I kinda like the look of them and often feel myself wanting a second monitor if I’m working on my laptop.
(I’ve come to the conclusion if people think I’m working I won’t look like as much of a massive dork)
Always had the feeling they’d be a bit crap though, like the hinges break or the monitor isn’t too good or it’s big and bulky and you can’t really carry it
Ideally I’d like to find a single fold out side monitor that attaches to my laptop (big chunky ThinkPad) somehow and doesn’t need its own power supply but that may be asking too much
How does it affect battery life? I already have issues with that and my charger is kind of a pain to lug around.
It would halve it or worse. ASUS makes a few models with built in internal batteries which work quite well.
The type that latch onto your existing laptop display are really not great. They put a huge amount of extra force on the hinge where tons of sensitive ribbon cables live and you are severely limited in viewing angle. Not to mention you can’t move the monitor around in a tight work space or disconnect it easily to hit the field.
A standalone portable monitor is the best solution IMO. The nicer models come with adjustable stands, protective travel cases, and USB-C DP pass through functionality.