Don't start a flame war with me just yet, James Cameron fans. Avatar: Fire and Ashis a movie that I genuinely enjoyed, but its cinematic baggage is a huge problem.
By 'baggage,' I of course mean the two previous Avatar films. When the original was released back in 2009, I quickly assumed (as did the rest of the world, I think) it would be a historical, record-breaking standalone. Now that the sequels have started landing, however, I think the concept has lost its shine.
The most straightforward way of describing Fire and Ash is that it's exactly the same movie asThe Way of Water. For about 90% of its arduously long runtime (wear comfy clothes and book a recliner seat, if possible) the only difference is which natural element has stepped into the spotlight.
I'm even convinced that a pivotal scene has been cut and pasted in from the second film, so strong was the sense of déjà vu I experienced while watching it. There's the same inciting incident, the same challenges, and the same conclusion, for the third outing in a row.
However, if we look at Fire and Ash in isolation, I think that it's the strongest film of the bunch. It has the tightest pacing, the most impressive payoff, and Cameron's overall vision for Pandora gets more spellbinding as time goes on.
It's such a shame that it's brought down by context, much as a young person might be blighted by their family history before they've started to make their way in the world. We can't ignore that our third movie functions as a cog in the overarching Avatar machine... and that machine can only tell one, now fairly grating, tale.
Avatar: Fire and Ash's beauty tricks us into thinking that it's interesting
Usually, when I tell people that I find the Avatar movies boring, they look at me as if I've just kicked their dog. But I stand by my overriding IP argument – we are being hoodwinked into believing that what we're watching is interesting because it's so visually transcendent. In other words, beautiful cancels out boring.
I would give 35 stars, rather than 3.5, to how Avatar: Fire and Ash looks alone if the conventions of reviewing let me. I wanted to reach out and touch the Na'avi, marvelling at the detailed wrinkles, blemishes and intricate patterns being beamed across the big screen (in 3D, no less). I felt grateful to have hours witnessing it with my own eyeballs, worshipping at the altar of a kind of filmmaking that has yet to be matched or replicated.
Now imagine we took all of that away ,and the same story was acted out by humans or fully animated characters (let's hypothetically say in a Pixar movie style). What we're left with is a fairly run-of-the-mill sci-fi story comprised of fighting, disagreements, and themes of discovering your own identity and power. That could be applied to pretty much any movie in this genre, and others do it infinitely better (Aliens and The Abyss are Cameron's best work as it is).
Instead, Avatar is heralded as untouchable because of its astonishing visuals, regardless of the fact that The Way of Water and Fire and Ash are telling the same story, even though Fire and Ash does it more successfully. There are virtually no differences between them, especially if it's been a while since you've seen the second movie. How many times can you recycle the same ideas and get away with it, even if you're James Cameron?
Is everything else brilliant or oddly strange? I can't decide
Fire queen Varang in Avatar: Fire and Ash. (Image credit: 20th Century Studios)
As I've said, Fire and Ash is easily the strongest Avatar entry in isolation. Our fire Na'avi, led by Varang (Oona Chaplin) are an invigorating addition to Pandora's worldbuilding, giving both Jake (Sam Worthington) and Quaritch (Stephen Lang) a run for their money.
We surprisingly get much more whale time than in The Way of Water, and that's sensational news if you're a Payakan fan like me. There are a couple of aquatic creatures introduced that I'd like to have seen more of (there are some strange-but-cute-looking otters), and it remains the most remarkable biome in Pandora. It's also the place where the younger cast members can be the most themselves, and they're collectively the strongest performance in our Na'avi ensemble.
This doesn't include Sigourney Weaver, though. Kiri is a major player in Fire and Ash, and in the full pomp of her "this is what I'm capable of" journey. However, I think it's blindingly obvious that a 76-year-old woman is playing a 14-year-old. The giveaway is in the way Kiri moves, which is clearly the one downside of Cameron's maverick filming approach.
The main detail that bothers me, though – in the sense that I can't decide if it's satisfying or dreadful – is the conclusion. Without giving away what actually happens, there's narratively no need for any further movies. We get complete answers to any loose threads that may have been hanging over the franchise, so what does this mean for Avatar 4 and 5?
My guess is that they will each be a huge departure from what we've seen before, and while I should be grateful for that fact (given my biggest complaint here), that's also a concern. Our trilogy currently feels nicely rounded off, and any future sequels could feel gratuitous... or dare I say, like cash grabs.
But that's a problem for 2029, when Avatar 4 is set to arrive. In the meantime I'll remain conflicted about my enjoyment of Fire and Ash, even though I ultimately feel that it's monotonous. Still, at least you can watch essentially the same movie on Disney+ globally right now if you don't want to see Fire and Ash in theaters or wait for it to arrive on streaming – Avatar and Avatar: The Way of Water are already on there, and Fire and Ash will likely join them in 2026.
Ai+, led by former Realme India CEO Madhav Sheth, entered the smartphone market in July with the Ai+ Pulse and Ai+ Nova 5G. Now, the brand has teased the launch of a new smartphone, which, surprisingly, is a foldable.
We are looking at a flip-style foldable, called NovaFlip. Ai+ hasn't revealed any features of the smartphone, but a teaser posted by the brand on its official X account gives us a glimpse of the NovaFlip's design. It has an accented power button and features two vertically-aligned cameras on its cover.
Flip the script with #NovaFlip. Stay tuned. Reshare to experience the...
A while back, a number of Redmi Note 15 models leaked. Now, one of them is on sale at Belgian carrier Telenet. The page lists specs and prices, but considering that none of these are official yet, we should be wary of inaccuracies.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 15, the 5G model, is available for €280 (with a €30 discount for subscribers). This is for a model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage, the only one that we found on the site.
Xiaomi is yet to set an official reveal date for the Note 15 series, but it did confirm that the Redmi Note 15 5G will be powered by the Snapdragon 6 Gen...
A while back, a number of Redmi Note 15 models leaked. Now, one of them is on sale at Belgian carrier Telenet. The page lists specs and prices, but considering that none of these are official yet, we should be wary of inaccuracies.
The Xiaomi Redmi Note 15, the 5G model, is available for €280 (with a €30 discount for subscribers). This is for a model with 6GB of RAM and 128GB storage, the only one that we found on the site.
Xiaomi is yet to set an official reveal date for the Note 15 series, but it did confirm that the Redmi Note 15 5G will be powered by the Snapdragon 6 Gen...
The UPerfect Delta Max stacked monitor is a great idea, essentially two monitors, one on top of the other, in a clamshell design with a full metal build that makes it easy to transport and connect. However, from the outset, it's not quite as easy as it seems, and the single USB connection only gives you limited options over how the display works. Sure enough, it is able to mirror or extend the display from your laptop, be that Mac or PC, but the additional options just aren’t as well integrated as you feel they should be, and it takes quite a bit of messing around with the options and settings both on the machine and on the monitor to get it configured exactly as you want.
This use doesn’t initially give you the option to use it as a triple monitor system, so, for example, your laptop monitor and then two additional displays, one stacked over the other. Instead, what it gives you is either a mirror of your laptop display on those two monitors or a display extension, but with the same extension being shown on both and not two different screens, as you’d normally expect with a triple monitor setup. It’s a little bit confusing, and if you want to use this with anything other than a relatively high-powered MacBook Pro or higher-end PC, then you’ll also find that you’ll need to plug in external power.
To get the actual configuration that I was expecting in this test, I ended up having to plug in external power to the USB-C port at the base of the monitor than another USB-C into the USB port, and a second HDMI cable into one of the upper clusters of ports and then into the MacBook Pro in order to get that triple-screen array that I wanted.
Then I could either configure the way the monitor displayed the content through my computer's display options, or there were a few additional configuration possibilities through the monitor’s on-screen display, although these didn’t always seem to work.
Essentially, it all works, but it does take quite a bit of figuring out. Thankfully, UPerfect has included a decent amount of cables in the box, so you're not having to search around for extras or purchase anything in addition.
In use, the monitor actually works surprisingly well, and I really do like that small footprint. However, when running several tests, I came across a number of small glitches, such as the monitor would flicker on and off, or one would suddenly go blank when loading up another bit of software. Also, if my laptop went to sleep and then reawakened, which is common, especially when I disappear for lunch, then I'd have to reset the monitor, as it seems to lose its settings.
When I ran through the usual SpyderX benchmarking test to check out the quality of the screen, it also came out pretty well. It highlighted that the screens are perfectly suited for office work; however, this won't be the best portable monitor for creative use, as the AdobeRGB percentage for the gamut was in the high 60s. Really, if you want to do anything creative, you need a monitor that at least comes in around 80% plus. However, for office work, it is a good solution once you figure it out.
UPerfect Delta Max: Price and availability
How much does it cost? From approximately $450 / £450
When is it out? Available now
Where can you get it? Directly from UPerfect official store or Amazon
The UPerfect Delta Max Touch is widely available online at around the $450 / £450 mark depending on where you buy it. It's available directly from the UPerfect official store and online retailers such as Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.
It's worth noting that a non-touchscreen version of the Delta Max is also available, which is otherwise largely the same device with a cheaper price-tag.
Value: 3 / 5
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
UPerfect Delta Max: Specs
Ports: USB-C power, 2× USB-C, 2 × mini HDMI Audio: Stereo speakers Size: Folded footprint approx. 18.5" Resolution: 1080p (FHD) Weight: 2.36kg Accessories: 2 x USB-C cable, 2 x HDMI cable, power adapter
UPerfect Delta Max: Design
The build and design of the Delta Max is extremely well thought through, with the two large 18.5-inch panels set in a clamshell design. Essentially, the two screens fold facing each other, ensuring they're fully protected when transported. The main casing for the monitor is a good, high-quality metal, and there's a very sturdy fold-out stand that folds flat into the design. This enables you to prop it up next to your laptop nice and neatly, and because of that stacked, one-over-the-other design, it takes up a minimal footprint on your desktop.
The full metal design has obviously made this monitor a little bit heavier than some other portable monitors, but because of the quality of the workmanship, I’m not too bothered. Even with the additional weight from the high-quality design, it still comes in at 2.36 kg and has a folded size of 425 x 260 x 20 mm. When unfolded, it extends to 425 x 520 x 10 mm, so it’s actually relatively compact despite the large amount of screen space on offer.
This design also means that you can have it standing next to your laptop, or you can fold it over so the two monitors are in a tent-like position, viewable from either side. That means if you place it in the middle of your desk, people on either side will have a good view of the monitor, something that I really like, especially for presentations where a monitor or projector is not available.
On the left-hand side of the lower monitor are all the connection ports. Starting at the bottom, you have a USB-C port for power, then another USB-C and mini HDMI, which feed the display data connection to the bottom monitor, then you have another set of USB-C and mini HDMI for the top monitor.
The reason for this selection of ports becomes apparent as you start to use the monitor. It essentially enables you to use it as two separate monitors or as an extended display for whatever machine you're plugged into. It’s a little bit confusing in configuration, especially when you start to delve into the on-screen display and all the different display options.
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
On the right-hand side of the monitor are the controls and on-screen display functions for the top and bottom monitors. Again, these are set out as a single button and toggle/push switch to enable you to navigate all the settings and options.
When it comes to the actual aesthetic and functional design of the physical monitor itself, it's exceptionally high and one of the best portable monitor designs I’ve come across, making it both ultra-portable and offering plenty of connectivity options.
Beyond the actual design, I also liked the fact that the company has included two very decent HDMI cables and two equally impressive USB cables, so you don't have to go searching around for your own. In the box, alongside those cables, is an AC-USB adapter to supply the monitor with power.
Design: 4.5 / 5
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
UPerfect Delta Max: Features
Taking a look at some of the key features of the Delta Max Touch Stacked Monitor, and first of all, there’s the fact that it is touchscreen. On PC systems, it works as expected with any touchscreen functionality, and on Mac systems, it has limited touchscreen functionality. More often than not, as with other monitors, the touch ability on a Mac can be a bit hit and miss.
For basic use and functionality, you can get away with connecting this stacked monitor set-up with a single cable, although as I discovered through the process of this test, at least two cables, one for power, one for display, is more commonplace. And if you want that display to be properly split into two, then you will need three cables to provide two separate video feeds and additional power for reliable viewing.
The clamshell design of the monitor is really well thought out and enables a 360° foldable design. For transport, you can fold it flat so the two screens face each other and are fully protected when you’re carrying it in a bag or backpack. When you arrive at the location, simply fold it out so it stands on your desk with a minimal footprint, or you can fold it all the way over so that the screens are viewable from both sides.
The stand that's incorporated into the design is simple, but it is one of the most effective that I’ve come across. Again, because it’s really good, high-quality, it holds the monitor nicely and stably, with the base of the monitor screen sitting very close to the desktop, it’s all very neat.
On the back of the monitor, there are speakers. Compared with some other portable monitors, they’re okay, but I wouldn’t rely on them as your primary source of audio for anything other than making video calls or watching back online videos. If you are thinking of watching any modern media or you’re using these monitors for media production, then I would highly recommend plugging in an external audio source.
The design of the monitor means it can be used with both Mac and PC systems, with HDMI and USB connections, which essentially means it’ll work with pretty much any modern system from Windows, Linux, Android, and macOS. It is also fully compatible with consoles, most laptops, tablets and smartphones that are able to output to a display.
When it comes to monitor resolution, it has a max resolution of 1920 x 1080 with a refresh rate of 100Hz, so if you want to do a little bit of gaming, then it will be perfectly suitable.
Whilst this monitor has been designed to be portable, it does include a VESA mount on the back, which makes it extremely easy to mount in your home office or at your desk.
When it comes to brightness, the screen is limited to 300 cd/m², which is okay for most office locations. Setting the brightness around 50–60% should suffice for most settings.
The UPerfect Delta Max will work with both Windows and Mac systems, but its integration with both is a little bit glitchy from the outset. Through this test, I found that having external power for almost all the machines I used was essential. Otherwise, there was the potential for the monitors to flicker on and off, even when plugged into a MacBook Pro M1 Max or the Minisforum S-S1 Max, which was surprising.
The basic idea of these stacked monitors is excellent, as the design folds closed in a clamshell style, helping to protect each of the large screens. When folding out, the high-quality metal surrounds and casing not only ensure that it stays well protected in transport but also give it a solid feel and a premium look.
Unfolded, the two screens stack one on top of the other, with the bottom screen at a slight angle and the top screen on three solid hinges that can be angled perfectly for use. This area of the design and concept of the monitor is exceptionally well thought out and executed, and if you fold over the top screen, the display automatically flips to the correct orientation.
However, it’s once you start to plug the monitor in that things start to fall apart. Initially, connecting a single USB-C cable between the monitor and the MacBook Pro, both monitors flicker into life, mirroring the contents of the MacBook on the two screens. You then go into the MacBook’s display settings and change the display so that instead of mirroring, it acts as an extension. But by default, the two screens display the same extension. This would be good if you’re in a presentation or meeting and need the display mirrored, but if you’re using it as a workflow display, then really, you want those two screens to act independently.
This is where things get a little bit confusing. Using the controls on the side, you can select different options, including clone mode (which clones screen A and screen B), expansion (which should show screen A and screen B in a three-screen set-up sequence, essentially splitting the screen in two), and stand-alone, which means that each screen can act independently.
As I was testing several mini PCs, this feature, stand-alone, was exceptionally useful as I was able to have both mini PCs up and running with the display stacked, which helped with the testing process. For anyone who runs several machines at the same time, this is an especially useful feature.
However, in a normal case scenario, you want three independent screens connected to a single machine, so that one monitor shows your browser, one for whatever application you're using, and I always like to have Word or Excel open. This is what I expected through that single USB connection to the monitor. However, selecting expansion from the settings on the monitor doesn’t enable this. If you go into your computer settings, I noted that rather than showing two displays, you only get one.
It turns out that to get the screen to split as two separate monitors, as with other multi-monitor systems, you need to plug in a secondary USB-C or HDMI cable into your computer. Due to the fact that I have other devices plugged into my MacBook Pro, I opted to have USB and HDMI plugged into each of the right-hand ports, then linked out to the two ports on the left-hand side of the monitor.
The configuration of the ports is interesting, as you have mini HDMI–USB-C, mini HDMI–USB-C, and another USB. Essentially, they’re broken into pairs: the top HDMI–USB linking to the top monitor, the bottom HDMI–USB linking to the bottom monitor, and the final USB is for power.
Once you’ve worked it all out and connected the monitors, it does kind of make sense. But even then, there do seem to be a few glitches with the system. Whilst the touchscreen option enables you to extend the functionality of your Mac, even though MacBook Pros don’t have touchscreen functionality as standard, the integration isn’t 100%.
Once you do finally figure out all of your settings, the monitors do work well. However, every time I reconnected the monitors, I’d have to go through the same setup process and also remember which HDMI and which USB to plug in, which did become a little bit tiresome.
Having tested the monitors on the Mac, I then switched to a PC laptop. Again, I had similar configuration issues, this time, definitely needing external power in order to get those two monitors to work correctly. Then, when I plugged it into a mini PC, for some reason, it just seemed to confuse the monitor, as there was no main monitor connected to the host machine. It took a while to go through the display settings to sort everything out.
Through the process, I also noticed, highlighted by the Mac, that the screens had a bad description tag. It looks like, whilst they’ve done quite a lot of product design on the look and style of the monitors, when it comes to actual application of use, there are still a good volume of glitches. The volume of cables that you end up needing to get it to work reliably is far more than I would’ve expected, especially compared with many other systems, which is a real shame. Ultimately, it’s a great product and a great concept, just not applied quite as well as it should have been.
At the moment, this is one of those products that has huge potential and one that I personally would really love to see working well. But even before you delve into the screen quality options, it seems that its development hasn’t been completed.
When it comes to the monitor’s actual visual quality, it fares pretty well, with decent colour gamut, contrast, and colour uniformity, all highlighted by SpyderX2 software as being between 4.5 and 5 points. Likewise, internal response and white point also look pretty good on the results, with the only real let-down being the luminance uniformity, which comes in at 2.5. However, this gives an overall star rating of 4, which for any monitor isn’t bad at all.
When it comes to who this monitor is suitable for, it’s clearly office space work, with 89% sRGB colour gamut, 68% AdobeRGB, and 68% P3, so it’s not really that ideal for any creative use. The other point about this monitor is its clamshell design. If you do get it up and running and you’re running presentations in an office without a projector or screen, then the clamshell design, placed in the middle of the desk, is an easy way for everyone around that desk to see exactly what’s going on. For this, it works exceptionally well.
Ultimately, when it comes to performance, it can be quite time-consuming to initially configure, which is disappointing, as you would expect it to be a simple plug-and-play device, since that’s what it’s designed to do. But it just hasn’t been that well integrated.
Performance: 3 / 5
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
UPerfect Delta Max: Final verdict
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
I really like the idea of the UPerfect Delta Max. It seems like an ideal solution if you're travelling with your laptop and need a compact, easy-to-use monitor to expand your screen real estate. Initial impressions are superb, as the screen features a solid metal surround that gives you a high-quality, premium feel, and with its three large hinges, it all feels of superb quality.
As you fold it out and fold out that rear stand, again, it just reinforces that premium feel, and you start to think that, despite costing nearly £400 / $400, what you have here is something of real value.
Initial setup using a single USB cable into my MacBook Pro and then one of the mini PCs that I was testing duplicated the main screen’s content onto the two displays with no issue. If I were running a meeting and needed screen expansion so that other people could see what I was doing, this screen would be simple to use and straightforward. However, for me, I’d really want this screen as additional real estate when working with documents, applications and email.
This is where things started to fall apart. Whilst the screen itself is good, clear and great for administration work, it took a while to fully figure out the configuration that I needed. In the end, for pure reliability, I discovered that I really needed to plug in power into the base USB port, then connect the first set of ports into either HDMI or USB on my laptop, then connect the second set again into my laptop to split the display output equally between the two monitors. I could then configure them as needed.
The problem was that for most tasks, once set up, it was absolutely fine. However, there were constant glitches; one of the screens would suddenly black out, or suddenly duplicate the other screen’s content or the main display, and trying to reconfigure everything back to how I had it initially was just a complex process.
Having used the monitor for a couple of weeks, I did eventually find a happy medium, but still, there were one too many glitches along the way. Whilst I love the design and the concept of the stacked monitor setup, at present, it's just not reliable enough to meet its full potential.
Should I buy the UPerfect Delta Max?
Value
If the monitors worked as they should, then it would be exceptional value for money. However, the glitches make it expensive and slightly infuriating
3
Design
One of the best designs for portable monitors that I’ve seen. Well-built, robust and full of potential
4.5
Features
Whilst this is limited to full HD resolution, the suggested features do look attractive. It’s only when you start to use the monitors that you realise how limited this is
4
Performance
Unfortunately, just one too many glitches through the test affected the performance of what could have been a superb product
3
Overall
While I love the design, there’s just one too many glitches with this stacked monitor system to make it a worthwhile purchase
3
Buy it if...
You need mobile screens Ideal for professionals or students who need stacked screen space without carrying two separate monitors
You’re short on desk space Compact vertical layout gives you more viewable area without taking up a wide footprint.
Don't buy it if...
You need a colour-critical display The Delta Max is not built for professional-grade image or video colour work.
You don't want loads of cables While this is supposed to be a single cable display, in reality most use requires three.
The UPerfect Delta Max stacked monitor is a great idea, essentially two monitors, one on top of the other, in a clamshell design with a full metal build that makes it easy to transport and connect. However, from the outset, it's not quite as easy as it seems, and the single USB connection only gives you limited options over how the display works. Sure enough, it is able to mirror or extend the display from your laptop, be that Mac or PC, but the additional options just aren’t as well integrated as you feel they should be, and it takes quite a bit of messing around with the options and settings both on the machine and on the monitor to get it configured exactly as you want.
This use doesn’t initially give you the option to use it as a triple monitor system, so, for example, your laptop monitor and then two additional displays, one stacked over the other. Instead, what it gives you is either a mirror of your laptop display on those two monitors or a display extension, but with the same extension being shown on both and not two different screens, as you’d normally expect with a triple monitor setup. It’s a little bit confusing, and if you want to use this with anything other than a relatively high-powered MacBook Pro or higher-end PC, then you’ll also find that you’ll need to plug in external power.
To get the actual configuration that I was expecting in this test, I ended up having to plug in external power to the USB-C port at the base of the monitor than another USB-C into the USB port, and a second HDMI cable into one of the upper clusters of ports and then into the MacBook Pro in order to get that triple-screen array that I wanted.
Then I could either configure the way the monitor displayed the content through my computer's display options, or there were a few additional configuration possibilities through the monitor’s on-screen display, although these didn’t always seem to work.
Essentially, it all works, but it does take quite a bit of figuring out. Thankfully, UPerfect has included a decent amount of cables in the box, so you're not having to search around for extras or purchase anything in addition.
In use, the monitor actually works surprisingly well, and I really do like that small footprint. However, when running several tests, I came across a number of small glitches, such as the monitor would flicker on and off, or one would suddenly go blank when loading up another bit of software. Also, if my laptop went to sleep and then reawakened, which is common, especially when I disappear for lunch, then I'd have to reset the monitor, as it seems to lose its settings.
When I ran through the usual SpyderX benchmarking test to check out the quality of the screen, it also came out pretty well. It highlighted that the screens are perfectly suited for office work; however, this won't be the best portable monitor for creative use, as the AdobeRGB percentage for the gamut was in the high 60s. Really, if you want to do anything creative, you need a monitor that at least comes in around 80% plus. However, for office work, it is a good solution once you figure it out.
UPerfect Delta Max: Price and availability
How much does it cost? From approximately $450 / £450
When is it out? Available now
Where can you get it? Directly from UPerfect official store or Amazon
The UPerfect Delta Max Touch is widely available online at around the $450 / £450 mark depending on where you buy it. It's available directly from the UPerfect official store and online retailers such as Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk.
It's worth noting that a non-touchscreen version of the Delta Max is also available, which is otherwise largely the same device with a cheaper price-tag.
Value: 3 / 5
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
UPerfect Delta Max: Specs
Ports: USB-C power, 2× USB-C, 2 × mini HDMI Audio: Stereo speakers Size: Folded footprint approx. 18.5" Resolution: 1080p (FHD) Weight: 2.36kg Accessories: 2 x USB-C cable, 2 x HDMI cable, power adapter
UPerfect Delta Max: Design
The build and design of the Delta Max is extremely well thought through, with the two large 18.5-inch panels set in a clamshell design. Essentially, the two screens fold facing each other, ensuring they're fully protected when transported. The main casing for the monitor is a good, high-quality metal, and there's a very sturdy fold-out stand that folds flat into the design. This enables you to prop it up next to your laptop nice and neatly, and because of that stacked, one-over-the-other design, it takes up a minimal footprint on your desktop.
The full metal design has obviously made this monitor a little bit heavier than some other portable monitors, but because of the quality of the workmanship, I’m not too bothered. Even with the additional weight from the high-quality design, it still comes in at 2.36 kg and has a folded size of 425 x 260 x 20 mm. When unfolded, it extends to 425 x 520 x 10 mm, so it’s actually relatively compact despite the large amount of screen space on offer.
This design also means that you can have it standing next to your laptop, or you can fold it over so the two monitors are in a tent-like position, viewable from either side. That means if you place it in the middle of your desk, people on either side will have a good view of the monitor, something that I really like, especially for presentations where a monitor or projector is not available.
On the left-hand side of the lower monitor are all the connection ports. Starting at the bottom, you have a USB-C port for power, then another USB-C and mini HDMI, which feed the display data connection to the bottom monitor, then you have another set of USB-C and mini HDMI for the top monitor.
The reason for this selection of ports becomes apparent as you start to use the monitor. It essentially enables you to use it as two separate monitors or as an extended display for whatever machine you're plugged into. It’s a little bit confusing in configuration, especially when you start to delve into the on-screen display and all the different display options.
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
On the right-hand side of the monitor are the controls and on-screen display functions for the top and bottom monitors. Again, these are set out as a single button and toggle/push switch to enable you to navigate all the settings and options.
When it comes to the actual aesthetic and functional design of the physical monitor itself, it's exceptionally high and one of the best portable monitor designs I’ve come across, making it both ultra-portable and offering plenty of connectivity options.
Beyond the actual design, I also liked the fact that the company has included two very decent HDMI cables and two equally impressive USB cables, so you don't have to go searching around for your own. In the box, alongside those cables, is an AC-USB adapter to supply the monitor with power.
Design: 4.5 / 5
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
UPerfect Delta Max: Features
Taking a look at some of the key features of the Delta Max Touch Stacked Monitor, and first of all, there’s the fact that it is touchscreen. On PC systems, it works as expected with any touchscreen functionality, and on Mac systems, it has limited touchscreen functionality. More often than not, as with other monitors, the touch ability on a Mac can be a bit hit and miss.
For basic use and functionality, you can get away with connecting this stacked monitor set-up with a single cable, although as I discovered through the process of this test, at least two cables, one for power, one for display, is more commonplace. And if you want that display to be properly split into two, then you will need three cables to provide two separate video feeds and additional power for reliable viewing.
The clamshell design of the monitor is really well thought out and enables a 360° foldable design. For transport, you can fold it flat so the two screens face each other and are fully protected when you’re carrying it in a bag or backpack. When you arrive at the location, simply fold it out so it stands on your desk with a minimal footprint, or you can fold it all the way over so that the screens are viewable from both sides.
The stand that's incorporated into the design is simple, but it is one of the most effective that I’ve come across. Again, because it’s really good, high-quality, it holds the monitor nicely and stably, with the base of the monitor screen sitting very close to the desktop, it’s all very neat.
On the back of the monitor, there are speakers. Compared with some other portable monitors, they’re okay, but I wouldn’t rely on them as your primary source of audio for anything other than making video calls or watching back online videos. If you are thinking of watching any modern media or you’re using these monitors for media production, then I would highly recommend plugging in an external audio source.
The design of the monitor means it can be used with both Mac and PC systems, with HDMI and USB connections, which essentially means it’ll work with pretty much any modern system from Windows, Linux, Android, and macOS. It is also fully compatible with consoles, most laptops, tablets and smartphones that are able to output to a display.
When it comes to monitor resolution, it has a max resolution of 1920 x 1080 with a refresh rate of 100Hz, so if you want to do a little bit of gaming, then it will be perfectly suitable.
Whilst this monitor has been designed to be portable, it does include a VESA mount on the back, which makes it extremely easy to mount in your home office or at your desk.
When it comes to brightness, the screen is limited to 300 cd/m², which is okay for most office locations. Setting the brightness around 50–60% should suffice for most settings.
The UPerfect Delta Max will work with both Windows and Mac systems, but its integration with both is a little bit glitchy from the outset. Through this test, I found that having external power for almost all the machines I used was essential. Otherwise, there was the potential for the monitors to flicker on and off, even when plugged into a MacBook Pro M1 Max or the Minisforum S-S1 Max, which was surprising.
The basic idea of these stacked monitors is excellent, as the design folds closed in a clamshell style, helping to protect each of the large screens. When folding out, the high-quality metal surrounds and casing not only ensure that it stays well protected in transport but also give it a solid feel and a premium look.
Unfolded, the two screens stack one on top of the other, with the bottom screen at a slight angle and the top screen on three solid hinges that can be angled perfectly for use. This area of the design and concept of the monitor is exceptionally well thought out and executed, and if you fold over the top screen, the display automatically flips to the correct orientation.
However, it’s once you start to plug the monitor in that things start to fall apart. Initially, connecting a single USB-C cable between the monitor and the MacBook Pro, both monitors flicker into life, mirroring the contents of the MacBook on the two screens. You then go into the MacBook’s display settings and change the display so that instead of mirroring, it acts as an extension. But by default, the two screens display the same extension. This would be good if you’re in a presentation or meeting and need the display mirrored, but if you’re using it as a workflow display, then really, you want those two screens to act independently.
This is where things get a little bit confusing. Using the controls on the side, you can select different options, including clone mode (which clones screen A and screen B), expansion (which should show screen A and screen B in a three-screen set-up sequence, essentially splitting the screen in two), and stand-alone, which means that each screen can act independently.
As I was testing several mini PCs, this feature, stand-alone, was exceptionally useful as I was able to have both mini PCs up and running with the display stacked, which helped with the testing process. For anyone who runs several machines at the same time, this is an especially useful feature.
However, in a normal case scenario, you want three independent screens connected to a single machine, so that one monitor shows your browser, one for whatever application you're using, and I always like to have Word or Excel open. This is what I expected through that single USB connection to the monitor. However, selecting expansion from the settings on the monitor doesn’t enable this. If you go into your computer settings, I noted that rather than showing two displays, you only get one.
It turns out that to get the screen to split as two separate monitors, as with other multi-monitor systems, you need to plug in a secondary USB-C or HDMI cable into your computer. Due to the fact that I have other devices plugged into my MacBook Pro, I opted to have USB and HDMI plugged into each of the right-hand ports, then linked out to the two ports on the left-hand side of the monitor.
The configuration of the ports is interesting, as you have mini HDMI–USB-C, mini HDMI–USB-C, and another USB. Essentially, they’re broken into pairs: the top HDMI–USB linking to the top monitor, the bottom HDMI–USB linking to the bottom monitor, and the final USB is for power.
Once you’ve worked it all out and connected the monitors, it does kind of make sense. But even then, there do seem to be a few glitches with the system. Whilst the touchscreen option enables you to extend the functionality of your Mac, even though MacBook Pros don’t have touchscreen functionality as standard, the integration isn’t 100%.
Once you do finally figure out all of your settings, the monitors do work well. However, every time I reconnected the monitors, I’d have to go through the same setup process and also remember which HDMI and which USB to plug in, which did become a little bit tiresome.
Having tested the monitors on the Mac, I then switched to a PC laptop. Again, I had similar configuration issues, this time, definitely needing external power in order to get those two monitors to work correctly. Then, when I plugged it into a mini PC, for some reason, it just seemed to confuse the monitor, as there was no main monitor connected to the host machine. It took a while to go through the display settings to sort everything out.
Through the process, I also noticed, highlighted by the Mac, that the screens had a bad description tag. It looks like, whilst they’ve done quite a lot of product design on the look and style of the monitors, when it comes to actual application of use, there are still a good volume of glitches. The volume of cables that you end up needing to get it to work reliably is far more than I would’ve expected, especially compared with many other systems, which is a real shame. Ultimately, it’s a great product and a great concept, just not applied quite as well as it should have been.
At the moment, this is one of those products that has huge potential and one that I personally would really love to see working well. But even before you delve into the screen quality options, it seems that its development hasn’t been completed.
When it comes to the monitor’s actual visual quality, it fares pretty well, with decent colour gamut, contrast, and colour uniformity, all highlighted by SpyderX2 software as being between 4.5 and 5 points. Likewise, internal response and white point also look pretty good on the results, with the only real let-down being the luminance uniformity, which comes in at 2.5. However, this gives an overall star rating of 4, which for any monitor isn’t bad at all.
When it comes to who this monitor is suitable for, it’s clearly office space work, with 89% sRGB colour gamut, 68% AdobeRGB, and 68% P3, so it’s not really that ideal for any creative use. The other point about this monitor is its clamshell design. If you do get it up and running and you’re running presentations in an office without a projector or screen, then the clamshell design, placed in the middle of the desk, is an easy way for everyone around that desk to see exactly what’s going on. For this, it works exceptionally well.
Ultimately, when it comes to performance, it can be quite time-consuming to initially configure, which is disappointing, as you would expect it to be a simple plug-and-play device, since that’s what it’s designed to do. But it just hasn’t been that well integrated.
Performance: 3 / 5
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
UPerfect Delta Max: Final verdict
(Image credit: Alastair Jennings)
I really like the idea of the UPerfect Delta Max. It seems like an ideal solution if you're travelling with your laptop and need a compact, easy-to-use monitor to expand your screen real estate. Initial impressions are superb, as the screen features a solid metal surround that gives you a high-quality, premium feel, and with its three large hinges, it all feels of superb quality.
As you fold it out and fold out that rear stand, again, it just reinforces that premium feel, and you start to think that, despite costing nearly £400 / $400, what you have here is something of real value.
Initial setup using a single USB cable into my MacBook Pro and then one of the mini PCs that I was testing duplicated the main screen’s content onto the two displays with no issue. If I were running a meeting and needed screen expansion so that other people could see what I was doing, this screen would be simple to use and straightforward. However, for me, I’d really want this screen as additional real estate when working with documents, applications and email.
This is where things started to fall apart. Whilst the screen itself is good, clear and great for administration work, it took a while to fully figure out the configuration that I needed. In the end, for pure reliability, I discovered that I really needed to plug in power into the base USB port, then connect the first set of ports into either HDMI or USB on my laptop, then connect the second set again into my laptop to split the display output equally between the two monitors. I could then configure them as needed.
The problem was that for most tasks, once set up, it was absolutely fine. However, there were constant glitches; one of the screens would suddenly black out, or suddenly duplicate the other screen’s content or the main display, and trying to reconfigure everything back to how I had it initially was just a complex process.
Having used the monitor for a couple of weeks, I did eventually find a happy medium, but still, there were one too many glitches along the way. Whilst I love the design and the concept of the stacked monitor setup, at present, it's just not reliable enough to meet its full potential.
Should I buy the UPerfect Delta Max?
Value
If the monitors worked as they should, then it would be exceptional value for money. However, the glitches make it expensive and slightly infuriating
3
Design
One of the best designs for portable monitors that I’ve seen. Well-built, robust and full of potential
4.5
Features
Whilst this is limited to full HD resolution, the suggested features do look attractive. It’s only when you start to use the monitors that you realise how limited this is
4
Performance
Unfortunately, just one too many glitches through the test affected the performance of what could have been a superb product
3
Overall
While I love the design, there’s just one too many glitches with this stacked monitor system to make it a worthwhile purchase
3
Buy it if...
You need mobile screens Ideal for professionals or students who need stacked screen space without carrying two separate monitors
You’re short on desk space Compact vertical layout gives you more viewable area without taking up a wide footprint.
Don't buy it if...
You need a colour-critical display The Delta Max is not built for professional-grade image or video colour work.
You don't want loads of cables While this is supposed to be a single cable display, in reality most use requires three.
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