April 17, 2021
Over at Reddit/r/SamsungDex we are constantly searching for ways to improve our setups, and bring the dream of a single compute device closer to reality. With that in mind, this is our review of:
Product Overview
The Nexdock 360 is the latest 13.3” lapdock from Nex Computers. They re-introduced the modern lapdock back in 2016 with their successful indiegogo campaign for the original NexDock. Their latest offering, the NexDock 360, is a 13.3” IPS 1080p display, paired with a full keyboard, trackpad and 44Wh battery, in a familiar 2-in-1 form factor.
360 Hinge Design
One of the main features of the 2-in-1 design, is the ability of the NexDock 360 to be used in a traditional laptop stance, or to fold the screen completely back to be used like a tablet, or tented, as a self standing portable monitor. The flexibility allows it to be used as a DeX laptop, or as a secondary monitor for another laptop or pc. It will also perform as a gaming screen for a Playstation, Xbox, or Nintendo console
Flexibility and Portability
With no definite end in sight to the pandemic measures, the ability to transition to working from home (WFH) or in a more mobile setting is where this lapdock really shines. Weighing in at only 1.2 kg, it’s a slim and light addition to a commuters backpack.
Specs and Features
The NexDock 360 consists of a 13.3 inch IPS 1080p Touchscreen Display, with an attached keyboard and trackpad. Contrast ratio is listed at 800:1, with good viewing angles (178 degrees, typical of IPS). The screen brightness is also very good, at 300nits. sRGB is listed at 100%, and there are some onscreen adjustments to fine tune the panel to your taste. The 10 point multi-touch screen works very well in DeX, as well as windows.
The keyboard is a full 84 key QWERTY keyboard. I found typing very natural, and fluid. Key travel is decent, and spacing is typical of laptops of this size. The Function keys are enabled by default, a welcome return to a productivity based keyboard. At some point, it would be really nice to have a Fn lock key, or the ability to toggle it via OSD. The trackpad is a nice size, and responds to gestures in android and windows as expected. The natural swipe up/down matches the touchscreen gestures, unlike other trackpads that emulate a mouse wheel motion. Unfortunately the palm rejection on this lapdock is also not particularly adept. It is more usable than some, but for extended creative work, I would definitely recommend a wireless mouse.
You can also see the 4 integrated speakers above the keyboard. They’re ok in Laptop mode, but abysmal in tablet/tented mode, as they’re now rear firing, and not loud to begin with. You’ll want headphones. Size is very similar to the previous NexDock 2, but all dimensions are slimmed down.
Ports
The NexDock 360 has 2 display capable ports on the left side. The main being the USB-C 3.1 port. This provides a single cable solution for DeX capable devices, as well as most modern laptops. There is also a mini-HDMI port towards the front that can be used with the included mini-HDMI to HDMI cable for any HDMI device, such as a game console, a PC, or even an iPhone/iPad (with their proper cables). The NexDock has the interesting ability to toggle between inputs via the OSD. It’s been pretty useful to keep the NexDock docked to my Surface Pro, but be able to quickly switch to my DeX setup with just a couple quick swipes
The right hand side has a 3.5mm audio out jack (unfortunately not a headset jack), as well as a microSD slot and the USB-C PowerDelivery port. There is an extra USB-C towards the wrist rest available for peripherals. Nex also ships a USB-C to USB-A dongle for convenience.
Versatility
This is where the 2-in-1 form factor really starts to shine as it can fill almost any role required by the WFH denizen, or the Digital Nomad.
DeX Lapdock.
This is the most obvious, and generally, the intended use for this device. A single USB-C cable between the mobile and the NexDock 360 fires up the DeX experience automatically, and works perfectly. A nice upgrade from the NexDock 2 is the ability, through the OSD, you can set the lapdock to charge the mobile, or not. I’ve found that it’s much more efficient to not charge the cell, and let each device manage their own battery.
Unlike some of the very similar lapdocks on the market, the Nexdock 2 is capable of delivering 850+mAh of charging power to your phone. This setup is perfectly capable of charging the lapdock and your mobile with a single power cable, and using the included 20 Watt charger.
Secondary Monitor
An under rated feature of these 360 lapdocks, is the ability to fold it over into tablet/tent mode, and use it as a 2nd display for another laptop or PC. It makes a powerful pairing with a Surface Pro, or a Tab s6/7
A surface pro makes a really flexible pairing, as you can use the keyboard and trackpad from either device, both screens are touchscreen and have their own batteries. It’s a very productive pairing on the go, or docked at a desk
It can also be stacked vertically with a laptop, for smaller desk surfaces with a single cable.
This can be a really useful setup when you need to bring work home, but don’t have a dedicated desk space for the setup. A side of the desk if you will, but with full dual screen functionality. I’ve got this setup to use a bluetooth keyboard and mouse, but could have just as easily left the NexDock in laptop mode, and used it’s keyboard and trackpad, but when you don’t have the deskspace, it’s a nice option to fold it up.
Game Time!
No setup would be complete without touching on the ability to get some gaming done after the work is finished… or really, any time you’ve got 20 minutes to kill.
Native Android games look great on the screen, but my personal vice is Playstation Remote play. I was also really happy to see that when connected directly to my PS5, it was capable of displaying in HDR mode
Battery
Having a portable screen is fantastic, but still being tethered to the wall socket is inconvenient, and sometimes, just not possible. One of the all-in-one advantages of lapdocks, over individual components (monitor, keyboard, mouse, etc), is the single USB-C interface. The NexDock 360 has a 5,800 mAh, 44 Wh battery, which is charged with a 20W PD charger. It comes with a 2m USB-C cord, which allows it to be used in most settings. With the lapdock set to not charge my DeX device, I’m able to easily get 6-7 hours of productivity use out of the lapdock. Watching movies, or remote playing PS5 dropped it down to 4 - 4.5 hours, which is still pretty reasonable. If you do run your phone AND the lapdock flat, and want to charge with just the single charger, you’re able to get both devices back up to full in a couple of hours. It’s not true fast charging, but it’s a very reasonable experience. It was happy to accept the 55w PD charger from my Nexdock 2 tho, so it is possible to add a much larger aftermarket power brick to speed things up somewhat.
Conclusion
The NexDock 360 is a really versatile centerpiece of a simple, yet powerful, DeX setup. Functioning as a full laptop replacement for most web based productivity suites, a great media consumption device as well as a nice gaming screen, the NexDock 360 is the best lapdock on the market currently
The NexDock 360 can be ordered from:
https://nexdock.com/360-touch/
