One of the most surprising things about the Zephyrus Duo is that when closed, it doesn’t really look that different from one of ASUS’ regular gaming laptops, like Zephyrus G16. It’s definitely a touch thicker at 0.98 inches (compared to 0.7 inches for the G16) and it’s significantly heavier too (6.2 pounds vs 4.3 pounds). But you still get a very familiar design with a single slash across its lid (but without the embedded LEDs) and a boxy, minimalist chassis with subtly rounded corners. That mimicry continues on the inside, where the Duo looks nearly indistinguishable from a typical clamshell thanks to its RGB-lit keyboard and absolutely massive touchpad. However, if you look closely, you will notice some small differences, like the presence of speakers positioned on the sides of its frame instead of the typical up-firing audio, and a side-mounted power button.
The Zephyrus Duo’s true form only begins to emerge after you realize that its keyboard is only held on by magnets. You can yank it off to reveal a second 16-inch 3K OLED display identical to the one up top. It’s time to prepare for trouble and make it double. In clamshell mode, you can use the upper display for gaming while the lower half becomes a place to keep widgets (news, weather, etc.), stash extra browser tabs or display a virtual keyboard and/or mousepad. ASUS smartly included handy gestures like touching the title bar on an app before sending it to the other screen with a flick of your finger. While I did notice that a couple of keys felt slightly mushy, for a detachable keyboard that measures just 5mm thick, you still get a nice bounce with ample key travel. And because ASUS included a row of pogo pins on the bottom edge of the laptop, the keyboard automatically recharges when you reattach it.
Sam Rutherford for Engadget
However, the real magic happens when you fold out the Duo’s built-in kickstand and prop the whole system up to create a stacked dual-screen all-in-one with its detached keyboard laying flat out in front. The only thing you’ll really need to bring is a mouse, because as big as its touchpad is, it’s still not a proper alternative to a detached pointer. From here, you can continue gaming on the top screen, while the bottom serves as a second monitor for Discord, guides, walkthroughs or any other app (or apps) you need. It’s a veritable gaming fortress that you can still fold up and easily stash in a backpack.
The main downsides to the Zephyrus Duo’s design, aside from its extra bulk, are that its fans can get noisy under load. It doesn’t come with support for Thunderbolt 5 or a dedicated Ethernet jack either, the latter of which would come in handy for demanding competitive gamers. Thankfully, ASUS’ six speaker setup is surprisingly boomy, allowing it to easily drown out the whirring when you don’t feel like wearing headphones. Meanwhile, the rest of its connectivity is quite ample, as the Duo supports Wi-Fi 7, Bluetooth 6.0, full-size HDMI, a combo 3.5mm audio jack, an SD card reader and a total of four USB ports (two Thunderbolt 4 and two USB3.2 Type-A).
