Review: CopGain Macbook Portable Monitor (P1M series)

Review sample provided by CopGain

The CopGain P1M series portable display is designed specifically for the Macbook Air and Macbook Pro.

When the display is collapsed, it's surface area will match the Macbooks to provide the portability. The sizes of Macbooks supported are 13.3, 13.6, 14 and 16-inches.

At the time of review, the prices range from USD 239 to 249.

Bottom line

CopGain P1M portable display is well made. Colours on the display look alright (measured 90% sRGB) and would certainly benefit from colour calibration. Maximum brightness is 190 nits measured but you can only get that with certain settings. Usual brightness is 150 nits.

Unlike other competing products, the Macbook display can be tilted down without the CopGain display pulling everything down. That's one huge advantage compared to other products. The display supports PD and with the right charger can charge the Macbook through the display.

The downside obviously is the additional weight you have to carry, and this makes your Macbook thicker too. That's just the way it is if you want an external display for better productivity.

Specs

• Display size: 12-inch
• Resolution: 1920 x 1080
• Brightness: 300 nits
• Contrast: 1000:1
• USB-C port: Supports power delivery to Macbook
• Weight. 1.87 lb (848g)

Things included

Items included in the box are:

• The display and the attached housing
• Double-sided adhesive pads
• 4x metal covers for the holes on the housing
• Metal cover remover
• A pry tool
• USB-C to USB-C charging cable
• 1x metal cover for the display
• 1x PU leather cover for the display
• Quickstart guide and manual

Design

The display comes with a protective film that has to be removed.

13.3, 13.6 and 14-inch Macbooks will get a 12-inch external display. The 16-inch Macbook Pro will get a 14-inch external display.

Behind the display is a plastic housing that's designed to go perfectly onto the Macbook lid.

Installation is pretty straightforward. Just put the plastic housing onto the Macbook lid first.

Next, stick the double sided adhesive pads to the Macbook lid from the housing holes.

Lastly, stick the metal covers to the adhesive pads.

The adhesive pads will hold the Macbook lid, plastic housing and the four metal covers together.

The downside to this method of attaching the housing is it's not easy to remove the external display because that will involve removing the adhesive pads. Shown above is the tool needed to remove the metal covers.

Actually, it is very difficult to use the removal tool to remove the round metal covers.

So to make your life easier in the future when you want to remove the display, I recommend you use Blu-tack or White-tack for 2 or 3 of the spots, instead of using 4 adhesive pads. The blu-tack attachment is actually quite secure. But note that I can't bear responsibility of you damaging your display if you follow my installation method.

There's a compartment on the display that stores the video cable that goes to the Macbook's Thunderbolt port.

That's the built-in non-removable cable that's connected to the Macbook's Thunderbolt port. Note the extra USB-C port on the display that can be connected to a power source (charger not included).

Shown above is how the LCD display looks out of the box.

Brightness can be increased from the OSD controls by the right side.

I measured colour support for 90% sRGB, 78% AdobeRGB, 78% P3, 75% NTSC and a maximum brightness of 190 nits.

It is not possible to achieve maximum brightness with certain settings so with the display in sRGB mode, maximum brightness is just 150 nits which is sufficient for indoor but not outdoor use.

One main selling point of this CopGain portable display vs other brands is it is possible to tilt the Macbook display back without the weight pulling everything down. Many other competing products are only usable with the Macbook display at the vertical angle (you can check Youtube videos to see whether the reviewers tilt their displays).

The bottom side of display housing is thicker and in contact with the table, and that is providing the support to prevent the two displays from going down.

In the photo above, you can see how the brightness and colours are affected by the viewing angle. The Macbook Air's colours look more vibrant because of the glossy display vs the CopGain matte display.

After colour calibrating, colours on both displays almost match. But at a glance you will still notice the Macbook Air has better colour support. Anyway, if you think 90% sRGB and 78% AdobeRGB is low, I've tested another portable display with only 68% sRGB.

The matte textured surface will affect the image quality slightly due to the additional grain. The coloured lines on the left are due to my camera lens.

Resolution is just 1920 x 1080 and on a 12-inch display you will need to increase the UI scaling to make everything look bigger and more comfortable for your eyes. You will need to use the BetterDisplay app if MacOS's UI scaling options are not sharp enough for you.

Here's a closer look at the image quality of the CopGain LCD display. The colours and brightness could be better but it's difficult to complain considering the affordable price point.

Once you are done using the display, you can fold it to the back.

And cover it with either the metal or PU leather cover. Those removeable covers can be used as mouse pads too.

This certainly adds more weight and thickness to your Macbook.

There are so many portable display products out there and most are standalone displays, which means you will have to bring them along separately. The advantages of those displays there are not always on the Macbook so you don't have to bring them if you don't want to, and they have better colours and brightness.

Which product to choose really comes down to personal preference.

Conclusion

CopGain P1M portable display works as advertised. This is an affordable product so it is bound to have some limitations with its low price point. Colours and brightness look alright but could be better, but those are not deal breakers.

Having an external display really helps a lot with productivity and that may be worth carrying the extra weight for some people.

Since this display is designed for Macbooks, I will have to mention that if you happen to have an iPad, you can use the SideCar feature to turn your tablet into an external display too, and the iPad will still be lighter than the CopGain display. A refurbished 64GB iPad 8 (2020) from Apple is USD 269. But SideCar will have more lag due to the wireless connection.

Pros and cons at a glance
+ External display is great for productivity
+ 1920 x 1080 resolution on a 12-inch display isn't too pixelated
+ Portable design to go with the Macbook
+ Able to tilt the Macbook display down without the weight pulling everything down
+ The display supports Power Delivery with the appropriate charger
+ Pricing quite reasonable, competitive to other brands
- Matte surface texture affects image quality slightly
- Viewing angles affect colours and brightness
- Colours need to be calibrated to look the best
- Removing the display is not possible unless adhesive pads are removed
- Adds more weight and thickness to the Macbook

Availability

To buy this display, visit CopGain online store or Amazon.