It did not blanche at my standard 12 tabs and a 1080p split-screen test (which it should have no issue with), all the while Spotify and Discord stayed snappy and responsive on the ScreenPad Plus display. Asus ZenBook Duo 14 review: PerformanceĪrmed with an Intel Evo 11th Gen Core i7-1165G7 processor and 8GB of RAM, the Asus ZenBook Duo 14 is pretty speedy. And if you turn off that utility, you'll learn how much heavy lifting it's doing, as sound quality drops off tremendously. ![]() Its default Music setting is its best for all kinds of entertainment, and the Movies and Games settings don't improve its audio enough to merit the few taps it takes to open the app and change them. So, manage your volume right and you'll hear the songs you love accurately, as I heard Rage Against the Machine's "Guerilla Radio" hard-hitting drums and insane guitar riffs come out clearly, while the bass of Maya B's "Selenas" rattled appropriately.Īnd just forget about the DTS Audio Processing utility that's built in. As I played a selection of my favorite Spotify playlists (the soundtracks to Tony Hawk's Pro Skater and Promising Young Woman), I noticed that songs carried a bit of distortion if I raised the volume beyond 75% - and they fill a medium-sized room at that level. The ZenBook Duo 14's Harman/Kardon-branded speakers sound good, provided you don't turn them up too high. The touchpad doesn't have a physical clicking mechanism, and that's something you may have to get used to, but it didn't prove problematic for me. My only issue with the touchpad came when my pinky finger accidentally jabbed its left-click button when I wanted to click the Right directional key (which is horizontally adjacent). Because of its odd and unusual position, I mostly forgot that it existed, opting to tap the screen with my hands when necessary. Fortunately, I have one on hand to save myself from a wrist injury from the awkward typing angle - where your wrists have nothing to sit on.Īnd then there's the awkward 2.6 x 2.1-inch touchpad, which sits to the right of the keyboard. But while I appreciate the fact that the keys are quiet, this machine needs its own wrist rest. On the 10fastfingers typing test, I click-clacked my way to 75 words per minute (not far from my 80 wpm average), with a great 96% accuracy (maybe a point or two off my average. Asus ZenBook Duo 14 review: Keyboard, touchpadĪs unconventional as the ZenBook Duo 14's typing experience is, its keys are excellent for jamming through line after line of text. By contrast, the MacBook Pro's Touch Bar still feels like a gimmick in search of a problem to fix, while the ScreenPad Plus is here for those who want more screen space. But even just for my every-day productivity needs, I found the ScreenPad Plus valuable in its own right. Users of those apps can get a whole panel of touch-sensitive controls. There are even additional ScreenPad Plus modes for creativity apps, such as After Effects, Photoshop, Premiere Pro and Lightroom Classic. Further, you don't need McAfee: Windows Defender has gotten pretty good over the years. While we wish it didn't have bloatware like McAfee Antivirus - which spams you with pestering messages to subscribe or risk your security - that's more of the status quo than anything particularly surprising. Asus ZenBook Duo 14 review: Softwareįor the most part, the ZenBook Duo 14 is a vanilla-standard version of Windows 10. Web pages also scrolled smoothly as I navigated Google Docs and longer sites. The ZenBook Duo 14's touchscreens responded to taps and swipes speedily. ![]() Still, the ZenBook Duo's anti-glare coating and overall screen quality helped colors stay strong when viewed at 30 degrees to the left and right, which doesn't always happen on screens with less than 400 nits of brightness. The MacBook Air (365 nits) and XPS 13 (469 nits) get much brighter, as does 392.3-nit ScreenPad Plus. The ScreenPad Plus only hits 64.5%.Īs my eyes could tell, the ZenBook Duo 14 could stand to be brighter, maxing out at 307.4 nits. Asus packs in a small folding stand to make it easier to see for all use cases, but that wedge doesn't help as much as I'd like.Īccording to our colorimeter, the main display emits 114.7% of the sRGB spectrum, a similar score to the 114.3% from the MacBook Air with M1 and better than the 97.9% from the XPS 13. I found this out at my own desk, when I tried to switch my MacBook Pro out for the ZenBook Duo 14, and found myself craning my neck to see it from the right angle. Unfortunately, those who use a stand to elevate their laptop screen to an ergonomic-friendly eye-level will find the ScreenPad Plus slightly harder to see. ![]() The ScreenPad Plus' 7 degrees of elevation are best for those who place their laptop directly on their desk.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |