Two screens are better than one but what do you do when you're out of the road? This premium OLED 4K ... [+] screen from Innocn offers 3,840 x 2,180 resolution and is battery powered for up to four hours use on a single charge.
If you ever worked with multiple monitors, you’ll know how a setup with two or even three screens can completely alter the way you work and boost productivity, even if it’s just keeping email and messaging apps on a separate screen while concentrating on creative stuff on your main panel.
But what happens when you must work away from the office or home and use a laptop? Suddenly, going back to one screen can seriously slow you down. Don’t despair. There is a range of portable monitors on the market that can help with a multi-screen setup wherever you happen to be. One of the new breed of portable and battery-powered monitors is the INNOCN PU15-PRE, a portable 4K monitor with a gorgeous LED screen.
Most portable monitors on sale use IPS panels. And while they are good, they are no match for the color and brilliance offered by OLED (Organic Light Emitting Diodes) screens. OLED technology uses self-lit individual pixels instead of relying on being illuminated by an LED backlight for deeper blacks, richer colors and a more realistic picture quality. The result is a screen that’s sharp and dynamic with a range that goes beyond what an IPS panel can manage.
An OLED screen with 4K resolution is an ideal screen to use with a USB-C laptop. The Innocn PU15-Pre ... [+] 4K OLED can be used in portrait or landscape mode and switches automatically.
The INNOCN PU15-PRE’s screen measures i15.6-inched diagonally and has top-tier contrast of 100,000:1, 1.07 billion colors, 380 nits of maximum brightness and full 4K (3,840 x 2,160P) resolution with a refresh rate of 60Hz. The screen also has the option of being powered by an external power supply or using its internal 5,000mAh rechargeable battery that can provide up to four hours of screen time on a single charge.
As if all that weren’t enough, this slimline monitor measures less than 7mm thick and weighs at under 1kg. It also has a 10-point touchscreen with tap, swipe and pinch-to-zoom gestures, just like an iPad or a touch-screen laptop. The screen must be connected to its host computer via USB-C for the touchscreen feature to work. And as well as offering USB-C input and power ports, the PU15-PRE also includes a mini-HDMI port for use with older laptops or devices that are unable to output video over USB-C.
With a response time of just 1 millisecond, the PU15-PRE is ready for the fastest action gaming. Thanks to the USB-C input, it’s ideal for connecting with Android smartphones, Macs, laptops, iPad Pros, tablets, digital cameras as well as gaming devices such as a PlayStation 3, 4, and 5, Xbox or even a Nintendo Switch. It is a very versatile little screen.
The Innocn PU15-Pre 4K OLED 4K screen is incredibly thin and weighs less that 1kg. It's battery ... [+] powered and finished in a frosty green color.
Alongside the monitor, the package from INNOCN also includes a power adapter for the screen, a cloth for keeping fingerprints at bay, plus cables for mini-HDMI, USB-C data, and a longer USB-C for connecting to the 45-Watt power supply. Everything you need for life on the road is included, as well as a smart case to protect the screen which also doubles as a stand for holding the screen at an angle when being used.
The PU15-PRE is finished in a fetching frosty green color and has a power button and LED on its upper right side to show when it’s turned on. Two more keys are located on the upper right-hand side and these can be used to set the volume level of the two little 1W speakers that are built-in to the screen.
What I like about the PU15-PRE is the on-screen menu for adjusting settings which is operated using the touchscreen. I can never remember which keys to press on screens that use buttons to alter settings and I always seem to end up resetting everything or choosing an onscreen language that I can’t even read. I wish all screens had a touch feature for settings. Another feature I liked is the ability to choose from up to seven profiles with parameters for movie mode, reading mode, sRGB mode, Adobe mode, gaming mode, eye protection mode and even custom settings. Nice touch.
If you've not seen an OLED screen side-by-side with a regular LED model, you could be in for a ... [+] surprise. The colors are richer, brighter and the blacks are very black. This screen is also a touchscreen and has a built-in battery for up to four hours of use on a single charge.
A little way down for the power and volume buttons are the ports for connecting the screen to the host device. As already mentioned, there’s a USB-C power input port for connecting the screen to the supplied power adaptor. There’s a second USB-C port for the signals to and from the host computer and, finally, there’s the mini-HDMI port for connecting other computers, a digital camera, a video camera or whatever else you own that doesn’t use USB-C video out.
For creative work, most people might choose to use the PU15-PRE in landscape mode but it’s equally as happy using portrait mode and even has a built-in gravity sensor that can switch between the two modes simply by rotating the screen. If you don’t like that it’s also possible to turn the feature off using settings in the on-screen menu. I find portrait mode is often useful for Word or Outlook while leaving the main screen I am using for something like Photoshop or audio editing. The portrait mode is great if you’re using the screen for displaying output from a smartphone. However, a word of caution, the stand that comes with the screen can’t work in portrait mode so you will need a stand or easel for the screen.
Verdict: This wonderfully slim and light 4K OLED screen has superb characteristics with great brightness, deep blacks, rich colors and good contrast. It is a great performer, but so it should be at this price. While many people won’t need the luxury of an OLED screen for mobile working with a second monitor, I think it’s perfect for photo editing, video editing and gaming if you want the highest quality even when you’re out on the road. The built-in battery is a useful feature, especially if you’re using the screen to present to a client in their office and don’t want all the fuss of power cables. The touchscreen is also a nice addition and the built-in speakers, while not all that powerful, are useful when you need more than one person to hear the audio. Otherwise, I’d suggest using headphones instead. Overall, this is about as good a 4K OLED monitor as you can get for the money and for anyone who needs two screens on the go, it’s well recommended.
Pricing & Availability: The INNOCN PU15-Pre 4K OLED portable display is available via Amazon and costs $662.99. However, when you compare it to other portable OLED monitors, then it is reasonably priced. If you spend time on the road and find a single display limiting, you may quickly see a return on your investment with this monitor.
More info: www.innocn.com