Back in the day -- we're talking 40 years ago -- portable TVs were a thing. Once upon a time, you were able to tune into over-the-air signals with your Sony Watchman and watch on a tiny screen whatever your local TV stations were broadcasting. But with smartphones, tablets and laptops now able to stream content wirelessly, including live TV from apps like YouTube TV and many other services, a portable TV seems like a bit of a novelty. And to a certain degree that's just what Skyworth's battery-powered 24-inch P100 Companion Series 1,080-pixel portable TV is. But it's also the largest portable TV I've ever used, and it's on sale for Amazon's Big Spring Sale for $300, or $100 off its list price of $400.
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There are a few key things to highlight about the Skyworth portable TV. First off, it's Wi-Fi-enabled and is equipped with Google TV, so it's a streaming device. It's also got Chromecast built-in so you can cast to it from an Android phone (I was able to cast the Spectrum TV app to it from my iPhone 16 Pro but had to fiddle around with the settings in my Google Home app to get it to work). And finally, it has an integrated battery that delivers up to 3 hours of battery life in energy-saving mode (the battery life seemed closer to 2 hours in my tests). You can also plug the TV in -- that's what you have to do to charge it -- just like a normal TV.
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Skyworth 24P100 portable TV specs
Here are the details about this battery-powered TV.
- Size: 24-inch LED TV with matte screen to reduce glare
- Resolution: 1,920x1,080 (1,080p)
- Refresh rate: 60Hz
- Sound: Built-in mini soundbar (two 6W speakers)
- OS: Google TV (supports Google Chromecast)
- Wireless: Wi-Fi and Bluetooth 5.0
- Weight: 9.04 pounds (4.1 kg)
- Dimensions: 21.59x14.41x2.91 inches
- Battery Life: Up to 3 hours (expect closer to 2 hours, however)
- Included: Remote and two AAA batteries, power adapter (12 volts, 5 amps) and faux-leather handle
- Connectivity: 1 HDMI, USB-A, LAN, 3.5mm aux-in and digital audio out ports
This Skyworth TV isn't going to win any awards for picture or sound quality. It's technically a 1080p LED TV with HDR10, but when you first see the user interface, the channel icons don't seem all that sharp. However, when you start streaming, the picture does appear to be 1080p. You just aren't going to get inky blacks. But it is a matte screen that cuts down on the glare and has a relatively wide viewing angle. The picture is certainly acceptable and it's designed to be taken outdoors, though it has no water resistance rating, so you wouldn't want to leave it out in the rain. (Sylvox makes a 15.6-inch portable TV that's apparently waterproof, but it's smaller than this TV and right now costs more at $359).
There's a mini soundbar in the base -- Skyworth says the TV is equipped with Dolby Audio -- that can play pretty loud, but the dynamic range is a little narrow. That's a polite way of saying there isn't a whole lot of bass. But again, for casual viewing, it does the job and you could connect a better speaker to it if you wanted to you. You could also connect a streaming device like a Roku 4K Streaming Stick to it. On the side of the TV, you'll find a single HDMI port, a USB port out for power, plus an optical output, 3.5mm auxiliary output and Ethernet port.
The TV's connectivity options.
Screwed into the back of TV is a handle made out of faux leather for carrying the TV, which is fairly lightweight at 11 pounds. Skyworth also sells a carrying case for it, and a bundle that includes the case is $360. Otherwise the case costs $79 on its own, although a $29 coupon on Amazon currently brings the case down to $50, so the bundle isn't a deal.
Is this a better option than a portable monitor? In some ways, yes. First off, this is bigger than most portable monitors, and to reiterate, the key feature here is the integrated battery (alas, it doesn't appear to be replaceable), so you can view the TV wherever you want (for 2 to 3 hours anyway). I used it on my home Wi-Fi but also connected the TV to my phone's hot spot when I was outside, and it worked fine streaming content. True, it's significantly more expensive than many portable monitors, but the use case for a portable monitor tends to be different.
You can check out our roundup to find all the best deals from Amazon's Big Spring Sale. And if you happen to be shopping for an upcoming graduate, find some inspiration in our list of the best gifts for grads.