QQH Z80A Laptop Screen Extender 15.6” Triple Portable Monitor | Review
Triple the Productivity (and Mayhem)
The following QQH Z80A Laptop Screen Extender, 15.6” Triple Portable Monitor was provided by the manufacturer for review.
Over the course of the last week, I’ve had the chance to check out hardware manufacturer QQH’s latest double-screen portable monitor. This monitor set are both 60Hz displays powered by a USB-C and USB-C to USB-A connection (no mini-HDMI inputs are present compared to their single-screen portable monitor I last reviewed) and no HDR, but their colour accuracy and overall image quality is a significant step up from their lower-end offerings. This display is very much intended for laptop and tablet usage, and it does a great job at providing an extended display experience with very little set up on the user’s end. And while the store page does list it as a “triple-screen unit”, the third screen is technically going to be your device’s.
Productivity on-the-go never felt this good, and it helps that this is also an incredibly slim little kit, with its thickness coming up at just around 0.15 inches—this monitor being one of the slimmest on the market.
The QQH Z80A is priced significantly higher than the company’s other products and when the package comes in, you can see why. The box the kit comes in is well-padded, fitting in the monitors, its wires, a USB-A/C flash drive that comes with the necessary drivers, and a manual. Besides the foam, just about everything here is recyclable (and boy did I chuck out the box quick, it was huge!) and the foam can be repurposed as packing material. In terms of wires, we have an end-to-end USB-C cable meant for devices that can output display via DisplayPort over USB-C and a USB-A to C cable with a power brick for devices that are unable to power on the monitors with just the single USB-C cable. The included manual and quick start guide also offer a few tips on how to get the unit up and running.
I’ll touch on the ports and connectivity in a moment, since I want to talk about the Z80A’s construction first. This is a hefty monitor set that sits within the confines of an aluminum alloy body, with each monitor bound to the central body of the Z80A through a single hinge on each side, and a stand at the back of the hub. And as you can imagine, trying to open up three 15.6″ sides can be a little clumsy as you unravel each side. Despite the solid construction, I have to confess that it took be a lot longer than it should’ve trying to prop the monitor set up as I was worried I’d break something. The body is a force to be reckoned with and I’d be very careful with it on wooden surfaces as you’ll likely leave behind plenty of scratches and scrapes getting the monitor up and running.
So, as I mentioned earlier, the Z80A only has USB-C ports for its display. The central hub has two ports, one meant for DisplayPort over USB-C and a second USB-C port meant to power the monitors if the first port is unable to output power of 5V/3A. Any modern-day gaming and business slash productivity-focused laptop will have no problem connecting to the first port, making this Z80A an incredibly convenient device for on-the-go productivity. The second port will come in handy if you plug in an Android tablet/phone and this monitor set will simply output a mirrored image on both screens after you install the necessary application to get it working. But do one of the included wires does come with a Type A converter, allowing you to use the monitor with devices that have a USB 3.0 port and have enough amp to power the displays, however I did not have any devices on hand to test this function out.
Speaking of which, set up is pretty simple. See, once you plug in the Z80A on a Windows 11 device, the right driver will install pretty quickly with no work needed on your end. I had no issues getting the display up and running on either of my Zephyrus laptops, and I didn’t have to use the included flash drive to install the drivers myself (but I appreciate the inclusion of this little kit, which is a tiny 400-megabyte drive). You’ll need to go into Windows’ display settings to extend your display lest all you plan on doing is mirroring your image, but from then on, you’re all set and Windows will remember the positioning of the Z80A for the future.
My primary drivers with the Z80A were both my 14-inch ASUS Zephyrus gaming laptops. As I’m usually not home during the weekdays, posting news or reviews on a tiny screen like this one can be a bit of a hassle. Sometimes I bring my other QQH monitor with me, I cannot understate how incredibly useful it is to have another screen on hand. Both screens out of the box will, at the very least, need their brightness levels bumped up. The on-screen display menu lets users adjust brightness, black levels, dynamic contrast ratio, multiple video modes (standard, gaming, movie, etc), aspect ratio, and the like. But you will have to adjust settings independently for each monitor as their settings are not shared. Both screens are IPS LCD panels and look quite nice with just the default settings. But if you go out of your way to calibrate the display (Lagom’s tests are a godsend!), you can make the Z80A output a warmer image that won’t blind you while working in dim or dark conditions. Gaming on either side is perfectly acceptable, though do note that mismatching refresh rates between your laptop’s main display and the Z80A can lead to choppiness as you switch between windows.
The QQH Z80A is a fantastic portable kit—I took this thing everywhere, from work to coffee shoppes and had a great time once I unravelled the unit and plugged it all in. But there are a few caveats: for one, both monitors must be turned on at all times. The right-side monitor has a power button, but it will turn off the whole device if pressed. It would’ve been nice to be able to turn off one of the monitors to improve monitor management in Windows as technically, you could set up the Z80A to be a portrait-sized display like QQH’s other monitors. EDIT: It turns out, you can turn off monitors independently of each other! Simply holding the monitor’s menu button will power it down, making this issue completely moot and me, a tiny dolt.
Transporting the Z80A might be an issue if you don’t have a separate bag for it, as closing it up will always have the right-side monitor face up. Alternative ports, such as mini-HDMI, would’ve been nice to have, but understandably this unit is more so intended for PCs than game consoles and the like. And lastly, though this one isn’t a caveat so much as it is a small warning: the kit is massive, and you will likely be a menace if you take this over to a cafe as the Z80A engulfs the diameter of those chique little coffee tables.
If you’re looking for a productivity powerhouse, look no further than this. It is up there in pricing, but the construction of the device, the quality of the display, and how easy it is to set up the Z80A makes it the perfect device and gift for yourself, friends, and family.
The QQH Z80A Screen Extender is available on Amazon.com for $399.99 USD retail (a coupon for an additional discount is usually available on the store page).
