Portable monitors for laptops aren’t an entirely new class of gadget, but prior to the widespread adoption of USB-C, they were always kind of a pain in the ass. That’s because you needed one cord for data, and another cord for power, with older models often ending up too big and bulky for most people to want to carry around.
But for anyone who misses their dual-monitor setup at home or work when they’re on the road, Lenovo’s ThinkVision M14 might be the perfect companion to solve your screen real estate woes. In fact, I kind og wish I had one right now just to help make covering MWC a bit more comfortable.
The ThinkVision M14 is a 14-inch 1,920 by 1,080 touch-compatible monitor attached to a kickstand that folds up for travel, turning the whole affair into an incredibly slim 4.6mm, 1.3 pound package.
The monitor itself offers more than enough luminescence with a peak brightness of around 300 nits, and a surprisingly decent response of just 6 milliseconds. Lenovo even added a secondary fold-out height-adjusting flap to the bottom of the kickstand, so people like me who can’t stand not having both screens lined up perfectly, can adjust the ThinkVision M14 to match their laptop’s display.
The M14 also sports USB-C ports on both sides of the display so you aren’t forced to put the external monitor on the left or right of your notebook. But what might be my favorite little addition to the M14 is that both of its USB-C ports support pass-through power and video, so you can daisy chain power from the display directly into your laptop without the need for a second power brick.
Finally, with an expected price of just $250, upgrading your mobile work setup with a second display won’t actually cost you that much. And when you’re at home, the M14 also offers two mounting holes in back so you can attach it to a wall or stand at your desk.
Strangely, the ThinkVision M14 doesn’t have an official U.S. release just yet, but with European availability slated for June, here’s hoping the M14 goes on sales in the U.S. not long after that.