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Although standard desktop monitors are what most people need for working at home or at the office, a different type of monitor is beneficial if you work on the go. Known as portable monitors, these displays are about the same size as a laptop screen, give you extra screen space to work with, and one of the main benefits is that they’re easy to carry. Like laptops, they can also deliver sharp text thanks to their high pixel density.
However, portable monitors have some drawbacks as they don’t have as good picture quality as desktop monitors, which is why they’re better to use as a secondary display next to your laptop. Most of them still require power from an external source, so you’ll need a cable powering the display and another charger handy for your laptop, but some do have built-in batteries. Most come with USB-C ports, making it easy to connect your laptop quickly.
espresso Display 15 Touch – Best Portable Monitor
The espresso Display 15 Touch is the best portable monitor we’ve tested. It delivers good enough picture quality for a portable display and has a few handy features to help with your workflow. You can connect to it via one of its two USB-C ports, and it works with various devices, including some Samsung phones. It has a responsive touchscreen that works well with Windows and macOS PCs, letting you easily complete work that requires touch movements. It even has a rotation lock that adjusts the image into portrait mode when you turn the display.
What makes this better than most portable monitors is that it’s available with different accessories. One of those is its stand, which offers decent ergonomics, letting you place the screen in a few different ways. You can also get a case with a kickstand if you prefer. On top of that, it has good picture quality for a portable display with sharp text clarity and great color accuracy, and it displays a wide range of colors in SDR, resulting in life-like images.
Lenovo ThinkVision M14 – Best Budget Portable Monitor
If you don’t need or want a premium monitor like the espresso Display 15 Touch, the Lenovo ThinkVision M14 is a good alternative that you can get for a low cost. It’s different from the espresso monitor because it doesn’t have a touchscreen or as good picture quality, but this is what you have to expect for a cheaper portable display. That said, it also has two USB-C ports, which each support DisplayPort Alt Mode. This means you can connect your laptop to either port, and if you connect a power source to the other input, the monitor can pass power through to your laptop, so you won’t need a separate charger.
Aside from that, it has a built-in kickstand that offers tilt adjustment and even has a small height adjustment to set it to the same screen height as your laptop. It also offers decent picture quality for a portable laptop, but it’s limited in extra features. If you need something simple and don’t necessarily care about picture quality, you can sometimes find the ViewSonic VG1655 for cheaper, but it doesn’t get as bright as the Lenovo.
ASUS ROG Strix XG17AHPE – Best Portable Monitor For Gaming
Although portable gaming monitors are less common than portable monitors for work, you can still find some options if you’re looking for the best portable monitor for laptop gaming on the go. The ASUS ROG Strix XG17AHPE is a great choice for mobile gaming or if you need something on the side of your main gaming monitor. It has an incredibly high 240Hz refresh rate to provide a smooth gaming feel, but if you aren’t going to take advantage of such a high refresh rate, then the ASUS ROG Strix XG16AHPE is a good alternative. It has a lower 144Hz refresh rate and is similar otherwise, but it can be harder to find.
The XG17AHPE is great for gaming as it has a faster response time than the espresso Display 15 Touch, resulting in better motion handling with almost no noticeable blur behind fast-moving objects. It even has a 7800 mAh battery, lasting nearly three hours of gaming. Lastly, it supports FreeSync VRR technology with G-SYNC compatibility, ensuring a nearly tear-free gaming experience from almost any source.