For increased productivity and viewing real estate on a laptop, we do recommend monitors as the best solution. However, you can’t really bring a monitor into a coffee shop without looking like you stole it, can you? That is assuming you still want both portability and the blessings of having multiple screens. In such cases, dual screen laptops are the best compromise.
And despite being a compromise, they’re not meant to be for budget-oriented people.
Because usually, laptops with two or more screens need beefy specifications in order to feel snappy or smooth on both displays. Hence, most dual screen laptops are high-end machines.
You would want them to be high-end machines too since you’d presumably use them for digital media work or some intense gaming with multitasking. More screens mean increased resolution, and as such, you’d want something along the lines of these specs for a dual screen laptop.
Recommended Specs when Looking for Dual Screen Laptops
- At least an i5 or Ryzen 5 CPU to handle multitasking
- A GPU that’s capable of running 4K displays
- At least 16 GB of RAM, especially for Chrome tabs
- Everything else is optionally ideal, but having a touchscreen display is a huge bonus
With those specs in mind, these current-generation dual screen laptops offer the best bang for the buck both for this year and the upcoming year, 2023.
Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo
PROS
- Top-of-the-line laptop hardware
- More affordable than a single-monitor Razer Blade
- QHD main display
- 4K secondary display
- Touchscreen secondary display
- Customizable specs for lower price
- Hinge acts as additional cooling
CONS
- Still expensive
- 16:10 aspect ratio (not widescreen)
- CPU/Processor: AMD Ryzen 9 6900HX
- GPU/Graphics Card: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3080 Ti
- RAM/Memory: 32GB DDR5
- Storage: 1TB SSD
- Display: 16” 4K ROG Nebula HDR 16:10 Display
What was likely the best dual screen laptop of last year is still the reining king in our book for this year and likely the next. The Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo is just hard to beat.
At its price point, the only contenders are usually just the big Razer Blade laptops and which are a bit more expensive and they only have one screen.
It has top-of-the-line hardware in both CPU and GPU though an Intel CPU would have been better; that would increase the price and the performance gains are marginal at best.
Speaking of price, you can always opt for a weaker (but still powerful) GPU and take the CPU down a tier and this laptop would still be the most impressive dual screen option both for productivity and gaming. It’s worth noting that the secondary screen is a touch display.
Asus ROG Zephyrus Duo
Asus Zenbook Pro Duo 15 OLED UX582
PROS
- 4K OLED display
- Touchscreen displays
- Customizable specs for lower price
- More affordable than a single-monitor Razer Blade
- Hinge acts as additional cooling
- Great for digital media work
CONS
- 4K resolution is somewhat wasted on the main 15-inch screen
- Odd CPU pairing with the RTX 3080
- CPU/Processor: Intel Core i9-11900H
- GPU/Graphics Card: GeForce RTX 3080
- RAM/Memory: 32GB
- Storage: 1TB
- Display: 15.6” OLED 4K UHD Touch Display
If you’re more serious about professional digital media work than gaming, or if you really want the best colors for whatever activity, then it’s hard to beat the Asus ZenBook Pro Duo 15 OLED. There’s a non-OLED version of this, but at that point, just get the ROG Zephyrus instead.
Also, there are newer OLED laptops out late this year but this one is the more tried and tested champion. It’s not an early adopter tech, meaning not much can go wrong here, apart from the OLED screen which is still a young laptop technology.
As for the specs, they’re top-notch. You can have an RTX 3080 paired with an 11th Gen i9 (which was an odd choice) or an RTX 3070 Ti/3060 paired with a 12th Gen i9. Like the Zephyrus Duo, the screens here are touch displays, but they’re better since they’re OLED.
Asus Zenbook Pro Duo 15 OLED UX582
Asus ZenBook Duo 14
PROS
- Touchscreen function
- Dual OLED displays
- Customizable specs for lower or higher price
- Good for digital media work
- Not as bulky as the Pro Duo
CONS
- Pricey for the specs
- CPU/Processor: Intel Core i7-12700H
- GPU/Graphics Card: GeForce RTX 3050 Ti
- RAM/Memory: 16 GB
- Storage: 1TB
- Display: 14.5” OLED FHD NanoEdge Bezel
The ZenBook Pro Duo 15 can get rather bulky and expensive, especially for digital professionals on a budget. So something like the Asus ZenBook 14 ought to be more friendly on the pockets and wallets. It also uses the same OLED displays as its bigger brother but on a smaller screen and chassis.
Both of the screens also have touch functionality so stylus pens are also allowed here. The main difference is the weaker GPU as this variant only sports up to an RTX 3050 Ti which is not bad for some light gaming.
If you don’t care much for that, you can opt for the Intel Irix Xe in the customizable spec options to save up on costs.
Asus ZenBook Duo 14
Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 2
PROS
- Unique design and practicality
- Counts as a 2-in-1 laptop/tablet
- Touchscreen displays
- Comes with an integrated pen
CONS
- Expensive
- Not ideal for multitasking
- Specs could be better
- CPU/Processor: Intel Core i7-1160G7
- GPU/Graphics Card: Integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics
- RAM/Memory: 16 GB
- Storage: 512 GB
- Display: 12″ WQXGA (2560 x 1600), E-ink, Anti-Glare, Touch13.3″ WQXGA (2560 x 1600), IPS, Anti-Glare, Touch
If you want something even more compact while still having dual screens, take a look at this odd creation from Lenovo. The Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 2 was a sight to behold.
No, that image above is not a Photoshop mistake or a meme. Instead of putting the second screen beside or atop the keyboard, they manufactured the screens back-to-back where the second one is on the cover lid, opposite the main screen.
This allowed you to use the laptop like a tablet even when it’s closed as both screens also have touch functionality. Of course, you’d want to turn off the second screen if you’re working on the main one. This does make the laptop a lot less ideal for multitasking.
Still, it’s a nice innovation with some unprecedented practicality as it lets you check on the laptop without opening the lid.
Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 2
Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 3
PROS
- 3K resolution display
- Two touchscreen displays
- Vertical tablet touchscreen beside the keyboard
- Comes with an integrated pen
- Unique design and practicality
- Counts as a 2-in-1 laptop/tablet
CONS
- Expensive
- GPU could be better
- CPU/Processor: Intel® Core i7-12700H
- GPU/Graphics Card: Integrated Intel Iris Xe Graphics
- RAM/Memory: 32 GB LPDDR5
- Storage: 1 TB PCIe
- Display: 17.3″ 3K (3072 x 1440) IPS, anti-glare, touchscreen with Dolby Vision™, 400 nits + 8.0” HD (800 x 1280) IPS, glossy, anti-fingerprint, touchscreen
This time around, Lenovo made sure that its ThinkBook Plus iteration is meme-proof. The Gen 3 version of the ThinkBook Plus ditched the back-to-back screens for something more normal and more conducive for multitasking.
They opted for a smaller eight-inch touchscreen display beside the keyboard instead. This display also comes with an integrated pen and also acts like a tablet.
At the same time, Lenovo also increased the screen and chassis diagonal size to 17.3 inches with a 3K (3072 x 1440) main display resolution which is also a touchscreen.
Overall, it’s a better shift in design though you can probably see why some digital artists might prefer the Gen 2 design for a bigger tablet to draw on.
Lenovo ThinkBook Plus Gen 3
What About Folding Screen Laptops?
Technically, they only count as a single-screen, but we do get the practical implications here. For the time being, those things are still considered experimental devices; not exactly what we’d recommend for professionals looking for a device that just works without issues.
It’s well-known that folding screen devices have yet to mature and might come with plenty of technical issues that could interfere with productivity. For now, it might be best to stick with the tried and tested technology.
Because for sure, 2023 will bring some updated and more powerful versions or successors for these dual screen laptops above.
Frequently Asked Questions
-
Do dual screen laptops have poor battery life?
Yes. They tend to have lower battery life since the battery has to power two screens. -
Why are dual screen laptops expensive?
Because screen technology is expensive and the manufacturers will have to create a separate factory production line for these laptops, adding to the cost.