In depth review of the BenQ Screenbar, the perfect companion for any productivity workspace. This handy monitor light can light up your entire desk space with the convenience of a simple tap and autodimming. BenQ includes a flat USB-C to USB-A cable so that you can power up the ScreenBar right from your monitor.
Disclaimer: The folks at BenQ were kind enough to send this product free of charge but this review is based off my own thoughts. BenQ did not have any input on this review. Make sure you check out all of their other products at BenQ.
Design and Build Quality
The BenQ Screenbar has a fantastic non obtrusive minimal industrial design that can fit any monitor, specially those with a black bezel. The amount of actual screen size that the ScreenBar occupies is tiny and most of the time it only hides a couple of pixels which are mostly at the top of browser tabs so it definitely isn’t an inconvenience. This only happens if your monitor has a really thin screen bezel, otherwise the “problem” is non-existent.
This monitor light is made up from Aluminium (mostly) and Plastic which is more than enough. You will only feel the high quality materials when tapping the ScreenBar on/off a couple of times each day, but it’s nice to have this much attention to detail. Packaging was also extremely premium, it felt almost better than opening an Apple product !
Main features
The main features of the Screenbar includes:
- 900 lux of brightness
- Light temperature ranging from 2700K – 6500K
- AutoDim, making it effortless to use everyday.
- 5V Power supply, which means that you can power the ScreenBar with just the USB port from your monitor.
- No screen glare, it might seem as if this light would result in a lot of reflection from the screen but it doesn’t !
- Minimal industrial design that fits almost any monitor.
- Declutters your workspace by sitting on top of your monitor and removing the need of another standalone light for your desk.
Benefits of the BenQ ScreenBar
Before using the ScreenBar I struggled with studying at night in my workspace and using my monitor, the LG 24MK600-B. In fact, my eyesight started to hurt so much at night when using the monitor and doing homework that I had to get some blue-light filtering glasses. They helped for some months until I got the ScreenBar. The improvement of light in both my desk and monitor was enough to help me get rid of the glasses. This might not happen to everyone but it certainly did to me.
For a mere $100 it not only improved my desk setup aesthetic and light but dramatically helped my eyesight. This is without a doubt the best addition to my setup since my monitor.
BenQ ScreenBar Review: Final thoughts
If you are looking for a sleek, high quality monitor light then look no further: this is it. The BenQ ScreenBar is the best option out there for $100. It might seem a bit expensive at first as you might only look at this product as a fancy desk light but it could not be further from the truth. The ScreenBar can help you be more productive (specially on late night grinds) and aid your eyesight.
I truly can’t recommend this product enough. If you are hesitant about buying it, just go for it, you won’t regret it.