COPGAIN DUAL LAPTOP SCREEN EXTENDER: PORTABILITY WITH A VERY SPECIFIC PURPOSE

MacBooks can quickly and easily hook up to external displays for greater desk-based screen space

- SIMON JARY

While the plain M1/M2 MacBooks support just one extra screen, 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 (fave.co/3MXNmR1) is one of the best.

But the CopGain 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.

FUNCTION OVER FORM

The CopGain Dual Laptop Screen Extender isn't a looker, but it's quite a head-turner. With this second screen extended, I've had people walking past stop and gape with curiosity at my two-headed mutant MacBook. It takes some getting used to and Jony Ive would probably attack it with a claw hammer, but it would be wrong to say this Frankenstein's monster is ugly or doesn't at least try to fit the Apple aesthetic.