The transportable monitor class is flush with compelling choices, starting from finances entries just like the $199 Lepow C2 to the spectacular $600 Zion Professional with its 15.6-inch 4K AMOLED show. The KYY K3-3 hones carefully to the finances realm within the pricing sphere for transportable displays however manages to ship a 4K decision which is far increased than the everyday 1080p for displays on this worth class.
KYY additionally contains an origami-like sensible cowl within the case, a built-in speaker and a gaggle of cables to maintain you powered up and linked on the go. With an asking worth of simply $249 (opens in new tab) as of this writing (and as little as $229 with extra reductions), the KYY K3-3 provides sufficient options and worth to compete with the finest transportable displays. Nevertheless, the monitor has some tradeoffs within the type of low most brightness and the dearth of a kickstand.
KYY K3-3 15.6-inch 4K Transportable Monitor Specs
| Panel Kind / Backlight | IPS / WLED |
| Display screen Measurement / Facet Ratio | 15.6 inches / 16:9 |
| Max Decision & Refresh Charge | 3840 x 2160 @ 60 Hz |
| Max Brightness | 400 nits |
| Distinction Ratio | 1,500:1 |
| View Angles | 178 levels (Horizontal and Vertical) |
| Display screen Coating | Anti-Glare |
| Ports | 1x Mini-HDMI, 2x USB-C (DisplayPort 1.2 Alt Mode), 1x Headphone |
| Audio system | Sure |
| Dimensions | 14.49 x 8.86 x 0.37 inches |
| Weight | 1.7 kilos |
Design of the KYY K3-3
The KYY K3-3 might need a finances price ticket, however you actually wouldn’t comprehend it from trying on the transportable monitor. It incorporates a stable design, however whereas the highest bezel is comparatively skinny, the facet bezels are roughly twice as thick. And the underside bezel is even bigger (one more doubling in dimension), the place we discover the middle KYY brand.
I usually don’t discover logos mounted within the backside bezel offensive, because the typography is often small and backed in muted colours that don’t draw consideration. Nevertheless, the KYY brand is massive, incorporates a daring font, and it’s vivid white. Whereas it attracts consideration to the branding of the monitor, it additionally routinely caught my eyes after I appeared on the monitor, which isn’t an excellent factor. I prefer to be immersed in a panel when working, however the attention-grabbing brand was a frequent distraction.
Ports on the KYY K3-3
The best facet of the KYY K3-3 serves as house to a mini HDMI and two USB-C ports (DisplayPort 1.2 Alt Mode). You possibly can energy the monitor immediately and drive video utilizing a single USB-C cable with a supported laptop computer. You too can depend on the included USB-C energy adapter (the USB-C cable will not be removable) when connecting the monitor by way of HDMI.
One of many two audio system additionally resides on the proper facet of the monitor. Transferring round to the left, you’ll discover a 3.5mm headphone jack, a three-way scroll wheel, a single button and the opposite speaker. The scroll wheel and button are used to navigate by means of the on-screen show (OSD).
Stand / Case for the KYY K3-3
The monitor is constructed out of a tricky and nice-feeling aluminum alloy materials. It positively feels extra stable with minimal flex in comparison with its counterparts on this worth phase. However although KYY didn’t skimp on supplies for the K3-3’s chassis, it positively lower prices by skipping a built-in kickstand. An built-in stand is preferable, because it’s one much less factor to fret about when touring and gives a extra secure base. With the KYY K3-3, we’re given a wise cowl that doubles as a display screen protector and a stand.
When used as a display screen protector, the sensible cowl works fairly effectively. It attaches magnetically to the again of the monitor and folds over to cowl the show whereas in transport. Nevertheless, utilizing the sensible cowl as a stand will not be very intuitive – I truly needed to escape **gulp** the person handbook to determine use it.
You must first connect the sensible cowl to the again of the monitor, then pivot the decrease two-thirds of the panel to a 45-degree angle. Subsequent, you fold the forefront of the sensible cowl again and set the underside of the KYY K3-3 to relaxation it on that folded edge.
It really works, nevertheless it solely provides you one angle to reliably use with the show. The within floor of the sensible cowl is barely grippy, so you’ll be able to try to slip the show again for a extra upright angle. Nevertheless, we discovered it to be wobbly in these positions and any motion on my desk would trigger it to slip to its default place.
With that being mentioned, the KYY K3-3 is thinner than most displays on this class. That may be attributed to its lack of a kickstand. The monitor measures simply 0.37 inches thick in comparison with 0.46 for the Asus ROG XG16AHPE with its built-in kickstand and battery and 0.7 inches for the ThinkVision M14t.
KYY contains loads of equipment within the field just like the sensible cowl, a USB-C wall adapter, a USB-C to USB-C cable, and a mini-HDMI to HDMI cable.
On-screen Show for the KYY K3-3
I had a case of déjà vu when first interacting with the OSD for the KYY K3-3. It’s the very same interface that I encountered with the Lepow C2 — similar icons, similar colours, and comparable settings. Whereas the Lepow C2 used 4 buttons in an ungainly location to navigate the OSD, the KYY K3-3 makes use of a mix of a scroll wheel and a separate button. Urgent the button as soon as brings up Fast Menu that toggles between the 2 USB-C and one HDMI inputs.
Knocking down on the spring-loaded scroll wheel brings up the Brightness Fast Menu, whereas pushing up provides you the Quantity Fast Menu. Urgent in on the scroll wheel brings up the complete OSD. Nevertheless, this “motion” button has a really lengthy throw and has a mushy really feel. I discovered that it took fairly a number of makes an attempt to register a button press. As soon as within the OSD, you navigate up and down utilizing the scroll wheel, and urgent in executes the command. The separate button backs you out of the OSD’s underlying menu system.
Picture High quality of the KYY K3-3
As we beforehand talked about, the KYY K3-3 is a 4K UHD (3840 x 2160) show with a 60 Hz IPS panel. KYY claims that the monitor’s distinction ratio clocks in at 1,500:1 and that it could hit a max brightness of 400 nits. Sadly, the KYY K3-3 got here up effectively wanting its claimed brightness numbers in our testing. We’re used to seeing transportable displays fall brief by round 10 % in comparison with producer specs, however the KYY K3-3 couldn’t even muster up half of its claimed ranking, coming in at 155.2 nits. That put the monitor simply forward of the cheaper Lepow C2 however far behind the Dell C1422H and Lenovo ThinkVision M14t.
The KYY K3-3 pulls up the rear in measured colour efficiency, hitting 67.4 % of the DCI-P3 colour area and 95.1 % of the sRGB colour gamut. As soon as once more, the KYY K3-3 got here up brief in comparison with the cheaper Lepow C2. Nevertheless, a monitor out there at this worth seemingly won’t be used for color-critical work. In on a regular basis utilization eventualities, the monitor met my expectations. The shortfalls in brightness ranges weren’t a difficulty in an indoor setting, with the slider cranked to the max. Reflections from overhead lighting weren’t an element at my desk, nor was mild coming by means of my eating room desk (seemingly aided by the anti-glare display screen coating).
As an informal Star Wars fan, I turned to Disney+ to look at the primary episode of Obi-Wan Kenobi. I performed scenes from the episode concurrently on my workhorse 14-inch MacBook Professional with its vibrant Mini LED show side-by-side with the KYY K3-3 and seen simply tiny variations between the screens intimately and colour. Nevertheless, the colour palette for Star Wars movies and TV reveals is not precisely what I’d name expansive. There are lots of earth tones and muted colours.
For a movie with a a lot wider colour palette, I chosen one among my favourite animated flicks of all time: Toy Story 3. I selected one scene specifically as a result of I am a sucker for having my emotional heartstrings pulled. The ultimate sequence within the film has Andy delivering his toys to Bonnie, and unbeknownst to him, Woodie is tucked away within the field. The scene is wealthy with colour, from the luxurious inexperienced grass to Bonnie’s pink tutu, Andy’s metal blue eyes, and Jessie’s red-tinged hat. I am not going to say that I shed a tear for the hundredth time watching this scene, nevertheless it appeared wonderful and I could not consider that I used to be a show that’s out there for as little as $229 on sale.
I appreciated the added display screen actual property with the transportable 4K show. The KYY K3-3 was proper at house as an prolonged show for my MacBook Professional. I discover 1080p to be a bit limiting on the subject of the apps that I take advantage of in my day by day workflow. So, the KYY K3-3 helped present a bit extra respiratory room for my continuously used apps like Microsoft Edge, Safari, Slack, Microsoft Phrase, Pixelmator Professional and NetNewsWire.
However whereas I used to be impressed total with the on a regular basis visible efficiency of the KYY K3-3, the interior audio system have been sadly less than par. Audio system on transportable displays are usually an afterthought, and that’s additionally the case right here. They’re going to work in a pinch if you do not have something higher, however they’re woefully insufficient even in comparison with the audio system on most entry-level laptops. There is not any sense of depth to the sound, and music playback was missing in dynamic vary and bass.
Backside Line
The KYY K3-3 is an fascinating product, primarily as a result of it tries to pack in high-end specs like a 4K IPS panel at a bargain-basement worth. KYY will not be completely profitable, as we noticed in our instrumented testing, however the K3-3 makes a daring assertion in precise on a regular basis use.
I used to be impressed by its efficiency as a productiveness and light-weight leisure monitor. Watching TV reveals and stay content material on the show as I labored on my laptop computer was pleasing. I wasn’t impressed with the built-in stereo audio system, however that comes with the territory with cheap transportable displays. Whereas I commend KYY for together with the sensible cowl to guard the K3-3 when transported, I want that it didn’t additionally double because the monitor’s stand. It’s finicky and never adjustable for angle. I’d have favored to have seen an built-in, hinged stand as we see within the numerous Asus, Lenovo, and Viewsonic counterparts.
When you don’t want the 4K decision, the Lepow C2 is a pleasant various for lower than $200. The Viewsonic VX1755 can also be one other good possibility with a 17.2-inch 144 Hz FreeSync show, priced at $299.
Nevertheless, with an MSRP of $299, and an on a regular basis worth of $249 (as little as $229 as of this writing), the KYY K3-3 represents a real worth play within the transportable monitor sector. We wouldn’t suggest it for color-critical work, however in the event you’re merely searching for a monitor that can increase your workspace with out robbing your pockets, the KYY K3-3 is a compelling product.
