ASUS MB169B+ 90LM0183-B01170 15.6" Black 2015

The ASUS MB169B+ has a user sentiment score in the 96th percentile, meaning owners absolutely love it despite display and color scores in the 22nd and 16th percentiles. It's an 800g portable panel that runs entirely off one USB 3.0 cable, and that portability is the entire appeal. If you need a travel second screen, it's a gem. If you want image quality, look elsewhere.

Let's be honest about what this panel is and isn't. The 1920x1080 IPS display is fine for text, spreadsheets, and browser tabs, but our color score puts it in the 16th percentile. That's not a creative workhorse. If you're editing photos or doing anything where color accuracy matters, this is a weak spot. The display score overall sits at the 22nd percentile, which means most dedicated monitors in our database beat it on raw image quality.

Where it shines is portability. The compact score is in the 92nd percentile, and that's earned. At 800g and roughly the footprint of a laptop, it slides into a bag without a second thought. The single USB 3.0 cable handles both power and data, so setup is genuinely plug-and-play. Owners mention slight input lag if you try to game on it, and the feature set is bare bones, but for a second screen at a coffee shop or hotel desk, it does exactly what it promises.

Stacked against the Acer Nitro XV272U, Samsung Odyssey LS27BG402ENXGO, or LG UltraGear 27GS75Q-B.AUS, the MB169B+ loses on every raw performance metric. Those are proper desktop monitors with real connectivity, better panels, and higher refresh rates. But they're also not portable. The SANSUI 27 inch and Amzfast AMZG24F6Q are budget desktop options that will crush this ASUS on image quality for less money in some regions. The trade-off is simple: the MB169B+ gives up display quality, color accuracy, and connectivity to be the only monitor in this group you can throw in a backpack. If you never leave your desk, buy any of the others. If you work from hotel rooms, none of them can follow you.

Pricing on this thing is all over the map depending on where you shop. In the US you can find it for USD 79, which is a steal for a portable second screen. But in Europe the spread is wild, EUR 402 to EUR 468 across German and French listings. That's a EUR 66 gap for the same monitor. If you're in Europe, shop around before you click buy. At the low end of that range it's a reasonable travel companion. At the high end, you're paying premium money for a panel that scores in the 22nd percentile on display quality. The value equation only works if portability is your top priority.

The ASUS MB169B+ sits in a weird spot in our database. User sentiment lands in the 96th percentile, which is basically owners saying "we love this thing" louder than almost any other monitor we track. But the performance and display scores tell a different story, sitting around the 21st and 22nd percentile. That gap is the whole review in one sentence: this is a beloved niche product, not a spec monster.

What you're getting is a 15.6-inch 1920x1080 IPS panel that weighs 800g and runs entirely off a single USB 3.0 cable. No power brick, no HDMI, no DisplayPort. That single-cable trick is the entire pitch, and for the right person it's genuinely freeing. For everyone else, the connectivity score in the 7th percentile should be a warning label.

Skip this if you care about image quality, color accuracy, or connectivity. The display score in the 22nd percentile and color score in the 16th percentile mean any decent desktop monitor will look better. The single USB 3.0 input, ranked in the 7th percentile for connectivity, rules out consoles, most desktop GPUs, and anything without a USB port. Creative professionals should look elsewhere, the creative score of 16.3 out of 100 is a clear no. And if you need a stable setup outdoors or on uneven surfaces, the included case/stand won't cut it.

The MB169B+ is a one-trick pony, but it's a trick almost nobody else does well. Owners rate it 4.4 out of 5 stars, and the sentiment score in the 96th percentile says people who buy it knew exactly what they wanted. The display and color scores are mediocre, the connectivity is limited to a single USB 3.0 port, and the ergonomics are rough without a proper stand. But for a lightweight second screen that powers up from one cable and fits next to your laptop, it delivers. Just don't expect it to replace a real monitor.