Dual-screen laptops are something, huh? They seemed to make a splash a couple of years ago with designs from Lenovo and Asus, but then they just kind of… stopped.
But according to a credible retailer leak, Asus is prepping an absolute monster of one for an upcoming release. This new design packs double 14-inch OLED screens and an Intel processor so new that it doesn’t officially exist yet… oh yes, and a huge price tag.
According to a store listing for United Arab Emirates-based Gear-up.me, which is still live at the time of this writing, the Asus UX8406CA looks like an updated version of the existing Zenbook Duo design. The configuration looks identical, too, possibly even using the same chassis, with 14-inch OLED touchscreens in the usual position and where the keyboard usually rests. You can position the laptop in a conventional mode with a touchscreen keyboard, or prop it up with the integrated kickstand so the screens stack vertically or horizontally. A wireless keyboard/trackpad and stylus are sold separately.
The more interesting reveal is that this updated model packs an Intel Core Ultra 9 U9-285H. That’s an Ultra Series 2 Arrow Lake-H processor that hasn’t been officially announced yet, though Intel has set a Q1 2025 date for its 200H family debut. VideoCardz.com thinks that the retailer might have copied the specs wrong and that the chip will actually be labeled a U-285HX. The listing page says it’s using 24 cores (no determination between P and E cores).
Gear-up.me
Other specs on the retail page include 32GB of RAM, a magnesium alloy body, and 3.6 pounds of weight (about the same as the latest Zenbook Duo). It has an SSD and Intel Arc graphics, presumably integrated, but further details will have to wait.
One of the most eye-catching specs, though, is the price: a whopping 1421.90 Bahraini Dinars, or about $3,781 in American dollars. That’s more than double the starting price of the existing model.
But if you have your heart set on a dual-screen laptop with the latest Intel iron, don’t panic. Not only is this entire listing unconfirmed at the moment, we often see eye-popping prices come from international storefronts. International supply chains and pricing are complicated, and tech products tend to be considerably cheaper in the US than in most other countries. (Though that might change in the near future.)
Assuming that this is an updated version of the Zenbook Duo’s 2024 design, I would be shocked if Asus asked for more than $2,000 for a 32GB, 1TB configuration, even factoring in the latest Intel processor and inflation. We’ll have to wait and see — a CES announcement in early January would be my first guess here.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he's the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop "battlestation" in his off hours. Michael's previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he's covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he's always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.