Having reviewed the device, I can tell you it has multiple applications and, as such, could represent good value for money depending on how many of these applications you take advantage of.

Want to know more about this handy, go-anywhere screen? Then read on.

What Do You Get in the Box?

When you receive your Lepow Z1 Series, the box contains:

One Lepow Z1 Series portable monitor. One protective folding case/stand. One Type-C to Type-A cable. One Type-C to Type-C cable. One HDMI-Mini HDMI cable. One screen protector. One power adapter. One instruction manual. One 12-month warranty.

So, it seems Lepow has thought of everything (apart from mini-HDMI to mini-HDMI, but we’ll let that one go).

A Familiar Form With a Flourish

Let’s face it, a lot of portable displays look exactly the same. The Lepow Z1 hardly breaks the mold where looks are concerned, but there are a couple of pleasant touches that make this screen easier on the eye.

Anyway, we have a 15.6 inch monitor here. The LED screen which, obviously, dominates the front, is framed by a matt black (in our case, a silver option is also available) bezel. This has an attractive metallic bevel on the inside edge, which contrasts nicely with the black frame, offering the aforementioned flourish to proceedings.

The left-hand edge of the monitor features one of the two speakers (we’ll come to them later), a mini-HDMI port, a Type-C full-function port that can power and receive a display signal at the same time, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

The right of the monitor carries the power button, a roll button for accessing options and navigating menus, and the power-only Type-C port. You’ll also see the right speaker here, as you might expect.

The protective case comes in black PU leather, with a magnetic section to attach it to the rear of your screen. This folds into two different configurations, allowing you to position the screen at various angles.

As you can see, all fairly normal when it comes to appearance, but still an attractive design, nonetheless.

How Does the Lepow Z1 Series Portable Monitor Work?

OK, again, this should all be pretty obvious. The monitor works by displaying the signal from whatever source you are using. This could be via Type-C or via HDMI, so it has several applications which we’ll discuss shortly.

As mentioned, the left of the Z1 carries a full-function Type-C port. This means the monitor can receive power from the same source device that is sending a display signal. You don’t, therefore, need to plug it into a separate power source if you are using it with a laptop, although be wary that powering the Z1 this way will drain your laptop battery faster.

The mini HDMI offers several options. There are obvious portable gaming uses. The 1080p screen, on paper, should cope well with the last generation of consoles, so PS4, Xbox One, and Nintendo Switch are all fair game for the Z1. The Switch in particular should look great on the monitor (I don’t have a Switch, only a Switch Lite, so couldn’t test this).

You could also plug a next-gen console into the monitor. You probably shouldn’t bother if your next-gen console is a PS5, given the ridiculous size of the device—you’re hardly going to be lugging a PS5 around with you. However, an Xbox Series S, for example, is a lot smaller, so it could slide into your laptop bag alongside the Z1 for gaming away from home.

Aside from gaming, you can also plug any other video source into the mini-HDMI port, so you can watch movies using a streaming device, for example.

Using the on-board controls is easy. Pressing the roll key prompts the OSD (on-screen display) to appear. Roll it up and down and you’ll cycle through the options. Pressing the roll key again will select that option, and moving it up and down once more will apply any adjustments (such as increasing/decreasing brightness).

The Lepow Z1, then, works as most portable monitors would. But does it perform well? Let’s find out.

Surprisingly Good Performance

I have to admit; I was a little skeptical about the Lepow Z1, initially. It isn’t like there aren’t thousands of very similar devices on the market. However, you can’t test them all, so a recommendation won’t do any harm. And I feel confident recommending this device to you depending on how you intend to apply it.

I tested the Lepow Z1 under numerous conditions and with several devices and found, in most instances, it works really well. The colors are nice and bright, which is always a risk with monitors such as this. I actually have another (naming no names… yet) which displays red as a kind of washed-out umber color. Not nice at all.

The 1080p LED screen displays detail well, and the contrast between colors is good (as you would expect for an LED screen). The 60 Hz refresh rate ensures images don’t stutter, at least not that I noticed when using the device. Nor did I notice any motion blur.

So, in what circumstances did the Lepow Z1 perform best? Let’s look at a device-by-device case.

I first tested the Z1 Series portable monitor with my smartphone; a Huawei P30 Pro. It worked fine, and I could cycle through my apps as well as select them, all via a much larger screen. I connected the devices via the full-function Type-C port on the left, which meant I needed to power the monitor separately, via the second Type-C port. My phone didn’t have the chops to energize the Z1.

I also tested the Z1 as a second monitor to complement my laptop. I connected the two via the full-function Type-C port and my laptop’s type-C port, but it transpires that my laptop also couldn’t power the Z1 monitor while displaying an image.

Instead, I used HDMI for the display signal and a type-C to type-A USB cable to power the monitor, which worked fine but obviously involved an extra cable. That isn’t too much of a problem though, as long as you don’t forget to pack your cables before leaving the house. It is this application which would be most useful, I would say, and as such would suit a worker on the fly, or a student who wants to work in the university library.

The versatility this offers means you don’t need to tether yourself to a wall socket to do your work. You can have two screens on the cafe table and work away on your presentation before your boss arrives. No free desks with power outlets at the library? No problem, you can set your gear up on any desk and work away!

Finally, I hooked it up to my Xbox Series S. OK, so it doesn’t offer the 2K output the Series S is capable of, but as a gaming-away-from-home device, it works fine. Note that you need to use the mini-HDMI port for this and, as such, will need to power the screen. You can do this with the USB outputs on your console, or via the power adapter.

My main gripe is with the speakers. These aren’t the loudest, nor is the sound the best quality, so don’t expect earth-shattering bass or nicely balanced treble from them. They are only portable monitor speakers, after all. I recommend using headphones if you want a better sonic experience.

In all, I was happy with how the Lepow Z1 performed, despite the lackluster speakers.

Would I Recommend the Lepow Z1?

If you can use it for more than one of the applications described above, then yes, I recommend the Lepow Z1 Series portable monitor.

However, if you only need a second screen for use with a laptop as an impromptu portable solution, there are cheaper models out there. They probably just won’t do as good a job, visually. They don’t need to if you’re only editing Word documents or reading emails while you access other work platforms, though.

In all, I like the Lepow Z1. At least now I can play Series S games when the TV is in use, and I no longer have to use the buggy Remote Play function…