Zion Pro AMOLED UHD Portable Monitor: A Gorgeous Portable Picture

The Zion Pro is a portable 15.6-inch AMOLED monitor with Ultra HD Resolution and a stunning image.

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Zion Pro
Editor's Choice
(Image: © Tom's Hardware)

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Uncalibrated – Maximum Backlight Level

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Zion Pro
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

he Zion Pro Kickstarter site claims 400 nits brightness for the panel, but I was only able to measure 263 nits with the brightness slider maxed. This doesn’t harm image quality at all, but if you were to use the panel in a very bright environment, outside perhaps, a little more output would be welcome.

Blacks are too low to measure, so I can only report the Zion Pro’s contrast as infinite. This is typical of the OLED panels I’ve tested. Though there are some high-contrast LCDs out there, none are on this level.

After Calibration to 200 nits

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Zion Pro
(Image credit: Tom's Hardware)

Calibration doesn’t change the results at all. Blacks are still too low to measure and contrast is still theoretically infinite. It truly doesn’t get better than this.

ANSI contrast is also impossible to quantify because my meters can’t measure the Zion Pro’s black level. The checkerboard pattern I use has a 50% average picture level. 0% black squares are next to 100% white ones. A backlit display can be affected by this juxtaposition, but an OLED addresses pixels individually so black ones can be turned off. The resulting image is as realistic as is possible for a video display.

Christian Eberle
Christian Eberle
Contributing Editor

Christian Eberle is a Contributing Editor for Tom's Hardware US. He's a veteran reviewer of A/V equipment, specializing in monitors. Christian began his obsession with tech when he built his first PC in 1991, a 286 running DOS 3.0 at a blazing 12MHz. In 2006, he undertook training from the Imaging Science Foundation in video calibration and testing and thus started a passion for precise imaging that persists to this day. He is also a professional musician with a degree from the New England Conservatory as a classical bassoonist which he used to good effect as a performer with the West Point Army Band from 1987 to 2013. He enjoys watching movies and listening to high-end audio in his custom-built home theater and can be seen riding trails near his home on a race-ready ICE VTX recumbent trike. Christian enjoys the endless summer in Florida where he lives with his wife and Chihuahua and plays with orchestras around the state.

3 Comments Comment from the forums
  • helper800
    A portable 4k touchscreen OLED with 110% DCI-P3 color coverage at 400 nits? That's a homerun for sure even at 600 dollars. Where is the 27-32 inch 16:9 or 34 inch 21:9 version of this? 120hz? VRR? Please make my dreams come true!
    Reply
  • Sleepy_Hollowed
    Holy... this is an absolutely insane product that I almost want to buy on impulse, without actually having a need for it.

    If I traveled a lot, one or two of these would be mandatory for work and entertainment.
    Reply
  • hannibal
    Wel 27" is not portable anymore!
    :)

    The only problem is that this is KS, so you may get the product or you give money to hoax company... So you will buy $600 lottery ticket and hope for the best... KS is not somthing where you get money back, unless the company is honest... Even using credit card does not help, because you buy promise, not the product itself.
    There are some nasty examples: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/248983394/ossic-x-the-first-3d-audio-headphones-calibrated-t
    Reply