2.5K Portable Monitor, MagicRaven 16 2520x1680, 1500:1 IPS Laptop Monitor, Slim Lightweight USB C HDMI Computer Display, Gaming Screen with Speakers, Travel Monitor for Mac PC Phone PS4/5 Xbox Switch

Great extra monitor, nice and sharp and with a good resolution. Lightweight. I like the cover, but bought a different stand that has a smaller footprint. Wish this had vesa mounting options, but a good large tablet stand works well. Very happy with this, and pretty reasonably priced.

Updated 2/14/2023: Note, I left my original review below just for historical sake. After posting my original review, the manufacturer reached out to me about the washed out screen and offered to send me a new, 4k version of this screen at no cost. I accepted and it arrived over the weekend. I plugged it into my iPad Pro 12.9” 2022 this morning to test it out and work for a while from the kitchen table, and wouldn’t you know it, the same washed out colors on this new panel. Something isn’t right here… so I started digging in the settings on the screen, and all were at the standard defaults, and adjusting them didn’t help. So then I looked at the settings on the iPad. There aren’t a lot, but this is where there is the very important setting…. The iPad Pro appears to default to sending an HDR signal to an external screen in Stage Manager. But the panel defaults to thinking it’s an SDR signal and doesn’t auto-switch (few panels do, so I don’t fault them for this). As soon as I changed the iPad to send an SDR signal, the colors were perfect (well, as perfect as SDR gets). So I went back and looked at the same settings on the original panel, and it’s exactly the same. Changing the iPad to sending an SDR signal and the colors on it were no longer washed out. I am still knocking the 1 star off this monitor for the difficult to use button configuration (the tiny push+rocker button). This is addressed on the new 4k panel via use of 5 discrete buttons (that I’m still adjusting to, but no more accidental pushed when you meant to go up or down). It’s actually closer to a 4.5 stars, but I don’t give out 5 stars very often, reserving it for the really top notch stuff that goes above and beyond. Summary: This is a solid screen for the price and works very well with iPad. It’s not covered in their instructions anywhere, they only cover computer, phone and game systems. But this panel works well with the iPad and Stage Manager as an external display. Any issues with it are due to the implementation of Stage Manager on the iPad, not the screen. They should add to the instructions to cover the iPad as this panel works well with it. I still give a slight nod to the Svantto screen because it’s got a 144Hz refresh rate, and this panel only goes to 60 Hz. But this isn’t meant as a gaming monitor and it’s priced below the other. So go with what makes sense to you, but I don’t think you can go wrong with the MagicRaven if you are a Mac/iPad/iPhone user. ——- Original Review ———- I got this to use as a 2nd screen for various situations because it’s 2k@60HZ and 16”, so a good form-factor for travel. And it can be powered by the connected device, as long as it supports the right power output and you are confident it will have sufficient battery power. For my testing and comparison, I also have a Svantto 2k @ 144Hz external monitor, also received through the Vine program. This monitor is used daily by me as a 3rd screen connected to a MBP 14” and it works very well. The resolution is so good that I have to bump it down a little and the 144Hz refresh is butter smooth for everything I’ve thrown at it. A few notes, the power requirements for this monitor make it picky with respect to the cable that you use. The first couple of USB_D cabled that I tried on my iPad (12.9” 2022 version with 1TB storage) didn’t work. One was labeled as a 100W cable, but it must not have passed the right display signal as the monitor didn’t detect it and just went into a cycle of colored screens. I finally connected a true USB4 cable, and the monitor came to life. The good: The image is crisp and clear and the monitor is lightweight. It has lots of connectivity options (2 USB-C, mini HDMI and a micro USB-A) and comes with a (cheap) cover that doubles as the stand. If you are going to use this, invest in a better stand. This one makes me think that it’s going to fall over all the time. It comes with all the cables you need, USB-C to USB-C, USB-A to USB-C, mini-HDMI to HDMI and a 5V/3A power brick as the external power supply. The bad: The image is very washed out. I didn’t have this issue with the Svantto, so I don’t think it’s the iPad. I tried adjusting everything I could find in the OSD menu, and nothing helped. Adjusting brightness and contrast didn’t seem to do much except make it worse. And changing the mode only helped a little (Movie and Text seem the best, to me). So I’m not sure if this is how the panel is, or if I have an issue with mine. The picture I posted doesn’t really capture it, but it’s very noticeable when you compare it with the built-in screen on the iPad (I know, it’s a little unfair as the iPad 12.9” has one of the best screens out there). I’m also not a fan of the finger killing wheel buttons that all the manufacturers put on these screens. They aren’t the easiest to use. They work, but it would be better if it was just 3 buttons (up/down/ok) vs the rocker style that they use. It’s picky when it comes to cables. The manual isn’t very clear if it supports USB-C PD or if it only works with the supplied power supply. I’ll have to try it separately to see how it works. The power requirements are in the USB-C PD spec, but I’ve seen other devices that get power over USB-C that don’t follow the spec (Firewalla, I’m looking at you and your Purple device). The speakers are very weak and tinny with absolutely no bass. And there is no EQ or ability to adjust the sound output other than volume and mute (which is only accessible via the OSD, not a dedicated button/switch). This is surprising as it’s easy to get decent speakers in a package this small (most tablet have had decent sound for years and they are in this small of a form factor). And there is no way that I can see to tell the monitor to not grab audio from the source (turn the speakers off). So depending on the source and the app, it may force the audio to the monitor vs. the native device speakers (WebEx Meet does this on my iPad, and its very annoying). I gave it 3 stars for the very washed out screen and the hard to use buttons. The clarity is very good and it’s dead simple to use (with the right cable), but using it as an external monitor (which is what it is) is severely hampered by the screen color issue. I’ll keep playing with it to see if I can make it better, and if the manufacturer reached out with any suggestion that help, I’ll update this review.

fits easily into your luggage, briefcase or travel bag and connects via hdmi and powered by usb-c

Gift for my grandson.

The monitor has a low display lag for this price point. It measures 5.5ms delay at 1080p 60hz, which should be less than a frame of lag.

The USB-C cable may be faulty, because it works... sometimes. Works better on my work laptop (Dell) than my other work laptop (Samsung Book 360). Sometimes it detects a signal, and sometimes it just doesnt. May need an HDMI docking station, and if so, Im dropping another star. It doesnt work with my Samsung S7+ tablet, and not with my Samsung S20 Ultra... at all. WHEN IT DOES work, the video is good both in HDR and not in HDR. Speaker is tinny, but wont use it since Ill have laptop speakers... when it works.

Works in most cases. It appears the monitor supports PD so I dont have to use the stock adapter. I could use a car usb C charger. Connected to a Mac, no problem. Connected to a Nintendo switch, works perfect. Connected to Pixel 7, oh no, Pixel 7 sucks - really not the monitors problem. The quality is much better than 1080p - not as good as 4K but for the price, I have no complaint.

Good, slim monitor. Fits in my laptops bag. Good picture quality. Nice to use with spreadsheets this extended laptop display. Powers on from my laptop, so no need for extra power supply. Good set of cables. So far so good. I would recommend!

Lo practico y la nitidez de las pantallas

I have tried quite a number of portable monitors in the past few years, but they all had different sorts of regrets and shortcomings. As a programmer, the only reason that I need a second monitor is that I need a second view point so that I can see both the code that I am working on and the references of the functions or other code. That means that I need to be able to set up this second monitor as often as I open up the lid of my laptop. So the single usb c cable connection is a must. And many of the early products uses hdmi to mini hdmi cable, and you need another usb c or micro usb cable to power up the monitor, which is not only clumsy, but also takes a long time to setup each time. And another big factor influencing my selection is the screen resolution. Macbooks have one of the most finest screen in the industry, and if the second screens resolution is not comparable to the natural resolution of the macbook, it would be such a pain to to use them side by side. Especially considering that I mostly use them for coding purposes, the display of the text is simply the most important factor for me. I have been using some 15.6 inch 1080p screens, and the experience was simply a disaster. The second either displayed the text too big or too blurry. This 2k monitor just solved the resolution issues perfectly. I didnt do the math myself, but the monitor just feels like it has the same pixel density as the macbooks screen, which is very comfortable for my eyes. And the larger physical size of the screen, what used to be a disadvantage, becomes an advantage now as it lets me see the whole picture of some large diagram. The monitor itself comes with a cover/stand which is perfect and convenient for me to move around with the monitor. The only concern for me right now is that considering the extensive workload I would put on the monitor, I expect the cover to be worn out really quickly, but so far I am not able to find any replacement for it. Hopefully the seller could sell the cover separately, or let us know where to find the spare parts for the cover.