Asus Zenbook Pro 14

The era of the two-display laptop is here. So, does having a screen in your trackpad change the game?

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Laptops have been around for a long time, and it’s not so much that they’re it’s more that it’s kind of hard to keep them interesting. The next wave of innovation seems to be around more screens – Apple has the Touch Bar on MacBook Pros, and Asus is swapping out its trackpad for a touchscreen. It’s not the first time this has been tried, but Asus does good stuff with its hardware, so we figured it has a chance of actually working here…

Premium touch

Asus knows how to make a good-looking laptop, and the ZenBook Pro isn’t a disappointment in that regard. This laptop doesn’t just look good though, it feels good too. There’s a premium vibe to the materials, and just the right balance between heft and portability. Deep Dive Blue is your one and only colour choice but we like it, along with the subtle gold accents around the edges and on the keys, which are a pleasure to type on, feeling both solid and responsive.

Near the keys you will find one of the laptop’s main selling points: the touchpad, which doubles as a second screen. Asus is proudly calling this a ScreenPad, and it might well appeal, if you can find a use for it. Alas, we couldn’t. App support is limited (Microsoft Office and Spotify are the two standouts), and even when programs do make use of it, the ScreenPad still feels a bit gimmicky.