Overall and Final Verdict
With at least some relief from Covid around the corner, the possibility of traveling in 2021 is growing and with that, there is a good chance I will be spending a lot more time away from the office to make up for this year. That doesn’t mean I won’t need to get work done and while my laptop gets the job done, it's only a 13-inch laptop which is a significant change from the 3 27 inch monitors I use day today. The small size is great for portability, but having the option to expand things would be nice. This is where the AOC 16T2 15.6 Portable USB-C Touchscreen Monitor comes in. Could it be exactly what I need for times when I am working remotely?
Well as far as size goes, it is two inches larger than the screen on my laptop which is just enough to be helpful while not being too big. The 16T2 uses a Type-C connection as its main connection option which allows it to run power and display over the now popular connection. AOC did also include a miniature HDMI port as well if you need the older option, but you will also need to come up with a cable which may be hard to find without ordering one online. The IPS display was good but not spectacular, exactly what you would expect from a portable display. Its viewing angle performance is great though, I was able to use the screen when viewing from any angle without any issues. But being a 60 Hz monitor it does still suffer from slow response times. I wouldn’t plan on using it for gaming.
AOC also built-in additional functionality with the built-in 8000 mAh battery inside which is a nice battery bank if you have the screen with you on the go. I also like that they designed the included cord to have an attached Type-C to Type-A adapter that you won’t lose.
It wasn’t perfect, while the size was good for using it. It is a little thicker than I expected it to be. It is nearly as thick as some thin laptops. I also think the built-in menu could be improved if they were to add one more button. As it sits you use one button to go through the menu and to make changes. The included cord could also use another foot in length so that it can reach from the far side of your laptop to the far side of the screen so you can keep the laptop and screen close together. Without that, the cord gets in the way. I don’t have it listed in the cons below, but I also think the included screen protector/stand would work better if it mounted to the bottom full time and just flipped back and forth like most portable monitors use. Having to take it off and move it to use it is a little cumbersome.
As for pricing, the 16T2 has an MSRP of $249.99 which after looking at other portable monitor options is a little high. Part of that cost is in adding the built-in battery bank. But even with that in mind, there are similar Type-C, 1080p, 15.6-inch options at less than $200. So my recommendation for the 16T2 is going to depend on how the pricing goes in the future. If it drops down to compete with some of the other options in the future, it would be a good pick up. Especially if you can put the big battery bank to use.
Live Pricing: HERE
