Portable Monitors: The Productivity Gadget You Didn’t Know You Needed

Hybrid workers like me tend to bounce around. At home, I’m in whatever spot is quietest. At the office, thanks to Covid-19, I’m hot-desking. And right now, at the Airbnb where I’m enjoying a skiing work vacation, my writing desk is a kitchen table.

Laptops make all this possible, but their relatively small screens tend to cramp productivity. A seminal 2007 study by researchers at the University of Utah found that participants who used a larger display completed tasks 52% faster. A few years later, researchers at Wichita State University concluded that using dual monitors boosted productivity, regardless of screen size.

So if you want to be more effective while working from anywhere, you’re going to want a monitor, and not a heavy desktop one. New lighter-weight portable screens are hitting the market, and there are more ways now to turn old devices into extra displays, too. Here are your main options:

USB-powered screens often cost as much as traditional monitors, but they are slimmer and lighter, and get their electricity straight from your laptop. Some products include two added side monitors.

Second-screen software turns your existing tablets (and computers) into extended displays. Apple built it into the Mac and iPad operating systems, and Windows is now compatible with certain Samsung tablets. There’s also an app that lets you choose other devices.

I reviewed four different multiscreen scenarios that made my work tasks easier. Whichever screen or app you choose, be mindful of your laptop’s battery—plug-in displays guzzle power—and your potential neighbours. On a plane, don’t pull out your mega triple-screen setup unless you got lucky and have the row to yourself.

EspressoDisplay v2 Touch-Screen Monitor

The appeal: Big screens, slick design

Price: $669 for the 13-inch, $749 for the 15-inch at espres.so

Compatibility: Most Mac, Windows and Chrome computers

Pros: The Espresso display looks like a superslim iMac. Colours are vivid, and pixels are barely perceptible with the screen’s 1080p resolution. Even the larger of the two models weighs under 1kg, and the magnetically attached stand, sold separately, folds flat to fit in a computer bag.

There are two USB-C ports on the side of the screen: One drives the display connection, while the other can connect to a power brick to charge your laptop, if its own ports are in short supply. The Espresso is touch-enabled, even for Macs, which don’t natively support the capability. You can use two fingers to scroll, or pinch to zoom. The display can also be used in portrait orientation.

Cons: At maximum brightness, the Espresso still isn’t as bright as my M1 MacBook Air, and the screen is reflective, so it can be hard to see in some lighting. You need to download software called EspressoFlow to adjust settings such as brightness and volume. The setup is pricey: Essential accessories such as the stand ($69) and protective case ($39) cost extra. And if your laptop still uses Mini DisplayPort, the older mobile video standard, the adapter costs $40.

Xebec Tri-Screen 2 Laptop System

The appeal: More screens, compact rig

Price: $699 at thexebec.com

Compatibility: Most Mac, Windows and Chrome laptop

Pros: The Tri-Screen 2 adds two thin 10-inch screens, each with a resolution of 1920 x 1200 pixels, to either side of your laptop. An expandable holster attaches to the back of your laptop’s display. A rear kickstand supports the added weight (about 2 pounds). The style is great for smaller spaces. You can even work on the couch if you have a sturdy pillow or something else to prop the kickstand on. As with the Espresso, an additional USB-C port supports laptop charging.

Cons: The screens are small, and you need to tinker with the displays’ resolutions to make text readable. My laptop, a late-2020 M1 MacBook Air, required extra setup: an additional adapter ($70), two dongles and a cable, plus a driver download, because the computer only natively supports one external monitor. Those cables need to be disconnected every time you retract the displays. Alex Levine, the company’s chief executive, said his team is working on larger screens and simpler setups.

Sidecar for Mac and iPad

The appeal: Ready-made for Apple users

Price: Free, but requires a supported iPad and Mac

Compatibility: Macs running MacOS Catalina or later, and an iPad using iPadOS 13 or later

Pros: Sidecar is built into Macs and allows you to use an iPad as an extended display. It works with even the basic 10.2-inch tablet model. Both devices need to be connected to the same Apple ID. Sidecar can work wirelessly over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi, but I recommend using a USB cable for the most stable connection.

The feature provides basic touch interaction. Sidecar even unlocks some limited functionality of the Apple Pencil, so you can select and tap things on the iPad’s screen. Some apps, including Apple’s own Preview, also support drawing and markup.

Cons: There’s no iPad camera support, so you still have to use your Mac’s camera for video calls. The touch gestures are limited to scrolling, copy/cut/paste and undo/redo. You can’t use an iPhone as a second screen. You also can’t customize iPad screen resolution to adjust text size. Sidecar won’t work on older devices or devices that can’t be updated (for instance, some employer-administered devices).

Duet Second-Screen App

The appeal: Works across different platforms

Price: $21 for iOS, $10 for Android/Chromebooks, free for Mac/Windows, pre-installed on select HP computers; $28 a year for premium features; at duetdisplay.com

Compatibility: For iOS, Android, Windows 10, Chromebooks and Mac devices

Pros: Duet is fully platform-agnostic. With a Mac or PC as the primary screen, you can use a variety of other devices, from an Android tablet to an old iMac, as a secondary or mirrored display. Touch-wise, there’s slightly more functionality than Apple’s Sidecar: You can click with a tap, and right-click with a tap-and-hold, or use your finger to pan in Google Street view or virtual real-estate tours. Duet also supports portrait orientation. People with new HP Envy and Spectre models get free access to Duet’s iOS and Android apps.

Cons: A subscription is required for wireless connections, Apple Pencil input, additional touch gestures and remote desktop access. Also, you can’t use the cameras of those connected devices for your video calls.

Coming Soon: Samsung’s Giant Windows-Compatible Tablet

Samsung recently announced new tablets, including a massive 14.6-inch Galaxy Tab S8 Ultra, the biggest tablet on the market to use the high-contrast screen tech found mostly in premium smartphones. Galaxy Tab tablets, starting with last year’s S7 models, can be used as a wireless extended display for Windows 10 computers over a Wi-Fi connection. I haven’t had the chance to test the new Tab yet, but it looks like a promising portable Windows monitor—for around $1540.

For some vacationers, the ideal getaway involves $1,200 ozone therapy or an $1,800 early-detection cancer test.

Call it the longevity vacation. People who are fixated on optimising their personal health are pursuing travel activities that they hope will help them stay healthier for longer. It is part of a broader interest in longevity that often extends beyond traditional medicine . These costly trips and treatments are rising in popularity as money pours into the global wellness travel market.

At high-end resorts, guests can now find biological age testing, poolside vitamin IV drips, and stem-cell therapy. Prices can range from hundreds of dollars for shots and drips to tens of thousands for more invasive procedures, which go well beyond standard wellness offerings like yoga, massages or facials.

Some longevity-inspired trips focus on treatments, while others focus more on social and lifestyle changes. This includes programs that promise to teach travellers the secrets of centenarians .

Mark Blaskovich, 66 years old, spent $4,500 on a five-night trip last year centred on lessons from the world’s “Blue Zones,” places including Sardinia, Italy, and Okinawa, Japan, where a high number of people live for at least 100 years. Blaskovich says he wanted to get on a healthier path as he started to feel the effects of ageing.

He chose a retreat at Modern Elder Academy in Mexico, where he attended workshops detailing the power of supportive relationships, embracing a plant-based diet and incorporating natural movement into his daily life.

“I’ve been interested in longevity and trying to figure out how to live longer and live healthier,” says Blaskovich.

Vitamins and ozone

When Christy Menzies noticed nurses behind a curtained-off area at the Four Seasons Resort Maui in Hawaii on a family vacation in 2022, she assumed it might be Covid-19 testing. They were actually injecting guests with vitamin B12.

Menzies, 40, who runs a travel agency, escaped to the longevity clinic between trips to the beach, pool and kids’ club, where she reclined in a leather chair, and received a 30-minute vitamin IV infusion.

“You’re making investments in your wellness, your health, your body,” says Menzies, who adds that she felt more energised afterward.

The resort has been expanding its offerings since opening a longevity centre in 2021. A multi-day treatment package including ozone therapy, stem-cell therapy and a “fountain of youth” infusion, costs $44,000. Roughly half a dozen guests have shelled out for that package since it made its debut last year, according to Pat Makozak, the resort’s senior spa director. Guests can also opt for an early-detection cancer blood test for $1,800.

The ozone therapy, which involves withdrawing blood, dissolving ozone gas into it, and reintroducing it into the body through an IV, is particularly popular, says Makozak. The procedure is typically administered by a registered nurse, takes upward of an hour and costs $1,200.

Longevity vacationers are helping to fuel the global wellness tourism market, which is expected to surpass $1 trillion in 2024, up from $439 billion in 2012, according to the nonprofit Global Wellness Institute. About 13% of U.S. travellers took part in spa or wellness activities while traveling in the past 12 months, according to a 2023 survey from market-research group Phocuswright.

Canyon Ranch, which has multiple wellness resorts across the country, earlier this year introduced a five-night “Longevity Life” program, starting at $6,750, that includes health-span coaching, bone-density scans and longevity-focused sessions on spirituality and nutrition.

The idea is that people will return for an evaluation regularly to monitor progress, says Mark Kovacs, the vice president of health and performance.

What doctors say

Doctors preach caution, noting many of these treatments are unlikely to have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration, producing a placebo effect at best and carrying the potential for harm at worst. Procedures that involve puncturing the skin, such as ozone therapy or an IV drip, risk possible infection, contamination and drug interactions.

“Right now there isn’t a single proven treatment that would prolong the life of someone who’s already healthy,” says Dr. Mark Loafman, a family-medicine doctor in Chicago. “If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.”

Some studies on certain noninvasive wellness treatments, like saunas or cold plunges , do suggest they may help people feel less stressed, or provide some temporary pain relief or sleep improvement.

Linda True, a policy analyst in San Francisco, spent a day at RAKxa, a wellness retreat on a visit to family in Thailand in February. True, 46, declined the more medical-sounding offerings, like an IV drip, and opted for a traditional style of Thai massage that involved fire and is touted as a “detoxification therapy.”

“People want to spend money on things that they feel might be doing good,” says Dr. Tamsin Lewis, medical adviser at RoseBar Longevity at Six Senses Ibiza, a longevity club that opened last year, whose menu includes offerings such as cryotherapy, infrared sauna and a “Longevity Boost” IV.

RoseBar says there is good evidence that reducing stress contributes to longevity, and Lewis says she doesn’t offer false promises about treatments’ efficacy . Kovacs says Canyon Ranch uses the latest science and personal data to help make evidence-based recommendations.

Jaclyn Sienna India owns a membership-based, ultra luxury travel company that serves people whose net worth exceeds $100 million, many of whom give priority to longevity, she says. She has planned trips for clients to Blue Zones, where there are a large number of centenarians. On one in February, her company arranged a $250,000 weeklong stay for a family of three to Okinawa that included daily meditation, therapeutic massages and cooking classes, she says.

India says keeping up with a longevity-focused lifestyle requires more than one treatment and is cost-prohibitive for most people.

Doctors say travellers may be more likely to glean health benefits from focusing on a common vacation goal : just relaxing.

Dr. Karen Studer, a physician and assistant professor of preventive medicine at Loma Linda University Health says lowering your stress levels is linked to myriad short- and long-term health benefits.

“It may be what you’re getting from these expensive treatments is just a natural effect of going on vacation, decreasing stress, eating better and exercising more.”