Skip to main content

Asus ZenScreen is a portable 15.6-inch monitor you prop up with a pencil

IFA 2024
This story is part of our coverage of IFA Berlin 2024

Asus has unveiled the ZenScreen monitor at IFA 2016. The device is a portable display that’s intended to offer extra screen space to users working on a laptop or a hybrid device.

“When computers get smaller, sometimes we feel restricted by the screen size,” said Asus Design Center Director, Jen Chuang. “ZenScreen is designed to enlarge your workspace, so you can multitask with an extended view anywhere you want.”

Recommended Videos

The ZenScreen is being pitched as the world’s lightest and thinnest 15.6-inch portable display. It weighs 800 grams and is just under 8-millimeters thick, with an ultra-thin 6.5-millimeter bezel to ensure that as much usable space as possible is dedicated to the screen itself.

The device features a hybrid USB port that supports both Type-A and Type-C connections. This will be used for charging its battery and hooking up the display to other hardware — any laptop with USB Type-A or Type-C ports will apparently be compatible with the ZenScreen.

A foldable smart case is set to be released alongside the device, offering extra protection as well as a means to prop it up in both portrait and landscape orientations. However, there’s another way to keep the display at a usable angle that’s pleasingly low-tech: inserting a pen into the hole at the bottom-right corner of the screen will perform the same function.

While the ZenScreen can be used with all manner of hardware, Asus does hope that people buy into its ecosystem and pair the monitor with one of their systems. The company’s ZenBook 3 and the new iterations of its Transformer range of 2-in-1 devices — which were unveiled at Computex back in May — seem like prime candidates.

No pricing information or a release window was announced at this time.

Brad Jones
Brad is an English-born writer currently splitting his time between Edinburgh and Pennsylvania. You can find him on Twitter…
An elegant Mac app has turned my basic tasks into a whole lot of fun
Who knew switching between apps could be so much easier and elegant?
Employing the Dory app switcher on a MacBook Air

The concept of an app switcher tool is rather odd. After all, why would you need a tool for jumping between apps, when the Command+Tab shortcut works just fine and the three-finger swipe opens the Mission Control on the Mac? Well, there are solutions that work better. 

Second, when you bring the mouse and keyboard combo into the picture, the fluid convenience of the trackpad gesture flies out the window. Over the years, the developer community has produced some real app switcher gems. 

Read more
Upgrade to the Alienware 18 Area-51 gaming laptop with RTX 5070 Ti — $500 off!
The Alienware 18 Area-51 Gaming Laptop on a white background.

You should be ready to spend a lot if you want a powerful gaming laptop, but you should also be on the lookout for potential savings. Now's a great time to check out Alienware deals because of Dell's Black Friday in July sale, which includes a fantastic offer for the Alienware 18 Area-51 gaming laptop. This configuration with the Nvidia GeForce RTX 5070 Ti graphics card is down from $3,300 to $2,800, which is still expensive, but you wouldn't want to miss this chance at $500 in savings. You have to hurry though, as stocks may run out at any moment!

Buy Now

Read more
Save $100 on our pick for the best printer
HP includes full ink bottles with the Smart Tank 7602.

What do we need to print these days? Tax forms, student essays, and clearly-legible letters? Not so much. Bright invites, pictures, and presentation accompaniments? Yes, yes, and yes! In today's world, the typical person's needs in an inkjet printer are far different than the last time you were likely to have bought a printer. And the industry is catching up. Right now, our pick for the overall best printer of 2025 is $100 off as part of early Prime Day deals. That makes the $450 printer just $350 if you buy now. Plus, it comes with two years of HP's ink included. So, tap the button below to go check out the HP Smart Tank 7602 for yourself or keep reading to see what we like about it and what we found out during our review.

BUY NOW

Read more