KYY K3 Portable Monitor: 30-second review
KYY is a Chinese hardware maker specialising in portable displays, something it has done since its inception ten years ago.
Available from KYY today is a selection of panel sizes and resolutions that go all the way to 4K, but the most popular options are the K3 series of low-cost second displays meant for laptop users.
The K3 is a 15.6-inch panel that can be connected to any computer system that supports either HDMI or USB-C (and Thunderbolt), and it comes with all the cables to connect it to those standards.
Using USB-C, the unit can be powered from the computer, but it can also get power from a USB-A source or via a phone-type PSU included in the box.
In addition to the cables and PSU, the K3 also comes with a protective cover that doubles as a stand, and together with the screen, the ensemble only weighs 770g.
The strengths of the K3 are its portability, flexibility and super-low price. But at less than $70, it isn’t the most colour-accurate display you can buy.
That’s the trade-off here, but at this price point, it’s an obvious candidate for one of the best portable monitors on a budget that we’ve reviewed.
KYY K3 Portable Monitor: Price and availability
- How much does it cost? $70/£115
- When is it out? It available now
- Where can you get it? Direct from KYY or via online retailers like Amazon
As with many Chinese-made products, buying directly from the maker isn’t the cheapest way to get the K3 portable monitor. Direct from KYY, the asking price is $159.99, but it can be found on Amazon.com for a standard price of $87.99, currently discounted to an amazing $69.99.
In the UK, you can pick up the K3 on Amazon.co.uk for £119.99. KYY doesn’t sell on the French or German versions of Amazon, but it should be possible to find it in Europe from another online reseller.
This isn’t the cheapest 1080p portable monitor available. As an example, Arzopa has a 15.6-inch 1080p portable monitor with HDMI and USB-C inputs for only $65 on Amazon.com.
But many brands, even the lesser-known, are asking at least $150 or more for a similar specification, and some much more.
At the Amazon.com price, this is hardly a major investment, even if it’s only used a handful of times, placing the KYY K3 firmly in the bargain category. And, even in the UK, costs are competitive.
- Value: 4.5 / 5
KYY K3 Portable Monitor: Specs
KYY K3 Portable Monitor: Design
- Simple design
- Cover stand
- Small speakers
The KYY engineers weren’t looking to create anything especially stylish or radical in the K3. Instead, they set out to make a simple device that most customers should be able to operate without prior training and mostly succeeded.
Included with the panel is a flexible cover that doubles as a support that attaches using magnets. It’s easy to remove and re-attach and has two natural angles at which it presents the display. The only downside of the cover is that it wasn’t designed to work in portrait mode, and the ports on the panel wouldn’t allow that orientation, even if it did.
All the ports and controls are on the sides, with the left side having the power button, a menu selecting dial and the 2.3mm audio jack. The right side has two USB-C ports and a Mini HDMI input.
Connection to the computer, phone, console or tablet can be either via USB-C or HDMI, and cables are provided to go from USB-C to USB-C, USB-A to USB-C and from full-sized HDMI to Mini HDMI.
The logic of having two USB-C ports is that if you don’t wish to power the display from the laptop, a second USB power source can be used, and a phone USB-C charger made for this purpose is included in the box.
The product label states that the display only requires 5V at 2A for a total power draw of 10W, making for some frugal power consumption.
You can connect two different systems on USB-C, assuming one of them will power the screen, and a third system via HDMI, and switch between them.
Unusually for a portable monitor, this panel also includes speakers. They are tiny and enclosed in the monitor, but they’re preferable to trying to listen via a phone.
When the monitor is powered, volume and brightness can be altered by using up and down movements on the dial , in addition to the source of the input being selected.
A full OSD menu gives wider access to colour temperature, contrast levels, and various ECO modes. These aren’t things that most owners will investigate, but many portable monitors don’t even offer these basic controls.
As is to be expected at this price point, the screen doesn’t have any glass protection, and therefore needs the cover to keep it safe in transit. My only real criticism of this design is that it comes with three cables and the power supply, yet there is no pocket or consideration given to where these items might live when the screen is being transported around.
Overall, the K3 was cheaply made but had more features than I’d anticipated.
- Design: 4 / 5
KYY K3 Portable Monitor: Performance
- Great contrast
- 64% sRGB
- Empty list
Comparing the K3 to an expensive monitor, like the espresso 15, that costs ten times as much, it was never going to compete.
But, KYY quoted a contrast of 1000:1, and the K3 managed 940:1. A brightness of 300 nits was predicted, and it achieved 260, so it’s not massively oversold.
Where it didn’t quite live up to its expectations was the colour gamut, where KYY suggested that it would manage 72% of NTSC. Given how poor NTSC colour representation is, that seemed odd, and perhaps that number was confused with sRGB. Whatever the truth, the K3 can only manage 47% of NTSC, but it delivered 64% of sRGB.
That’s better than some cheap portable displays offer, where 50% of sRGB is a good score.
Looking at our Datacolor Spyder X2 Ultra analysis, this panel has issues with luminance uniformity, being much brighter in the center of the display than near its edges. The white point also deviates from 7900 to 7500 over the transition from 0% brightness to 100%.
On the plus side of this equation, tone response is decent, being close to Gamma 2.2 over most of its profile. And, while it might have a limited gamut, the colour accuracy wasn’t horrendous.
In short, for the money KYY are asking, the K3 is a better screen than expected, although it isn’t anything that gamers or colour professionals would recommend.
- Performance: 3 / 5
KYY K3 Portable Monitor: Final verdict
When reviewing something so cheap, holding a product to the same standards that an expensive screen might expect to deliver is impossible.
What’s critical to say is that for $70, the K3 comes with a useful selection of cables, a power supply and a protective cover that doubles as a stand.
The 1080p resolution will work well with most laptops and mobile devices, and the majority of systems should be connectable either by USB-C or HDMI.
Are the colours wonderful? No. Can it be used in portrait mode? No.
Does the single year of warranty on offer hint at it having a long and reliable working life? Probably not. But at this asking price, it would be implausible to expect too much.
If you need a second screen, maybe for a short-term project, there are many worse choices than this one, I can assure you.
KYY K3 Portable Monitor: Report card
Should you buy a KYY K3 Portable Monitor?
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