New laptop designs cram bigger displays into smaller packages

We Americans love to supersize. And not just with fast food. Our automobiles are bigger. Our homes are larger than almost anywhere else. Even our TVs are bigger.

And during the COVID-19 pandemic, millions of Americans discovered they could work bigger by attaching large monitors to their laptops and spread their work-from-home space across both screens. With the added real estate, folks found, they were more productive because they could, for example, simultaneously view the email they were writing and the reports they were writing about.

As a result, the historically moribund PC monitor market suddenly blossomed with double-digit growth in 2020 and 2021.

It’s great to be venturing out again. But untethering from the big screen and working with just a laptop in a coffee shop or on a plane can be a strain for our bigger-is-better psyche.

The need for screen

PC makers feel your pain. And a few of them have come up with innovative new ways to gain back some digital elbow room on the road. Laptops like HP’s Spectre Foldable 17 ($4,999.99) and the Lenovo X1 Fold ($2,299.08) have made a splash because their glass displays fold.Dual-display systems – the new Asus Zenbook Duo ($1,499.99) and Lenovo Yoga Book 9i ($1,999.99), which became available last summer – represent a more economical and expansive, if bulkier, option.

Samsung, a pioneer in foldable smartphones, doesn’t currently offer either a foldable or dual-screen laptop. But the company’s newer PCs feature a novel – and potentially more economical – approach to this nascent segment: its newer notebook PCs can put some Samsung tablets to work as second screens.

I’ve been evaluating one of the dual-screen options, the Asus Zenbook Duo, as well as one of the foldables, the Lenovo X1 Fold. I’ve also been pairing Samsung’s new flagship PC, the Galaxy Book4 Ultra ($1,999.99), with my circa-2021 Galaxy Tab S7+ tablet.

They’re all cool. But there are trade-offs that may or may not matter to you, depending on where you go and what you do when you leave the big display behind. And, of course, on how much you’re willing to spend.

Here’s what I’ve learned about what to consider before you super-size your road rig.

Foldable screens

I was bug-eyed the first time I unfurled the Lenovo X1 Fold into an expansive 16-inch workspace because it was so cool to have a screen that expanded. Then I fumbled a bit with the stand, which itself unfolds.

The stand does take time to get familiar with. But I’m used to it now. I’m also used to wrapping the stand around the magnetized keyboard as a travel cover.

I thought it would bother me to carry a two-piece laptop – that is, the folded display along with the keyboard-infused stand – but it didn't. It helps that the X1 Fold and its accompanying components − the keyboard and case − together weigh just 2.86 pounds, the lightest rig here.

Using the X1 Fold on your lap like a traditional clamshell device – placing the keyboard on the bottom half of the display and folding the top half upward – works well. But note that it has the smallest laptop-mode display of the bunch. It’s even a little smaller than the Tab S7+ tablet’s 12.4-inch display.

That’s not a problem if you're primarily using it to respond to email or read messages. But it can be cramped for multi-window tasks like taking notes during a Zoom meeting.

One more thing: If your device is part workspace, part status symbol, then the foldables are without a doubt the way to go. I’ve never had so many people ask me about a laptop before!

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Dual display

The soon-to-be-available Asus Zenbook Duo feels just like a traditional laptop. But when you spread out the dual 14-inch displays, it can be a bit overwhelming. There’s a lot of workspace.  

The Zenbook Duo’s keyboard is well designed and fits neatly across one screen, mimicking a typical laptop. The Duo’s keyboard also sandwiches between the displays for storage. So, it’s a bit thick. But it’s convenient.

The big hinge between the displays is slightly jarring because you can’t cleanly lay windows across the middle like you can with the X1 Fold. But if you have a lot of dashboard-style windows, the Duo works well with windows arranged side by side in geometric layouts.

Part-time second screen

Samsung tackles the travel-display question with a different approach. Its Galaxy Book series laptops can give some Samsung tablets a side hustle as a second screen. I’ve been evaluating the Second Screen feature with the new Galaxy Book4 Ultra and my 2½-year-old Galaxy Tab S7+.

I’ve been frustrated in the past broadcasting from laptops to TV screens, so I had low expectations for the Second Screen app. But it works flawlessly. And it’s compact. So, I’m more willing to use it in tighter spaces than I am either the X1 Fold or the ZenBook Duo.

The Ultra itself has surprisingly long battery life, which is impressive for such a powerhouse. It also sports a 16.3-inch display – with almost as much real estate as the taller X1 Fold – so you arguably wouldn’t be pining for an extender too often. But there are smaller, lower-cost laptops in the Galaxy Book4 line that also can make use of Tab S-series displays, starting at $699.99.

If you already travel with a tablet – especially if it’s a Samsung Tab S-series tablet – then the Second Screen feature can be an effective, economical option.

Whatever choice you might make, it’s nice to know that there are now three very distinct ways to go big – and still leave your big monitor behind.

USA TODAY columnist Mike Feibus is president and principal analyst of FeibusTech, a Scottsdale, Arizona, market research and consulting firm. Reach him at [email protected].