The Jsaux FlipGo,
A gamers perspective.
So, let's get one thing clear from the start: we're not your typical productivity-focused reviewers. We're handheld gaming enthusiasts, and here we are, jumping into a review of the Jsaux FlipGo, an office-oriented dual monitor setup.
We know we're not the intended consumer here, but let's have some fun with it either way, just remember to take our opinions here with a grain of salt.
Now, onto the review: the FlipGo Portable Dual Monitor comes in two sizes, each with their own variants. There's a 13.5" model available in a "standard" model, a "pro" model with some nifty software features and a touch screen model. Then there's a 16" model, also available in a pro and a touch model. We've opted for what we think is the best, the 16" Touch model. We've also been sent a few extra goodies by Jsaux: the "Snap VESA adapter" and the "Snap Stand."
The Snap Stand:
The snap stand is a fantastic little stand, available for $39.99 USD (around $60 AUD), and in our opinion, is a necessity for this device. The base is very sturdy, and the magnets offer a very reassuring grip to the monitor. The arm is connected to the base via a single screw, and the dock includes a hex key to assemble. It's a pretty simple little stand, but the build quality meets our expectations and it does what it's supposed to do.
The Snap VESA Adapter:
The VESA adapter is designed exclusively for individuals with an existing VESA-style monitor arm, similar to this one. Constructed from aluminum, it features a soft rubbery material on the side that interfaces with the FlipGo, providing a pleasant feel and excellent protection for the FlipGo's anodized surface. The recessed holes for the included screws prevent them from protruding, ensuring a flush fit, while the magnetic connection feels exceptionally sturdy.
However, at $39.99 USD (roughly $60 Aussie dollars!), we think the pricing on this one might also be a little on the expensive side. It is a nifty idea to come back from a business trip and simply attach your dual monitors to your monitor arm in 2 seconds, though.
Attaching the Jsaux VESA mount adapter to your monitor arm's VESA mount takes just seconds.
The device had multiple stickers that, when removed, left behind stubborn adhesive residue. Learn from our experience: keep your stickers intact.
The build quality of the FlipGo is good. All touchable surfaces are either made from anodized aluminum (the enclosure) or glass (the display). It has quite a lot of heft, actually far heavier than we expected. Jsaux claims 1.9kg for the 16" model, which for some might be a little heavy for travel, although we appreciate the sturdiness. The smaller 13.5" model is actually significantly lighter at only 1.1kg.
In terms of the touchscreen, we liked it. Even though we mostly used it for novelty purposes, such as emulating Wii U games and using the bottom screen on the Jsaux to emulate the Wii U's gamepad, we also tried DS and 3DS emulation, which were definitely more difficult to get working than the Wii U was. Touch latency felt good—it wasn't spectacular, but again, this is a productivity device. We still had a blast emulating dual-screen games and using the touchscreen. Is it as responsive as your iPhone or going to send professional drawing tablets running for the hills? No, but it's comparable with every laptop touchscreen we've ever used.
From a productivity perspective, it's everything you'd need to browse the web, use Windows or MacOS gestures, or even physically signing documents.
Now, let's talk about the unboxing and shipping experience. We find ourselves in a rather unique situation, one that most consumers don't encounter. Firstly, the product was shipped to us at no cost from Jsaux for the purpose of writing this review. We weren't compensated for the review, and Jsaux has never requested to see our publications before we post them. That's perhaps why we're about to share why our experience wasn't as positive as expected. (It may not necessarily be Jsaux's fault, but it's worth considering.)
We're in regional Victoria, which means that our unit was shipped across three separate shipping companies before it reached our door. Originally, it was shipped by a local logistics company in China, where it was promptly loaded onto a flight and landed in Aussie customs within 2 business days—pretty fast. When it passed customs, it was then forwarded to DHL, who was supposed to complete the last leg of our FlipGo's journey. In most cases, this would be the last stage for most people, but in our case, DHL does not deliver to regional Victoria (even though we're only 1.5 hours from Melbourne!), so they re-forwarded the parcel to Australia Post. This process took almost two weeks, and when the box arrived, it was, to say the least, beat up. Jsaux's packaging was good. In fact, we're a little confused because the outer shipping box was in relatively good condition. But upon opening our FlipGo, we noticed the device's retail box was in pretty poor condition. Now, because the unit was sent to us, we weren't completely sure if we were sent a pre-production or early sample, so we didn't think much of it. And that's when we got to the next thing: quality control.
Our unit arrived with a cracked display, exhibiting cracks stemming from the right hinge, along with a single but rather prominent bright green stuck pixel, along with some indications of prior use. We highlight our unique shipping situation because pinpointing responsibility becomes challenging. The damage could have occurred during transit via Australia Post, by customs officials who seemed to have inspected the package, or possibly, it was already damaged when sent by Jsaux. However, as it was dispatched to us as a review sample, the quality control for retail models should have been significantly higher. We've since reached out to Jsaux and received confirmation that the product wasn't dispatched in this condition. They've assured us that they'll be in touch with the shipping company to address the damage. This suggests that the damage may have been caused by mishandling by DHL, Australia Post, the Chinese logistics firm, or potentially inadequate protection in the packaging, although it appeared satisfactory to us initially.
The Jsaux FlipGo offers a versatile array of IO ports, catering to various setups. It's equipped with a 65W USB-C power supply for charging, facilitating passthrough charging via a USB-C output port (which also doubles as your display cable!). Additionally, it boasts two USB-A ports and an extra USB-C port for connecting peripherals like headsets, keyboards, and mice.
The integrated USB hub is a convenient addition, particularly beneficial when using devices such as ultrabooks or even MacBooks. This attention to detail sets it apart from many competing products, and we commend Jsaux for incorporating these seemingly small yet significant features that not only enhance the product experience but also greatly improve its usability.
It's worth noting that the Jsaux display comes with a variety of power adapters for US, UK, and EU outlets. However, none of these adapters are compatible with Australian power outlets. Therefore, we had to use our own universal adapter or any other 65W USB charger to power the device. While this may seem like a minor inconvenience, we recommend investing in a high-quality power supply or charger, such as those offered by Anker.
Now, about the fun. The monitors all support DisplayPort multiview over USB-C, which means that both independent displays are powered and connected via a single cable, which is great. As mentioned, we also had a bit of fun testing this unit with emulation.
The emulation experience..
Cemu was flawless almost right away with very minimal configuring. We just loaded the game, checked a box that said "Separate Gamepad Display," and hit the F11 key to make it fullscreen. Voila, everything worked just like that, and the games themselves looked fantastic.
For DS, we tried Desmume, which unfortunately doesn't have the option to have each display as its own separate window, which meant we had to resize the window to span over both monitors and turn the taskbar off in Windows. It worked, but it wasn't ideal as we weren't able to get each display independantly full screen—still a lot of fun though. There are apparently some modified forks of Desmume; however, we didn't quite trust the sources, so we'll leave that for you to discover if you're crazy enough.
So, in summary, we're fans of the Jsaux FlipGo, although we're probably not the best people to review this device. At prices starting from $399 USD all the way up to $699 USD (before accessories like the monitor stand!), I can't imagine many people outlaying that investment for a novelty. In fact, we think the price, in general, might be on the high side, but you are paying for those spectacular 1600p panels, great IO, solid construction, and a warranty from a company who has always been nothing but amazing to us and everyone we know who has purchased their products. We love Jsaux; we like the product, but a mix mash of quality control issues and, frankly, us trying to use a device for gaming when it's clearly a productivity device means the experience wasn't worth the price tag for us, but if you're the intended consumer for the FlipGo, and carry a genuine need for a portable productivity monitor solution, this is definitely a tough one to beat.
If you're eyeing the Jsaux FlipGo, you can grab yours right HERE!
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