Road warriors, remote workers, and students hungry for screen real estate have a precious few options, especially if they are working in a limited space. They can opt for a larger 15-inch or larger laptop, but these are heavy and usually don’t have great battery life. A second external monitor is a good option, but could be cumbersome to carry around plus it usually requires its own power supply and cables which can quickly take over a laptop’s limited ports.
Mobile Pixels’ Duex Plus is a thin and light 13.3”-inch monitor that effectively doubles the screen real estate of my MacBook Pro 13. Featuring a reasonably bright and detailed 300 nits of brightness and a 1920 x1080 resolution, the Duex Plus allowed me to replicate my dual-display desktop setup in a more portable.
Setup and Installation
The Duex Plus’ slim plastic panel connects to the back of my laptop through four adhesive-magnets, which in turn can support the weight of the display which retracts to the right hand side. This manner of installation makes it easy to remove Duex Display when you don’t need it and magnetically connect it again when you do. The only downside is that the magnets will always need to be there and if you need to move laptops, you will need to peel them off, and reconnect them. Small price to pay for the convenience of having double the screen real estate within the same footprint.
User experience
I’ve used various external monitors with my laptops including some from Viewsonic and Lenovo, while those are designed to sit next to your laptop. I like how the Duex Plus integrates into the back of your laptop, slips out conveniently when you need it, can tilt forwards, and backwards, and only takes up one USB-Type A or Type-C port.
Other external monitors require table space and some even need a power adaptor. I can use the Duex Plus on a desk, on my lap, or even reclined on a couch or in bed which none of the other options can do comfortably.
The Duex Plus allows for a wide range of versatility, it can rotate 270’ which is ideal for presentation mode or for mirroring your display. There’s an optional magnetic kickstand that can make it work as a standalone monitor ideal for connecting to a Nintendo Switch or for setting up in portrait mode for activities like coding or writing longer documents.
I usually offload apps like Slack or email on the Duex Plus, or have a streaming TV show or movie running while I am working on the laptop’s screen. I like that the Duex Plus is versatile to hide behind the laptop when I don’t need it and that it can be removed entirely for pecking and storage. Clarity and brightness is great, viewing angles are acceptable and easily adjustable. I worried that the plastic build might be a bit fragile, but after using it extensively in various settings, the Duex Plus is quite robust.
In terms of innovation, range of use, and versatility, the Duex Plus is a must-have addition to any laptop user seeking a convenient secondary display to double their screen real estate.
Rating 4.5 out of 5