If you travel often and need a second screen while on the move, a desktop monitor won’t cut it. Imagine having double the screen space when you bring your laptop along. Fortunately, this is achievable with a travel monitor — a portable display that’s roughly the size of your laptop screen.
Traveling With a Monitor: What You Should Know
When it comes to traveling with a monitor, you essentially have two options: the traditional route or the modern, hassle-free way.
The traditional approach involves packing a regular, often large monitor into your checked-in luggage when flying. This method comes with many downsides and risks. Even if you wrap and store your large monitor properly in your checked-in luggage, your monitor might still be subject to rough knocks, luggage mishandling, or even luggage loss.
Yet, there is a lower risk, less troublesome way to go about things.
Travel with a monitor by securely packing a portable display device, typically slim and lightweight, into your carry-on luggage. Safeguard it during transit by keeping it with you on the plane and storing it properly.
In other words, rather than stowing your large, bulky monitor in checked-in luggage, you can pick the more secure route of having a portable monitor with you on a flight – keeping it in your carry-on backpack. This significantly reduces the risk of damage and gives you the flexibility to use your monitor during your flight, if needed. It increases the odds that you’ll make use of your portable monitor while traveling abroad.
There are numerous benefits of traveling with a portable monitor:
- Less expensive flight: You avoid extra baggage fees if your carry-on bags with portable monitor added are within the weight limit.
- Flexibility: Unlike a desktop monitor that is harder to set up and use overseas, you can easily set up your portable travel monitor at a random cafe, airport, or your Airbnb.
- Productivity: You get to carry double the amount of screen space with you.
- Optimization: You can work with two screens on your travels, just like you do back home.
What Travel Monitors Are
What exactly are travel monitors? The terms ‘travel monitor’ and ‘portable monitor’ are used interchangeably. To be accurate, ‘portable monitor’ is the best term but for this article, let’s continue using the term ‘travel monitor’ as we talk about what excites us – travel and the tech involved in travel.
Travel monitors are slim, lightweight portable displays that can easily fit into your bag. Unlike regular monitors, travel monitors are designed with mobility in mind. They are built to be carried during commutes, business trips, and international travels, affording you the benefits of a second screen wherever you go.
The primary distinction between portable monitors and regular monitors is their size and portability. While regular monitors are designed to sit on a desk and often measure 24 inches or larger, portable monitors are typically between 11 and 17 inches, making them much more manageable on the go.
Why are they between 11 and 17 inches?
Well, this size range strikes a balance between 1) providing a substantial display area for improved productivity or entertainment and 2) maintaining a level of portability that allows them to fit comfortably in backpacks or carry-on luggage.
Travel/portable monitors are typically no thicker than an inch and can weigh anywhere from one to three pounds, depending on the model. This means they won’t add too much bulk or weight to your travel setup. They are easier to pack. However, you would need to have the right travel bag to ensure that your monitor is physically protected during commutes or international trips.
When choosing a backpack to accommodate your portable monitor, look for one with a dedicated laptop compartment and some extra space for the monitor. Many backpacks come with padded compartments to protect your electronics. Go with one of those.
5 Things You Need to Know About Travel Monitors
When I first invested in a portable monitor, I was surprised to learn some cool things about such a device.
While such monitors are not perfect second screens for your laptop, especially if you are going for budget-friendly models, they are functional enough to work remotely. They have some cool uses you might like. Beyond work, they can enhance your entertainment experiences while on the move or abroad.
1. Travel Monitors Can Extend Your Laptop’s Screen
Travel monitors extend your laptop screen. This means that your laptop’s desktop is extended onto your travel monitor, giving you a dual-display setup.
- With a simple connection, you can use a travel monitor as if it were a regular one, creating a dual-screen setup.
- You can move windows, applications, and files between the laptop screen and the portable screen seamlessly.
Research has proven that multiple screens help productivity. It’s like having a larger digital canvas. For example:
- You can have a spreadsheet open on your portable monitor while conducting research on your laptop.
- You can edit photos with the image on one screen and editing tools on the other.
You can customize how the screens work together. If you do not extend the desktop so that it spans both screens, you can duplicate the screen (mirroring). Screen duplication serves its purposes. For instance, through screen mirroring on your travel monitor, you can share your laptop’s display with others during presentations.
How does this work? To extend or duplicate your laptop screen, connect your portable monitor via a compatible cable (e.g., HDMI, DisplayPort, or USB-C) and configure the display settings in your laptop’s operating system to recognize and use the monitor as an extension of your laptop.
This process varies slightly depending on your operating system (e.g., Windows, macOS, Linux). But it generally involves accessing display settings and choosing the desired display mode.
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2. Travel Monitors Have Great Connectivity Options
Travel monitors are designed to be versatile. They are designed for connection to a wide array of devices, including laptops, tablets, smartphones, and gaming consoles. We cannot say the same for desktop computers.
Why is this the case?
Since travel monitors are designed to be slim and lightweight, they do not feature a lot of ports like desktop monitors might — they simply do not have the space or structural capacity for a multitude of connectivity ports. Yet, travel monitors offer a selection of the most commonly used ports – USB-C and HDMI.
USB-C and HDMI ports are some of the most common video and data transfer standards. This means to connect your portable travel monitor and laptop, you just need either one USB-C to USB-C cable or one Mini-HDMI to HDMI cable. The same often goes for connecting your monitor to a smartphone or tablet.
And yes, portable travel monitors are often compatible with both Windows laptops and Macbooks. To cater to a diverse user base, manufacturers prioritize compatibility and design these monitors to work seamlessly with both major operating systems. After all, this maximizes the monitor’s usability, and thus profitability.
3. Travel Monitors Can Be Used With Your Smartphone
This is something you may not know. Whether you’re an iOS or Android user, there are ways to pair your smartphone with your travel monitor for an extended display experience.
The connection is often simple – just a cable and a few settings. To connect to an iPhone, you can use a USB-C to HDMI adapter or wireless screen mirroring. Likewise for Android, you can use a USB-C to HDMI cable, Google Chromecast, or Samsung DeX Mode on a Samsung phone.
Once connected, your phone can act as just a trackpad, turning your travel monitor into a mini PC. All the files you have on your phone can be connected and made available on your portable display.
Imagine that instead of your laptop, you have the flexibility to sometimes take your travel monitor with you – to pair with your phone – which probably is lighter than your laptop.
This portable monitor-phone setup may suit the occasional ‘easy’ work you do apart from your laptop, which may often be inundated with apps. For example, tasks such as web browsing, reading, editing presentations, or watching videos would be well-suited.
4. Travel Monitors Have a Protective Case and Ergonomic Options
Since travel monitors are built to be used on the move, they have an element of protection and durability. This manifests in a protective case that often doubles up as a foldable stand.
Some cases wrap around the entire monitor, while others just protect the screen. The casing shields the screen from scratches and minor impacts potentially caused by knocks and bumps during transit.
In terms of the foldable stand, note that travel monitors are not as adjustable as desktop monitors. Portable monitors often lack the height and tilt adjustability:
- While you can manually adjust your portable monitor by changing its tilt, you may not be able to perfect your viewing angle – even though you might customize it to a satisfactory extent.
- In terms of height, you have limited options unless you use a compatible laptop stand for your portable monitor or invest in a premium portable monitor that offers height adjustment. An example is the ViewSonic 15.6 Inch 1080p Portable OLED Monitor, which has an ergonomic height-adjustable stand and tripod mount.
5. Travel Monitors Can be Used Like a Normal TV
While travel monitors are excellent tools for work and productivity, they also shine in the realm of entertainment.
Imagine turning your hotel room into a mini home theater or gaming station, simply by connecting your travel monitor to your laptop or phone, as we have talked about in the steps above. You can also use a streaming device like a Roku, Amazon Fire TV Stick, or Google Chromecast, and plug it into the HDMI port of your portable monitor.
Rather than squinting at the little display you’ve got on your phone, you can have your videos on a much bigger 13″ – 16″ portable display.
Whether you’re binge-watching your favorite series, playing the latest games, or streaming content, a travel monitor can provide you with a cinematic experience wherever you are.