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Review on Duex Portable Monitor Extender Compatible 12.5", 1920X1080P, 60Hz, Usb Monitor, Laptop Monitor, 12.5 Monitor, by Eric Nelson

Revainrating 4 out of 5

Small portable monitor with handy and compact design

I've seen a number of products like this retractable monitor before, but this is the first I've ever used or considered. I've used some portable USB-C monitors that I got through the Revain Vine program. The reason I went with this one is because it looked like it was from a good brand that has a website and the product page was of better quality than the regular monitors I often see for sale. The product itself is very simple, it's just a 12.5-inch 1080p monitor attached to a rail that allows it to slide in and out from behind the monitor. It attaches to the back of your laptop screen with the magnets you have. attach to laptop with glue. I tried using these on a plastic laptop and they didn't hold up really well and two out of four fell off quickly. When I tried this on my 2020 MacBook Pro M1, it worked exactly as intended and stayed connected with no issues. Mobile Pixels were smart enough to include a few replacement adhesive stickers, enough for you to replace the original adhesive twice and still have leftovers. It also peels off very easily, so there's no mess when you need to remove the old and apply new glue to the magnets. The magnets we mentioned earlier attach to four sections of metal on the back of the Duex Light and are wide enough to hold Giving you about an inch and a half of play on each side of the magnet so you can easily adjust/move the monitor to the left or right of its position. That's good, because if you place it in the middle of the laptop lid, when you slide the screen out, the inner edge is slightly obscured from your field of view by your laptop's built-in screen. You'll see what I mean, first install Duex Lite and pull it out from behind the home screen. The monitor is light enough not to damage your laptop's screen or hinge like something heavier might. Duex Light - Your less expensive/premium retractable screen compared to Duex Plus. This model is slightly smaller: 12.5 inches compared to 13.3 inches. It has a 16:9 aspect ratio, so it's a bit shorter than the MacBook's screen, which is 16:10, you'll probably notice it when they're around. One thing I don't like is that Mobile Pixels isn't very clear on screen specs, they just don't give you enough information compared to almost every other brand that sells computer screens. The maximum brightness is 300 nits, which is enough for indoor use. In comparison, the MacBook Air is 400 nits and the MacBook Pro is 25% brighter than 500 nits. You mention zero color space or contrast ratio information. I'm taking the risk and guessing it's pretty close to 100% sRGB and the black levels look good, so I'm thinking 1000:1 or 1100:1 (but that's just a guess based on both points). A notable omission is that there are no speakers built into this screen at all. Typically, portable monitors come with built-in 1-2W speakers, which are usually comparable to cheaper iPad or Android phones. I don't think it's a big deal, especially since it was literally designed to plug into a laptop, which has better speakers than anything that fits in such a small chassis. One thing I don't like is that there's only one USB-C port on the Duex Lite, so that's the only way to connect it to a laptop, meaning HDMI-only laptops won't work with it. There's a chance you could connect some sort of USB-C hub with a power input and an HDMI output, and that could *may* allow it to work with a monitor with an HDMI port, but I wouldn't recommend it to buy this Try to get this scenario to work. You should only buy this if you have a modern laptop with a full USB-C port that supports DisplayPort Alternate Mode and powers external connected devices. Something like a MacBook or a Surface laptop, something modern and premium. Pros + There are several ways to use it, and most of them work well Good quality screen that's good for work or content consumption Durable, 90-degree USB-C to USB-C Cables included with USB A 3.2 Gen 1 adapter Cons - only one connector on this monitor (USB C). The stand from the product side is NOT included to use landscape mode when the monitor is not connected to the laptop. The Duex Lite headphone jack requires you to attach the magnets to your laptop with glue. There's no option to connect an external power adapter, which can negatively impact battery life (even on really efficient devices like the M1-based MacBook Pro).

img 1 attached to Duex Portable Monitor Extender Compatible 12.5", 1920X1080P, 60Hz, Usb Monitor, Laptop Monitor, 12.5 Monitor, review by Eric Nelson



Pros
  • MULTITASK WITH SIMPLICITY
Cons
  • Low refresh rate