BenQ ScreenBar Halo 2 Review: Glare-Free Light, Steep Price

This BenQ ScreenBar Halo 2 review covers a monitor-mounted desk light that costs a lot more than an ordinary lamp. I haven’t tested this unit; this review is based on published tests and shopper feedback. One more warning up front: nearly all the detailed independent reviews I could use cover the original ScreenBar from 2017 to 2018, so I use them for the shared idea and say where the Halo 2 differs.

What the Halo 2 is, and who it is for

The ScreenBar family is a slim light bar that clips to the top of a monitor and shines down on the desk, aimed so the light does not bounce into the screen. The Halo 2 adds a second light facing backward, which throws a glow onto the wall behind the monitor. Amazon’s listing describes it as coming with a wireless controller and that backlight.

BenQ’s own page for the original ScreenBar gives some numbers that illustrate the concept, though I have not verified that the Halo 2 matches them. The standard bar is about 45 cm long, clips onto monitor tops 1 to 3 cm thick, flat or curved, and adjusts through eight color temperatures from 2700K to 6500K. It auto-dims toward roughly 500 lux and runs from USB power. Treat those as the original’s figures, not the Halo 2’s.

It makes sense for people who work at a desk with a normal monitor, want proper task lighting, and have no spare desk surface for a lamp. It makes less sense for laptop-only setups, since the clip is designed for monitors.

What Amazon shoppers say

Shopper opinion on Amazon is strongly favorable, and the current price is best checked on the Amazon page itself. A Google or Google Shopping rating was not checked for this post, so shoppers can compare that themselves.

Amazon’s summary of reviews leans positive. Buyers say it reduces eye strain, gives ample light without glare, and looks and feels well built. They like that brightness and color temperature can be adjusted separately for the front and back lights, and that it can adjust itself to the room. They also call it easy to mount.

The one soft spot is value. The summary calls it mixed, and the reason is plain: it is expensive for a lamp.

What independent reviewers found

Notebookcheck reviewed the Halo 2 itself under the title of a desk lamp for night owls. The author found the bar glare-free and simple to use. The criticisms were the high list price and a loose fit on a smooth 27-inch monitor. The conclusion was blunt: buyers on a budget are better off with regular lamps.

For the base ScreenBar, there are four reviews, all of them old. 9to5Mac in 2018 liked it enough to keep using it. It praised a glare-free light that frees up desk space and has a good temperature range. It also noted odd behavior in auto mode and an unintuitive way of cycling color temperature. The reviewer’s first unit was faulty and flickered on and off.

PCWorld, also in 2018, called it clever and space-saving, with even, fairly bright output. It marked it down for the price and said auto mode ignored the warm color setting.

KitGuru gave the bar 7.5 out of 10. It found it convenient, good at cutting screen glare, and good at remembering settings, but said the price was hard to justify and that the clip takes up the monitor’s top edge. The review header and spec line used different names, so I could not confirm it was the same standard model.

Little Day Out was kinder. It judged the bar worth the money for anyone willing to invest in a better workspace, and bright enough to work by alone. Auto mode kept drifting to a warm white, so the reviewer switched to manual.

The pattern across all five reviews: good light, no glare, a recurring gripe about the price, and an auto mode that does not always do what you ask. Whether the Halo 2 has fixed that last problem is not something I could find a test for.

What is good

Space is the headline. The bar sits on the monitor, so the desk stays clear. On a small desk, that matters more than any spec. Reviewers including 9to5Mac, PCWorld and Little Day Out all point to it as the reason to buy.

Glare is the second point. Several reviewers, including 9to5Mac, KitGuru and Notebookcheck, said the light reaches the desk without washing out the screen, which is the job the design exists to do.

The Halo 2 adds a dimension the base model lacks. Back lighting lets you use it in a dim room without sitting in a bright pool of light against a black wall. For night owls, that is what the extra cost buys.

Shoppers also like the separate adjustment for the front and back lights, and the way the bar adapts to room light. On the original bar, PCWorld and Little Day Out both noted that power comes over USB, so there is no wall adapter to hide.

What is bad

The price is the obvious one. At list price it costs far more than a conventional lamp, and Notebookcheck says plainly that a budget buyer should pick a normal lamp. Amazon shoppers rate value as mixed, which matches.

Auto mode is the second. The older reviews all found it overrode a chosen warm setting. That was the base bar in 2018, and the Halo 2 has auto adjustment as a headline feature, so I would read recent owner reviews on this point before buying.

Fit is the third. Notebookcheck found the Halo 2 loose on a smooth 27-inch monitor. The clamp relies on the top edge of the monitor, so very thin or oddly shaped displays may not hold it well. KitGuru and 9to5Mac also point out that the bar uses the monitor’s top edge, which means you lose that spot for a webcam or other add-ons.

Last, I found reports of curved-monitor and balance issues for the Halo line, from a Q&A page. That was a single source, so take it as a prompt to check your own monitor, not a verdict.

Video reviews

I have not watched these, and the channels were not verified. The first covers the regular ScreenBar alongside the Halo, going by its title. The second is about the ScreenBar Plus, an adjacent model with the same idea and a wired remote.

How it compares

Within BenQ’s range, the choice depends on the desk. BenQ’s page lists the ScreenBar Pro as aimed at ultrawide monitors and the ScreenBar Max as listed for dual monitors. The base ScreenBar is the cheaper way in, but without the back light; check the current price on Amazon before deciding.

Outside BenQ, the honest rival is an ordinary LED desk lamp. Reviewers kept coming back to that comparison, and on cost the lamp wins. What the lamp cannot do is free the desk or sit above the screen without glare.

Who should buy it, and who should skip it

Buy it if you work in a dim room, want lighting that does not take desk space, and see a desk lamp as part of your working kit rather than a luxury. Buy it, too, if eye strain is a regular complaint and you have a flat or curved monitor of normal thickness.

There is also a practical side to the decision. Check your monitor before ordering: measure the thickness of the top edge, and note whether it is curved, smooth or unusually thin. BenQ says the original clamp fits tops from 1 to 3 cm, and a loose fit is the one hardware complaint tied directly to the Halo 2.

Skip it if you are on a tight budget, if you work on a laptop alone, or if you have a very slim or oddly shaped display. If you work in a well-lit room, the back light adds little, and the cheaper base bar covers the desk.

Verdict

The ScreenBar Halo 2 does one job well: it lights a desk without glare and without using the desk. Shoppers speak well of it, and the one independent test of the Halo 2 found little wrong beyond fit and price.

In my view, it is a luxury that a lot of people will enjoy and few need. If you spend long hours at a screen in a dim room, the combination of task light and back light is a real comfort. If a cheap lamp already serves you, this will not feel like an improvement in proportion to the price.

• BenQ ScreenBar Halo 2: a glare-free monitor light with a back light, at a high price (check the current price on Amazon). See it on Amazon (affiliate link)

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