UPerfect UColor O2 16-inch 3K OLED portable monitor review: Gamer specs on lightweight screen

Price When Reviewed

€425

Best Prices Today: UPerfect UColor O2 Monitor 16-Inch Portable 3K OLED Display

The UPerfect UColor O2 is a second extended screen you can use alongside your MacBook’s own built-in display to more than double the screen space for viewing open windows at the same time—for instance, for supporting documents or apps while you’re on a video call or giving a presentation. Or you can watch a movie in more visual comfort than even a 16-inch laptop offers.

Of course, you can go big—very big—with a 40-inch widescreen monitor such as the Alogic Edge, but a display that you can carry with you and hide away when it’s not required is far more flexible.

This UPerfect’s UColor O2 16-inch portable monitor is straightforward to set up and offers a higher screen resolution (3K) than most portable monitors we have tested. It works with MacBook, iPad, and iPhone—or PS4, PS5, Xbox, Switch, or DVD player if you prefer.

Practicalities: Portability plus protective cover/stand

Weighing just 1.59lb (720g), the super-thin UColor O2 will be barely noticeable alongside your laptop in your backpack or briefcase—although you’ll need to remember to pack a USB-C cable (one is included in the box), and maybe a charger if using the screen for an extended period.

It measures 14 x 9.5 x 0.26 inches (35.4 x 24.2 x 0.65cm), with the cover/stand adding little more to such a small package.

The detachable Smart Cover both protects the screen in transit or during storage and doubles up as a foldable stand that is easy to setup—much like an iPad protective cover.

If you’re aiming to save valuable desk space, it features a VESA-compliant bracket (75 x 75mm), allowing the monitor to be mounted on a wall, stand or desk arm, and then adjusted to your needs.

We set up the 16-inch monitor on a stand so that it could hover above our 14-inch MacBook Pro’s own screen. UPerfect also offers a 14-inch UColor O2 version.

Simple setup: How easy is the UPerfect UColor O2 to set up?

The UColor O2 can connect to your device via USB-C—compatible with the MacBook’s Thunderbolt—or mini-HDMI if you prefer. Two USB-C cables—one for video signal and the other for power—are included as is a mini-HDMI to HDMI cable.

Setup is simple, and you can set resolution and refresh rate as well as arrange the second monitor in the Mac’s System Settings > Displays.

How good is the OLED display for work, gaming and video?

The UPerfect UColor O2 is a 16-inch OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode) panel with a 16:10 ratio. It supports a 3K resolution (2880 x 1800) at an impressive 120Hz refresh rate that eliminates stuttering and smearing and will excite gamers and video viewers.

The 212ppi pixel density is appreciated.

OLED is generally considered better than LCD/IPS for picture quality—because each pixel emits its own light and can turn off completely, OLED delivers truer deep blacks and more vibrant, accurate colors. Response time (1ms) is quicker, which reduces ghosting in motion. And viewing angles are better, with colors remaining accurate from nearly any angle—on LCD panels they may fade or change tint.

If you leave images onscreen for prolonged periods, IPS screens might be a better choice as they don’t suffer from the image retention that can affect OLEDs with static content. IPS panels often achieve higher peak brightness, but the UColor O2 boasts 500-nit brightness that eclipses many of the portable displays we have tested.

In comparison, the Plugable 15.6-inch USB-C Portable HD Display features 300 nits luminance, and the popular ViewSonic VA1655 maxes at 250 nits.

The 16:10 screen ratio provides a wider vertical field of view than standard 16:9 displays, allowing you to display more content at the same time. 16:10 provides around 10% more vertical screen space, so reducing scrolling in documents and web pages. 16:9 is the industry standard for TV/movies and games, so 16:10 might be a negative for gamers despite this monitor’s other pro-games specs.

How is it powered, and does it support pass-through charging?

OLED screens require higher power than lesser screen types, so the monitor may need to be connected to a power source.

The display itself can draw power from the connected laptop, or you can connect a charger or power bank to one of the display’s USB-C ports. A 30W USB-C wall charger is included in the box but can use any Mac laptop charger if you desire.

Some displays allow pass-through charging, so you don’t need a separate power cable to the MacBook, but this isn’t a feature on the UColor O2 Display. The Plugable 15.6-inch portable can pass-through up to 85W of power to the laptop.

There’s also no built-in battery that would enable you to use the screen longer on the go, but this would have added considerable weight to the monitor, making it less portable.

Is the UColor O2 worth the price?

The UPerfect UColor O2 16:10 3K/120Hz Display is priced at $629.99/£473.52, but there seems to be a permanent discount—which stood at $379.99/£285.61 at the time of this review. You can buy cheaper portable monitors—such as the $239 Plugable USBC-PDMON, but you’ll sacrifice specs such as screen 3K resolution, 120Hz refresh rate and 500-nit brightness.

Check out our other reviews of the best portable monitors for Mac for more options.

If you prefer a much larger, less portable display—see our roundup of the best monitors for Mac.

Should you buy the UPerfect UColor O2 16:10 3K Monitor?

If you are after a second screen for basic productivity tasks, a cheaper but lower-resolution IPS screen such as the Plugable Portable might make more sense.

If superior color accuracy and clear visual effects are your requirement, this 16-inch 3K OLED offers you a lot of top spec for such a portable display.