Hey all, here OS reviews. In the past, we checked out a couple of USB Type-C powered portable monitors, which are quite convenient for expanding your productivity when on the go. But what makes today's Model A little bit unique is it has dual displays. It's called the M2, and when it's closed up, it actually resembles a laptop in and of itself.

This could be helpful if you're doing a lot of multitasking with tons of windows when you are on the road and still getting things done. In a way, it reminds me of the dual-screen laptops, which we're starting to see more and more from brands like Asus. Even Lenovo has one called the Yoga Book 9i that has a very similar concept. But of course, this is going to be an accessory to complement more typical laptops that you may already have and gets you up to three displays because your laptop already has one, which is why they call it a triple screen, even though the monitor part only comes with two displays on board. They are full HD 1080p resolution IPS LCD panels.

That being said, this is not a touchscreen-enabled model. That would have been really cool to see, but it is what it is. At least it's a matte display, so it doesn't reflect light quite as easily compared to glossy panels.

This model, in particular, is going for sub 350 bucks, which is still pricey for a monitor, but considering the unique form factor, it, at least, is going to be cheaper compared to a dual-screen or folding-screen laptop that can cost over a grand. Using a standard 60 Hz refresh rate and also is VESA mount compatible and weighs in here at around 3.5 lbs, so not super lightweight because there are again dual displays, and the entire enclosure is crafted out of aluminum alloy. Otherwise, a pretty simple presentation. In terms of brightness, it gets around 280 nits for the 15.6-inch displays, which is going to be decent enough for most indoor usage. But if you are in direct sunlight, it might struggle a little bit more.

Underneath, you'll find just a quick user guide, as well as a variety of different cables, including a Type-C to Type-C and an optional AC adapter. This is if you're using the HDMI cable instead as another alternative since HDMI only provides video input and not really power. So you still have to connect a USB port onto the wall if you are using it without Type C. So this one does not have a built-in battery, by the way, so that is one thing to keep in mind. And there is also a little hub, which is quite cute, actually, designed for M1, M2, or M3 powered Mac OS Apple laptops. So this will require you to use this when you plug it into the display. That said, it's a universal monitor, so it will also work with Chrome OS, Nintendo Switch, any Linux computers as well should work on here just fine.

The actual build quality is quite good. The entire thing is constructed, again, out of metal and alloy, which is why it does feel a little on the hefty side but relatively slim. There is no additional case though that's included in the box, but any universal sleeve for laptops again around 15 inches should fit without too many problems. On the right-hand edge as well, you'll find a manual power key, along with the two Type-C ports. There's a micro HDMI port, and you can also use the jog dial along with the menu key here to go through options like brightness as well as color calibration. Back is again constructed entirely out of alloy with that kickstand, which can flex all the way up to 180° to get you the angle that you want.

Stays in place quite well, doesn't really flex or bend, and has some rubber accents scattered across to prevent the unit from sliding around on a surface or desk. Some of the edges here, by the way, do remind me a bit of a gamer-designed laptop, but overall, I like the look. You do have to open the hinge though with two hands because it is a very flexible one that can again be positioned in a variety of angles, including all the way flat if you want to elevate it like so or of course put it into the tent mode by flexing it all the way past for presentations, again, quite reminiscent of the form factor, which Lenovo Yoga Books first introduced. Decent-sized bezels, not the slimmest that we've ever seen but good enough, I would say overall that it doesn't become too problematic. Here's a quick size comparison with some other portable monitors, including the Dope Display Lapdo that we reviewed, which is a 14-inch device.

And this is also kind of a unique portable monitor because it does have a built-in battery and as you can tell a trackpad and keyboard down below even though it doesn't really have any compute power inside. It still is a monitor, but if you connect it up to a smartphone, including Samsung Galaxy S series devices with DeX support or certain Huawei phones that are flagship-grade, they will launch into a desktop mode, and you can use your phone as your laptop replacement, so to speak. And then earlier, this was a more generic 13-inch portable monitor, just a regular screen.

But it kind of goes to show that with a case that is usually included with some of these designs, the thickness comes out to be not too far apart compared to some of these more unique clamshell form factors. And just for fun, some of the more portable and compact dual-screen devices that we have seen include the dual-screen case accessory from LG, which is also kind of a similar idea to the Microsoft Surface Duo.

That was also a bit ill-fated from Microsoft's part and also super early Android smartphones, including the Kyocera Echo that also experimented with the dual-screen form factor in the early 2010s. So overall, it's kind of interesting to see this design now trickle down into a portable monitor form factor.

So it is pretty much plug-and-play. No drivers are required. Very easy to operate like most monitors these days. And this is, by the way, the 100% maximum brightness, so in more of this studio environment, it still looks okay, but definitely not the brightest display out there, which again typically comes from OLED panels. In general, but as an IPS LCD, also keeping in mind that right now, it's sipping power from the regular computer or using the single Type-C port. Overall, I think it's adequate again for most indoor usage. And you do have a pretty good range of movement to that hinge.

This is a kind of light mode where you just slightly elevated on an incline here versus this position, which is now almost fully vertical. It's going to be the tallest mode that you can set the display in, as you can tell here, and still looks quite good. And again, these are 16:9 aspect ratio displays. So the point being that you do have a lot of customization when it comes to how you want to position these from the angle of incline from that kickstand as well as the built-in hinge on top here. Everything can be moved and stays in place quite well. By the way, here's also a look at the convertible tent mode that becomes more of a regular-sized screen in front of you that also mirrors something on the backside. As for the quality of the displays when it comes to color reproduction, I think it's doing a fair enough job.

Colors seem to be pretty well represented in terms of accuracy. And as a whole, again, viewing angles aren't too problematic, and it definitely is really helpful again for things like multitasking. You're able to open up so many more windows without having to jump back and forth on a single display. That can be quite frustrating if you're doing a lot of research with multiple tabs in the browser, for example. And because these are 15.6-inch panels, you can even further split each of these displays into running two windows at the same time, still quite comfortably. So now all of a sudden, you can open up four different windows or programs simultaneously on the monitor side, not to mention what's happening on your existing laptop's display as well.

Again, the value in a setup like this will just depend on the type of workflow that you're engaging with. If in your current job or your work, you really only rely on a single program at a time, you probably don't really need a dual-screen monitor like this, and you'll end up carrying something more lightweight with just your laptop or a single monitor. But if you are someone that is again doing just a ton of different background work, research work, then this can definitely be helpful. Monitoring charts as well as windows again separately in different spots. What I will say, though, is in terms of navigation, it takes a few moments to get used to because on Chrome OS, at least, it is positioning these screens from left to right. And I point that out because on your existing display, you kind of move it here to the right to get it onto the bottom display. And then you can move it all the way to the right again to move it onto the top portion.

As you can tell, as opposed to the top two windows there being dragged up and down, which might seem a little bit more intuitive. But no, Chrome OS at least treats them as left and right-moving panels. Overall, though, it's not too bad, and you kind of get used to it after interacting with the UI for just a little bit longer. And just to illustrate, this is what watching back a quick video clip is like on this display. So good enough. And there are built-in speakers as well on the monitor, which seem to be coming out mostly from the left-hand edge over here. It's kind of similar in quality to the existing speakers on most laptops, though.

So you're not really getting a huge improvement per se if you're plugging in a Mini PC or some type of machine that doesn't really have built-in speakers of its own. At least it's a nice function, although for headphone jack support, you have to still rely on what's built onto your existing computer. There isn't really a 3.5 mm Jack on the particular monitor. But overall, pretty good for just consuming media, as well as you can tell, their viewing angles at least don't seem to be too problematic. Colors look quite decent. Similarly, again, doing a little bit of gaming here.

If you're connecting it to something like a Nintendo Switch, again, your laptop, as well as maybe a portable console of some sort, also seems to do all right. You get a much larger canvas to interact with here while still maybe doing a bit of work on the other display.

This is what it looks like if you are using it as one giant monitor instead of two split displays. So you can play around with some of these modes under your laptop's OS display settings and see if it's available. But you can tell that one limitation in this mode is there is a bit of a gap in the center because of the bezels intersecting the two sides. So one image will be slightly splintered. So if you are using it as one giant display, that's why typically a folding screen will be better because there isn't really a gap in the middle. And that's why having two separate images or two separate apps running on a design like this is a little bit more practical.

As for other adjustment settings, you can change things like contrast, the black level, as well as the sharpness. There's also an eco mode that will further consume a little bit less power but also lower the brightness at the screen. Display saturation and hue can also be adjusted if desired. So overall, a decent selection here, and we can also further adjust things like the color temperature, RGB mode (red, greens, and blues individually) if you find it to be a little bit skewed. Although by default, I think the calibration is done decently. It doesn't seem to be too warm or too cold, about neutral out of the box.

Some of the other modes here, including HDR mode, can also be triggered if you want some extra contrast and vibrancy on the display. And finally, there's also a low blue light mode for things like reading purposes that you can also play around with.

One other small detail that I really like is that the logo on the very front, just like on older MacBooks, is actually backlit with a very faint LED.

Otherwise, in terms of power consumption, again, keep in mind that it is draining what is on your existing laptop or device because it is literally adding two displays. Expect that the power draw as well as the screen on time for your machine will also reduce by about two times or so faster. So that's one thing to keep in mind, even though they are already supposed to be relatively energy-efficient panels.

So if you really want extra endurance in this mode, you can bring along a standard power bank to plug it into. What's good, though, is even at maximum brightness, the panels are still relatively cool in terms of thermals. They never really got too warm or concerning.

So that is more or less it as far as our hands-on review of this M2 portable monitor. Again, a dual-screen accessory for laptops and definitely an option to consider if you find yourself limited by your desktop space. It's kind of a budget alternative to having an actual dual display or folding screen laptop. And this again works with any existing regular device that you may have already. So definitely a neat idea even if there are some small rough edges here and there. And if you are interested, you can check out more details in the links down below. For now, that's been our video. Thanks for watching here at OS reviews. That's been a closer look at the M2 dual-screen monitor accessory.