A good portion of the world population is either working from home or remote working. Many of them may have gotten used to a dual-screen setup and have been forced down to one screen remotely. The Dell 14 Portable Monitor is a decent on-the-go dual-screen solution that’s both light and functional.
Estimated reading time: 6 minutes
Portable monitors aren’t new, but the Dell 14 Portable Monitor is the company’s first. When Dell announced this device a few weeks ago, many tech outlets ran with copy that said it was as if Dell ripped the display from an XPS laptop. I couldn’t disagree more. Not that the Dell 14 is bad, but it’s just not as good as the displays on any of Dell’s XPS laptops.
Don’t get me wrong; this is a decent monitor for what Dell built it for. But it could have been better, and let me tell you why. Read on for the full review of the Dell 14 Portable Monitor.
Specifications
The Dell 14 Portable Monitor has the following features and specifications:
- Device Type: LED
- Display Size: 14″
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Native Resolution: 1920×1080 @ 60Hz
- Pixel Pitch: 0.1611 mm
- Brightness/Nits: 300 cd/m² (typical)
- Contrast Ratio: 700:1 (typical)
- Response Time: 6 ms
- Color Support: 16.7 million colors
- Position Adjustment: Tilt 10° to 90°
- Screen Coating: Anti-glare treatment of the front polarizer (H) hard coating
- Dimensions with stand: 12.69 inches x 0.56 inches x 7.98 inches
- Ports: 2x USB Type-C (Alt Mode DP1.2, HBR)
- Model#: C1422H
What’s In The Box
- Dell 14 Portable Monitor C1422H
- Monitor Sleeve
- USB-C to USB-C cable
- Manual and Documentation
Design
When Dell first announced the Dell 14 Portable Monitor, many of the first reactions from the press were that it looked as if Dell ripped the display off of an XPS laptop. At first glance, that’s what you are expecting. While the bezels are certainly thin and do look similar to an XPS laptop, similarities stop there.
The display is 14″ with a 16:9 aspect ratio and is a matte finish, kudos for that. The bezels are indeed slim, but the trim around the display feels cheaper than it should. The bottom bezel could probably have been slimmed down a bit more as well. The Dell logo is on the bottom bezel, and that’s about all you get on the front.
The back is silver, and it looks like aluminum, the same material used for the XPS build but feels like plastic. The stand is also silver and feels like plastic. The plastic build makes the Dell 14 Portable Monitor a very lightweight device coming in at 1.3 lbs. But because the price is relatively high, I think Dell should have used aluminum for this. It would have added some weight, but it also would have given it a more premium feel if they were going for the XPS vibe.
The stand is simple enough, with only two USB-C ports with power pass-through, a power button, and two multifunction buttons. The display folds flat and can articulate from 10° to 90°. The Dell 14 Portable Monitor comes with a soft fabric sleeve that’s okay but could have been better. While it offers some protection to the monitor, I would have preferred something more padded, and that closed or zipped shut.
Overall, it seems Dell intended this design to go for the XPS vibe, but it doesn’t fit that shoe. While it has some subtle resemblance to an XPS laptop, it doesn’t have the same build quality or premium materials.
Display
The Dell 14 Portable Monitor has a 14″ IPS FHD display and a 60Hz refresh rate. That is a very basic configuration and certainly much less than you’d find on an XPS 15 or XPS 17. Still, the display has nice colors and decent blacks with good whites. It’s for sure useable but does fall short in its 300 nits peak brightness.
The display does an excellent job indoors in ambient room lighting, but it struggles a bit more in brighter light conditions, especially sunlight. Going back to comparing this to an XPS display, XPS displays come with 500 nit displays that are fantastic. It would have been great if Dell had given this panel a bit more brightness.
Overall, the display is useable, and I think most people will be okay with the 300 nit brightness. I happen to be someone who prefers bright panels, and I think, at this price, 500 nits would have been better,
Ease of Use
There’s nothing much to say about the ease of use of the Dell 14 Portable Monitor. It’s plug-and-play; there are no drivers needed. The only buttons are the power button, Eye Comfort button, and the brightness toggle. The Eye Comfort button switches the panel to reduce blue light, and the brightness toggle adjusts brightness. Overall, this is a dead-simple device to use.
Performance
The Dell 14 Portable Monitor works well as an extension for productivity. I think business professionals will benefit from this the most. I think it’s useable for creators as a secondary screen for reference and ideas, but not so much for video or photo editing. Overall, the performance is good; it just needs to be brighter.
Price/Value
Priced at US$359.99 and currently on sale on Dell’s website for US$269.99. The Dell 14 Portable Monitor is in the higher price range at full retail. Compared to other options out there, it’s around the same price at its sale price. I have a few issues with this monitor. The build quality needs to be better to justify the US$359.99 price, and the panel should be brighter.
At its retail price, I couldn’t recommend this portable monitor. At its sale price, I think it’s competitive with the market.
Wrap Up
This was a complex review for me. The Dell 14 Portable Monitor looks slick and is nice, but the higher price should have given consumers are more premium build and brighter display. I think at the reduced price, this display competes with the displays you can find on Amazon. So based on that, I’d probably buy the Dell over a brand I have never heard of. Though, I’m not sure I’d buy it at full retail.
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