Portable monitors have become increasingly popular over the last few years. The slim form factor makes for an easy-to-pack travel monitor that slides in right alongside your laptop, but these screens have potential as a on-the-go gaming display as well. There’s just one issue – these monitors are almost universally built using LCD technology which, as anyone familiar with DF might know, is not our first choice when it comes to gaming displays. That’s why I was fascinated by the sudden appearance of new OLED-based portable monitors such as the Innocn 15K1F we’re discussing today.
Compared to LCD, OLED technology offers vastly superior contrast with inky blacks, excellent colour and faster motion response – I simply had to check it out to see if this is a worthy purchase or if it runs into some unforeseen pitfalls. I’ve spent the last month tinkering with this monitor in a variety of scenarios and walked away mostly impressed. So how does it stack up?
For starters, like its LCD brethren, the 15K1F is slim and lightweight (just 1.6lbs/0.7kg) with a form factor resembling an over-sized tablet in its design. It features a nice aluminium casing surrounding the screen itself and feels reasonably durable. The package includes a protection cover with rubber sides that grip onto the unit which also doubles as a foldable stand. The side of the monitor features power and volume buttons in addition to a pair of USB-C connectors and one mini-HDMI input – two of which can function as sources for video input.
Innocn OLED Portable Monitor 15K1F: OLED in motion demo Watch on YouTube
The design is elegant with good material choice and a lovely glossy screen. The only complaint I have with its physical design lies in the port placement – I’d have preferred at least one of the inputs on another side of the display as, currently, everything is clustered into a small area on the lower right edge of the monitor. It’s also limited to desk or table usage without the possibility to mount it – something I did with another display for my mini-MiSTer arcade setup.