ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED – Why it is one of the best creator laptops to buy in 2022?
The Taiwanese giant has expanded its portfolio significantly in the last few years and has brought in a lot of new laptops for a wide range of people. Its creator series of laptops have redefined the way how productive people like you and I have been doing work, sporting the latest hardware to bring breakthrough features to help us.
Not only ASUS has made OLED a compulsory choice on premium laptops these days but also is one of the few competitors who have tremendously excelled in the last few years and have made laptops to challenge Apple, who remains the undisputed king in terms of productivity laptops with MacBook Pros.
Now, considering this ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED is obviously not cheap, it directly competes against the MacBook Pros which come at a similar price range, but why? Also, it comes to your mind whether you should take a break from the Apple monopoly and consider this Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED.
In this review, we will talk about how ASUS has made things interesting for consumers and has heard their voices for quite some time also, made this unique dual-screen product lineup which competes rightfully against giants like Apple. This is an honest review of this unique ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED creativity-oriented laptop after two weeks of full usage:
ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED Sepcifications
- Processor: 12th Gen Intel Core i9-12900H, 2.5 GHz Base Speed, 24MB Cache, Up to 5.0 GHz Max Turbo Boost, 14 Cores (6P+8E cores)
- Memory: 32GB LPDDR5 5200MHz RAM onboard | Storage: 1TB SSD M.2 NVMe PCIe 4.0 SSD
- Graphics: Dedicated NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti GDDR6 4GB VRAM
- Display: 14.5-inch (36.83 cms), 2.8K (2880 x 1800) OLED 16:10 aspect ratio, LED Backlit, Touch screen, 0.2ms response time, 120Hz refresh rate, 550nits HDR peak brightness, 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, PANTONE Validated, SGS Eye Care Display, With stylus support, Screen-to-body ratio: 93 ％
- Operating System: Pre-Loaded Windows 11 Home with Lifetime Validity | Software: Pre-installed Office Home and Student 2021 with Lifetime Validity
- Design: 1.79 ~ 1.96 cm Thin | Metallic Body | 1.75 kg Weight | Dual-Screen Thin and Light Laptop | 76WHrs, 4-cell Li-ion Battery | Up to 9.5 hours battery life; Note: Battery life depends on conditions of usage
- Second Display: ScreenPad Plus (12.7″ 2880 x 864 IPS-level Panel Support Stylus)
- Keyboard: Backlit Chiclet Keyboard, 1.4mm Key-travel
- I/O Port: 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A | 2x Thunderbolt 4 supports display / power delivery | 1x HDMI 2.1 FRL | 1x 3.5mm Combo Audio Jack | 1x DC-in | Micro SD Express 7.1 card reader
- Other: 720p HD camera | Wi-Fi 6E(802.11ax) | Bluetooth 5 | Smart Amp Technology | Built-in array microphone | Harman/Kardon (Premium) | with Cortana and Alexa voice-recognition support
Design & Build Quality
Being a Zenbook laptop means you expect a premium build quality along with an elegant design, the metal lid, and solid build make this an excellent choice for professionals. Again having a complex design of two displays, the hinge quality is really strong even in a small form factor and you can open the lid with one hand itself.
Weighing only about 1.7Kg, it’s pretty easy to carry while a lot of people might be tensed about the weight due to the dual screens. However, kudos to ASUS because the Pro Duo 15 which I tested earlier was very bulky and gave a huge screen real estate which to be fair was extravagant, now with 14-inch bezel-less display along with a thoughtfully designed second screen, this makes more sense as it’s easy to carry and gets the job done.
The new ASUS logo on the top of the lid looks very subtle and that all-metal design gives a premium appeal just like any other ZenBook laptop. Overall, while the hinge is still very strong, however, you should be careful of that, but it is really satisfying to see the second display come up and down you pull the metal lid, a design masterclass.
Displays
The biggest highlight of this Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED laptop by ASUS has to be the dual displays on this machine which to be fair stands out even in this portable 14-inch chassis form factor. The 14-inch display won’t let you down in terms of size as the bezels are very narrow and you get a good screen real estate.
Also, the quality of the OLED panel is undoubtedly the best, you get a 2.8K (2880 x 1800) resolution, which to be fair is more than enough for creating videos up to 1440p. If you need 4K native resolution go for the Pro Duo 15, this modern 16:10 aspect ratio also makes the new ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED very tempting.
Not only this, the primary display comes with an incredible 120Hz refresh rate and 0.2ms response time, which makes it easier for creators to create content smoothly as possible. ASUS claims up to 550nits of peak brightness which is great especially if you use it outdoors or in any environment possible, reliable always!
Being a touch display for both of the displays, this makes it easier to quickly get through your work and you can also use a stylus as well. Personally, for me, the primary display is really good and will suffice the need of most people who need a color-accurate and bright display for work as well as occasional binge-watching.
Now, here are some display tests we ran tests on our ever-reliable Datacolor SyperX Pro to verify ASUS’s claims:
As you see in the results of the primary display, this ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED has a great OLED panel in the first place that makes it easier for content creators to trust. We see this display providing up to 100% sRGB and 96% of the DCI-P3 color gamut which is great and the contrast ratios are staggeringly high, giving better blacks and whites.
Though the brightness is not as high as ASUS claims to have but is decent enough for work I would say. Now, let’s talk about the secondary display or ScreenPad Plus:
As you see, the implementation of the secondary display has been done with a lot of precision because on a small form factor laptop like this correct implementation matters. Though it’s unique to find still ASUS has managed to cram in a 12.7-inch 2880 x 864 resolution IPS-level display, which is really good for secondary usage I would say.
The software experience while both the displays have been done flawlessly and switching between the two is just done via a single button. Turn on and off the ScreenPad Plus anytime you want and if you are me who does two work together frequently you will love this laptop.
From using it to watch YouTube videos while writing or using the Pro Creator Hub when using apps like Photoshop or Premier Pro, this ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED handles like a Pro. It’s such a pleasant experience to use both the displays using your hand and edit stuff easily, this second display is bliss for any creator out there.
Though it’s not OLED or 4K resolution but is more practical I would say and consumes a much lower battery if the brightness is dimmed. While I was sceptical when this laptop was launched about how ASUS has managed to make this possible but having tested it out for days now I am confident to say this is one of the best implementations of dual displays on a laptop.
Performance
Coming equipped with up to Intel’s latest and greatest 12th Gen Core i9-12900H processor, sporting up to 14 cores makes this an incredibly powerful laptop at your disposal. However, there are a lot of variants of this Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED with Core i5s and Core i7s, so which one should you choose we will brief you at the end.
Talking this flagship 14-core chip which is also quite efficient during daily work if kept at Whisper mode, performs as expected and when you need it to perform you can keep it in Standard or Performance mode for best performance. This flagship-grade processor from Intel does make an impact during professional work like video rendering, editing and even motion graphics.
The decisive Intel+NVIDIA combo works flawlessly and does the job for most people, however, an RTX 3060 or RTX 3070 option could be better, especially on this flagship variant. The NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3050 Ti is not bad but being limited to 4GB VRAM, those graphic intensive tasks which need graphics memory could benefit from a better GPU.
Because ASUS tried to make this laptop sleek and good-looking they have used this GPU which will be enough for most creators. The 15.6-inch Pro Duo could be a beefier option for those who need extra horsepower, here are some of the results in synthetic benchmarks run on this Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED:
As you see in these synthetic benchmarks, the Core i9-12900H along with 32GB DDR5 RAM shines without any doubt and gives great results, sometimes overtaking all the laptops we have tested so far. For actual productivity usage like rendering, thanks to NVIDIA Studio drivers, those optimized apps can enjoy faster production speeds.
ASUS has kept the thermals controlled as they chose the hardware combo properly and the 85W TDP of CPU+GPU combo at max potential keeps the laptop’s temps under control. Also, I did try occasional gaming as well and the laptop could easily handle it, however, that limited 4GB VRAM and NVIDIA Studio drivers aren’t good enough to handle heavy games.
Lastly, looking at the SSD speeds, ASUS has done no cost-cutting I would say because you see the read and write speeds are excellent. The 1TB PCIe Gen 4 SSD rocks in an incredible read speed of 6593MB/s read and up to 5052MB/s write next-gen speeds. This makes it incredibly fast to boot, get into the laptop as well as transfer your work to or out, a content creator’s dream.
Also, a lot of applications which does benefit from faster storage will genuinely work well on this ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED. Overall, in terms of performance, I would genuinely like an RTX 3060 for GPU but the Intel’s 12th Core i9 CPU does the job pretty well with the RTX 3050 Ti, which is more efficient.
I/O & Connectivity
Coming to ports of this Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED, ASUS has left no stones unturned because knowing the preferences of creators, it has positioned the ports so well that you will appreciate them as well. On the left-hand side, you only have a headphone/mic jack while the two important Thunderbolt 4 ports are on the right-hand side alongside the USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port.
Now, making it easier for people, ASUS has kept both the power input and HDMI 2.1 port at the rear end of the laptop as well as the Micro SD Express 7.1 card reader, which comes in handy when you are transferring your videos and doesn’t become an obstruction at your left or right.
Lastly, ASUS has used the latest connectivity options for this creator-oriented Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED laptop as you have the latest Wi-Fi 6E and Bluetooth 5 combo. The WiFi speeds were quite good, however, the range could have been better but the speeds I was getting were spot on even though I was far away from my router.
Thermals & Upgradability
To keep this ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED thermally intact, there are multiple air vents at the sides and even at the rear end, mainly, the actual design masterclass to keep this laptop cool is by keeping the two large fans just under the second display hinge, giving 38% more airflow. So, essentially when you are working the fans starts spinning only when the workload is very intensive.
This design makes sure the hot air gushes directly via the space left by the second display, a smart move, indeed. During intensive workloads the fans do spin but as the heat dissipates out quickly because of the design, you won’t have any problems using them. Now, in terms of upgradability, you won’t have any issues with 32GB DDR5 RAM or you can upgrade later if you have a lower RAM variant.
Keyboard & Trackpad
Well, the only flaw of the design means a keyboard which is very narrow in size, however, unlike the one on the Pro Duo 15 last year, this time I feel ASUS has made a very usable keyboard even though it’s a 14-inch form factor. The keys are pretty big and well-balanced, at first, you might be facing some issues but eventually, you will get used to it.
The 1.4mm key travel is what you get on a normal ASUS ZenBook and some satisfying keyboard typing experience is maintained. As I type the review on this ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED, I truly enjoyed typing day in and day out and being a tech blogger I would any day take this laptop with me for my primary work.
The trackpad is also in a weird format I get it but I used it only when I didn’t have my mouse beside and that’s very rare so, for basic usage, the trackpad easily does the job. However, for full-term usage, we genuinely advise you to have a professional mouse anyways to get the best results.
Audio & Webcam
I’ve always appreciated the sound quality of the ASUS ZenBook laptops because they are the loudest in the premium price category and are rich in output. So, unsurprisingly this ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED also sports premium Harman/Kardon tuned speakers which are again up to the ZenBook standards.
You will enjoy listening to endless music sessions or even watching YouTube or Netflix easily with the loud & soothing audio produced by this ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED laptop. Also, if you don’t love wearing headsets while editing your video, then this laptop’s speakers will easily suffice your needs.
However, one thing I would complain about especially being a creator-focused laptop, the 720p webcam is too outdated. ASUS should have used a newer and better 1080p webcam because a lot of people do love quickly shooting using the webcam of a laptop, which to be fair is much better on a MacBook Pro.
Battery Life
The most important thing that any professional would love from his or her laptop is battery life and while ASUS claims up to 9.5 hours of battery life with the huge 76WHrs battery inside it, we were getting an average battery life of 4 hours with around 80% screen brightness and mixed usage of second display at Whisper mode.
Now, as you push the laptop’s performance or the brightness or even use the secondary display for a long, the battery life will automatically decrease. However, with a medium level of brightness, the battery life can be extended to around 5 hours which is decent but nothing extraordinary.
Verdict
Now, having said a lot of words, the primary question you will ask me is Raunak whether I will get the best return by opting for this Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED or going for a MacBook instead. I have been trying a lot of laptops in my career and the Pro Duo 15 OLED was a great implementation of a dual-screen display. It was bulky but had the best OLED displays but used to drain a lot of battery, so this 14-inch variant is a true gem I would say. Why?
Because, ASUS has fixed the weight issue, provided the best OLED panel for the primary display, made it compact yet stylish and the secondary display is still there but its use is done when needed, nothing fancy I would say. This time as of 2022, this Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED has the best implementation of usability, efficiency and productivity.
It obviously has its cons, sometimes gets heated when doing a lot of intensive tasks which is much rare compared to MacBooks but compared to other Windows laptops, this is far better. ASUS has excelled in creating good OLED displays and this is still evident with this laptop in 2022, now the laptop’s battery life could have been better but it’s decent but not in terms of MacBook level.
It’s particularly made for creators who love to make content, do multiple tasks at once, and need a compact, reliable and powerful option at their disposal anytime they need it. This laptop is created for them and is unique due to its dual-display, which MacBook won’t give you and is the best implementation as of 2022, indeed of the best Windows laptops that money can buy.
Which variant to buy?
There are multiple variants of this same laptop and now which one to buy you might question, so, to even answer you this, let’s pick which one is the best suited for you:
- Flagship variant with Core i9 12th Gen, RTX 3050 Ti, 32GB DDR5 RAM /1TB SSD costs ₹2,24,990 – Only go for it if you need that extra oomph in performance or storage or you have money to spend, else you can skip this one. Buy from here: https://amzn.to/3CaTIHh
- Mid variant with Core i7 12th Gen, RTX 3050 Ti, 16GB DDR5 RAM /1TB SSD costs ₹1,89,990: This is a very sweet option with all the necessary specs you require and you can upgrade RAM if needed, this variant is highly recommended. Buy from here: https://amzn.to/3xRL2TB
- Base variant with Core i5 12th Gen, 16GB DDR5 RAM /512GB SSD SSD costs ₹1,43,800: Only recommended if you are short on money and just need a dual-display laptop. Buy from here: https://amzn.to/3SzgKwP
- Optional variant with Core i7 12th Gen, 16GB DDR5 RAM /1TB SSD costs ₹1,64,828: A step up over the Core i5 processor, only buy it if you do not need a discrete GPU, Buy from here: https://amzn.to/3DYfvTV
So, we have also answered you about which variant you need to buy, our recommendation will always get a model with a discrete GPU unless you have an external GPU to dock using a thunderbolt cable. We hope to have covered everything about this ASUS Zenbook Pro 14 Duo OLED (2022) laptop, for any questions or doubts don’t forget to comment on this article! 😊
