Desktop Upgrades Demand Lighting Evolution: Experiencing the BenQ iScreenBar and ScreenBar Max

August 28, 2026 9 min read 9 min read In 2017, BenQ introduced the first-generation ScreenBar, moving the desk-occupying lamp base to the top of the monitor and using an asymmetric optical path to illuminate the desk while avoiding the screen, thus creating the world's first monitor light bar. Over the following decade, product iterations roughly unfolded along two directions: physical structure and smart experience. The lamp heads became lighter, the mounting structures became compatible with more monitors, and the asymmetric optical path continuously adjusted the illumination range while reducing screen reflection. On the other hand, wireless controllers, auto-dimming, color temperature adjustment, and presence sensors were added. In the past two years, starting from the ScreenBar Pro, the light bar has been able to sit quietly on the monitor, automatically turning on and off, and adjusting brightness and color temperature, making its presence almost imperceptible during use. When we previously experienced the ScreenBar Pro, our deepest impression was that it felt virtually non-existent. It perfectly illuminated the desk without taking up space, requiring almost no active adjustment from the user. A product that becomes indispensable yet unnoticeable signifies true maturity, making it genuinely difficult to imagine what obvious changes could still occur. However, the desktop hasn't stood still. Some people have switched to iMacs, which integrate the host, camera, microphone, and speakers into a single screen; others have brought a second monitor to their desks, even mixing horizontal and vertical layouts. In the AI era, multitasking has become increasingly frequent, and ultrawide screens are getting longer. Furthermore, the desk might not only hold a keyboard; paper, drawing tablets, and various objects requiring hands-on handling are all competing for desktop illumination. Thus, we saw that lighting solutions originally formed around a single standard monitor began to hit a bottleneck. Consequently, at the ScreenBar 10th-anniversary new product launch, BenQ introduced the brand-new iScreenBar and ScreenBar Max, responding to the changes in the digital desktop from two different directions. iScreenBar is highly unified with the iMac's design The iScreenBar is made lighter and closer to the iMac. It finds its own place by following the iMac's original appearance and structure, and then integrates lighting control into macOS. Once installed, the iScreenBar looks like an inherent part of the iMac. The ScreenBar Max, on the other hand, departs from the single monitor; an independent arm allows the lamp head to bridge the gap between dual screens, adjusting height, distance, and illumination position. A wider lamp head also brings light beyond the screens, covering the keyboard, papers, and other objects across the entire workstation. The launch event demonstrated the ScreenBar Max's inclusivity for different types of desktops The former strives to design along a highly integrated computer, while the latter accepts the reality of an ever-expanding large workstation desk. One aims to minimize the lamp's presence on the desk, while the other proactively takes on more lighting tasks. Both products are created from the same technological foundation, yet their forms satisfy different scenarios and needs. Therefore, the iScreenBar and ScreenBar Max are more like two new solutions branching out from the ScreenBar product line. BenQ didn't reinvent the lamp, nor did it overturn the past decade's design. It re-examined the screens, devices, and usage habits around the lamp, and then placed the already mature optics, structure, and smart experience onto two different desks. The iScreenBar hidden within the iMac's design An iMac's completeness can easily be disrupted by an ill-fitting accessory. The current iMac houses a Center Stage camera, a three-microphone array, and a six-speaker system within the same chassis, maintaining strong consistency in color, material, and lines. Although standard monitor light bars can be mounted on an iMac, the heavy clamps might block the camera and rear microphone openings after installation, and cables might dangle awkwardly down the clean back of the chassis. These deviations in color, material, structure, or proportion add a conspicuous attachment to the iMac's originally seamless exterior, potentially even interfering with its normal operation. iScreenBar adopts a design language almost identical to the iMac The iScreenBar uses a magnetic mounting method, allowing the fixed structure to be much lighter. The lamp body's color and materials are adjusted to match the iMac, while avoiding the camera, microphone, and speakers on the chassis. After the cables are gathered along the back, the only part visible from the front is the lamp head itself. With a lighter lamp body, the illumination still needs to cover the frequently used desktop area in front of the iMac. iScreenBar utilizes the third-generation ASYM-Light asymmetric optics The iScreenBar uses the third-generation ASYM-Light asymmetric optics to focus light onto the keyboard and desk, keeping the screen and eyes away from direct light. Thus, although the lamp can be installed close to the iMac, the desktop illumination range is not compromised. iScreenBar can still effectively illuminate the keyboard and mouse area in front of the screen But appearance only accomplishes part of the job. The iMac's advantage has always come from hardware-software integration. Therefore, in addition to the mature auto-dimming feature based on ambient light, iScreenBar also integrates lighting control into macOS. Its companion app can use Power Sync to turn the lamp on and off with the iMac. When the user sits down to start work and finishes, the lamp turns on and off with the computer. If presence sensing is enabled, there's no need to worry about the switch when temporarily leaving the desk. iScreenBar settings can be quickly adjusted via companion software on macOS The app can also save lighting settings for different software. For example, use neutral brightness and color temperature when writing, call up another lighting profile when processing images, and switch to a video call fill-light mode after opening video conferencing software, enhancing video quality based on ambient light. This might not seem as direct as hardware specs, but it perfectly matches iMac users' operational habits. Many iMac experiences are inherently completed by both hardware and software—the computer knows what the user is doing and adjusts the device state—only now, lighting has joined this workflow. Setting separate lighting profiles for different software The iScreenBar's target scope is very clear. It is designed around the iMac's chassis structure, appearance, and macOS; if switched to another computer or monitor, many details would lose their function. But for an iMac, which is difficult to accessorize arbitrarily, the iScreenBar's willingness to conform to the computer's original design is exactly its reason for existence. ScreenBar Max aims to cover the entire workstation The ScreenBar Max assumes that the user's desktop no longer has a clear center. On a single-screen desk, the person, monitor, and light bar are mostly located on the same central axis. After two screens are placed side-by-side, the user's seat might face the gap between them or be consistently offset toward one. The center of the display area, the center of the desk, and the user's position begin to misalign. A traditional light bar fixed to one screen easily causes light to skew to one side; placed near the seam of two screens, it encounters issues with bezels, angles, and mounting stability. If one monitor is placed vertically, or swapped for an ultrawide screen, it's also hard to find a spot above the screen suitable for both mounting and illumination. ScreenBar Max provides a minimalist yet wide-ranging illumination coverage The ScreenBar Max thus leaves the top of the monitor. It is secured to the desk via a desk clamp or an optional stand, and then uses an independent arm to extend an 85cm ultra-long lamp head over the front of the screens. The lamp head doesn't need to attach to any single monitor; when monitors are raised, rotated, or rearranged, the lamp's position can be adjusted independently. The independent arm provides space for height and depth adjustment; based on the monitor size in use, it supports height adjustment up to 55 - 71cm, and track-based depth adjustment of 17.5 - 28cm. If you want the light concentrated near the keyboard, move the lamp head back; if papers, journals, or devices being processed are spread on the desk, the lamp head can be extended forward. The lamp head track allows arbitrary extension and retraction To ensure light effectively covers a dual-screen desk, ScreenBar Max introduces the brand-new ASYM-TriZone panoramic asymmetric light pattern. Thanks to the ScreenBar Max's wider lamp head, illumination extends to the front of both screens, with light primarily directed at the desk while using a light-shielding design to reduce monitor glare and direct light to the eyes. The area between the two screens, which used to easily darken, is also included in the illumination range. The light path design of ScreenBar Max can be intuitively seen through wall reflection A wider light pattern also needs to handle shadows generated by desktop operations; the ScreenBar Max reduces multiple shadows from different directions by staggered LED arrangements. The ambient light on the back of the lamp head shines toward the wall, softening the contrast between the bright screen and the dark background. So although it looks like a traditional desk lamp, the user experience is completely different. Furthermore, the ScreenBar Max consolidates controls like brightness, color temperature, auto-dimming, and presence sensing onto a controller with a display. Users can directly see the current status and reset it according to desktop changes. For a lamp serving the modern digital desktop, clear and automatically adjusted lighting status is much more convenient than buttons. Clear and easily accessible lamp control keys The ScreenBar Max targets workstations composed of dual screens, vertical screens, and ultrawide screens, as well as desks that simultaneously handle computer operations, reading, and manual tasks. After leaving the screen, it gains a larger adjustment range and accepts a more distinct presence. Letting light adapt to the changed desktop The iScreenBar and ScreenBar Max look very different, but they still utilize the asymmetric lighting, auto-dimming, and presence sensing experience BenQ has accumulated over the past decade. Mature technology has become the common starting point for both products, allowing BenQ to focus more on the relationship between the lamp and other devices. The iScreenBar needs to understand the iMac, installing along the all-in-one's original appearance and structure, and then participating in the computer's usage via companion software. The ScreenBar Max needs to understand the increasingly complex desktop layouts and user needs, giving up attachment to a single monitor and responding to proliferating screens and desktop operations through an independent arm. iScreenBar provides an extremely clean and just-right cable routing design There is no simple replacement relationship between these two new products and the older ones. If you use a standard monitor, the traditional ScreenBar Pro or ScreenBar Halo is still suitable; iMac users can choose the iScreenBar, and dual-screen or large workstations will more easily leverage the ScreenBar Max's capabilities. Different desks mean different lighting problems to solve. This also explains why BenQ keeps making seemingly highly specialized lamps—besides monitor light bars, there are products for laptops, reading, and pianos. Laptops move, and the lighting needs for posture during reading or piano practice, as well as for sheet music and keys, differ. The monitor light bar is just one of these specific solutions. We often encounter similar situations when sharing productivity tools. A spec sheet only shows what a product can do; only specific scenarios explain why a product looks the way it does. BenQ uses different products to light up us doing different things, which reveals whether a design actually solves a problem or merely adds a feature. The 10-year iteration history of ScreenBar displayed at the launch event I previously found it hard to imagine what changes could still happen to monitor light bars because I only focused on the lamp itself. But the iScreenBar and ScreenBar Max stepped outside the product and returned to real scenarios, changing the relationship between the lamp, screen, desk, and person in actual experience. BenQ spent the past decade answering how to make a good monitor light bar, and now these two new products are tackling changes in usage scenarios: computers are getting more powerful, workstations are getting larger, and people are doing more on their desks. Light sources also deserve different forms and positions. May you find the beam of light that suits you best.