ASUS ZenScreen MB16AC 15.6" Full HD IPS USB Type-C Portable Eye Care Monitor

About a year ago, a customer support rep from a company I work with was raving about the "portable monitors" her team had acquired. I remember being intrigued by the concept but I'd yet to encounter an application for such a thing -- both my home and on-site offices were already equipped with full-sized, dual screens. However, since then, my wife and I acquired a travel trailer, out of which I plan to work remotely on occasion. I started thinking about using the trailer's onboard HD TV as a second monitor but it's really too far away from my workspace to serve as a 2nd monitor. I then thought of hauling and extra, full-sized monitor along but the work to set it up, tear it down and find storage space seemed to outweigh the benefit. Then I remembered that conversation last year about portable monitors .... The ZenScreen seemed to garner good reviews, and I've been happy with other Asus products I've purchased in the past. Mine arrived yesterday and I gotta' say that I'm rightly impressed. I'm not sure why you'd want to consider the larger models as those seem to fly in the face of portability. But the 16" model (15.6" viewable) is lightweight and small enough to coexist with a laptop in most computer bags. Setup is fast and easy – a quick-connect kickstand allows you to place the display right next to your laptop at the perfect angle. Power and video are simultaneously delivered via a single USB C connection. And brightness, contrast and image quality really exceeded my expectations. My local Target store has a similar Asus 16" ZenScreen for twice the price. The performance specs seem identical to this one. The only difference seems to be that it has an integrated folding stand verses the screw-on "kickstand." While the integrated stand seemed a bit more convenient, it didn't look as sturdy (especially when propping up the display in portrait mode) and I couldn't justify twice the price. Obviously, I have not yet had enough time to speak to the long-term reliability of this product. I'll be sure to edit this review in the future if I encounter any issues. However, this Asus backs the ZenScreen with a 3-year warranty and, as I said, the company has a good reputation for quality. So far, I enthusiastically recommend the ZenDesk portable display for those who travel with a laptop and have the need for dual displays.

I'm a software engineer who travels about 25-50% of the time for work. Mainly, I code apps and websites and as such, I almost always prefer to work with multiple screens. My primary work laptop is a 2018 MacBook Pro 15 and my sidecar "hobby" machine is a 12.5" Asus Chromebook C302 that I absolutely adore (seriously, see my review of it). At home and work I have a plethora of displays setup on my workstations to service both of these machines and over the years I've become used to being able to "spread" my work out... Communications and productivity apps on one screen, code editor and output browser/simulators on another and one just dedicated to debug terminals and consoles. It really is workflow bliss... And then I got the new gig... Traveling 1-2weeks out of the month, living in hotels... trains, planes and automobiles... pop-up meetings in restaurants/coffeeshops/conferences. Suddenly my workflow bliss started feeling like a single-desktop pile-on. It's not that I need to drag several 30" displays on the road with me... just some more breathing room. And then a friend told me about this line of ASUS monitors that sounded way too good to be true... So, I picked one up just to see if it could give me the breathing room I needed w/o the inconvenience of hauling around an external display, power brick and connection cables. Happy to say, this device hits all 5-stars at a price that's comparable to a low-end desktop monitor. It has the same footprint as my 15" MBP and slips in right next to it in my bag w/o a fuss. Yeah, it adds a little extra weight to my bag, but no more than a hefty USB battery brick or extra Apple MBP wall charger. For me, the big-win is that it does everything over a single USB-C cable, data, image, and power... just magic. Pros: - Light weight and low-overhead, just need the device and a USB-C cable that's DisplayPort-over-USB certified - Same footprint as a 15" MacBook Pro - Great resolution and color - Power and image over USB-C, no need for a power-brick - Easy to use adjustment settings directly on the device - Sturdy and low-profile magnetic cover very similar to the covers you can get for Android tablets and iPads - Solid metal/plastic construction Cons: - Doesn't have the ability to auto-rotate on MacOS - No USB-C pass-thru... it eats a whole port, so have a port-expander dongle with power pass-thru for your other port - Doesn't support HDMI input on the device (I've heard you can get an HDMI-to-USB-C DisplayPort adaptor, but I've yet to source one/try it, would love to have for on-the-road console gaming) - Hard to find replacement USB-C data cables that support DisplayPort over USB-C I've been using this for about 2 months now and it's been a worthwhile travel companion... I even crack it out at the home office on occasion to mirror my screen for small 2-3 person group demos/presentations. I haven't tried gaming on it, but video playback and color matching to my MBP screen are great.

I love this monitor, It is my office when I'm away from my office. If not plugged in it does drain the laptop battery but that is expected, I always carry external batteries anyway. The size is perfect, the clarity is as good a my macbook, and it just works.

The screen quality is crisp and bright, and the portability makes it perfect for travel or dual-screen work on the go. Setup with USB-C is simple and reliable. However, the build feels a bit delicate, so you need to handle it carefully. Overall, a useful portable monitor with a slightly fragile feel.

Work seamlessly. Just plug-in and go.

The monitor has good build quality. Plug and play, no issues in connectivity using Type C cable. Works equally well with USB A cable when drivers are installed. Very portable being lightweight. The color reproduction is not great but good enough for general use as an extended display.

I purchased this product as I travel a lot and needed a second monitor when using my laptop. The dual mode input is a great advantage as it increases the compatibility to include all laptops with a USB port, without requiring the additional input. The size and weight make it great for travelling, fitting easily into my existing laptop case. I would definitely buy again, and am considering a second to provide me with a third screen option.

If you're sitting on the fence on whether to pay the premium for an ASUS zenscreen or save a few bucks and settle for one of those cheaper OEM alternatives, I'd highly recommend you to just get the ASUS. I too, went for the cheaper ones, and ended up hating the quality and returning them. This model from ASUS works as advertised - build quality is fantastic, screen quality and color are also much better compared to the cheaper OEM models.

con esa pantalla conectada a un puerto USB, mas otra conectada al puerto HDMI de mi portatil, tengo tres pantallas; era el objectivo comprandola y lo he conseguido