Our reliance on smartphones these days means that we have another screen to pay attention to even when we’re already focused on the computer monitor in front of us. Productivity gurus naturally discourage anything that would distract us from the work at hand, but they don’t always consider cases where the smartphone is actually an integral part of that work. Rather than fighting the flow, some designs have instead embraced this kind of multi-screen setup, creating a special nook on our desks for smartphones. This rather lopsided monitor is one such example, keeping your mobile companion charged while also holding it up, putting it at a more comfortable eye level to stop you from bending and craning your neck so often.
Designer: Nex Computers
It’s not uncommon to keep our phones on our desks, presuming office policies don’t bar you from having them out in the open. Disregarding real distractions from social media and incessant but unnecessary notifications, some people do need to keep tabs on their mobile devices for some information or communication, without having those apps clutter their work screen. At the same time, however, most of these people probably don’t want to leave work with a nearly empty battery because they forgot to top up the work while using it at work.
The NexMonitor addresses both use cases in a way that’s both more ergonomic and also a little more stylish. Rather than just a simple stand that props up the phone off the side of your workspace, the monitor actually holds up the smartphone at the same height as the screen itself. That saves you from having to look down and away from your monitor, minimizing the time it takes to glance at the phone. At the same time, it helps reduce potential neck strain and injury from repeatedly switching between a monitor at eye level and a phone closer to the desk’s surface.
The monitor holds the phone up almost by magic, but of course, it’s all about magnets. That clearly marks it for MagSafe-compatible phones, which are primarily recent iPhones, though the company also says that Android phones are welcome to the party. Presuming they support magnetic wireless charging. And yes, the NexMonitor also charges the phone while it’s up there, so it’s pretty much a vertical magnetic wireless charging pad attached to the side of a monitor.
The NexMonitor’s design is quite intriguing in how it doesn’t go for visual balance, though it is definitely stable in its construction. The “stem” of the monitor is off to the right side, nearer to the phone than in the middle. Even the stand itself isn’t centered, which could potentially stress out some people because of its asymmetrical composition. That stand is designed to match the size and the color of Apple’s Mac Mini and the new Mac Studio, but any other mini PC can also find a home there, even if it clashes with the brushed metal look. The NexMonitor was announced back in 2022 but has yet to become available for purchase, which unfortunately leaves plenty of opportunities for other monitor makers to put out something similar, presuming there’s actually a good market for such an ergonomic yet unusual design.
