Best Prices Today: JoyReal Dual Laptop Screen Extender
$299.99
MacBooks can quickly and easily hook up to external displays for greater desk-based screen space. The 16-inch MacBook Pro (M2 Max) supports up to four monitors.
On its own, the built-in 16-inch screen is gigantic compared to that on the 13-inch MacBook Air, but rather poky when you’re working on a complex spreadsheet or wanting to enjoy a big-budget streaming movie in more glory than in-flight entertainment.
What the large built-in laptop screen does offer, of course, is portability. You can’t lug that 32-inch 4K Samsung display to your local coffee shop or fit it on your airplane-seat foldout tray.
You can buy portable external displays at up to 17 inches—not much larger than the laptop’s own. The INNOCN Portable Monitor 15.6-inch USB-C Laptop Monitor is one of the best.
But the JoyReal Dual Laptop Screen Extender is something different—it’s a screen that physically attaches to your laptop, rather than just linking by USB cable. You can then carry around your very own dual-screen laptop in one simple if rather bulky package.
Looks
It’s quite a head turner. With this second screen extended, I’ve had people walking past stop and gape with curiosity at two-headed mutant MacBook.
It takes some getting used to and Jony Ive would be attacking it with a claw hammer, but it would be wrong to say that this Frankenstein’s monster is ugly or doesn’t try to fit the Apple aesthetic.
Mounting the second screen
The second screen attaches to the laptop with a bracket that can be firmly affixed to your MacBook with removable nano-adhesive.
It can then be folded back into the special case and protected with one of two included magnetic covers—a metal cover that matches the MacBook’s own coloring, and a gray faux leather cover. This makes it easy to carry, although it is no exaggeration to say that it significantly bulks up the otherwise slim MacBook.
The height of the MacBook more than doubles from 0.61 inch (1.55cm) to 1.38 inches (3.5cm), and weight increases massively from 3.5 pounds (1.6kg) to 8.2 pounds (3.7kg). No Apple laptop has weighed that much since 1989’s Mac Portable.
Attaching the screen isn’t difficult but the instructions could be a lot clearer, as most people have no doubt experienced when constructing flat-pack furniture.
The JoyReal Dual Laptop Screen Extender available as a 14-inch screen for the 16-inch MacBook Pro, and 12-inch screens for either the 13-inch MacBook Air or 14-inch MacBook Pro.
Dual-monitor display options
Like an external display, you can set the second screen to either mirror your laptop’s screen or extend it for extra real estate.
The screen rotates about 200 degrees (not the 270° that the manufacturer claims), and will work even when folded, meaning you could work on the MacBook screen while showing the second screen on the back of the laptop—ideal if you want to show off what you are doing to one or more people (in Mirrored mode) or maybe let your kid watch a movie while you work (in Extended).
In Slide Show mode presentations can be split across the two screens—one showing the full-screen slides and the other for the presenter with next slide and notes on show. Just click Swap Displays in PowerPoint, depending on how you want it.
This mode works best if you are presenting to people in front of your Mac, with the screen folded back to face them.
Span
Screen size and resolutions
The second screen measures 12 inches diagonally for 13-inch and 14-inch MacBooks, and 14 inches for the 16-inch MacBook model.
I tested the JoyReal Dual Laptop Screen Extender with a 14-inch MacBook Pro.
Available resolutions range from 960×540 pixels to 1920×1080 at 60Hz. While the higher resolution offers a lot of screen space, at 12 inches it is difficult to make out much.
The lower resolution means you can see detail a lot clearer. Working with a complex Excel sheet on the second screen was a real help during video calls, or you could set it to play a movie while you worked on something on the laptop’s screen.
The screen is not as sharp and clear as the MacBook’s own. You wouldn’t want to work solely on the second screen or edit in Photoshop.
Screen controls
As with an external display, you can control the Brightness, Contrast, Sharpness, Hue, Dynamic Contrast Ratio, Color temperature, and other aspects via a small onscreen panel.
How to use this is not obvious, you’ll need to work it out yourself by tapping and double-tapping the small scroll wheel on the screen mount.
The instructions are in the user guide make sense once you’ve practised with them for a while. But it was not, I suspect, written by a native English speaker and refers to the screen as “P1M-14.2” rather than the JoyReal brand name.
Price
The JoyReal Dual Laptop Screen Extender costs from $299 to $339 depending on the size of the MacBook it will be attached to.
That’s expensive for a second screen—especially one this small—but you are paying for the connecting bracket and fixed, portable state of the display rather than screen acreage.
Verdict
The JoyReal Dual Laptop Screen Extender is not a desktop solution. If you want a permanent larger screen at home or in the office, simply buy a bigger external display. Check out our recommended best monitors for Mac.
This dual-screen MacBook solution is for specific on-the-move and in-meeting screen space extension, two-users-one-laptop sharing, and perfect for small-group presentations.
If you don’t mind bulking up and weighing down your MacBook, and you have a real need for a foldable, portable second screen, the Dual Laptop Screen Extender may well be your solution. It fits well and doesn’t disgrace the MacBook’s looks.
If you just need occasional extra screen space, look at a portable screen or a more permanent standard external display.
