Notebookcheck Logo

Dual-screen Asus Zenbook Pro 15 is the Apple Touch Bar alternative for $1700

Dual-screen Asus Zenbook Pro 15 with ScreenPad now available for $1700 (Source: Asus)
Dual-screen Asus Zenbook Pro 15 with ScreenPad now available for $1700 (Source: Asus)
The one-of-a-kind Zenbook Pro 15 integrates a secondary 1080p display right underneath the touchpad called a ScreenPad. For users who wish they could have two screens on a laptop, this is probably the closest you can get. The Core i7 will run you $1700 while the Core i9 version will cost $2300.

After making a splash at Computex 2018, the innovative ZenBook Pro 15 UX580 is now widely available online and in Best Buy stores for users to see firsthand for themselves. The laptop is notable for having a 5-inch 1080p IPS secondary display that doubles as a traditional trackpad.

Two SKUs are available with a very wide price difference between them. The less costly UX580GD SKU includes a Core i7-8750H CPU, GeForce GTX 1050 GPU, 512 GB SATA III SSD, and Windows 10 OS for $1700 USD. Meanwhile, the second costlier UX580GE SKU includes a Core i9-8950HK CPU, GTX 1050 Ti GPU, 512 GB NVMe SSD, and Windows 10 Pro for $2300 USD. The 4K UHD touchscreen, 16 GB DDR4 RAM, and 71 Wh battery are otherwise identical between the configurations.

We recommend checking out our full review on the dual-screen ZenBook Pro 15 for our take on its unique features. In short, we find it inherently more useful than Apple's Touch Bar for everyday tasks but with an involved learning curve. It's definitely worth checking out in person to see if the ScreenPad is worth the investment.

Users uninterested in the ScreenPad can still opt for the ScreenPad-less ZenBook Pro 15 UX550 as it shares the same chassis design as the UX580. A third UX580 SKU with a Core i5-8300H CPU will likely come at a later date as Asus is currently listing the model with Core i5, i7, and i9 options.

SPECIFICATIONS

ASUS ZenBook Pro 15

CPU Intel® Core™ i9-8950HK, 2.9GHz 12MB Cache, Turbo Boost up to 4.8GHz (UX580GE-XB74T)
Intel® Core™ i7-8750H, 2.2GHz 9MB Cache, Turbo Boost up to 4.1GHz (UX580GD-BI7T5)
Display 15.6” NanoEdge LED-backlit 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) capacitive multitouch with 100% Adobe RGB, color difference Delta-E <2 and 178°wide-view technology
Operating System Windows 10 Pro (UX580GE-XB74T)
Windows 10 (UX580GD-BI7T5)
Graphics NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 Ti 4GB GDDR5 (UX580GE-XB74T)
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1050 4GB GDDR5 (UX580GD- BI7T5)
Main Memory 16GB DDR4 2400MHz
Storage 512GB PCIe® 3.0 x4 SSD (UX580GE-XB74T)
512GB SATA III SSD (UX580GD- BI7T5)
Connectivity 2x2 802.11ac Gigabit Wi-Fi
Bluetooth 5.0
Camera VGA webcam
Interface 2 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-C™, with Thunderbolt™ 3 support
2 x USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A
1 x audio combo jack
1 x HDMI 1.4
1 x microSD card reader
1 x DC jack
1 x Fingerprint Reader
Audio High-quality stereo speakers (with smart amplifier)
Harman Kardon-certified ASUS SonicMaster Premium audio system
Battery 71Wh lithium-polymer
AC Adapter Output: 19V, 150W
Input: 100V-240V AC, 50Hz/60Hz universal
Dimensions 14.37 x 9.88 x 0.74 in
365 x 251 x 18.9mm
Weight 4.2 lb
1.89 kg

Source(s)

+ Show Press Release
static version load dynamic
Loading Comments
Comment on this article
Please share our article, every link counts!
> Expert Reviews and News on Laptops, Smartphones and Tech Innovations > News > News Archive > Newsarchive 2018 09 > Dual-screen Asus Zenbook Pro 15 is the Apple Touch Bar alternative for $1700
Allen Ngo, 2018-09-25 (Update: 2018-09-25)