Asus ROG Strix XG17AHPE 17.3in portable monitor
- Best: Portable monitor
If you’ve gotten used to using an external monitor over the years and think you’ll miss the extra screen real estate while working outdoors, you’re going to want to get yourself a portable monitor. Our top pick is the Asus ROG Strix XG17AHPE, a super-thin sleek-looking portable monitor. It’s intended for gamers, so it’s incredibly high-spec, giving you a 240 Hz maximum refresh rate and a buttery smooth, tear-free experience. Maybe a little overkill, but it has one of the largest displays we’ve seen (17.3in) on a screen for the purposes of portability.
It’s not cheap, so we’d only recommend this if you intend to use the monitor on other occasions – it can plug into smartphones via the USB-C and micro-HDMI port, for instance, so might be a good investment if you also plan on playing some PUBG on a bigger screen. While it comes with a folio-style folding stand, it’s not super versatile if you want to move it into specific configurations. You can buy it with a tripod if you need some elevation, but this does bump up the price.
To use, all you do is plug the monitor using the included USB-C cable into your laptop and off you go, no mains power socket needed. There’s a 7,800mAh battery, giving you up to 3.5 hours of use at 240 Hz. An hour of charge will give you an extra two hours of use.
While the matte-finish display does get incredibly bright, you will want to set the brightness to maximum if you want to be able to see the display outdoors. Even then, the glare still does get in the way when the sun hits it directly on, so we’d recommend buying a sun shade or an extra screen protector, reviewed below.