BenQ ScreenBar Halo 2 review
An 18 degree anti-glare front light and a backlight, on a clamp that takes no desk space.
A monitor-mounted light bar with an 18 degree anti-glare front light, an adjustable ambient backlight and a wireless control dial.
Check price on AmazonSpecifications
| Spec | Detail |
|---|---|
| Front light | ASYM-Light asymmetric optics at an 18 degree anti-glare angle |
| Backlight | Wide and adjustable ambient backlight |
| Control | Wireless dial with a built-in display showing brightness, colour temperature and mode |
| Colour temperature | 2700K to 6500K, stepless brightness |
| Mounting | Clamp for monitors 0.17 to 2.36 inches thick and 1000R to 1800R curved |
| Automation | Turns on and off with the monitor, adjusts to ambient light, remembers the last used settings |
Specifications above come from BenQ's published product specifications. Treat pricing as approximate, since Amazon pricing moves.
What it does well
- Asymmetric optics is the whole point. A normal desk lamp either shines in your eyes or reflects off the screen, and a light aimed at 18 degrees away from the monitor does neither.
- The backlight reduces the contrast between a bright screen and a dark wall, which is the specific thing that makes evening screen work tiring.
- It uses no desk space at all, which on a small desk is worth more than the lighting.
- Two thousand seven hundred to six thousand five hundred Kelvin covers warm evening light and cold morning light, and a wireless dial makes changing it a two second action rather than a menu.
- It turns itself on with the monitor and remembers your settings, which means it actually gets used rather than sitting off.
Where it falls short
- A lamp in the under-$250 tier is a hard price to defend, and cheaper monitor light bars do most of this for a quarter of the price.
- It lights the desk in front of the monitor. It does not light a room, so a dark room still needs something else.
- The clamp fits monitors between 0.17 and 2.36 inches thick and curves from 1000R to 1800R. Very thin, very thick or flatter curved monitors are outside that, so measure before ordering.
- It draws power from the monitor's USB in most setups, so a monitor with no powered USB means another cable to the wall.
- Good lighting will not make you work. Neither will good headphones or a good chair, and buying the desk is a well documented way of not using it.
What owners report
Owners consistently report less eye tiredness during evening screen work and consistently name the absence of screen glare as what separates this from a desk lamp. The backlight is repeatedly described as the feature people did not expect to use and now keep on. The most common criticism is price, and the second is fit on unusual monitors. Nobody reports it lighting a room, because it does not try to.
Lighting is one part of a workable desk and it is not the first part. Our guide to the perfect study environment covers the order to fix things in, and digital detox for study covers the problem no lamp solves. If the issue is that you cannot start rather than that you cannot see, the Pomodoro technique and our timer are free.
Who it suits
- People working at a screen in a dark or dim room.
- Small desks where a lamp would take space that is not available.
- Anyone who has tried a desk lamp and found it reflected off the monitor.
- Evening and night workers, where screen-to-wall contrast is highest.
Who should skip it
- Well-lit desks, where the problem does not exist.
- Unusual monitor thicknesses or curves outside the stated range.
- Buyers who want to light a room rather than a desk.
Alternatives worth considering
The same asymmetric front light and auto-dimming for about half the price. No backlight and no wireless dial, and the core benefit is identical.
Check price on AmazonIf what actually breaks your focus is noise rather than light, this is the same money spent on the problem you have.
Check price on AmazonBefore spending on a premium desk lamp, spend far less on earplugs and find out how much of the problem was noise.
Check price on AmazonCommon questions
Are monitor light bars worth it?
For screen work in a dim room, yes, because they solve the specific problem a desk lamp creates: reflection on the screen and light in your eyes. In a well-lit room they add very little. The question is not whether they work but whether you have the problem.
What is asymmetric lighting?
The optics are designed so light is thrown forward onto the desk and not backward onto the screen or upward into your eyes. BenQ states an 18 degree anti-glare angle. That is the entire reason a monitor light bar exists rather than being a lamp on a stick.
What colour temperature should you work at?
Cooler light in the morning and warmer in the evening is the common approach, and this covers 2700K to 6500K. There is no single correct number, and the practical benefit of an adjustable light is that you stop staring at 6500K at eleven at night.
Halo 2 or the standard ScreenBar?
The Halo 2 adds the ambient backlight, the wireless dial and a wider colour range. The standard ScreenBar gives you the asymmetric front light and auto-dimming for about half the price. If the backlight does not appeal, the cheaper one delivers the main benefit.
Keep reading
- The perfect study environment
- Deep work vs shallow work
- Pomodoro technique guide
- Sony WH-1000XM5 review
- Loop Quiet 2 review
- Magicteam white noise machine review
This review draws on published specifications, manufacturer figures and the consensus of verified owner reviews. We have not tested this product ourselves, and we say so rather than implying otherwise. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.