ViewSonic VX1655 15.6" Black 2023

The ViewSonic VX1655 is a 15.6 inch portable monitor that nails portability at 771g with a built-in kickstand and USB-C connectivity. The 1080p IPS panel is fine for productivity, but the 6-bit color is the worst in our database. US pricing ranges from USD 120 to USD 170, with Amazon typically offering the best deal. Buy it if you need a travel monitor for work, skip it if you care about color or gaming.

Let's talk about what this panel actually does. You get a 1920 x 1080 IPS screen at 60Hz with a 4ms response time. For office work, that's perfectly serviceable. Text is crisp, scrolling is smooth enough, and the IPS panel gives you 170 degree viewing angles, so you can share your screen with a colleague without them seeing a washed-out mess. The 250 nits of brightness is okay for indoor use, but don't expect to work outside in direct sunlight. You'll be squinting.

The bigger issue is color. This is a 6-bit panel with 262K colors, which puts it dead last in our color rankings. That means gradients can look banded, and skin tones in photos or videos won't have the nuance you'd get from an 8-bit panel. For spreadsheets and documents, you won't notice. For photo editing or even watching a movie where you care about image quality, you will. The 800:1 contrast ratio is also on the lower side, so blacks look more like dark grays. Again, fine for productivity, not great for anything visual.

The VX1655 doesn't really compete with the big desktop monitors in our database like the LG UltraGear 27G810A-B or the ASUS TUF Gaming VG34VQL1B. Those are gaming displays with high refresh rates and much better color, but they're also massive and not portable. If you're comparing the VX1655 to those, you're asking the wrong question. The real competition is other portable monitors, and ViewSonic has carved out a niche here by focusing on portability above everything else.

That said, if you're considering the VX1655 against something like the Dell S2725QC or the Acer Nitro XV272U, the trade-off is clear. Those desktop monitors offer better color, higher brightness, and more ergonomic flexibility, but they're not leaving your desk. The VX1655 gives up display quality and color accuracy to be something you can throw in a backpack. For a road warrior, that's a fair trade. For someone who works from home full-time, it's probably not.

Pricing on the VX1655 is all over the place depending on where you shop. In the US, you'll find it ranging from USD 120 to USD 170 across four listings. That's a USD 50 spread, which is significant for a budget portable monitor. If you're in the US, it's worth checking the Amazon listing first, since that's where the lower end of that range tends to sit. In Europe, the spread is even wider, from EUR 295 to EUR 335 across German, Spanish, and Italian retailers. That's a EUR 40 difference for the exact same panel.

For what you're getting, the US pricing feels about right. A portable 1080p IPS monitor with USB-C connectivity and a built-in stand for around USD 120 to USD 150 is a reasonable deal. The European pricing is harder to justify. At EUR 295 to EUR 335, you're paying a premium for the portability, and the display quality doesn't really back that up. If you're in Europe, it might be worth waiting for a sale or looking at alternatives.

The ViewSonic VX1655 is a 15.6 inch portable monitor aimed squarely at travelers and remote workers who want a second screen without lugging around a full-size display. It's thin, it's light at 771 grams, and it runs off a single USB-C cable, which is exactly what you want when you're working from a hotel desk or a cramped coffee shop. The built-in kickstand and dual speakers mean you don't need to pack extra accessories, and the 1080p IPS panel keeps text and spreadsheets looking sharp enough for productivity work.

What's interesting here is how focused this thing is. ViewSonic didn't try to make a gaming monitor or a color-accurate creative display. They made a travel companion for getting work done. The 60Hz refresh rate and 4ms response time are fine for documents, email, and the occasional video, but nobody is buying this for competitive gaming. And that's okay, because the portability story is genuinely strong. This is one of the most compact displays in our database, sitting at the 99th percentile for portability.

But here's the thing. The VX1655 is a one-trick pony, and that trick is being easy to carry. The display quality is middle of the road at best, the color performance is rough, and the ergonomics are limited to a simple tilt. If you need a portable monitor for basic productivity, this is a solid pick. If you need anything more than that, you'll want to keep reading.

If you're a creative professional who needs accurate color for photo or video editing, skip this monitor entirely. The 6-bit panel with 262K colors is the worst color performance in our database, and you'll be fighting banding and inaccurate colors the whole time. Look for a portable monitor with an 8-bit panel and better color coverage instead, though expect to pay more.

Gamers should also look elsewhere. The 60Hz refresh rate is fine for productivity but limiting for fast-paced games, and the 4ms response time isn't going to impress anyone. If you want a portable gaming monitor, there are options with 120Hz or 144Hz panels, though they're typically more expensive. And if you work primarily from a fixed desk, a traditional desktop monitor will give you better color, brightness, and ergonomics for the same or less money.

If you're a frequent traveler or someone who works from multiple locations and needs a second screen for documents, email, and basic productivity, the VX1655 is a solid choice. The portability is genuinely best-in-class, the USB-C connectivity is convenient, and the 1080p IPS panel is sharp enough for text. At the lower end of the US price range, it's an easy recommendation.

But if you need anything beyond basic productivity, look elsewhere. Creative professionals will be frustrated by the 6-bit color and low contrast. Gamers will want a higher refresh rate. And anyone who works in bright environments will find the 250 nits limiting. The VX1655 is a specialist tool, and it's very good at its specialty. Just don't expect it to do everything.