With a unique over/under design, the Geminos double monitor from Mobile Pixels looks to bring ergonomics and increased productivity to your desktop, while freeing up space. Stephen Holmes tests it out to see if it stacks up
I’ve opened plenty of laptops before, but this was the first time I’ve ever unfolded a monitor. The over/under stacked Geminos double monitor from Mobile Pixels is like nothing I’ve ever encountered, and unpacking this product was a unique moment.
Mobile Pixels was founded back in 2018 to add lightweight secondary monitors to mobile workstations, which would expand viewing space and increase productivity. Fast-forward to today and the brand has built a cult following, especially among creatives on the move. It now offers a range of secondary and even tri-screen laptop monitors. The Geminos, which marks the company’s first move into desktop products, started life as a July 2022 Kickstarter campaign that was fully funded a mere 36 minutes after going live.
You can see why backers were hooked. There’s barely an office desk to be found nowadays that doesn’t have a multiple monitor set-up, regardless of role or workflow. More monitors simply make sense for many users, whether they want to keep their dedicated design space free from clutter, or simply have a separate window that enables them to keep on top of team communications and email.
The problem is the footprint occupied by hardware. Two screens positioned next to each other are likely to spread well over one metre. And that leads to other issues: the need for a desk or table big enough to accommodate them, not to mention the physical condition wonderfully coined as ‘tech neck’.
Twisting your neck between screens multiple times a day is bound to result in fatigue and possibly even longer term damage, so being able to survey available screen space with a flick of the eyes rather than contorting your meaty nape is bound to help.
With the Geminos, not only is your second screen positioned just a quick glance up from your main work screen, but you can also physically move the screen by sliding the bottom screen out towards you. That’s nice for sketching with a graphics tablet and it also draws the height of the top screen lower.
Corralling messaging apps, email, Spotify accounts and so on up into the gods of the top monitor creates plenty of room for a more focused workspace on the bottom screen. But at the same time, you can still react swiftly to alerts from that upper deck.
When in full upright mode, these monitors stand tall – some 70cm, in fact – so some flex will likely be needed. Either that, or a new cushion to raise your seat.
If you invest in the Geminos T version, with the necessary drivers installed on your workstation, you can even use the touchscreen functionality of the bottom monitor.
Action hub
What allows all this to work is the Geminos stand, which also operates as a 10-in-1 multiport hub. The docking station at its base includes two USB-A and USB-C ports, two HDMI ports and a SD/TF Card slot. With 100W USB-C pass-through charging capability, the Geminos can charge a laptop while it’s docked.
The base also has two 3W speakers built in, although we’d probably use some of that extra desk real estate you’ve acquired to put something a bit kinder on the ears either side.
The sensation for the eyes is much better, with 1,920 x 1,080 resolution across each monitor with 60 Hertz refresh rates, 97% sRGB colour gamut and 250 nit adjustable brightness.
I can already hear you crying out for 4K resolution, and it’s not a stretch to imagine this might be a development for future Geminos products, given that Mobile Pixels already produces its own 4K displays.
It’s probably best to look at the Geminos in terms of productivity benefits rather than visual excellence – although with a bit of tinkering, the monitor is rich and clear. The sliding mechanism becomes second nature very quickly. I found it better than a VESA mount on a deskmounted arm, as the limited track of vertical movement meant it was easy to find a sweet spot for your different applications without tinkering for an age. Compared to a standard monitor stand, it felt natural to grab and adjust the screen to find the angle that worked best for each task, whether that’s sitting back and writing an email or poring over the screen in more design-led work.
The only negatives involve the product finish and brand experience. In this respect, Geminos provided a real contrast to the positive experience we had last month when testing the Xencelabs Pen Display 24.
With the latter, product design and finish was impeccable and it was delivered in branded packaging, with black foam inlays neatly containing each cable and accessory. Geminos arrives more like a product intent on delivering function, rather than form, with some rough edges and less-than-premium materials.
Unboxing the Geminos is equally uninspiring. Two white-label cardboard boxes contain poly grab bags of nonbranded cables that seem to have come directly out of a Shenzhen electrical supplier’s warehouse. Removable stickers that highlight different ports and the in-built webcam feature some quaint translation errors.
Set-up with the included cables is quick enough, using either the two USB-C or HDMI cables to hook straight up to our laptop. However, we did have issues with the single-cable option, which requires a driver install to split the signal. I can’t imagine many IT security departments will be thrilled by the request from the driver to ‘record your screen’, so direct hardwiring is likely for the best.
Once you’re up and running, the Geminos’ unique layout soon becomes second nature, leaving you to ponder whether you might hook up yet another Geminos (and, yes, this can be done) or what else you might fit in the space now vacated by a traditional second monitor.
Priced at £517+VAT, the dual-screen Geminos falls firmly into the same price range as a single 4K professional monitor. However, what you sacrifice in resolution, you make up for with abundant screen space and fewer compromises when it comes to the state of both your available workspace and your neck.
Geminos specifications
» Size: 2 x 24” panels
» Panel type: IPS
» Resolution: 1,920 x 1,080 (FHD) per panel
» Refresh Rate: 60 Hertz
» Colour Gamut: 97% sRGB
» Brightness: 250 nit
» Connectors: 2 x HDMI £517 + VAT*
*Price from www.scan.co.uk
This article first appeared in DEVELOP3D Magazine
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