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Dell’s first portable monitor looks like it was yanked off an XPS laptop

Dell’s first portable monitor looks like it was yanked off an XPS laptop

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Premium and pricey, with few standout features

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Dell portable monitor
Dell

Dell has announced a 14-inch portable USB-C monitor that’s priced at $349.99 and will be released globally on August 31st. It has a 1080p LED-backlit IPS panel (60Hz refresh rate, 6ms response time) and you can use it as a secondary display for your USB-C laptop.

The monitor, which Dell refers to as the C1422H, has narrow bezels and a minimalist design that makes it look as if it came off an XPS laptop. It features a built-in stand that tilts between 10 and 90 degrees. The portable monitor weighs less than two pounds, and it can reach a peak brightness of 300 nits.

There’s a USB-C port on each side of the base, both of which can receive and pass through power; they can also handle a video feed via DisplayPort 1.2 alt mode. You can get it working just by connecting the monitor to your laptop or other device with the included USB-C cable. The monitor will pull power from your laptop while the two are connected.

If you want to keep your device charged while it’s connected to the monitor, you can plug your device’s USB-C power adapter into the other USB-C port in the monitor base for passthrough charging. Though, it’s possible that this portable monitor won’t be able to passthrough the full amount of power your laptop needs to quickly recharge. Dell told The Verge that the portable monitor will top out at 65W of passthrough power for systems that use a 90W or greater USB-C power supply. For 65W or greater chargers, the monitor will passthrough 45W to your system. Here’s the chart that Dell supplied:

This chart, provided by a Dell spokesperson, illustrates how much passthrough power the portable monitor can provide to your device (right panel) when connected to USB-C power adapters with varying wattages (left panel).
This chart, provided by a Dell spokesperson, illustrates how much passthrough power the portable monitor can provide to your device (right panel) when connected to USB-C power adapters with varying wattages (left panel).

A portable monitor is a new venture for Dell, so it’s surprising how high Dell has set the price for its debut model when there are several alternatives with similar specs that cost significantly less. This larger 15.6-inch IPS portable monitor from Asus costs $200 at Amazon, while a similar one from AOC costs just over $100. In fact, Dell’s model closely mirrors Lenovo’s $246 14-inch portable display, which has an almost identical stand. Notably, Dell isn’t promising better color accuracy or other niceties like a faster refresh rate that would lead me to believe it’ll outperform any of the options above.

Dell portable monitor
Image: Dell

On the other hand, this monitor comes with a protective sleeve as well as a “three-year advanced exchange” service, where Dell will ship you a new monitor next-day if you encounter a defect for the duration of its three-year limited warranty. In addition, the monitor has a good design and slim bezels on its side. It might not be a bad thing to find a portable monitor that fits the look you’re going for — whether you’re trying to match your laptop’s aesthetic or not.

Dell portable monitor
Image: Dell