The NexDock XL looks like a convertible notebook with a 15.6 inch display. But it’s really more of a smartphone accessory than a standalone device: connect it to your phone and you can run your apps on a big touchscreen display and use a full-sized keyboard and touchpad.
It’s the latest in a line of products from a startup called NexDock, which has been offering this sort of smartphone dock for years. But the NexDock XL provides the biggest screen to date… especially since the company also just announced that it’s putting another of its projects on pause, and issuing refunds to folks who pre-ordered the NexMonitor, which was unveiled in early 2022.
The NexMonitor was supposed to be a 27 inch high-res monitor with HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB 3.1 Type-C inputs and a magnetic panel for docking your phone while it was connected.
NexDock says it was unable “to generate sufficient interest and pre-orders to proceed with production” of that device, so it’s putting the project on pause unless it can find “external funding.”
The NexDock XL, meanwhile, looks more like the company’s existing devices and hopefully that means there’s enough demand to justify actually bringing this one to market.
It has a 15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel, 120 Hz IPS LCD touchscreen display with supports for up to 300 nits brightness, a 360-degree hinge that lets you push the screen all the way back for use in tablet or stand modes, and a 57 Wh battery as well as support for 15W reverse wireless charging: place a compatible phone above the keyboard to charge your mobile device while using the NexDock XL.
The system supports wired and wireless input, with mini HDMI 1.4a and USB 3.1 Type-C ports (the USB port supports DisplayPort Alt Mode). There’s also a second USB-C port for charging, a USB 3.0 Type-A port for data, and a 3.5mm audio jack and microSDXC card reader.
NexDock says the system also has four 2W speakers, comes with a 40W USB-C charger, and the laptop dock measures 320 x 240 x 16.6mm (12.6″ x 9.4″ x 0.65″) and weighs 1.91 kg (4.2 pounds).
The NexDock XL sells for $349 during pre-orders, but the company is only asking customers for a $100 deposit now, with the balance to be paid a few weeks before the device ships. That’s expected to happen sometime in the fourth quarter of 2023… assuming NexDock doesn’t end up pulling the plug on this model too.
via NexDock
I’m interested …
Those talking about a Chromebook for the same price completely miss the point of this device. It’s about extending your phone and turning it into a mini computer/tablet. Why would anyone need to buy a tablet anymore when you can just extend your phone to this shell? It has a 360 hinge that can flip the display over. Unlike a Chromebook, as you upgrade your phone your “pseudo laptop” gets upgraded as well.
I own 2 of these things, not for use with my phone, but as a portable KVM for working on servers at home and work. Since this is an extension of my phone, I could use the unlimited on-device data of my phone to do file downloads in the field and it won’t be counted as hotspot data.
… and the left-handed apparently need not apply.
Clearly it’s not the same as if they’d taken left handed people into account to begin with but could you use the phone screen as a mouse trackpad?
Looking at the first image I thought they put a dock above the keyboard to hold your phone, like on the Motorola Atrix or the Razer Linda that was never made. That would have been sweet.
Well, looks like they finally solved the problem of where do you put your phone. Although that’s still an issue if you’re going to be using a handheld PC with one of these (which is a capability I think they really need to advertise more).
Outrageous price considering a chromebook could be used for the same purpose but also deliver a standalone machine.
It’s surprisingly competitive if you think of it as a portable monitor. I just checked Newegg for the prices of portable monitors with wireless connectivity, and it’s actually slightly cheaper than everything I found there, and the cheapest of those were 15″ screens too.
Observation 1:
“Chromebook” or centralized cloud based-anything is not a “standalone machine”. It is a walled garden at best and who-knows-what at worst.
Observation 2:
Nexdock is mostly marketing this with Samsung ecosystem whose Android distribution is absolutely loaded with bloatware and who knows what else and is unfortunately itself somewhat similar to Chrome OS type situation.
Observation 3:
Perhaps, with time, as increasing popularity of products like Nexdock demonstrate, there is a chance that at least a part of industry evolves toward more user control. For now, it seems only Linux phones and exotic hardware evolves in that direction.