You can find this review in full at GBAtemp.net:
https://gbatemp.net/review/asus-zenscreen-mb16ac-portable-monitor.1902/

I have too many monitors. I’m not going to beat around the bush on that one. I have monitors on my desk, monitors on the floor, monitors on arms, and even a monitor somehow attached to a flimsy folding table. Monitors are at the heart of my day to day life after all. I work from home on them, I watch videos on them, I play games on them. I’m sure you get the idea. But what about when I want to be productive elsewhere? How can it be feasible to throw a second screen in a bag? Given the banner image above, the answer is clear: a portable monitor.

When it comes to productivity on the go, there really is nothing sweeter than being able to pull a second screen out and get stuck in. In my mind, the apex of this idea is something we already reviewed in the SideTrak. Unfortunately, it didn’t quite live up to what I hoped in both portability and general display quality. To this day, I’m baffled how my eInk tablet can have a better response time than a monitor, but that is the reality. Until sliding mounted monitors can become lighter and frankly just better screens, they will remain a dream for me. What comes next though? If the convenience of having a second screen attached to your laptop just isn’t feasible, what’s the next best thing?

ASUS seem to think they have the case cracked with their impressive range of lightweight and thin screens. The version I have to review today is the ZenScreen MB16AC. It’s a 15.6 inch display coming in at 780g and less than a centimetre in thickness. With it advertised as a portable monitor, I hadn’t quite come to terms with just how big 15.6 inches actually is. Taking it out of the box for the first time it struck me, and I’m a little conflicted. When you have it out on a desk, that additional screen space is undeniably appreciated, but to me this size is just one notch too large to be truly portable. The big use case however is for those already carrying laptops with these large displays. In that scenario, it’s just a case of slotting it in the bag, and thanks to its weight and thickness, I doubt there will be any issues. For those like me, there is some solace in the fact there’s another model available in the MB14AC, which is the 14 inch sibling to what I have to look at with, to my knowledge, an identical feature set.

Alongside the screen, ASUS include a folio case and a USB C cable to enable you to get started straight away. It’s worth noting that with this being a rental review the USB C cable was missing, so I can’t comment on the specifics of that. The folio case however is a bit of a mixed bag. Don’t get me wrong, it’s functional. When you don’t need a stand it protects the screen admirably, and when you need something to prop it up, it offers a number of different positions to best suit your need. It’s even capable of supporting the monitor on its side, which is genuinely great. Have I used it at all with my time with the monitor? I have not. It’s just too finicky. It gets the job done, but boy do you have to fight for it. When I was trying to get things working for the first time, it took me several minutes to just find how it attaches to the device; it does so with magnets if you were curious. I’ve had the monitor propped up against my PSVR box (the most use I’ve had out of my PSVR in months honestly) since I first plugged it in and have had no issues. For my needs, a Surface-like kickstand would have been better suited, but I do understand how this can detract from a larger sense of versatility. Such a stand would make vertical positionings difficult for example. The case is fine, and a necessity for any monitor wanting to call itself portable, but it’s just not quite there for me. Where it’ll shine is with people who have clear desks, who don’t prop their monitors up with the boxes of long-since defunct tech. To get the most out of it, you really just need to have the space to use it and play around, and that’s something I’m lacking.

While getting started with the ZenScreen isn’t quite plug and play, it isn’t far off. Using the single USB C port on the side of the monitor, you can connect it to your PC using either a USB A to USB C or a USB C to USB C cable. Of these bountiful options, I was particularly interested to see how it performed using the more abnormal USB A. For this functionality, you do need to install a driver from ASUS, but once that’s out of the way, it’ll be detected normally and can be adjusted like any other monitor via Windows’ display settings. As a PC companion it does a great job. With the monitor pulling power through the USB connection, it’s ridiculously hassle-free to use once you’ve jumped the initial driver hurdle. I wouldn’t say it’s flawless though; advertising 5ms response time, there is a noticeable difference when used together with my other 4ms monitors. Without the capacity to test response times accurately, I can best describe it as noticeable but not to a degree that impacts day to day use. I have no issues using this for writing reviews (this one in fact!), browsing the internet, or reading manga. The only time you’d really feel this is if you happened to be using the monitor for a game that relied heavily on you being at your quickest. Having said that, this isn’t a gaming monitor. For what it advertises itself as, it performs admirably. If you are wanting something snappier though, as you might have guessed, ASUS have you covered with another of their many models. The MB16AH sports a Micro HDMI port for compatibility beyond your PC, but if you’re really wanting to go all out on gaming, there’s a whole range of ROG Strix monitors, some of which going all the way to 240Hz gaming with a 3ms response time. It’s a baffling labyrinth to look through all of the variants of these monitors. Every time you find yourself wanting a feature, a quick search tends to reveal that ASUS already have a model to support it.

The overall picture quality really blew me away when I turned it on for the first time. The ZenScreen has some of the most vivid colours I’ve ever come across, and produces a delightfully sharp and clear image. The IPS display does a good job in mitigating glare too. While I can still spot outlines of the person peering in on darker images, it’s something I really have to look for. If my vision is focused on text, or any other element on the screen for that matter, it’s something I don’t notice at all. You also have a reasonable assortment of settings to toy with using a somewhat clunky two-button menu navigation system. I don’t know why there couldn’t have been a third button. A third button would give you an option for up, down, and confirm or back. As it is now though, you’re left with an awkward system of navigating a menu like a one-way street, with confirmation relying on you not touching anything for a few seconds. It works, but it’s definitely something that needs work should ASUS look at iterating on the ZenScreen.

Looking at the options themselves you have a fairly standard array of things to change. You have a number of pre-configured modes, a variable blue light filter, colour settings, image settings, and a few miscellaneous system tweaks that are bundled together. There’s a lot to play with but having had my play I’ve found most of the default settings to suit my needs best. The one setting I do recommend trying is the game mode. It just makes the colours pop in a way that makes the monitor incredibly pleasant to look at.

The big question is always the same though: is it worth the money? In some ways it is, and in others it isn’t. What you should be asking yourself before browsing what’s on the market is what you want out of your monitor. Looking just at ASUS’ ZenScreen range, you have monitors ranging from 14 inches to 15.6 inches, some with Micro HDMI ports, some with built-in batteries, some with touch screens. After my time with the MB16AC, I feel confident in saying it’s a quality display at its current price point of around £200.