When people talk about upgrading their home office, they usually mean things like a better monitor or an improved keyboard, a new chairor maybe even some desk decorations to make you feel more comfortable. I’ve made all of those updates over the years and each one of them was a big improvement in the way you’d expect.
However, there’s one change that made the biggest difference to how my desk actually feels when sitting on it, and it’s also not one I expected to love. It’s the BenQ ScreenBar Halo 2, which is a slim LED bar that clips to the top of my monitor and projects light onto the desktop, away from my eyes and the screen. I love it. BenQ gifted it to me after visiting them at this year’s Computex and I didn’t expect to be as big of a fan as I was.
Admittedly, there is one drawback, and that’s the price: It costs around $180, which is a lot more than most people would consider spending on what is essentially a desk light. That said, for something that just sits on top of my screen and out of the way, it’s had a bigger effect on my day than most things I’ve put on my desk.
It clips onto my monitor and doesn’t take up any desk space.
You can forget about it completely.
The BenQ Screenbar rests on the monitor with a weighted clamp, and a small counterweight gently presses against the back of the panel to keep it in place. There are no screws to attach it, nor does it need a stand or adhesive (aside from the webcam, which we’ll get to). I installed it in about a minute, which was surprisingly little effort.
The clamp is surprisingly comfortable and handles panels from about 0.4cm to 6cm thick. It is classified for curved monitors from 1000R to 1800R, so it will also easily fit ultra-wide monitors with aggressive curves. A single USB-C cable comes out of the back for power, and that’s it for setup.
The only thing I was worried about when I first saw it was my webcam, which usually clips onto the top bezel, exactly where the bar wants to sit. BenQ really thought of that though, because in the box comes a webcam mount that attaches to the bar with a double-sided adhesive, so the camera ends up more or less where it was before, although a little higher. I was worried about having to choose between having the light or my webcam, but it wasn’t necessary here.
A desk lamp like this also gives you back space on your desk. Normally, you would have to dedicate somewhere on your desk to put it, and you will always have it in your peripheral vision. In contrast, the only thing the ScreenBar takes up is the small space needed for the wireless remote control. For what it’s worth, the ScreenBar also looks pretty good attached to the monitor, as it blends into the top bezel rather than drawing attention to itself.
Light up my desktop without touching the screen
Just use a stand
Working in front of a bright screen in a dark room is something of a trap, as too little light around you leaves a bright panel floating in the dark and strains your eyes, while a desk lamp or overhead light tends to bounce directly off the screen. When it was dark, I tended to put up with a bright monitor in the dark, as having the light on could sometimes be annoying.
The ScreenBar avoids that with what BenQ calls its asymmetrical optics. The beam is shaped with an 18-degree cutoff, using a reflector and lens assembly to push the light forward and down the desk rather than toward the panel or face. To be fair, it seems like a typical marketing line, but it actually works very well. I have a well-lit desk and keyboard with no glare on the screen, which is exactly what it is designed for.
The front light casts a constant 500 lux over an area of about 85 by 50cm, comfortably covering my keyboard, laptop, and the space where my hands actually are. It’s bright enough to function properly, not just a token glow that some of these bars settle for. Additionally, there is a second light that faces back, casting a softer light on the wall behind the monitor. Is mostly It’s a gimmick and I leave it off half the time, but it also does a good job of smoothing out the jump between a bright screen and a dark room. It makes my monitor feel less like a harsh rectangle of light and more like it’s in a softer lit space.
Cheapest monitor light bars They exist, and there are perfectly decent ones ranging from $30 to $70 if all you want is a little light on your keyboard. However, the recurring complaint with most of them is that they spill light onto the screen, which defeats much of the purpose. Not putting light where you don’t want it is what BenQ really achieves, and that’s why I think the price is at least partly earned.
The wireless control wheel is great.
One of my favorite parts
Anti-glare lighting is great, but what In fact Love is the wireless control wheel. It’s a small dial that sits on your desk, and instead of buttons, the entire outer ring rotates freely. You turn it to change the brightness or color temperature, and surprisingly, it’s one of the most satisfying physical controls I’ve ever used.
There’s a small screen on top that tells you exactly what you’re doing, showing the brightness level, color temperature and which of the two lights you’re currently adjusting, meaning there’s no guessing or switching between modes blindly. You just look down, turn and move on. Honestly, it’s a great design and I didn’t expect to like it so much.
The controller is wireless and charges via USB-C, and BenQ estimates it can last around three months on a charge. That’s a real step up from the original Halo controller, which was a messier, wired affair. Being able to leave it wherever it falls on the desk, without any cables holding it down, is a small thing that makes the whole setup feel neater. I’ve been draining the battery much faster than that, but I suspect Ambient Mode, which I’ll also talk about soon, might be the cause.
If I have one quibble with the control dial itself, it’s that the glossy top surface is a fingerprint magnet. It’s not the worst by any means, but be prepared to clean it from time to time if you’re thinking of buying one of these.
It turns on only when I sit down.
And it turns off when I’m gone
There is an ultrasonic sensor built into the middle of the bar and it does exactly what you would expect. I sit at my desk and the light turns on by itself, and when I get up and walk away, it turns off by itself after about five minutes of no movement. I stopped consciously turning it on or off after a day and now I don’t touch it at all.
You can also adjust your own brightness to match the room, dimming as daylight fades and picking up when things get darker. Coupled with the color temperature range, which runs from a warm 2700K to a cool 6500K on both lights, the desk lighting more or less takes care of itself. I keep it on the cooler side during the day and let it warm up at night, although it does a good enough job on its own that I rarely intervene.
ScreenBar Halo 2 is the update I would redo without a second thought. It solved a problem I didn’t even know had existed for years, and it took up almost no space. Plus, the day-to-day experience of using it (right down to playing with the control wheel) is just enjoyable in a way I didn’t expect from a light.
Honestly, the price is the hardest part of this whole ordeal to swallow, because $180 is a lot to ask for something you could technically replace with a $30 bar and some glare tolerance. But the cheaper options don’t solve the one problem I really cared about, and this one does that while also solving almost everything else. It’s the least glamorous thing on my desk, but it’s also the one I’d probably miss the most.
