AOC 16T3EA portable monitor review

AOC 16T3EA: 30-second review

The AOC 16T3EA is a slimline and lightweight portable monitor designed for business, with a set of features tailored for complete ease of use. The overall design has been kept simple, with the 15.6" screen covering the majority of the front of the monitor. However, unlike the latest desktop monitors, the bezel is still very much apparent, and while that makes the monitor look a little dated, for this portable model, it absolutely makes sense.

Designed to be self-supporting, there are two stand options that fold out from the back of the monitor itself, enabling it to be positioned either in landscape or portrait orientation. There isn't a great deal of flexibility in their position, but they do the job. A handy feature is the auto-rotate for both orientations; this requires the AOC i-Menu application to be installed. Unfortunately, this is only available for PC, though on Mac systems, you can quickly rotate the display from within the MacOS display settings.

In use, the monitor's matte screen is clear and relatively bright. However, if it weren't for the matte screen, it might have been a little trickier to see in bright lighting conditions. For business use, the quality of the display and the Low Blue Light mode make it suitable for longer use, ensuring the monitor remains comfortable to use over extended sessions.

While the screen is great for business and gaming, it proved less effective for creative work, with the monitor falling short of the colour accuracy and colour gamut required for professional image and video enhancement.

Overall, it's one of the best portable monitors for expanding your laptop's display while on the move, and perfectly suited for business use and gaming. Creative users will find the additional space handy for palettes and web browsing; however, the limited colour gamut does restrict its use for image and video editing.

AOC 16T3EA: Price and availability

• How much does it cost? £187 / $129
• When is it out? Available now
• Where can you get it? You can get it from the AOC website and Amazon

The AOC 16T3EA is available for around £250 / $129 and can be purchased directly from AOC’s website or through online retailers like Amazon and Currys.

• Value: 4 / 5

AOC 16T3EA: Specifications

AOC 16T3EA: Design

The AOC 16T3EA has been designed to be as portable as possible, with it's slimline design at 14mm in profile and a weight of 870g, making it an ideal companion for any USB Type-C enabled laptop. The size and design are on par with most 16" laptops, which means it will easily slip inside a laptop pocket in most backpacks and bags alongside the computer without adding too much weight or bulk.

The actual design of the monitor has been kept simple, with a single USB Type-C cable connecting the machine directly to the laptop to provide both power and the data connection. Other than that single wired connection, there are no other ports or connectors—not even an audio jack.

Out of the box, the monitor works with both Mac and PC systems and is completely plug-and-play. To get started with the monitor, it simply plugs directly into a USB Type-C port on any Windows or macOS computer, and it should instantly be recognised. Windows users also have the advantage of the AOC i-Menu software, which enables a few more features for the monitor, including the auto-orientation option. This essentially allows you to flip the monitor from landscape to portrait, and the monitor will adjust automatically. On a MacBook Pro, portrait viewing is still possible; it’s just that you will need to adjust the orientation manually.

On the top edge of the monitor, you have access to the OSD controls with four buttons that enable easy navigation through all the monitor's options and settings. These are all relatively straightforward, but there are no actual values to any of the options, so everything is done by eye. This is fine for business users, but if you want to ensure the gamma or colour temperature of the screen, warm, cool, normal, or user aren't a great deal of help.

To support the monitor, there are two flip-out options for the monitor stand depending on the orientation. These are very neat but are slightly limited in their reach. Alongside these foldout stands is the ability to attach the monitor to a VESA mount, which could be handy. Otherwise, the monitor is nicely minimalistic by design.

• Design: 4 / 5

AOC 16T3EA: Features

There's no doubt that the AOC 16T3EA is designed with professionals on the move in mind, and as such, the monitor offers a range of features that are tuned to business professionals working on spreadsheets and documents who are looking for an easy way to expand their workspace.

The monitor's design for this intended use is spot on, with the lightweight, portable design making it easy to carry alongside a laptop. What's more, the full HD resolution screen will match most professional laptop displays, making it an ideal extension for reviewing documents, spreadsheets, and presentations.

One of the key features of the 16T3EA is the AutoPivot feature, which automatically adjusts the display orientation between portrait and landscape. As previously mentioned, this feature requires the iMenu software to be installed, but once in place, it's all automatic.

Looking a little deeper at the features and the monitor has a 1920 x 1080 resolution IPS WLED screen with a 60Hz refresh rate. The contrast ratio is 700:1, with a dynamic contrast ratio of 50m:1. It also has a decent viewing angle of 170º and a brightness of 250cd/m² and is capable of displaying 16.7 million colours.

When it comes to the colour gamut, the monitor is a little more limited with 64.1% sRGB, 47.2% DCI-P3, and 47.5% Adobe RGB. This makes it fine for business use but less suitable for creative applications.

• Features: 3.5 / 5

AOC 16T3EA: Performance

From the outset, the AOC 16T3EA performs well as a portable monitor for business tasks. Firstly, the compact size means that it easily slips into a laptop bag alongside a slimline laptop such as the Honor MagicBook Pro 16", without adding too much bulk or weight. Then, when setting up, the fact that only a single USB Type-C cable is required to link the two together to supply both power and data keeps things nice and simple.

As soon as the monitor connects, the AOC logo appears, and after a few seconds, the screen flickers to life, extending the display of the Windows desktop. At this point, you can delve into the monitor settings and adjust as needed, either as an extension of your laptop's display or, if you're in a meeting, it can be useful to mirror your display so others in the room can see your screen without the need to crowd around.

The monitor is simple enough to set up and is, for the most part, completely plug-and-play. If you're on a Windows machine, you also have the option to install the AOC i-Menu application, which will activate the auto-orientation option for the monitor. This means that if you physically rotate the monitor from landscape to portrait, the contents of the display will also rotate—something we're used to with mobile devices but is often less common with monitors. If you're on a Mac, however, you'll need to do this manually through the computer's display settings.

When it comes to the monitor stand, there are two options that flip down from the back of the monitor. These are nicely designed and stay in place well until you need them. However, the angle at which they fold out is slightly limited, and in some situations, you might feel like a little more angle would be a nice option. The angle of the stand is optimal, but there is only one position option. The same design of the stand works for both landscape and portrait orientations, and overall, it functions incredibly well.

One of the nice aspects of this monitor is the number of adjustment options available through the OSD, although these are all done by eye with no real values associated. While "warm" and "cool," for example, work well for business and standard users, these settings aren't as helpful for creatives. However, the OSD navigation and interface are surprisingly intuitive and easy to use.

The OSD also enables you to customise the visual profile, allowing you to match your laptop display without too much trouble. While there is plenty of scope through the OSD to change the appearance of the display, some may find the 250cd/m² brightness a little dull in brighter conditions. If you're partial to a little gaming, the 60Hz refresh rate—while more than adequate for office work—may be noticeable when playing games, with some small glitches.

Overall, the monitor performed well, with a clear display and a beautiful matte finish that made it ideal for office work and browsing the internet. In creative use, it was also a good option for palettes, as well as email, documents, and anything else that didn't require absolute colour accuracy.

After running the monitor alongside both Mac and PC laptops, there was no doubt about the quality, with the only slight negative point being the overall brightness and the limited angle available through the stands. Benchmark results also confirmed that this monitor is ideal for business use but less adaptable for creatives, with a colour gamut of 56% sRGB, 41% Adobe RGB, and 41% of P3.

• Performance: 3 / 5

AOC 16T3EA: Final verdict

As a monitor to extend your laptop's display and for use when viewing and editing business documents, the AOC is absolutely superb. It may not be the brightest monitor out there, but the matte finish on the display makes it easy to see in most conditions, and the finish also helps to stop reflections and reduce environmental distractions.

For viewing and editing documents, there is little to fault. The expanded space it offers helps alleviate the often limited real estate we're used to when using a laptop. The physical size and design of the screen also make it extremely flexible and easy to use, adding little weight to a laptop bag and having the advantage of being connected by a single cable.

While this is an ideal partner for business users, creative users may find the lack of colour gamut limiting. However, for the additional space, it’s still a great tool, enabling palettes, browsers, and documents to be easily accessible. While this monitor might not offer cutting-edge specifications that would appeal to creative professionals, the price and enhancement of screen space should still appeal.

Should you buy a AOC 16T3EA portable monitor?

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

We tested out the best business monitors - and these are our favorites.