The only portable touchscreen monitor you should buy

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  • Prices, specifications and availability
  • Should you buy the Lenovo M14t Gen 2?

I've always seen the appeal of adding a great portable monitor to your mobile productivity setup. A second screen improves your efficiency because you can simply see more without having to switch windows, tabs, or apps. However, it's hard to find a fantastic portable monitor. In fact, I tend to use my Lenovo Yoga Book 9i or just pair my MacBook Air with an iPad for a better dual-screen experience. Maybe I don't need to go to those extremes anymore, because Lenovo's new ThinkVision M14t Gen 2 is a portable monitor that I can fully recommend.




My long list of complaints about most portable monitors I test includes matte plastic display covers, low-resolution panels, poor display scaling, and poor (or nonexistent) stands. Sometimes I can excuse these shortcomings by how cheap or budget-conscious they are. The ThinkVision M14t Gen 2 is a nice change. It costs $400, which is quite a lot for a portable monitor, but it meets all of my needs. The ThinkVision M14t Gen 2 has a glass cover, high-resolution display, decent color accuracy, a touchscreen, great display scaling, and a fabulous stand.


Not everyone wants or should buy a $400 portable monitor. But if you're willing to spend that much money for the best experience, I've yet to see a monitor that justifies that price more than the ThinkVision M14t Gen 2.

About this review: Lenovo loaned us a ThinkVision M14t portable monitor for this review. The company had no influence on this article and did not see its contents before publication.

Lenovo-ThinkVision-M14t

Great portable monitor

Lenovo ThinkVision M14t Gen 2

A great portable monitor gets even better

$378 $400 Save $22

Lenovo's ThinkVision M14t Gen 2 takes many of the things we liked about the first iteration and builds on it by adding a higher resolution panel. This portable monitor is thin and light, weighing just 600 grams. It connects via USB-C and works best with Windows laptops. Thanks to a premium build and a stunning display, the M14t Gen 2 has become my favorite portable monitor.

Per

  • Glass covers an impressive 2240x1400p display
  • 300 nits brightness is sufficient for indoor and outdoor use
  • Thanks to its small form factor and versatile stand, this monitor is a great companion for on the go
Disadvantages

  • Touchscreen and full functionality are only supported under Windows 10 and 11
  • DisplayPort Alt Mode Only
  • The stand material may not hold up well over time

Prices, specifications and availability

Lenovo introduced the ThinkVision M14t Gen 2 earlier this year at Mobile World Congress, and it's just now available to buy. You can find it at CDW for a retail price of $400, and it may be available at more retailers in the future. The ThinkVision M14t Gen 2 supports Windows 10 and 11 for full functionality, but works as a simple DisplayPort USB-C monitor for other devices.


The Lenovo ThinkVision M14t Gen 2 can easily be confused with the original M14t. To make sure you are buying the right model, click on the links in this article or check that the monitor's resolution matches the specifications below.

What I like

The display quality is excellent, it is bright and has decent color accuracy

Watch a video about the Lenovo M14t Gen 2.


This is a monitor, so let's start with display quality. The ThinkVision M14t Gen 2 features a 14-inch IPS touchscreen display with a resolution of 2240 x 1400. That's a nice sweet spot between the 1080p resolution of the first ThinkVision M14t and the 4K resolution of some high-end portable monitors, which is almost unnecessary. The glass cover is a massive improvement over the cheap matte plastic covers you find on most portable monitors, like Acer's dual portable monitor I just reviewed.

In fact, the ThinkVision M14t Gen 2 looked sharp on every device I used it with immediately after connecting.


You can use one of two USB-C ports that support DisplayPort Alt Mode to connect to your host device. There's no native HDMI or DP support here, and that could cause connection issues with some devices. However, I've tried multiple Macs, PCs, and iPads and haven't encountered a single issue. In fact, the ThinkVision M14t Gen 2 looked sharp on every device I used it with immediately after plugging it in. That's so rare in the world of portable monitors that it's worth pointing out.

The results of the display analysis for the Lenovo M14t Gen 2.


Lenovo touts 100 percent coverage of the sRGB color space, and I saw 99 percent coverage in my testing. That's within the error tolerance of my equipment, so you can check out the company's claims here. Color accuracy in the other common color spaces, like DCI-P3, is underwhelming. Still, the ThinkVision M14t Gen 2 is more than adequate for most people, and professionals who need perfect color accuracy will likely look to more expensive monitors anyway.

Brightness test results for the Lenovo M14t.


Brightness was also great, making the ThinkVision M14t Gen 2 suitable for indoor and outdoor use. It's rated at 300 nits, and I measured around 270 nits in my testing. Again, this variation is perfectly normal, and you shouldn't have to worry about brightness on the ThinkVision M14t Gen 2. My biggest gripe here is actually the brightness buttons – I love that you can control brightness without going into a menu, but the hardware buttons are frustratingly hard to press.

It is thin, light and has a wonderful stand


What really catches your eye when you first unbox the Lenovo ThinkVision M14t Gen 2 is its form factor. It's slim, sleek, and downright tiny. The official dimensions are 12.39 x 3.8 x 9.26 inches at the thickest point of the monitor, but it looks and feels much thinner. The 1.5-pound weight and included protective case are nice touches.

What really catches the eye when you first unpack the Lenovo ThinkVision M14t Gen 2 is its form factor.


Then there's the stand. It has two adjustment points and is quite stable. Most portable monitors don't come with a functional and stylish stand, and in this area the Arzopa monitors I tested fell a little short compared to the more premium ThinkVision M14t Gen 2. Lenovo's offering tucks the ports, controls, and some tech into the stand. This makes the display itself feel much thinner, and the stand has excellent balance and stability as a result.

What I don't like

It is so close to being the perfect monitor for all

The Lenovo M14t Gen 2 monitor is connected to an M4 iPad Pro.


The ThinkVision M14t Gen 2 is a portable touchscreen monitor, and it comes with a stylus included. That's great — as long as you're using a supported Windows 10 or 11 device. If you're not using a recent Windows PC or laptop, the touchscreen functionality won't work at all. In fact, I even noticed a certain oddity when using the ThinkVision M14t Gen 2 with my Yoga Book 9i; when I controlled the portable monitor with my finger, the top display on my Yoga Book 9i actually adjusted. I suspect this is a special case related to my use of a dual-display laptop, but it's worth mentioning as an example of the touchscreen functionality being the trickiest part of the experience.

If you are not using a current Windows PC or laptop, the touchscreen feature will not work at all.


I often write about how macOS Sonoma and even the upcoming Sequoia version are really bad at screen scaling for third-party monitors. Using the ThinkVision M14t Gen 2 with my MacBook Air and iPad Pro was like a refreshing change, as the screen scaling was perfect right out of the box. That's why it's a shame that the ThinkVision M14t Gen 2 doesn't support touchscreen functionality when paired with the best Macs. If it did, it would be my portable monitor of choice for everyone – including macOS users.

I still think the ThinkVision M14t Gen 2 is worth considering for use on macOS simply because the display scaling is so good, but without touchscreen functionality, it feels like you're missing out on features you paid for.


Should you buy the Lenovo M14t Gen 2?

You should buy the Lenovo M14t Gen 2 if:

  • You want a great touchscreen monitor for Windows 10 and 11 computers
  • You value portability and a great built-in stand
  • You want a monitor with great macOS display scaling

You should NOT buy the Lenovo M14t Gen 2 if:

  • You need touchscreen functionality that works with macOS and other platforms
  • You want or need full-size HDMI or DisplayPort inputs
  • A $400 portable monitor is out of your budget


I know it might sound harsh to spend $400 on a portable monitor, but the ThinkVision M14t Gen 2 is much better than most on the market. The resolution, good color accuracy, stand, and glass cover are all advantages that give Lenovo's option a leg up on the competition. Personally, I'd buy the ThinkVision M14t Gen 2 for these reasons alone, and consider the touchscreen support an added bonus. It seems like it could be hit or miss depending on what device you pair the portable monitor with.

Lenovo-ThinkVision-M14t

Great portable monitor

Lenovo ThinkVision M14t Gen 2

A great portable monitor gets even better

$378 $400 Save $22

If you're looking for a portable touchscreen monitor that looks great and works best with Windows, the Lenovo ThinkVision M14t Gen 2 should be your first choice. You'll lose some features when using this monitor with macOS, but it's still one of the better options in this market.

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