Asus unveiled four new portable monitors during the Consumer Electronics Show this week, including one model with an OLED display panel, one that supports wireless screen mirroring, and two with support for pen input – including a model aimed at digital artists that has a color-accurate display panel and a built-in Asus Dial control.
The new displays should be available later this year, with pricing details available closer to release.
Asus ProArt Display PA169CDV
Possibly the most impressive new portable display from Asus, this 15.6 inch monitor features a 4K IPS LCD display panel with 10-bit, 100% sRGB color gamut. It’s been PANTONE Validated and Calman Verified for Delta E < 2 color accuracy.
The display also works with a Wacom EMR pen for pressure-sensitive input, has an Asus Dial built into the left side of the display, allowing you to control functions in apps including Adobe Photoshop, Premiere, Lightroom, and After Effects.
In addition to pen support, the screen can detect 10-finger multitouch, allowing you to also use it as a capacitive touchscreen display for interacting with art or graphic design software (or anything else). Since the Wacom pen draws power from the screen, you’ll never need to change a battery in the pen.
There are two kickstands for the display, one that raises the screen for use as a standard display, and another that you can use to lay the display down at a slight angle for writing or drawing.
The display has two USB-C ports and an HDMI port for connecting to a PC or other gear.
You can find more details about the Asus ProArt Display PA169CDV in an Asus blog post.
Asus ZenScreen OLED MQ16AH
This 15.6 inch, 1920 x 1080 pixel OLED display with 100% DCI-P3 color gamut and Delta E <2 color has a 1ms response time and support for HDR.
It has a mini HDMI port and three USB-C ports plus an integrated proximity sensor can dim the display when you’re not nearby in order to save power.
The display weighs 620 grams, or just under 1.4 pounds.
You can find more details at Asus.com.
Asus ZenScreen Ink MB14AHD
This 14 inch full HD IPS LCD display display has two USB-C ports and a micro HDMI port, a built-in kickstand, and support for both 10-finger multiple touch input and support for pen input – it comes with an active stylus, but should work with any pen that supports Microsoft Pen Protocol v2.0.
Asus notes that the ZenScreen Ink is about the size of an 8.5″ x 11″ sheet of paper, which should make it comfortable for sketching.
The display also supports automatic screen rotation, so you can use it in portrait or landscape orientations. And the kickstand has a “stepless” design which allows it to be folded to pretty much any angle up to 10 degrees.
When used with a PC that supports DisplayPort Alt Mode, you only need to run a single USB-C cable from your computer to the ZenScreen Ink in order to use both display and pen/touch functionality. But for devices that don’t support DP Alt Mode, you can use an HDMI cable for video and a USB cable for input.
Asus ZenScreen Go MB16AWP
While this 15.6 inch, FHD IPS LCD monitor also has two USB-C ports and a mini HDMI port, you don’t necessarily need to use any of them because the ZenScreen Go also supports wireless screen mirroring for Android or iOS devices or computers running Windows 10 or Windows 11.
And if you really want to leave your wires at home, you don’t even need a power cable for short sessions. The ZenScreen Go has a 7,800 mAh battery that should allow it to run for up to 3 hours on a charge.
The display also has a 1-watt stereo speaker and a 3.5mm audio jack in case you want to plug in headphones. And like the ZenScreen Ink, this 15.6 inch display has a G-sensor that can detect screen orientation for automatic rotation.
While the display’s wireless capabilities are what make it stand out, you can always plug it in. It accepts video input via mini HDMI or USB-C, and you can use the second USB-C port to charge the battery while it’s connected to a PC or other device.
You can find more information about the ZenScreen Ink and ZenScreen Go in an Asus blog post.
I would like a small monitor, but I wish it was a different brand. I have not had the greatest luck with ASUS quality control with products in the past.
I’m interested in that last one, the Asus ZenScreen Go MB16AWP.
However, I’m confused about whether it actually supports portrait orientation, as the picture of it mounted vertically doesn’t actually appear to the the same device.
Notice the main picture shows Asus’s signature pen-hole on the lower-right, but in the vertical picture, it lacks that hole.
If it indeed supports portrait orientation, I’m curious to see more about how the stand works. This is really the only feature I’m interested in, and so far everyone has failed at implementing this feature properly. They always use some extremely dubious kickstand design.
The bit about the G-Sensor and automatic screen rotation comes straight from the Asus press release, if that helps.
It can’t be the same device. That image with the pen hole isn’t in the Asus blog post right now either.
I think for portrait mode, they just made the kickstand a little shorter than the monitor’s longest dimension.
The ones with pen support seem pretty good for an actual desktop monitor, but ones you can use as a secondary display and then relocate to doodle on as needed. The problem is, they’re going to cost a lot.
Now if someone would stick a keyboard (with some magnets in it to hold a phone perhaps) and 360 degree hinge on the MB14AHD and gave the device the wireless capabilities of the MB16AWP I might just cough up whatever they’d ask for it because as long as it didn’t ever wear out I’d never have to buy another peripheral or tablet as long as I lived.