two minute review
The 15A1F is easily one of the cheapest portable OLED monitors you can buy, starting at just under $400.
What you get for that money is a beautifully designed, lightweight display that offers surprisingly punchy colors and excellent contrast levels.
The tradeoff here is that the screen measures just 15,6 inches from corner to corner and the native resolution is just 1920 x 1080. That's potentially not big enough for designers or those who work with color.
If those limitations aren't an issue, it's a great design that includes a magnetically mounted kickstand that allows for portrait and landscape use and inputs that work with both HDMI and USB-C connections.
In an ideal world, we would have liked an included region-independent USB-C power supply, a soft carrying case, and a less glossy finish on the screen. But all of these things would undoubtedly have made the 15A1F more expensive.
Price and Availability
If you buy directly from Innocn on the company's website, the starting price is €399 plus shipping. However, it can be found on Amazon.com for fifty dollars less, and has been cut in half at times.
In Europe, Amazon's retail price is €349, but it's not currently listed by online retailers in the UK.
Integrated
Before we move on to the screen, we'd like to congratulate Innocn on their packaging. Because the box the 15A1F comes in provides excellent panel protection.
According to the documentation, the display comes with three cables, two USB-C, one for power, and one HDMI to Mini-HDMI. There's also a wall-mounted USB-C power supply with a fold-out blade design that some regions consider to be an acceptable excuse for an AC power connector.
Our review model came without the USB-C data cable and with a cheap adapter to convert US-style blades to UK plug standards. We used the drive with a USB-C laptop power supply that offered a better chance of consistently powering up the screen, and found a USB-C data cable elsewhere.
The other item included in the box is a magnetically attached kickstand that connects to a steel plate built into the back of the display.
For those wondering if VESA is an option, just because the panel is so thin doesn't mean there isn't depth for cables to run through without damaging electronics.
Without the metal support foot attached it is striking how light this panel is and it only weighs 725g with the support attached.
Since all the inputs are on the left side, it's possible to put this screen in portrait mode, even if there are no orientation sensors inside to make automatic output adjustments to a connected computer.
There are two possible input paths: USB-C and mini-HDMI, but no DisplayPort option is available. The top edge (in landscape mode) has a power button and a switch for OSD menu selections, and that's the full extent of the ports and controls. The lack of a 3,5mm audio jack is a bit of a disappointment, especially for those who would like to use the 15A1F with a game console.
Aside from the specs, it's hard not to be impressed with the build quality of the display and its support arm. But at the same time a bit disenchanted with the cheap Innocn power supply that comes with it.
What is much more impressive is the quality of the screen. Once a PC was connected, it produced a remarkably punchy rendering of the Windows desktop with inky blacks and highly saturated colors.
Resolution is only 1080p, although more pixels than 15,6 inches from corner to corner would be largely unnecessary. The frequency range is also limited to 60 Hz, which makes it less interesting for gamers, but suitable for those who work with color and graphics.
If the panel has an inherent design flaw, it's because Innocn has coated it with a high-gloss glass finish that reflects all bright light sources, such as the sun or overhead lighting.
Use
Specifications
Panel size: 15,6 inch
Panel type: OLED
Resolution: 1920x1080
Brightness: 400 nits
Quoted Contrast: 100.000:1
Pixel Response: N/A
Color coverage: 100% sRGB, 98,3% Adobe RGB, 100% DCI-P3
Refresh rate: 60Hz
See: N/A
Inputs: USB-C Power (45W), HDMI 1.4, USB-C (Display Mode)
Weight: 725g
Trying an OLED display is a radically different proposition from an IPS or TN technology panel, as the way the image is created and presented is completely different.
Typically, one area of contention is often the backlight. Cheaper panels have fewer backlight elements, leading to an issue with lighting consistency.
OLED panels have perfect lighting consistency as each pixel has its own light source, making the image equally bright across its entire surface.
The stated brightness for this panel is 400 nits and it reached 406,2 nits at 100% brightness in our tests. Getting to those numbers is nice, though it's worth noting that 400 nits still isn't enough for true HDR, which requires a minimum of 1000 lumens per square centimeter to deliver the required contrast levels.
Where this and most OLED panels excel is in color rendering.
At its most basic level, this display offers 100% sRGB, 98,6% AdobeRGB, and 100% P3 gamut coverage. But, by achieving these results, its volume range is greater than the triangular area defined by these specifications.
Therefore, the gamut volume is a whopping 176,3% sRGB, 12,5% Adobe RGB, and 124,9% DCI P3. With these volumes and an accurate calibrator, it should be possible to set the display to provide a reasonable degree of color accuracy in a controlled lighting location.
In general, OLED panels, in general, make other display technologies break when it comes to color representation, contrast levels, and display consistency. And the 15A1F is not an example of an OLED screen that contradicts any of those claims.
The OSD provides the typical functionality you'd expect, although the menu structure is somewhat limited. The menu is accessed using the power button and volume rocker in combination, leading to some very tricky exercises where the highlights never seem to go where you want.
What this monitor desperately needs is a software version of this menu that Innocn does not currently offer.
final verdict
While the 15A1F's color capability is hard to fault, the usefulness of a brilliant 1080-inch 15,6p resolution panel for someone evaluating color or designing artwork is more debatable.
Those who design for a living look for screens that are at least 28 or 32 inches and resolutions of 1440p and 4K, not 1080p.
This is not to say that this type of panel has no use, but it is better not to buy it and then realize that you need a larger screen with a higher number of pixels to achieve your goals.
For those who purchase it, we recommend getting a soft case that is the right size to carry the 15A1F. The stand, if not attached to the panel, has many metal edges that could seriously damage the screen, and the power supply, if not retained, could also scratch the screen.
These items should be kept away from the 15A1F, along with whatever selection of cables you decide to use with it.
The best aspect of this design is undoubtedly the price, which for the first time brings OLED technology closer to the budget of many. And that cost reductions in this technology cannot be a bad thing.
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