The Lenovo ThinkVision M14 is a decent portable monitor. It's designed to be used as a secondary monitor when connected to a laptop, so it's limited in the number of inputs and features. There are only two USB-C inputs, so you need a laptop that supports DisplayPort Alt Mode to use it. It has a smaller 14 inch screen, which is fine as a secondary screen, and with a 1080p resolution, it still has a high pixel density that makes images look sharp. The IPS panel has fairly wide viewing angles, but that means it has a low contrast ratio, so it's not a good choice for use in dark rooms. Being a portable monitor, it doesn't offer much in terms of ergonomics, but you can tilt it, and there's a small height adjustment stand so that you can make the screen even with your laptop.
Our Verdict
The Lenovo ThinkVision M14 isn't bad for most uses. It's a portable monitor designed to be used as a secondary screen to your laptop, so it doesn't have as many features as most desktop monitors. It delivers clear text thanks to its high pixel density, but the 14 inch screen may not be big enough to open multiple windows side-by-side. It doesn't support HDR, and it's not good for gaming because it's limited to a 60Hz refresh rate and has slow response times that make motion look blurry.
- High pixel density results in crisp images and text.
- Fairly wide viewing angles.
- Decent reflection handling.
- Doesn't get bright enough to fight a lot of glare.
- Slow response times makes motion look blurry.
- Low native contrast ratio; blacks look gray.
The Lenovo ThinkVision M14 is decent for office use. It's designed to be a secondary monitor on the go, so it's limited on inputs, and you need a USB-C connection for it to work. Even though it has a smaller 14 inch screen and 1080p resolution, it delivers clear text due to its high pixel density. It has okay brightness and decent reflection handling, but it's best to avoid using it in bright rooms.
- High pixel density results in crisp images and text.
- Fairly wide viewing angles.
- Decent reflection handling.
- Doesn't get bright enough to fight a lot of glare.
- Limited to a 14 inch screen.
The Lenovo ThinkVision M14 is mediocre for gaming, mainly because it's not designed for this use. It has slow response times, so motion looks blurry, and it's limited to a 60Hz refresh rate with no variable refresh rate (VRR). It's limited on inputs, and you need a laptop or PC with a USB-C input to connect to the monitor.
- Very low input lag.
- No VRR support.
- Slow response times makes motion look blurry.
- Low native contrast ratio; blacks look gray.
The Lenovo ThinkVision M14 isn't bad for watching multimedia content. The 14 inch screen isn't very big, but it still has a 1080p resolution, and images look sharp due to its high pixel density. It has fairly wide viewing angles, so it's a decent choice for sharing your screen with someone else. However, it has a low contrast ratio that makes blacks look gray when viewed in the dark.
- High pixel density results in crisp images and text.
- Fairly wide viewing angles.
- Decent reflection handling.
- Doesn't get bright enough to fight a lot of glare.
- Limited to a 14 inch screen.
- Low native contrast ratio; blacks look gray.
The Lenovo ThinkVision M14 is okay for content creators. The 14 inch screen and 1080p resolution are good enough to use as a secondary screen because it has excellent text clarity. It has fairly wide viewing angles if you quickly need to share your screen with someone, but it may not be good enough if you need to see accurate colors. It has okay peak brightness for use in moderately-lit rooms, but it doesn't get bright enough to fight glare.
- High pixel density results in crisp images and text.
- Decent reflection handling.
- Doesn't get bright enough to fight a lot of glare.
- Limited to a 14 inch screen.
The Lenovo ThinkVision M14 doesn't support HDR.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Lenovo ThinkVision M14, which is only available in this 14 inch size. If you notice that your M14 is different from ours, let us know and we'll update the review. Keep in mind that some tests, like gray uniformity, can vary between units.
Our unit was manufactured in December 2020, and you can see the label here.
Popular Monitor Comparisons
The Lenovo ThinkVision M14 is a decent portable monitor. It's a good secondary monitor for your laptop for use on the go, and the smaller screen helps it produce sharp text thanks to the high pixel density. The tilt on the stand is convenient to place the screen in an ideal viewing position, which is an advantage over the Lepow Z1 Gamut. However, it's limited on inputs, and you need to make sure your laptop supports DisplayPort Alt Mode before getting it. If you don't need its portability, it's better to go for any regular desktop monitor.
See our recommendations for the best budget monitors, the best office monitors, and the best monitors for a dual setup.
The Lenovo ThinkVision M14 and the Lepow Z1 Gamut are both okay portable monitors. They're built differently as the Lepow comes with a folio case that you can use as its stand, while the Lenovo has a flap in the back that you can tilt to your liking. They both have a 1080p resolution, and the Lepow is a bit bigger at 15.6 inches compared to 14 inches, but that means the Lenovo has a higher pixel density and better text clarity. The Lepow has a mini HDMI and USB-C input, while the Lenovo has two USB-C inputs. The Lenovo gets brighter, so it's better if you need to use it in a moderately-lit room, but both monitors aren't good for really bright rooms.
The BenQ ZOWIE XL2411P and the Lenovo ThinkVision M14 are okay overall monitors, but they're for different uses. The BenQ is a gaming monitor with a higher 144Hz refresh rate and much quicker response times, so motion looks smoother. It comes with a stand with great ergonomic adjustments, and it's better to use in well-lit rooms because of its higher brightness and better reflection handling. On the other hand, the Lenovo is a portable monitor designed for use on the go. It has a smaller screen, but since they each have a 1080p resolution, the Lenovo has a much higher pixel density resulting in sharper text. It also has wider viewing angles, making it easy to share your screen with others.
The Lenovo ThinkVision M14 and the Samsung T55 are okay monitors designed for different uses. The Lenovo is a portable monitor with a much smaller 14 inch screen compared to 32 inches on the Samsung we tested. However, this means that images look sharper on the Lenovo because it has a higher pixel density. The Lenovo has wider viewing angles thanks to its IPS panel, but the Samsung has a higher contrast ratio with its VA panel. Also, the Samsung is a regular monitor that comes with a basic stand. It has more gaming features like a slightly higher 75Hz refresh rate and VRR support, but its gaming performance isn't anything special.
The Lenovo ThinkVision M14 and the Gigabyte G27Q are for different uses. The Lenovo is a portable monitor with limited features and inputs compared to the Gigabyte. It only has a USB-C input, which allows you to connect a compatible device and charge it. Since it has a smaller screen, the Lenovo has much higher pixel density and better text clarity. However, the Gigabyte is a gaming monitor that's more versatile for other uses because it has a larger screen, a higher refresh rate, quicker response times, and it gets brighter.
We buy and test more than 30 monitors each year, all of which we purchase ourselves, without cherry-picked units or samples. We put a lot into each unbiased, straight-to-the-point review, and there's a whole process from purchasing to publishing, involving multiple teams and people. We do more than just use the monitor for a week; we use specialized, custom tools to measure various aspects and deliver objective, data-driven results. We also consider multiple factors before making any recommendations, including the monitor's cost, its performance compared to the competition, and whether it's easy to find.
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