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The Cevaton S6 laptop screen extender is designed for professional creatives who have grown accustomed to using a multi-monitor setup at home and, hence, find using a 13, 15, or even 18-inch laptop screen limiting to use while traveling. For some, a 15-inch screen is good enough, but if you’re the type that frequently has two full-size windows open side by side, a single screen can be limiting.
If that’s you, bringing a portable monitor along whenever you travel for your job or need to work out of the house from let’s say, a café makes a lot of sense. Thanks to USB-C, this is a whole lot easier than it used to be, and most of these portable monitors have become lighter but offer incredible resolution and screen quality.
While I’ve reviewed a couple of portable monitors before, I’ve yet to review a laptop screen extender. That’s why when the Cevaton S6 popped up, I had to give it a run and see how it compares to traditional portable monitors like the AOC E1659Fwu or the ViewSonic VX1755 gaming monitor.
Design & Features
The Cevaton S6 portable monitor is an upgraded version of the Cevaton S3 from last year, but it now features two larger monitors than the S3, coming in the way of two 15.6-inch FHD IPS LCDs with a 1920 x 1080 resolution. That’s almost an inch and a half larger than the S3, which arrives with two 14-inch displays.
At only 300 nits, the S6 is as dim as the Cevaton S3. I would’ve wished to see slightly better brightness on the Cevaton S6, but 300 nits is still at par with most SDR portable monitors.
Both monitors feature three USB-C ports around the back alongside a power button and an ISD directional wheel. The Cevaton S6 can connect to almost any USB-based laptop, and you won’t experience any compatibility issues. If your laptop doesn’t have two USB-C ports to spare, you’ll need to use a USB-C alongside a USB-A port and a single HDMI port. All the required cables are bundled in the box.
Both monitors have a 90-degree rotation, meaning you can set one, or both, to align vertically as you might need. I personally find the vertical mode to be useful for tasks such as Slack, Discord or for viewing a checklist notes page, while working with the other two monitors horizontally.
The Cevaton S6 also includes a stand, which is sturdier than what you’d get on the S3 – it’s a metal stand and doesn’t flex easily, making it more comfortable to work with compared to the S3’s plastic stand.
Cevaton S6 Portable Monitor
- Brand: Cevaton
- Screen Size: 15.6″
- Display Technology: IPS LCD
- HDR: No
- Resolution: 1920 x 1080
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Ports: 6 x USB Type-C, 2 x HDMI, 2 x USB Type-A
- Battery: None
- Touchscreen Technology: No
- Screen Brightness: 300 nits
- Weight: 4.0 lbs
- Sound: Built-in speakers
- Tilt: 90-degrees
- Dimensions: 2 x 13 x 8-inches
- Speakers: Yes
What We Like
A wider workspace and seamless portability
The Cevaton S6 is very straightforward to set up and use. Plus, the company includes a diagram of cable connections should you need to confirm how to use anything inside the box. Out of the box, the color quality is more impressive on the S6 than on the S3, with the S6 supporting up to 120% coverage of the sRGB color gamut. Granted the screen’s peak brightness isn’t necessarily the best for content creation tasks, the color accuracy is great without any calibration.
At the end of the day, having two additional monitors beside your laptop is a great boost to your working experience. Compatibility remains top-notch with the Cevaton S6, but as mentioned above, you must ensure that you have two fully powered USB-C ports available on your laptop, which can be difficult if you have an older laptop.
The monitors themselves are very lightweight, with the complete set weighing only four lbs., when stacked together. You’ll also appreciate the faux leather carrying case in the box alongside the Cevaton, giving you a comfortable and stylish way to carry the Cevaton S6 around.
You’ll also appreciate the speakers on the Cevaton S6, but I’m not sure if you’ll be using them much. They sound great, but they don’t deliver the best sound quality – just don’t expect much from an integrated portable monitor’s speakers. While it’s impressive to see some speakers included here, chances are, your laptop’s speakers sound better, and you can always do with a nice pair of headphones.
What We Don’t Like
Port layout would be better and OSD is a bit cumbersome.
The port layout on the Cevaton S6 is rather an oddity. Cable management with the S6 is difficult since there are no cable pass-throughs, so you might need to spend some extra time figuring out how to route your cables. It’s not a major issue, you can solve it easily with cable runners or by tamping the USB cables down, but it could be avoided by better port placement, especially on the side of the monitor.
Also, the on-screen dials are a pain, it’s a problem carried forward from the Cevaton S3. While that’s a personal preference, the dial on the Cevaton S6 doesn’t make things any better. It’s a bit clunky to spin the small plastic wheel and press in when required, and it will occasionally double-click, requiring you to reset any task you are doing. I also wish the monitors were brighter, 300 nits isn’t badly off, but I would prefer a monitor with at least 500 nits of brightness.
Cevaton S6 Review: Verdict
The Cevaton S6 is a fine laptop screen extender, and it brings lots of convenience to anybody who needs to extend their laptop screen without investing in a dual monitor setup. You’ll be impressed with its design, especially the fact that it uses magnets to ensure you don’t fumble around with all its different pieces. Also, the fact that you can use either monitor separately is another big plus.
However, I don’t understand why you can daisy chain the two monitors together with one ISB-C cable and use another to connect them to your laptop. And while it doesn’t offer the same level of immersion as the S6, I just like how the UPERFECT delta portable monitor can be powered by a single USB-C cable. Additionally, that dual-screen foldable portable monitor has two mini-HDMI ports instead of just only having USB-C ports. This makes connecting it to a game console or even an older laptop much easier.
That said, the Cevaton S6 provides an easy way to turn your laptop into a full-fledged mobile workstation. Its brightness is higher than 300 nits, and the fact that each monitor needs to be plugged directly into your laptop could be a deal breaker for some, but this does give you some flexibility to use them separately when you don’t feel like using a triple-monitor setup.
If you’ve been looking for a way to upgrade your mobile workstation experience in the new year, the Cevaton S6 is money well spent.
Best Deal Overall
Laptop Screen Extender, 15.6" Portable Monitor, 120% sRGB FHD 1080P Triple Laptop Screen Extender, 235°Rotation Detachable Dual Monitor for 13-17.3" Laptop Compatible with Mac/Wins/Android
$299.99 in stock
