There is anecdotal evidence that the average price of OLED displays is falling rapidly. Earlier this month the cheapest OLED TV, the LG OLED48A16LA, dropped below £500 in the UK for the first time and now you can buy an OLED portable monitor from Amazon for less than $200.
Chinese display maker InnoCN is selling a 13.3 inches (opens in new tab) K1F OLED Full HD external USB monitor for $182.49 (after a $30 discount, valid through midnight, June 20) with a higher 15.6 inches (opens in new tab) Model A1F retails for $199.49 (use coupon code TRADAROM at checkout, valid until midnight June 22). Please note that in both cases, delivery is free in the US, but you will have to pay shipping and deposit fees for imports into other territories. Sales tax may also apply depending on where you live.
Both models are touchless, offer 100% DCI-P3 color gamut, 400 nits brightness and 100,000:1 contrast ratio. They also offer a removable magnetic metal bracket, two USB Type-C ports (one for power) and a mini HDMI for universal coverage. At less than 7mm thick, they are as slender as most smartphones on the market, although their weight (590g and 730g respectively) puts them squarely in the board category.
The OLED Advantage
InnoCN targets professionals working from home as well as digital nomads who prefer to have a secondary screen when roaming. The sizes of these monitors also correspond to the conventional screen sizes of laptops.
OLED (organic light emitting diode) was hailed – for a while – as the replacement for traditional LCD (liquid crystal displays) that replaced the plasma screen. Read this excellent explainer of the technology and its implications, including its downsides. Somewhere else, giant BOE display announced that it will increase its OLED manufacturing capacity, which will bring more competition to the TV and monitor market, especially in large format.
We asked for a sample of the A1F and will post a review as soon as possible.