The 5 best portable monitors for laptops and gaming in 2024

While your average laptop has a reasonably good screen, a portable monitor can either give you a better alternative or act as an extra screen for you to work with. Of course, you could take a more traditional monitor with you, but then you’ll have to deal with stands and more complex power needs, so they aren’t an option if you’re constantly on the road. That’s what’s great about portable monitors; plus, there’s a ton of variety that you can pick from, whether it’s something small and basic like a 15.6-inch screen or a large 18-inch one that runs at 144op and is perfect for gaming. That’s why we’ve gone out and found a nice selection of portable monitors for you to check out; so that you can pick something that fits your needs without spending a ton of extra cash.

The Best Portable Monitors in 2024

ASUS ROG Strix XG16AHPE

Best portable monitor for gaming

You might be surprised to find out that having a portable gaming monitor that can live up to the promises of a more traditional monitor is pretty difficult. That’s why going for a good portable gaming monitor can be quite expensive, but this ASUS ROG Strix is a surprisingly affordable option. With a 15.6-inch screen that’s about the size of a laptop, if you need something that’s very portable but still packs a punch for a good price, it’s hard to beat this one, especially since it can be powered with USB C as well.

In terms of specs, it runs a 1080p resolution, so it won’t stress out more modern graphics cards, and it’s actually not a bad resolution for the size of the screen. More impressive, though, is that it can hit a 144Hz refresh rate, so it’s very fast for something portable. Plus, it has a 7800 mAh internal battery that can run it at that refresh rate for about two to three hours, so you don’t have to be near a plug to use it necessarily, and the quick charge feature lets you bring it up to a two-hour charge in just one hour, which is pretty handy.

It has both an HDMI port and a USB port, so it should be very easy to connect to pretty much any device, whether it’s a laptop or a smartphone. Unfortunately, the speakers aren’t great, although that’s to be expected, so you’re better off grabbing a solid pair of headphones or external speakers. It has a 0.46 thickness which is also impressive for the refresh speed, and it can be oriented both in landscape and in portrait without any extra attachment, so it’s perfect if you need both but don’t want to carry anything extra.

Lepow J3 Portable Monitor

Best budget portable monitor

A good portable monitor doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg, especially if you don’t need anything fancy that’s made for gaming or for very creative work that needs perfect color reproduction. To that end, this Lepow, which incidentally is such a great name, is a solid portable monitor that you can get for just under $100. And, in fact, it is even better in some regards than fancier portable monitors, for example, in the fact that it’s only 0.34 inches thick, which is very tiny.

Of course, you do lose out on a couple of things for having a lower price, for example, the faster refresh rates. That’s not so bad, though, given that you still get a 1080p resolution with a 15.6-inch screen, and it even has a pretty wide 178-degree viewing angle. On the other hand, this monitor only has one USB-C port that’s used for both charging and displaying an image if you want to go that route, although you also get an HDMI port to connect it if you don’t, so you have a couple of options.

The stand that it comes with is also pretty nice and snaps on well, and will let you use it in both portrait and landscape mode, so you aren’t loosing out on anything there. On the other hand, there’s no internal battery, so you’ll always have to have it connected to some sort of power if you want to use it, which means you’ll either need to be near a plug or have a power bank or portable power station that can run it. There’s also an HDR mode, but it’s not that great, which isn’t surprising given that even several hundred-dollar gaming monitors still don’t get the full experience of TV HDR.

UPERFECT True 4K

Best 4k portable monitor

You may be surprised to find out that 4k monitors exist, and surprisingly, they’re actually pretty good, with some features that you might expect to find on a traditional monitor. For example, this PERFECT 4k monitor has a lot going for it besides the 4k resolution, such as 100% coverage of the RGB gamut, which is great for those who need something for graphical editing. Of course, it is only a 15.6-inch screen still, so you get a very high pixel density, and you may not get as much benefit out of it unless you have the monitor relatively close to your eyes.

Besides that, it has a 60Hz refresh rate, which isn’t ideal for gaming on a gaming PC or gaming laptop, but it is a good option for consoles like the PS5 and the Xbox Series X, especially since most games on them nowadays tend to be capped at 60Hz with a 4k resolution. the UPERFECT 4K also comes with HDR, but it’s not the VESA version, and obviously not as good as a TV’s HDR, but it does have a high contrast ratio of 1500:1 which isn’t too bad. It also has a peak brightness of 600 nits, which means you can use it in relatively well-lit areas, and even potentially outside on a sunny day, as long as it isn’t getting hit directly by sunlight.

One interesting to note is that the PERFECT 4K is built using a CNC aluminum frame which gives it a very rugged and well-built feel, and it can even withstand temperatures as low as -4 Fahrenheit, which is impressive. It also has several ports for you to pick from, including a USB 3.1, although there isn’t an internal battery, so you’ll have to dedicate one port to power if your laptop can’t power it. Also, it’s worth noting that while the protective case is great at protecting the monitor, it’s not that great as a stand and can be finicky.

LG Gram +View

Best 1440p portable monitor

While 4K is great, it isn’t really worth it to spend the money when you have a relatively small screen, especially if you aren’t going to keep it close to your face. On the other hand, 1440p is a more reasonable resolution to aim for, especially with a smaller screen size. That’s where the LG Gram +View comes in, an excellent middle-ground option if you don’t want to spring for 4k, and with a 16-inch screen, you’ll more screen real-estate with a pretty much unnoticeable difference compared to a 15.6-inch screen.

As an IPS screen, it has some excellent viewing angles if you plan to share the screen with anybody, although it does have a 16:10 aspect ratio, which might not be as perfect for watching films or shows. On the other hand, it’s perfect for gaming, especially if you’re on one of the consoles, and the 60Hz refresh rate certainly falls in line with those expectations. Luckily, the LG Gram +View covers 99% of the DCI-P3 gamut, so the color reproduction is excellent, and it’s a good option for doing graphical design work.

One downside that might be problematic here is that the LG Gram +View only has two USB-C ports, so if you need to connect with an HDMI or DisplayPort cable, this isn’t a great choice without a converter. The included stand can also sometimes be a bit finicky to use, although it does let you use it in both landscape and portrait mode, so it evens out. Also, on the bright side, it’s actually pretty slim and lightweight for something so big.

UPERFECT 2K

Best 18-inch portable monitor

While a lot of folks might want something small and portable, if you’re looking for something to replace your somewhat smaller laptop screen, then you can’t go wrong with this massive 18-inch portable monitor from UPERFECT. Even better, it’s actually an excellent monitor for gaming, too, with its 1440p resolution and 144Hz refresh rate. That means you can take advantage of a more powerful GPU like an RTX 4080 with this, so if you have a high-end gaming laptop with a smaller screen, this is a great alternative to use when you want to game on something bigger.

Another big advantage of this monitor is that it comes with AMD Freesync technology, so it’s perfect for both console and PC gaming to help avoid things like screen tearing and ghosting. It also has an IPS panel, so it has excellent viewing angles to share the screen with others, and the matte display should help a lot with reflections. It also covers 100% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, so it’s just as good for graphics design and rendering as it is for gaming, making it a versatile option.

In terms of ports, you get a PD-USB, a USB-C, and an HDMI, so you have an easy way to connect pretty much anything you’d like, although it would have been nice to have seen a DisplayPort. The dual speaker is also a bit better, given that there’s a bit more space to fit them in, but you’re still going to get better audio from headphones or a standalone set of speakers. Also, it does come with HDR, but again, it’s not going to be the same sort you’d see on a TV, so be prepared for that.

How We Chose These Portable Monitors

Portability & Usability

There’s no point getting a portable monitor if you can’t actually carry it around, and while most monitors in this market are pretty portable, we did our best to pick ones that are relatively low-weight and easy to carry. The only other real exception to that is the larger monitors, which unfortunately do need to be a bit heavier due to the extra size. Also, we did our best to pick monitors that come with good stands so that you don’t have to buy and carry around a third-party stand like a VESA mount, which certainly decreases the portability.

Connectivity

It’s important that you’re able to both power and connect your portable monitor, which is why we’ve picked monitors that can at least do both with one port, leaving you an extra port empty for anything else. We’ve also done our best to pick portable monitors that have an HDMI port, so you can also connect to something like a console that can only take HDMI ports, although there are a couple of options that don’t have them, and you’ll have to use some form of converter. Either way, you should be able to connect most things to the monitors we’ve picked above.

This article is managed and created separately from the Digital Trends Editorial team.

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