REVIEW – Do you want a little more real estate on your monitor? Do you normally have more than a few applications running not to mention numerous tabs open in your browser of choice? Me too. I usually have my work email, Teams, Chrome with at least 8 tabs, and various other applications open all the time. It can be a pain to flip through them all when working. I already have 2- 27″ monitors and don’t really have room in my WFH setup for a third. Traveling with a small laptop can also be a hassle. Now I only have one small screen and nowhere to move stuff or have more than one program up at a time and still be able to read anything. Enter the Kwumsy L1 portable monitor. Keep reading if you’re in the same boat and looking for a little more screen real estate and want it to be portable.
What is it?
The Kwumsy L1 is a 12.3″ portable monitor with dual speakers.
What’s in the box?
- Kwumsy L1 monitor
- USB C to USB C cable
- USB A to USB C cable
- HDMI to mini HDMI cable
- Quick start guide
- User Manual
Hardware specs
- Resolution: 1920 x 860P
- Aspect ratio: 16:7
- Screen size: 12.3 inches
- Color format: RGB
- Panel: IPS wide viewing angle
- Refresh rate: 24HZ-60HZ
- Product weight: 2000g
- Product size：387.4 x 149.9 x 25.8mm
- Average brightness: 600CD/㎡
- Port: TYPE-C x 2+USB-A x 2+MINI HDMI
- TYPE-C input：USB3.1 (via DP protocol), charging PD3.0 60W (20V/3A)
- Speaker: 2pcs total
- Product material: PC+ aluminum alloy
Design and features
If the Kwumsy L1 portable monitor is anything, it’s convenient. If you’ve got an open USB C port on your machine, then you only need one cable to get it working. Not only do I lack space but I’m limited to 2 ports for displays on my laptop and dock, so just using the included USB C cable for power and data is great. I don’t have to find a spot to plug in a power supply and then dress two cables. One is much easier. One little gripe I have about that cable though is the right-angled connector Kwumsy says to connect to their device. It blocks other ports. Seems like an odd choice especially considering you’re supposed to be able to use it like a docking station.
Here’s a look at all the ports when they aren’t being blocked.
Not bad for a portable monitor. Lots of possibilities. I even used ot when troubleshooting a PC problem y daughter was having.
Another odd choice in my opinion is the aspect ratio, 16 x 7. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a monitor or screen that 16 x 7. 16 x 9, sure. 16 x 10, yeah I’ve seen them out there, but not 16 x 7. This makes the resolution 1920 x 860. It’s still Hi-Def but is it considered FHD like the Kwumsy website states? I don’t know, but it’s close enough. The picture looks good and colors are vibrant.
Refresh rate is only 60Hz so there will be some blurring if you’re planning to game or watch movies on it. Kwumsy describes it as being a “car play screen”, making it easier to see in bright sunlight. I can’t attest to that. All my tests have been indoors so no direct sunlight, but it’s bright enough for my use.
What?! Game on it? Yep, you can. It’s compatible with pretty much every console. I mean it’s a monitor, why wouldn’t it be? Now would I pick this over a TV? No, partially because I don’t see as well as I used to, but if I’m traveling and decide to “borrow” my son’s Switch, certainly. I can’t really use those joycons with my big hands so I grab his separate controller as well. It’s not the ideal setup but pairing it with the Kwumsy L1 monitor gives me a bigger screen with a better stand.
Speaking of the stand, I do like how Kwumsy implemented it with the L1. The stand is steel and slides into one of four slots on the rear, making it easy to get portrait or landscape layouts at almost any angle. It’s solid and stable.
The Kwumsy L1 also has a capacitive 10-point touchscreen. Well, that’s cool except I can only get it to work with my laptop and that’s after going into Windows and setting it up as a tablet. Well, that’s not entirely true. Before I changed any settings, the touch did work but it was responding on my main screen, not on the Kwumsy L1. After changing the settings though, it works fine. I set it up in portrait mode and used it as a screen for YouTube Music.
Now, I can just touch the screen to pause, play, skip, and so on. Much handier than having to go through tabs on my browser and click pause when the boss calls unexpectedly.
Even though it’s a touchscreen, there’s no way to access the L1 menus other than the one rocker switch. It is the power button, the volume rocker, and access to the on-screen display to change brightness along with other settings.
Finally, I think the Kwumsy L1 is missing something and that’s a case, a pouch, a bag, something. It’s supposed to be a portable laptop monitor but there’s no easy way to take it with you. That needs to be fixed.
Setup
Set up for the Kwumsy L1 portable monitor as a monitor only is simply plug and play. Setting up as a touchscreen takes a few more steps. I can only speak to the Windows 10/11 experience. You have to go through Tablet settings in the Control Panel and walk through the steps. It’s easy and the included manual has all the necessary information to get you there.
Performance
So how does the Kwumsy L1 portable monitor perform? It performs as well as you might expect. It’s a strange aspect ratio so you’re pretty much locked into one resolution if you want to use the full screen and not have things look all wonky. My plan for it was to use it on my work laptop so I could take Teams chat off my main display but still have it visible on the L1. I can do that but the resolution is too high for it on that small of a screen for me. It’s too hard to read. If I change the font size, so I can read it then it’s system-wide and makes my other monitors look ridiculous. I thought I could change the font size on different monitors independently but I don’t think that’s possible in Windows. So using it as a music player works for now.
One feature I didn’t mention above is that the Kwumsy L1 has stereo speakers. Now if you’re stuck with using laptop speakers, these may be an ok alternative. I however was not impressed. They are very tinny and thin, so don’t expect to be wowed, but they’re better than nothing.
What I like
- The stand
- Single cable setup
- Touchscreen
- Vibrant colors
What I’d change
- The right-angled USB C cable
- Better speakers
- The 16×7 ratio is just weird
- No case
Final thoughts
For what it is the Kwumsy L1 portable laptop monitor is ok. There are any number of less expensive portable USB C monitors out there but do they have a built-in docking station? Are they touchscreen? Do they have stereo speakers the size of the Kwumsy L1? If you’re looking for something like this, you might want to consider that. I can see myself using it in my workflow and taking it along on business trips. I’ll just have to wrap it in something to make sure it doesn’t get scratched up in my backpack.
Price: $199.00
Where to buy: Kwumsy and Amazon
Source: The sample of this product was provided by Kwumsy
