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[Post] Lenovo ThinkVision M14


Image from Lenovo US
The Lenovo ThinkVision M14 is a 14-inch portable monitor that operates on just a USB Type C cable. It can operate at up to 1920x1080 resolution, which is perfectly acceptable for its size. The monitor sips a mere 6W for operation and thus does not take up too much of the laptop's battery power (slightly higher than charging a mobile phone using a USB3.0 port [~5W]).

At less than 600g, it is very lightweight and portable. It manages to keep itself slim as well by using a folding stand instead of a folio cover like some of its competitors. The monitor also includes a small height extender to elevate the monitor slightly.

Image from Lenovo US
The folding stand would also mean that it has bulk of its weight as close to the surface as possible, and this makes it a very stable way to keep the monitor standing. The hinge of the monitor will be able to lay flat (0°), extend all the way upright (90°), and slightly beyond (-5°).

The monitor has 2 USB C ports that supports Type C charging passthrough, a rocker to adjust the brightness of the monitor, a button to turn on/off a blue light filter on the monitor (long press to adjust overdrive mode), a power button, and a Kensington lock slot.

The Type C port that the monitor is plugged into must support DP Alt mode 1.2. This would also mean that the monitor cannot operate through a USB Type C Hub since they usually do not passthrough DP signal through the Type C port on the hub (I tried, and wasted SGD80 on a Type C Hub).

I decided to get a portable monitor instead of a normal monitor as in the future I will be able to bring it around for portable use (I'm working in a job that requires me to be on the move quite frequently).

The monitor has great viewing angles and quite good-looking colours (granted, I do not have a lot of point of references), thin bezels on the top and the sides, and is also a space-saver (which was what sealed the deal for me).

While I am not able to test it out, it reportedly is able to support phones that can also output DP signal through their respective Type C ports. In addition to that, it also can still support the Type C charging passthrough to charge the phone at the same time.

All in all, I really do like this monitor, but I am not sure if I will be able to recommend it to everyone who asks me for a recommendation. This largely is due to the high price points of portable monitors. Amazon lists this at a price of ~USD250, and here in Singapore I purchased it for SGD370.

In comparison, a "good enoughTM" normal monitor can cost just around USD100~ or SGD150 (I own an HP Envy 23f for SGD190). But if you are in the market for a portable monitor, I'd say that you consider this as one of your options, especially if you do consider its specifications and advantages against its competitors.

That's it for this post. Thank you for reading. You're awesome.
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