detach the keyboard from the bottom screen, fold up the laptop and place it to the side, attach the keyboard to the magnetic portion of the folio stand (if not already attached), and then wrap the folio around the keyboard before you can put both in your bag. That doesn’t include finding a pocket inside your bag for the mouse that comes with the laptop.

Lenovo does win a few points for attaching an elastic band to the folio that holds the included stylus. The Zenbook includes a stylus, but you’ll have to figure out where you’re going to put it when you pack up your things to go to Narnia or wherever.

Virtual trackpads suck, straight-up, and they suck on both the Zenbook and Yoga Book for the same reason: it’s too easy to accidentally minimize or close the active window when all you’re trying to do is “click” on a link or something else on the screen. This happened frequently when I was using either laptop.

Both virtual keyboards are fine for tapping out quick messages, but I prefer the larger surface area of the Yoga Book’s keys. I had fewer mistypes compared to the Zenbook, but I liked the Zenbook’s physical low-profile keys more. Their subtle, clicky sound and tactile feel were similar to the Yoga Book’s, but my presses traveled further and made me feel like I had more control over how fast I typed. (I’m a heavy-fingered typist.)

The biggest surprise was the terrible quality of the Zenbook’s Harman Kardon-branded speakers. They made my favorite playlist with a lot of bass-heavy songs sound surprisingly tinny. Spoken dialogue comes through loud and clear, but how they handled my favorite styles of music made me want to cry. The Bowers & Wilkins-branded system in the Yoga Book is well-balanced right out of the box.

Winner: Lenovo Yoga Book 9i

These laptops have different personalities and are appealing for different reasons. The Zenbook Duo is for people who want a traditional laptop with a variety of ports and the option to dual-screen drive if they want to. It’s for the people who want the best specs for the price and don’t want to stand out while using it.

But the Yoga Book 9i is the winner for me. It’s for people who want to get away from the traditional laptop form factor without losing all of its essential comforts and dual-screen drive all day long. It’s thinner, lighter, and prettier, and — while it takes a little longer to pack up — the keyboard folio doubling as a laptop stand is a clever design. The touchscreen gestures work consistently, and it’s clear Lenovo put a lot of thought into making sure it provided clear and easily accessible instructions on how to use them.

Photos by Joanna Nelius / The Verge