PrismPlus Nomad Ultra 4K 16 review – Awesome portable 4K OLED touch display for digital nomads

If there’s one thing any mobile worker can never have enough – and no it’s not coffee – it’s more screen real estate. While office-based desktop jockeys can simply get an extra monitor plonked on their desk, digital nomads, mobile workers and those hotdesking may simply not have that option as most displays are typically chunky affairs. 

Fortunately, Prism+ has something to resolve that conundrum nicely that is not only slim but relatively light and compact too – their own Nomad Ultra 4K 16 touch display that comes in a form factor that’s little thicker than a fashion magazine while weighing just 1.45kg which is about the weight of an ultraportable laptop.

After toting it around as part of our mobile work setup for the past month or so, here’s our PrismPlus Nomad Ultra 4K 16 review where we share if their latest touch-capable portable monitor is worth your money.

PrismPlus Nomad Ultra 4K 16 review – Build and Design

Best known for crafting affordable TVs, desktop monitors and, of late, air purifiers and air conditioners, PrismPlus also has a knack for portable monitors too as the aptly named Nomad Ultra 4K 16 would attest to. Intended for digital nomads and mobile workers who need to carry a large, high quality touch display in a compact setup for mobile deployment in the field, our PrismPlus Nomad Ultra 4K 16 review unit comes in a natty white box with a fair selection of accessories.

Out of the box, you get the display itself, a protective wraparound folio case that doubles as a kickstand, a USB-C power cable to hook it up to a Thunderbolt port, an additional USB Type-C cable for connecting to the bundled charger and a mini-HDMI to HDMI cable.

This combination of cables and ports covers most eventualities and commonly encountered ports though the provided cables aren’t particularly long, averaging less than a metre for the USB-C cables which means that the display itself has to be fairly close to your source device.

As displays go, our PrismPlus Nomad Ultra 4K 16 review sample hosts a 15.6-inch 4K OLED touch panel with relatively slim side and top bezels though the bottom bezel is a bit on the chunky side, lending it a traditional 16:9 aspect ratio.

According to the official literature, the display offers 145% sRGB which exceeds the requirements for the full 100% DCI-P3 colour gamut, making it ideal on paper for content creators. The back of the display itself is an otherwise unremarkable plain dark grey with the sides hosting a volume rocker along with two USB-C ports and a mini HDMI port while the top hosts a power button. Flanking the sides of the display are two grilles for the provided 1W stereo speakers.

Seeing as the tablet itself is essentially a flat slab of glass and plastic that won’t stand up on its own, PrismPlus have bundled in a protective soft TPU case that wraps around the sides with a flap that folds around and to the rear to become a built-in kickstand which comes in handy while taking up minimal space.

While it is compact, the kickstand only allows for one viewing angle – hopefully future designs allow for the display  to better accommodate users who may need a more shallow angle of view.

Here’s how the display stacks up on paper:

Specifications
Price RM2,999
Display 15.6-inch touch OLED, 3,840 x 2,160 pixels, 60Hz, 145% sRGB, 100,000:1 contrast ratio, 16:9 aspect ratio, 400cd/m² peak luminance
Speakers 2 x 1W
Ports 1 x mini HDMI, 2 x USB Type-C
Battery 4 hours (quoted)
Size/Weight 233 x 358mm x 10mm / 1.45kg

Measuring in at less than a centimetre at its thickest point, our PrismPlus Nomad Ultra 4K 16 review unit is slim enough to be stored in a backpack alongside a laptop with its cables for all-day carry. For a modicum of portability, it also offers a modest built-in battery rated for four hours of battery life.

With its quoted display specifications, the display is primarily intended for productivity purposes with a modicum of content creation as its 145% sRGB is almost 99% of the DCI-P3 colour gamut though it isn’t officially rated for the latter which may be a concern for professionals who require accurate colour rendition in films and images. The modest 60Hz refresh rate also precludes it from anything beyond casual gaming. As a portable screen extension for your laptop setup, the Nomad Ultra 4K 16 shines.

Getting it up and running in a cafe simply takes a few extra seconds after flipping my laptop open and getting the cables hooked up. Connecting to a source device is as easy as it gets via either a USB-C port with Thunderbolt or via HDMI with both cables provided in the box. I made do with the USB-C port with DisplayPort on my work laptop and the PrismPlus Nomad Ultra 4K 16 was able to recognise the connection in seconds. 

At near maximum brightness settings, the PrismPlus Nomad Ultra 4K 16 is able to deliver a sufficiently bright experience for indoors use though it is still not bright enough for use under direct sunlight which is an acceptable compromise seeing as it isn’t intended to be plonked on a table outdoors anyway.

The OLED panel makes for a visual delight, delivering rich and vibrant colours onscreen which makes movie watching on this a pleasant experience though the provided stereo speakers aren’t very loud. 

For processing paperwork, the 15.6-inch touch display of my Nomad Ultra 4K 16 display makes paperwork a much easier affair along with multitasking too. Perhaps the biggest quibble here is that the display is a fingerprint magnet and even the most casual prodding ends up with smudges aplenty onscreen so you’ll likely have to carry a cloth around for frequent wipedowns.

The provided battery on our PrismPlus Nomad Ultra 4K 16 review unit managed to last just slightly above 3 hours from a full charge with just casual work which is acceptable seeing the size and weight of the display though more endurance would have been welcome.

Should you buy the PrismPlus Nomad Ultra 4K 16?

The PrismPlus Nomad Ultra 4K 16 is an excellent portable monitor that offers a vibrant and responsive 4K touch display in a slim form factor that features an integrated kickstand thanks to its bundled casing and a selection of cables that cover most scenarios.

While it is a bit on the pricey side, this is one of the best portable monitors we’ve had on test for productivity related tasks.

PrismPlus Nomad Ultra 4K 16 review courtesy of PrismPlus Malaysia. To purchase please visit https://prismplus.my/collections/monitors/products/prism-nomad-ultra-4k-16