A few months ago DEPGI reached out to us about their lineup of Xbox Series S Portable Monitors. I have spent the better part of the past two months using their 15.6” 1440p 120hz variant, and have come away mightily impressed. A well crafted plastic shell is joined with a quality LED panel for “on the go” Series S gaming. It does come at a hefty price, with an MSRP of $399 US. Let’s see if it’s worth it for you.
The Specs
- 15.6 Inch 2560×1440 IPS Display Panel
- 300 Nit Peak Brightness
- HDR Capable
- 3 Display Modes
- 1ms Response Times
- 144hz Refresh Rate
- On Device Controls
- Built-in Dual Speakers
- x2 HDMI Outputs (1 High Speed for 120+ Hz, 1 60hz)
- x2 Earphone Jacks
Included in the Box:
- Portable Monitor with Plastic Shell for Series S
- Remote Control
- User Manual
- Power Adapter
- Circlip (to Hold Shell to Series S)
- High-Speed HDMI Cable
The Display
First things first, the display. I used this display with both a Series S and Windows 11 Desktop. In both cases, it gave a sharp, clear image with little smearing during gameplay. The text is crisp, and the colors are decently vibrant. Rated at only 300 nits peak brightness it does not look great in HDR mode. The majority of my time was spent at 1440p and 120hz in SDR and it looked fantastic. Viewing angles are solid as it is an IPS display, and ghosting wasn’t very noticeable in my day-to-day activity.
Setting up the device was a bit tricky at first, but once I saw how the puzzle went together, it was snap (literally). The monitor and lower shell come in two pieces. After snuggly placing the Series S into it you’ll push the right side into place. If you’re leaving your console in here for a while there are screw holes available to make it a more permanent situation. If, like me, you’re using it occasionally the Circlip is enough to keep it all tightly held together. This is a strip of metal with a few grooves in the bottom. Once every piece is in place snap the Circlip into place on the bottom of the device and everything is snug as a bug in a rug.
The only flaw I see in the design is the very real possibility of a user folding closed the screen on the top of the series S. For such a small console it outputs a large amount of heat when in use and it mostly goes through the top vent. That is aimed directly at the screen when it is lowered down, and could easily damage it if you forget to turn the system off.
Multiple Uses
In practice, this screen works damned well. The 15.6” size makes allows you to stay a few feet back without losing much in the way of detail, and the included headphone jacks on the back work in a pinch if you want to do some late-night gaming on a camping trip without waking everyone up. There are included speakers but they lack bass and get washed out at higher volumes.
I played a lot of games on this display as well as using it as a 4th computer monitor. It is not designed for that per se, but with a little creative use of zip ties and boxes I tried it out on my editing rig and it worked well. Text was clear and in my office environment, the 300 nits were enough for daily use. Color accuracy was a bit off by default and the on-screen-display (OSD) was infuriatingly slow to react to button presses on the included remote control. The shell itself is designed well, allowing for proper airflow around the device at all times.
It can be a bit tricky to set up initially, with its compact nature. Once you have it all put together and screwed/clipped tight it’s a bit of a tank (monitor excluded). The hinges on the monitor showed little wear after two months of light use. It isn’t the heaviest panel, which helps it stay upright in nearly any position close to 90 degrees.
The more ingenious out there may take to cracking the shell open and finding a way to put this display into a stand, but at an eye-watering MSRP of $399, there are far cheaper options available online. At the time of this review, the unit is only sale for 15% off which lowers the cost to a more reasonable $325. At that price, it is far easier to recommend for the intended use case.
Wrapping Things Up
I do not travel much, but for those that go camping, visit friends, or feel the need to bring an Xbox Series S with them for any reason this seems like a fantastic product. It’s well-built enough that with care it should last you a while, and the size of the display goes a long way towards using it comfortably. $399 is a huge asking price, and the built-in speakers are unimpressive. If you can find it on sale and you travel a lot then this monitor is everything a Series S owner could want.
Recommendation – Buy On Sale
Item supplied for review can be found at:
