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Viewsonic VG1656N: This is a pretty mediocre monitor, especially given its $300-plus price tag, but the VG1656N does have one notable feature you may care about: It's wireless. It's not particularly good wireless, with noticeable compression artifacts in displayed content and no way to tell how much power remains in its 3-hour battery, but if you're desperate and your company is paying, it's an option.

HP Series 5 Pro 514pn: The 514pn is a thin, light and well-constructed 2,560x1,600 14-inch display which also performs quite well. It covers 100% of both the P3 and Adobe RGB gamuts, can hit over 400 nits brightness for when you need to work in bright light (with solid contrast) and has decent color accuracy with a Delta E of under 3. The downside is its price, about $300, especially since it doesn't have any audio or HDMI for use in a pinch.

Uperfect A17 DS15607: The A17 may be far from an exceptional monitor, but for the money, it has relatively strong brightness and clarity in a package that’s solid for on-the-go productivity. On one hand, the 4K 15.6-inch panel delivers almost 285 pixels per inch, so the screen can be exceptionally sharp. Uperfect backs that up with a solid brightness level of about 427 nits (a touch shy of its 450-nit rating) and surprisingly high 1610:1 contrast ratio. That pairs well with a strong matte finish for easy visibility. Regardless of how the monitor fails to meet the bars that Uperfect set for the A17, it manages good performance for a budget portable monitor (priced at $220 at our last update).

The design isn't elegant, but it’s simple and effective. For the most part it’s just a big plastic slab nearly half an inch thick with no integrated kickstand, just a magnetic cover that protects the display when it's packed and tilts it at a few different angles when in use. There are two USB-C ports and an HDMI port, and though it can run off a single-cable connection, like other monitors we’ve seen, that's not always reliable. At maximum brightness and using the monitor’s (bad) built-in speakers, it requires too much power for a single-cable connection and will begin to power cycle. Simply foregoing the use of the speakers was enough to get over that hurdle in our testing. Just how much you can use will also depend on your system’s port, as we had a better experience using Thunderbolt 4 and more power cycling on USB4.

Minisforum MDSA156: Like the dual-screen Acer PD163Q I reviewed, the MDSA156 is one of few dual-display portable monitors, offering more screen real estate than a single does. It folds up like a laptop, but when opened turns into two 1080p screens connected by a hinge. But they're disappointing displays with limited color gamuts (far short of full sRGB), and the color and brightness shift dramatically when viewed off angle. The contrast is fine, and they hover around 300 nits of max brightness, though the upper display is notably dimmer, while the lower display has weaker contrast. 

On the plus side, runs both off a single USB-C cable connection. At max brightness, though, they use too much power for many devices (30 watts) and can require a second cable. At least the antiglare finish proves fairly forgiving while running the displays at lower brightness. It's also decently built with a beefy kickstand, plus the hinge between screens holds the monitors at a variety of angles for considerable flexibility. The chassis and kickstand of the monitor is also all metal. It all adds up though: The monitor weighs 3.3 lbs (1.5 kg), as much as a lot of laptops. It includes speakers that can be useful in a pinch, though they don’t sound good. Minisforum also includes two USB cables, an HDMI cable, and a small power brick to pretty much cover all the bases of what you might need for connectivity. You do get a lot for the money; at $216, it’s a nice price compared to the Acer PD163Q.

Measurements are taken using a Spyder X2 Ultra colorimeter using DataColor's Spyder X2 software for SDR. Color accuracy measurement results are reported in Delta E 1976 using Datacolor's 48-color patch test.

In addition, HDR results are gathered using the VESA DisplayHDR Test app's patterns to display 100% and 10% windows for brightness measurements as well as RGBW values, again measured using the Spyder X2 Ultra, to get CIE xyY color values and compared against the DCI-P3 color space's xyY color values to calculate HDR gamut coverage using this gamut calculator.

On the most basic monitors, we may stick with just brightness, contrast and color gamut, while on more capable displays, we may run tests of most user-selectable modes for gaming or color-critical usage, uniformity and so on. For the color work, we may also run tests to verify how white point accuracy varies with brightness. We also use Blur Busters' motion tests to judge motion artifacts (such as ghosting) or refresh rate-related problems that can affect gaming. 

Keep in mind that individual results can vary from a manufacturer's reported results for a variety of reasons. For instance, you can be using a different set of color patches for the accuracy tests (as I do), a different colorimeter (as most individuals do), a different way of calculating (such as determining gamut using RGB and CMY primaries rather than the more common RGB only), monitor settings (manufacturers rarely provide the OSD settings used for its tests) and so on. 

Connections

There’s no universal rule about what connections portable monitors have to offer. From one to the next, you can find any combination of ports. Some portable monitors rely on just a single USB-C connection for power and video, and others may need auxiliary power. Many of the best options include a USB-C port to handle all your needs, so you only need one cable. Most also include an HDMI or mini HDMI port, which provides broader compatibility. Newer laptops can handle display output over USB, while game consoles, older laptops and desktops might not, so having any kind of HDMI port is useful. 

Power

Some portable monitors can draw all their power from the same USB-C cable they get their video signal. Bigger, brighter and higher-resolution monitors typically need more power, and this can be too much for USB ports. In these cases, the monitor may have a second port for auxiliary power. Unfortunately, the matter of powering portable monitors is incredibly variable. Some laptop USB ports can supply enough power for a portable monitor, but another port on the laptop might not. Some monitors I’ve tested will work fine with a single USB connection to a laptop but then turn off if the brightness is set too high. Given the variability, it’s important to check each monitor's specific power requirements and try to ascertain whether your computer has a port to meet the requirement. If you’re particularly concerned about power on the go and using fewer cable connections, some portable monitors include built-in batteries. 

Size

Size is an important consideration for a portable monitor. You want to maximize the additional screen real estate you’re getting on the go, but you also want to avoid ending up with a monitor that’s so big that it limits mobility or uses too much desk space. You’ll generally find a listed size with each monitor that indicates the diagonal size of the display area only. So, to make sure the monitor you’re looking at will actually work for you, be sure to also check the physical dimensions of the monitor. 

Color

Just like size and resolution, color gamut is an important consideration. Put simply, it’s a measure of the range of colors a monitor can display, and it’s presented as a percentage of a specific color space. Lower ratings will mean a less vibrant, more drab monitor. Higher ratings mean more lifelike colors. If you’re just doing office work and want extra space for spreadsheets, just about any monitor will do, regardless of color gamut. A 95% or more rating for the sRGB color space is good for entertainment and general web work. Monitors that cover 95% or more of the DCI-P3 color space can display a wider range of colors, making photos, videos and games more enjoyable, but these will generally be more expensive options. For professional use, you'll want to check for a measurement of color accuracy, too; a value of Delta E≦2 is optimal. Most portable displays are not color-calibrated out of the box and can look significantly better after calibration with a colorimeter. Short of that, you can use tools in MacOS and Windows to improve image quality manually.

What’s important if I want to travel with a portable monitor?

Portable monitors, unlike laptop displays, don’t all have built-in protection. When you travel with your laptop, you close it, in turn protecting the display. The rest of the laptop covers the display and adds some structural rigidity to it. Portable monitors don’t have these benefits. So, if you take a portable monitor with you, it’s a good idea to have a sleeve or cover for the screen itself to protect it from scratching, and you’ll want to ensure it won’t get bent in your bag. Thankfully, many portable monitors come with covers and sleeves. Most also include some sort of stand, so you can prop them up easily wherever you go. 

Can I use a portable monitor with my phone?

This depends on a couple of factors. Many phones don’t support display output, so you won’t be able to use your phone with these monitors. Some phones, such as recent iPhones, support display output over their USB-C port. But these are unlikely to supply enough electricity to power the external monitor. That means while you can still use the portable monitor, you will likely need auxiliary power for the monitor itself. 

Are portable monitors good for gaming?

Portable monitors don’t have any inherent advantages for gaming. Many are built with lower-quality display panels and have low refresh rates. Many I’ve tested suffer from some ghosting, which doesn’t impact day-to-day use heavily but negatively affects gaming. Low refresh rates also keep games from looking as smooth. That said, plenty of portable monitors have special gaming optimizations. You can find models with fast 120Hz and higher refresh rates, and some even offer OLED panels, which exhibit almost no ghosting. That said, most portable monitors are larger than the screens on mobile gaming devices like the Steam Deck or Nintendo Switch, which alone can be worth it. 

Can I use a tablet as a portable monitor instead?

If you own a tablet, there’s a good chance you can use it as a portable monitor. Many iPads work with more recent Macs as extra monitors. Some Android tablets will work similarly with Windows PCs, either with their own tools or with third-party software, like SuperDisplay, an app I’ve used to run a Galaxy Tab S7 Plus as a portable monitor for my Windows laptops. Many tablets have high-quality displays that rival portable monitors. They also offer touch controls and are also tablets when not connected to a computer. There can be drawbacks, though. Wireless connections aren’t always reliable. Plus, in my experience with SuperDisplay, video signal compression hurts moving visuals and the software comes with a bit of latency that rules out gaming.