First Impressions – Topton DS18 Dual Screen 11″ Tablet/Laptop/Thing?

Categories Computer and Accessories

I’m a huge fan of mini laptops like GPD, One Netbook, and all the generic copies that have sprung up. I also like good budget tech. A few weeks ago I spotted this dual screen laptop tablet thing on AliExpress that had zero orders and no feedback, a sure sign of excellence. I was skeptical but highly intrigued, as unlike most of the modern budget netbook/ultra-compact laptops it could be bought with an i3 processor instead of the N100. So I took the risk and bought one. I have done initial tests with this device. Here are my first impressions of the device:

Topton 11 inch dual screen laptop

MAIN SPECIFICATIONS:

  • Display: 2x 11″ 1920×1200 IPS 60HZ Touch input (NO ACTIVE PEN)
  • CPU: Core i3-1215u
  • I chose 16GB ram (looks like single channel) and 512GB SSD (will update what brand/speed it is later)
  • “HD” webcam
  • 2X USB-C, 1x USB-A, barrel jack for charger (can charge over USB-C too)

AUTHOR’S NOTE

This device is also known as SZBOX DS18, Topton DS18, Crelander DS18 and likely will be branded by more suppliers.

A dual screen laptop with keyboard dock

THE GOOD

  • Build quality is solid. I like that it has rounded edges compared to other budget/generic mini laptops I’ve bought which are more like metal bricks. I haven’t opened up the device yet because I wanted to fully test it before potentially breaking it so I can’t comment on internal build or cooling yet.
  • The touch screens are fine for accuracy and sensitivity.
  • The displays match in colour calibration
  • The i3 is substantially faster than the N100
  • The dual display is unlike anything I’ve ever used in a laptop (I did however have an LG phone with this feature for a brief period)
  • The bluetooth keyboard and trackpad are responsive

THE QUIRKY

  • The device can lie completely flat (although it can’t bend over into a “tent”). Funny that the cables seem to be hidden behind a sliding piece of pleather on the rear that covers the hinge.

THE NOT SO GOOD

  • The keyboard does not appear to be designed specifically for this device and the “case” the keyboard comes with does not house the laptop at all. I don’t mind the touchpad sensitivity but since the touchpad kind of just flops freely it has a cheap feeling.
  • Likewise, the pen is a generic tablet “capacitive stylus” and does not provide pen pressure. Bummer. I had pictured a great use for this sketching on the lower screen and running a YouTube video on the top screen. Don’t bother spending the extra on the pen as you can get the same on cheaper from other sellers.

THE UGLY

  • Malwarebytes found several PUPs/Possible Malware on the device with the default Windows install. Reinstall Windows immediately. Thankfully after reinstalling windows the device worked without having to download any sketchy drivers (the seller provided a Baidu link when asked for drivers).
    • As an aside, for some reason this is incredibly common with these generic mini laptops. Maybe the sellers have them on their own computers and do not realize?

WINDOWS 11

Windows 11 really holds this device back. before I wiped the OS, I checked to see if there was any special software for screen control and I couldn’t find anything. So there are some oddities:

  • Since the secondary display is driven as an “external monitor”, rotating the laptop will rotate one display and the other can only be rotated manually through the settings
  • Occasionally the touch input glitches out. I would touch on the bottom screen and it would register on the top display. I don’t think Windows really expects there to be two touch displays. This can be resolved through Control Panel – Tablet Settings – Configure – Press Enter to Skip First Screen – Touch Lower Screen
  • The touch screen cannot wake the PC screen by default and I have not found a way to enable this. The only way to turn the screen back on is by closing and re-opening the laptop, or by pressing the power button to sleep then wake it
  • I can’t find a way to have the on screen touch keyboard pinned to the bottom display and type on the top display like the seller pictures in their marketing material.
Two screen laptop on my lap.
Doomscrolling Reddit and watching Youtube is a favorite pasttime. I’m sold on this device already.

I can’t comment fully on performance or battery life yet. I suspect battery life will be this device’s weak point, since the display is one of the most battery hungry parts of any device. This one has two of them. I want to test the device for a few weeks first to get full impressions on how it runs, learn more about the quirks, try some games and more. I was just a bit too excited to share this oddity I’d found with the world. I have seen devices like this from Lenovo before, but if I remember correctly they were horribly expensive and didn’t really take off, so it’s neat to see something like this in the budget category.

If you have any questions about this laptop let me know and I’ll try to answer. Stay tuned for a full review!

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