The Mobile Pixels Duex Max is generating a lot of buzz, and for the right reasons.
This powerful second screen is a brilliant option for people who spend a lot of time working on their computer and want an extra screen without needing to buy a second monitor.
Read further if you want to read our Mobile Pixels Duex Max review…
A second screen connected to your laptop makes a lot of sense for users who spend a decent amount of time away from their office or home.
It is also a brilliant option for people who don’t have enough room to house a second monitor.
Without mincing words, the Mobile Pixels Deux Max is a robust second screen that offers a lot of unique propositions.
Read today’s review for everything you need to know about it.
Table of Contents
Design and features
The Mobile Pexels Duex Max features many fantastic designs and brilliant functionalities.
It comes with a system of stickers and magnets, which makes attaching it to your laptop a stroll in the park.
To start with, the Deux Max comes with four unique round magnets with adhesive pads, making it easy to secure the screen to the back of your laptop display.
And yes, those four magnets are neatly packaged inside the slots that slide the case left or right.
The screen is designed so that it effortlessly slides out from the rear casing to the side of your laptop display.
Thanks to its unique design, users of the Mobile Pixels Duex Max can seamlessly change the direction of the screen as it boasts a 270-degree range of movement.
Unfortunately, this portable screen doesn’t provide users with adjustment options like tilt and swivel, and this doesn’t come to us as a surprise, mainly because of the kind of panel it comes with.
On the flip side, we like that the case doubles as a stand and prop, making it easy to set up your screen in portrait mode.
While this sounds cool, remember that you can only use this option when the Duex Max isn’t connected to your laptop.
For those that would love to use this display externally in laptop mode, you’ll have to invest in a laptop stand or something that looks like it.
Sadly, this portable screen’s exterior doesn’t leave many users impressed, which is not surprising.
For one, the casing is average and looks cheap.
More so, it is made from rattling plastic, which makes it trail other options on the market.
While the display has a large border, connecting it to your laptop will add an extra 0.25 inch or 6mm to its thickness.
Not just that, it also adds 0.7kg to its weight.
Even though these are pretty decent figures, it’s important we highlight these details, so people who want to save space can factor that in before getting the display.
On the inside, the Mobile Pixels Duex Max boasts a 1920 x 1080 display.
Besides its powerful 13.3-inch resolution, the Duex Max features IPS technology.
Looking at all of the brilliant features and functionalities we have highlighted, you’ll agree that these fine specifications make the Duex Max an excellent option for users who want an extra laptop screen.
Who is this for?
If you spend a decent amount of time on your laptop and want an extra display that makes your job easy, you’ll definitely fancy the new and improved Mobile Pixels Duex Max
While the performance is somewhat average, it does meet the expectations of average users who just need an extra display that makes work easy.
What we like about the Duex Max
There is quite a lot to love about the Duex Max.
To start with, this device is affordable, so you won’t have to dig too deep into your savings to get one for your laptop.
Though the screen quality and brightness indoors may not come close to what you get with superior devices, we love that it still gets the job done, especially for average users looking to perform basic tasks.
Its plug-and-play compatibility makes it super easy to set up.
And yes, we love the slim and portable design of the Mobile Pixels Duex Max.
What are the shortcomings of the Duex Max
Although the Duex Max has a lot of brilliant things going for it.
It has some unique flaws we would like to mention.
Compared to other external displays on the market, the Duex Max looks pretty basic and packs poor features that an avid user won’t like.
To add to that, the build is not as rigid as I would have hoped from a product like this that gets stressed at the hinges, which makes me concerned when the time I pull too hard and the hinge snaps off, I’m hoping this will never happen.
And yes, the sticky pads are not my favourite, but I can see why they use these to attach to the laptop because it seems like the only practical way to attach the screen to the laptop.
Performance and use
The Mobile Pixels Duex Max is a brilliant idea on paper but underperforms in practice.
And the most annoying part of it all is that it’s tricky to have everything nicely connected to your laptop, no thanks to fiddly installation.
Many users of this portable display have complained about the sticky pads used to connect the screen to the laptop.
Part of the complaint is that the sticky pads don’t always secure the screen to the laptop.
If you’re looking to connect the Duex Max to your laptop securely, you’ll need to improvise and think outside the box.
More so, it may depend on the type of laptop you’re using, like in this case im using a Apple Macbook Pro 13 inch which is a decent sized addition for the Mobile Pixels.
Test results by our team have proven that this portable display may not securely attach to every notebook.
Although the Duex Max comes with twelve pads, you’ll have to use a new pad if you intend to use the display on a different laptop.
Away from the shortcomings of the Duex Max, it would interest you to know that this portable screen features two USB-C ports on the right-hand side.
One of the ports is uniquely designed to carry a DisplayPort signal, which makes it possible to connect two devices to the Duex Max simultaneously.
Additionally, the USB-C Cable that comes with this device has a brilliant adapter you can seamlessly attach to a full-size USB socket.
We love that the ports are designed to face the outside of the display.
This ensures the cable extends even further from your laptop.
While this may sound cool to some users, it may leave your desk looking messy.
The Duex Max doesn’t seem to impress many users, especially when you look at the image quality it produces.
With a maximum brightness level of 171cd.m2, this portable screen is only great for indoor use.
When tested outdoors, this display left us less than impressed.
On a good note, the Duex Max has a solid black point of 0.15sd/m2.
This has helped the screen to produce a contrast ratio of 1,140:1.
Compared to other pricey external screens on the market, the Deux Max doesn’t perform too poorly and has some depth.
Unfortunately, the lack of brightness in this display means that users don’t get to enjoy any punch or vibrancy.
Another thing we would love to add at this point is that this display has an average Delta E of 5.04.
What this simply means is that the colors generated aren’t accurate.
While the display has an average temperature of 7310K, the colors created look plaid.
Let us quickly add that the Duex Max is only designed to render 55.6% of the sRGB color gamut.
What this means is that it can only produce half of the shades users need for mainstream content.
The Mobile Pixels Duex Max has a 60Hz refresh rate.
While this may be enough for average users, for more seasoned users of external screens, this is pretty poor enough.
That said, the refresh rate of this device makes it great for everyday work use.
On the other hand, the response time isn’t great.
Users who have used this display have complained of seeing the cursor blurring, especially when they hover around the display.
Although the Duex Max works just fine when working with office apps and browsing the web, we are afraid to add that the display may not be able to handle tasks after hours of gaming.
On a good note, the apparent lack of quality won’t prevent users from running their favorite office apps, surfing the web, or using the external display to access email and messaging software.
Unfortunately, this external screen for laptops lacks the punch, depth, accuracy, and breadth of color needed to handle more complex and creative tasks.
Again, photos and videos don’t look exceptionally bright and vibrant on this display.
If you’re looking for a display with better specs and performance, you may want to check out the Lepow Lite H1.
Why we prefer this display to the Duex Max because it provides better color accuracy, punch, and contrast.
Price and availability
The Mobile Pixel Duex Max price is mid-range for laptop screens.
It costs around $299 to get this device and you can get it directly from the Mobile Pixels website
But they are available on most of online retail stores like eBay, Amazon, and Best Buy.
Frequently asked questions
Is the Duex Max easy to use?
If you’re interested in an external display that is easy to use, you’ll fancy the Duex Max as it is designed so that attaching it to your laptop wouldn’t be an issue.
Is the Mobile Pixels Duex Max expensive?
The Duex Max is not too expensive compared to other external displays on the market.
This display cost $299 and should get the job done.
Is Duet Max the best external display on the market?
If you’re looking for an external display that performs exactly as you want it, you won’t be disappointed to check out the Duet Max.
But if you want something that delivers better performance, the Duet Max isn’t the one for you as it falls short in many areas.
Our verdict
There is quite a lot to like about the Duex Max screen display. If you love to have two screen displays for one laptop, you’ll love the unique proposition Mobile Pixels Duex Max offers.
That said, the Due Max isn’t all that perfect in practice, especially when you factor in the fact that it is fiddly, however we believe the Mobile Pixels design team are close to figuring this one out. Maybe if there was a more sturdier alloy version then you could feel assured of its rigidity.
Naturally it seems that the plastic design choice was to save the user on cost and the additional weight that metal tends to add. On the plus side, Mobile Pixels sell a separate screen holder so you can avoid using the sticky pads all together, but its not so practical if you are using your laptop on your lap and require a double screen display.
Nevertheless, if you’re looking for something affordable that performs decently, you won’t go wrong giving the Mobile Pixels Duex Max a try.
