The Mobile Pixels TRIO is a portable 13 inch, 1080p monitor with a unique design. Instead of a traditional stand, it's designed to attach to the side of a laptop in either a dual or triple-screen setup, improving productivity when working on the go. Its IPS panel delivers decent viewing angles, and it has great text clarity thanks to the high pixel density, but only when mounted on the right. Unfortunately, if you mount it on the left, the display will be flipped, resulting in worse text clarity. It has very good reflection handling, so glare shouldn't be a big issue in most rooms, but its peak brightness is just okay, so it's not bright enough to overcome direct sunlight if you like to work outdoors. This monitor isn't recommended for gaming, as it has a slow response time and relatively high input lag, and due its limited SDR color gamut, it's mediocre for watching videos or for media creation.
Our Verdict
The Mobile Pixels TRIO is a mediocre monitor overall. It's designed for and best-suited for extra office productivity when working on the go, as the unique design is meant to be mounted on the back of a laptop. It's not recommended for gaming, as it has a slow response time and high input lag. It's also a mediocre choice for watching videos or media creation, and it doesn't support HDR.
- Decent viewing angles.
- Great text clarity.
- Outstanding gray uniformity.
- Terrible response time.
- Low contrast.
- Higher than usual input lag.
- Text clarity changes depending on which side of the screen it's mounted.
The Mobile Pixels TRIO is an okay office monitor. It's designed for extra productivity when on the go. The small size and high-resolution screen result in great text clarity - but only if it's mounted on the right-hand side of your screen. Unfortunately, if you mount it on the left, the display will be flipped, resulting in worse text clarity. Other than that, it has outstanding gray uniformity and decent viewing angles, but like most IPS monitors, it has low contrast.
- Decent viewing angles.
- Great text clarity.
- Outstanding gray uniformity.
- Low contrast.
- Higher than usual input lag.
- Text clarity changes depending on which side of the screen it's mounted.
The Mobile Pixels TRIO is a sub-par gaming monitor. It has a terrible response time, so fast action scenes appear very blurry. It has higher than usual input lag, which might be an issue for fast-paced action games that require precise timings. It's also limited to a 60Hz refresh rate, and it doesn't support any advanced gaming features. It can be helpful as a second monitor when gaming, though, as you can look up hints while gaming on your main display.
- Decent viewing angles.
- Outstanding gray uniformity.
- Terrible response time.
- Low contrast.
- Higher than usual input lag.
- Limited 60Hz refresh rate and no advanced gaming features like VRR.
The Mobile Pixels TRIO is mediocre for watching videos. It has decent viewing angles, outstanding gray uniformity, and great gradient handling, so you don't have to worry about banding or a faded image if you're not sitting directly in front of it. On the other hand, it has a mediocre SDR color gamut, low contrast, and disappointing accuracy out of the box, with some noticeable inaccuracies with most colors.
- Decent viewing angles.
- Outstanding gray uniformity.
- Great gradient handling.
- Mediocre SDR color gamut.
- Low contrast.
- Higher than usual input lag.
- Disappointing accuracy out of the box.
The Mobile Pixels TRIO is mediocre for media creation. The size is okay for making quick touchups, and it has decent viewing angles. It has great gradient handling and outstanding gray uniformity, so you don't have to worry about banding or uniformity issues in areas of similar color. On the other hand, it has a mediocre SDR color gamut, so if you work with the Adobe RGB color space often, it's a bad choice, and it has low contrast. It's also not very accurate out of the box, and color accuracy is an issue even after calibration.
- Decent viewing angles.
- Outstanding gray uniformity.
- Great gradient handling.
- Mediocre SDR color gamut.
- Low contrast.
- Higher than usual input lag.
- Disappointing accuracy out of the box.
The Mobile Pixels TRIO doesn't support HDR.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 12.5 inch Mobile Pixels TRIO, but it's also available in a 14 inch size, known as the Mobile Pixels TRIO Max. We expect our results to be valid for both sizes.
| Model | Size | Native Resolution | Max Refresh rate | Panel Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TRIO | 12.5" | 1080p | 60Hz | IPS |
| TRIO Max | 14.1" | 1080p | 60Hz | IPS |
If you come across a different type of panel or your Mobile Pixels TRIO doesn't correspond to our review, let us know, and we'll update the review. Note that some tests, like gray uniformity, may vary between individual units.
We don't know when our unit was manufactured, but you can see the label here.
Popular Monitor Comparisons
The Mobile Pixels TRIO is a mediocre portable monitor with a unique design. It's okay if you have a mobile office and are looking for a bit of extra screen space when on the go, but overall it's not a very good monitor. If you're not interested in a triple-screen setup, Mobile Pixels also makes a model designed for a dual-screen setup, known as the Mobile Pixels DUEX Plus.
For more options, check our picks for the best budget monitors, the best USB-C monitors, and the best office monitors.
The Lepow Z1 is slightly better than the Mobile Pixels TRIO. The Lepow has much lower input lag, so it feels far more responsive, even for office use. The Lepow supports HDR, but this adds very little, as it can't get very bright and can't display a wide color gamut.
The Mobile Pixels TRIO is better than the MSI Optix MAG161V for most people. The TRIO has better reflection handling and it's brighter, so it can overcome more glare in a bright room. The TRIO also has better viewing angles. On the other hand, the MSI has much lower input lag, so it feels more responsive, even if you're just using it for office work.
The ASUS ZenScreen MB14AC and the Mobile Pixels TRIO are similar overall, each with their own strengths and weaknesses. The ASUS has much lower input lag, so it feels far more responsive, and it has a faster response time. The Mobile Pixels we tested has much better black uniformity, although this can vary between units, and it has slightly better reflection handling.
The ASUS ZenScreen Go MB16AHP is better than the Mobile Pixels TRIO. The ASUS has lower input lag and a much faster response time, so motion looks clearer and it feels more responsive. Although those factors are normally more important for gaming, in this case, it makes a big difference even for desktop use. On the other hand, the Mobile Pixels might be a bit better for some people due to its unique design, and it has better reflection handling.
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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