Hongo 18.5 100 Hz 1080p portable monitor now on sale for just US$139

Hongo 18.5 100 Hz 1080p portable monitor now on sale for just US$139 (Source: Amazon)

The Hongo is one of the largest and cheapest portable monitors you can get right now and the smooth 100 Hz native refresh rate is icing on the cake.

Amazon is currently running a sale on the Hongo 18.5 portable monitor for just $139 USD after applying the $30 coupon code at checkout. The monitor is notable for its large 18.5-inch 16:9 screen size as other portable monitors are typically 17-inches or smaller. The manufacturer has sent us a sample for our honest impressions.

Core specifications for the Hongo 18.5 include:

1920 x 1080 IPS display, non-touch100 Hz refresh rate2x USB-C 3.1, 1x USB-A, Full-size HDMI, 3.5 mm audio-out2.5 lbs, 0.21-inches thickIntegrated stereo speakersProsCons

Inexpensive
Large 100 Hz 18.5-inch screen size
USB-A, 2x USB-C, Full-size HDMI
Built-in VESA mounting
Metal chassis

Limited color space
Noticeable ghosting for fast games
Grainy matte display
No Screen Protector Included
No touchscreen

When taken out of its box, it’s hard to not appreciate how much screen you’re getting for the price and weight. The bezels and form factor are narrow and thin, respectively, to fit snugly inside a backpack for traveling. Build quality is quite firm and with minimal twisting due to the metal chassis, but you’ll want to carry the included protective case at all times since the matte panel can be easily scratched.

Port selection is excellent for a portable monitor as others in the category tend to ship with only USB-C or the less common mini-HDMI port. It’s possible to use just one USB-C cable for both power and video if your host PC supports it. Otherwise, you’ll need to connect video through HDMI and power with a separate USB-C cable.

191.6
cd/m²226.3
cd/m²221.9
cd/m²193.4
cd/m²258.3
cd/m²228.2
cd/m²193.4
cd/m²232.3
cd/m²224.8
cd/m²

Distribution of brightness

X-Rite i1Pro 2

Maximum: 258.3 cd/m² (Nits) Average: 218.9 cd/m² Minimum: 75.7 cd/m²
Brightness Distribution: 74 %
Contrast: 1076:1 (Black: 0.24 cd/m²)
ΔE Color 6.13 | 0.55-29.43 Ø5.1, calibrated: 1.16
ΔE Greyscale 10.8 | 0.57-98 Ø5.3
59.1% AdobeRGB 1998 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
81.9% sRGB (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
57.9% Display P3 (Argyll 2.2.0 3D)
Gamma: 2.17

Hongo Portable Monitor 18.5
1920×1080, 18.50Hongo Portable Monitor 16.1 2K
2560×1600, 16.10Innocn 15K1F Portable Monitor
1920×1080, 15.60GMK KD3 Portable Monitor
KD3, , 1920×1080, 15.60Lenovo ThinkVision m14t
1920×1080, 14.00Lepow Z1
1920×1080, 15.60 Display P3 Coverage

57.9

68.8

19%

99.9

73%

29.2

-50%

63.6

10%

41.1

-29%

sRGB Coverage

81.9

98.6

20%

100

22%

43.9

-46%

95.4

16%

61.8

-25%

AdobeRGB 1998 Coverage

59.1

70.9

20%

96.9

64%

30.1

-49%

65.4

11%

42.4

-28%

Response Time Grey 50% / Grey 80% *

26.2 ?(12.5, 13.7)

11.1 ?(5.7, 5.4)

58%

1.8 ?(0.8, 1)

93%

51.6 ?(24.8, 26.8)

-97%

15.6 ?(6.4, 9.2)

40%

40.1 ?(18.8, 21.3)

-53%

Response Time Black / White *

19.4 ?(10.2, 9.2)

7.8 ?(4.7, 3.9)

60%

2.2 ?(1, 1.2)

89%

46.8 ?(29.2, 17.6)

-141%

27.2 ?(14.8, 12.4)

-40%

30.4 ?(17.5, 12.9)

-57%

PWM Frequency

61 ?(100)

17990 ?(99)

1006

Brightness middle

258.3

334.5

30%

282.2

238.9

-8%

310.6

20%

96.4

-63%

Brightness

219

321

47%

284

30%

229

295

35%

-55%

Brightness Distribution

16%

31%

19%

20%

26%

Black Level *

0.24

0.36

-50%

0.32

-33%

0.23

0.1

58%

Contrast

1076

929

-14%

747

-31%

1350

25%

964

-10%

Colorchecker dE 2000 *

6.13

2.9

53%

2.66

57%

7.08

-15%

2.01

67%

5.2

15%

Colorchecker dE 2000 max. *

14.98

7.86

48%

6.05

60%

12.8

15%

3.58

76%

17.31

-16%

Colorchecker dE 2000 calibrated *

1.16

0.65

44%

2.93

-153%

3.92

-238%

Greyscale dE 2000 *

10.8

4.6

57%

2.7

75%

7.7

29%

1.9

82%

5.2

52%

Gamma

2.17 101%

2.34 94%

2.18 101%

2.08 106%

2.06 107%

2.46 89%

CCT

8372 78%

7007 93%

6486 100%

6407 101%

6455 101%

7317 89%

* … smaller is better

Aside from the decent build, large screen size, and good variety of ports, actual image quality is a mixed bag to be more reflective of the inexpensive price point. Firstly, brightness is average and only satisfactory when working indoors where ambient lighting can be controlled. Secondly, black-white and gray-gray response times are good enough for most slower-moving games, but they’re not fast enough for quick-moving FPS games where ghosting becomes more noticeable. And lastly, color space is only about 80 percent of sRGB which makes the monitor suboptimal for serious graphics editing where accurate colors are crucial. In fact, colors and grayscale are very inaccurate out of the box as shown by our CalMan results below.

Another key drawback worth mentioning is the relatively low DPI and noticeable graininess of the matte overlay. Subpixels aren’t nearly as crisp as on a glossy alternative and the low DPI worsens the effects. Don’t expect texts and images to be as sharp as most other 1080p displays in the market.

Based on its advantages and disadvantages, the portable Hongo 18.5 excels at maximizing screen size for small workspaces or for casual gaming where color accuracy and brightness aren’t priorities. Professional users will want to consider portable OLED monitors instead where sharpness, color accuracy, and brightness are leagues beyond what the Hongo 18.5 can offer. For future models, we’d love to see a new protective folio design to support both portrait and landscape modes instead of only landscape which should boost versatility while maintaining an attractive price.