The ongoing pandemic has forced the way we work and consume content. Our lives are now surrounded by screens be it a smartphone, tablet, laptop, or TVs. This brings up the point of the quality of screens that we use. While we might invest in a secondary display for work, getting something similar for other activities is not a priority right now. This is where the DLAB Portable Touchscreen Monitor comes into play. On paper, this external monitor promises too much.
We have been using this 4K monitor for a while, and should you invest in it? Let’s find out in our full review.
Features
- True 4K resolution panel with LED backlight
- Full Touchscreen
- Plug & Play product
- Low flicker, blue-light filter panel
- Low response time
- Magnetic stand
- Wide connectivity options
Box Contents
Here’s a complete list of items you get inside the box:
- DLAB Portable Touchscreen Monitor
- Charging brick
- USB Type-C to Type-C Cable
- HDMI cable
- Magnetic clip
- Documentation
Design
The entire construction of this portable monitor is done in a mix of high-quality plastic and metal. The design might look generic but there isn’t much that can be done on this kind of product. You get a large 15-inch 4K panel with minimal bezels on three sides and a chunky bottom that houses all the circuits.
Starting with the right side, we get a triple button layout with the power button in the middle which is flanked by volume rockers on each side. For added connectivity, there is also a full-size USB A port as well. All the main ports are on the opposite side which house two USB Type-C ports one of which is used to supply power to this monitor, while we also get a 3.5mm audio jack and full-size HDMI port.
The monitor comes with a pair of small tweeters that are placed on the backside along with the prop stand. The company also sells a magnetic stand that works as a screen protector as well which is sold as a separate accessory.
Performance
Moving to the juicy part of the review, the Performance. In a nutshell, the DLAB Portable Touchscreen Monitor works as is advertised. The large 15-inch display gets bright. For ease of use, we get a laminated display that gets the ability for pen input as well. During our testing, we did try using a Wacom and Galaxy S-Pen with this and both worked quite well.
The panel gets a low response time and while the refresh rate is capped at 60Hz we didn’t really bother this because of how smooth everything felt on it. Though most pro-grade tablets in the market these days come with 120Hz refresh rate displays, this point can be overlooked here. The touch panel seems to be calibrated at the highest standard and during our limited time with this, we didn’t notice any issues.
Moving to the connectivity options, the portable monitor gets powered through a Type-C slot using the supplied wall charger. Though we did try powering this up using a power bank, that didn’t work. While most of your devices, including a smartphone and the laptop, can be hooked up to this via the spare Type-C port, you could also take advantage of the full-size HDMI slot that works quite well.
This monitor can be a great secondary display with touch input for both and entertainment. While the monitor has dual HiFi speakers, they sound tiny at times. Though there is no wattage mentioned it is safe to say that this system is less than 5W. Alternatively, you do get a 3.5mm audio jack that has a decent output.
Verdict – Should you buy it?
Coming to the most important question, should you buy this? And our answer is Yes. The panel gets bright and the colors do pop on this. Our 4K unit had a perfectly balanced panel with an excellent touch response. The wider selection of ports and the plug and play attribute with all the leading ecosystems makes it a perfect buy.
Not everything is awesome here, for starters the audio via the built-in speakers is quite low. You need to buy a stylus and the magnetic kickstand separately. While we appreciate the brand giving a fairly new standard Type-C port for power, a smaller built-in battery would have great.
The portable monitor at https://dlmonitor.com/ is being offered in a single size, though you can choose between a 4K or a Full HD 1080p resolution panel which are price at $399 and $299 respectively as of writing this post. At the given price points, these displays are a treat.
