TL;DR: The LG StanbyME 2 is a pricey but delightful oddball — a rolling 27-inch touchscreen that can follow you from the kitchen to the bedroom. It’s not the best screen, not the best deal, but absolutely one of a kind.

There are gadgets that make sense. The kind that you can justify with logic, spreadsheets, or that all-too-familiar “I’ll totally use this every day” speech you give yourself at checkout. Then there are the other kind — the category that exists purely because someone at a tech company said, “What if we just… did that?” The LG StanbyME 2 sits comfortably, unapologetically, in that latter camp.

It’s not quite a TV, not quite a tablet, and not quite a monitor — and yet, it somehow manages to be all three while looking like a prop from a near-future IKEA catalogue. When I first rolled it (yes, rolled — we’ll get to that), I wasn’t sure if I’d accidentally joined a new tech cult or just discovered the most ridiculous invention I’d actually end up loving.

And that’s the paradox of the LG StanbyME 2. It’s a 27-inch touchscreen on wheels that wants to follow you around your house like a loyal golden retriever — but for your Netflix queue. It costs a small fortune, looks faintly ridiculous, and yet, after a week with it, I found myself quietly, begrudgingly, charmed.

This is a story about a display that refuses to fit neatly into a category, a piece of tech that’s both too much and not enough — and how, against all odds, it managed to earn a weird little place in my heart.

The Category That Shouldn’t Exist (But I’m Glad It Does)

Let’s start with the basics. The LG StanbyME 2 costs about AED 4,499 — a price point that lands awkwardly between “premium tablet” and “entry-level OLED TV.” It’s like LG looked at both those categories and said, “What if we made something that does half of each, for the price of both?”

And yet, that’s kind of the point. This isn’t a product built to compete with iPads or OLEDs. It’s a product built for people who already have those things and want something different. Something weird. Something that sparks conversation when your friends come over.

The original StanbyME was already strange enough — a kind of rolling tablet-stand combo that looked like a robot intern trying to show you a PowerPoint. But the sequel, the StanbyME 2, doubles down on its identity. The screen now detaches entirely, the battery’s built into the display itself, and LG’s engineers clearly spent late nights dreaming up all the ways you could move, tilt, and prop up this screen around your house.

It’s one part TV, one part monitor, one part lifestyle experiment.

If you’ve ever wished your living room TV could follow you to the kitchen, or your tablet could stand up tall on its own beside your bed, the StanbyME 2 says: I got you.

The problem is, for most people, that wish never existed.

The Design: Awkwardly Adorable, Like a Puppy on Wheels

You know how some gadgets look so sleek they almost intimidate you? The kind you’re afraid to touch without a microfiber cloth? Yeah — this isn’t that. The StanbyME 2 has all the elegance of a Fisher-Price “My First TV.”

It’s chunky, the bezels are thick enough to make a 2015 tablet blush, and when you first roll it into a room, people stare at it like it’s an alien artifact.

But here’s the thing: you stop caring.

Because the moment you grab that telescopic stand, feel how satisfyingly solid the wheels are, and rotate the screen from portrait to landscape with one smooth motion — it starts to make sense. It’s oddly delightful to use, in the same way fidget spinners were for adults who claimed “they help me think.”

The screen pops off the base with a satisfying click, transforming from a rolling monitor into a kind of giant tablet with its own battery. You can plop it on the floor, lean it against a wall, or use the included folio case to make it look like a stylish piece of decor. LG even sells a strap so you can hang it on your wall like a $4,000 digital photo frame, which is equal parts absurd and inspired.

In theory, it’s designed for ultimate flexibility — in practice, it feels like LG challenged itself to see how many rooms a single screen could invade.

Living With a Rolling Screen

I’ll admit, the first time I used the StanbyME 2, I rolled it around just because I could. You can feely set it up beside the kitchen counter to follow a recipe video, roll it to the dining area for YouTube during dinner, then parkit by the couch for a late-night Disney+ binge.

At some point, I realized I was treating it like a pet. I’d catch myself saying things like, “Okay, let’s go to the bedroom,” as if it could respond. And the truth is, that’s exactly what LG wants you to do — to make the StanbyME part of your daily rhythm.

But practicality hits quick. It’s not light. You can carry it, but you won’t be slinging it over your shoulder like LG’s marketing videos suggest. It’s manageable for short moves, but it’s not exactly grab-and-go portable. Think of it more as “roll between rooms” portable, not “throw it in your backpack” portable.

Still, it’s versatile. You can set it up vertically for video calls or social media browsing, or flip it horizontally for a full cinematic experience. The adjustable tilt helps, though the lack of height adjustment feels like a miss — especially if you’re trying to line it up perfectly beside your bed or desk.

It’s weirdly satisfying, though. The kind of gadget that makes you grin even as you mutter, “This is ridiculous.”

The Display: Good Enough, But Not LG-Good

Let’s get one thing straight — LG knows how to make incredible displays. Their OLED panels are the gold standard. Which makes the StanbyME 2’s screen a bit of a letdown.

It’s a 27-inch 1440p IPS panel. Respectable, yes. But it’s not OLED, and once you’ve seen LG’s own OLEDs, it’s hard to unsee the difference. The matte coating helps with reflections but mutes the vibrancy. Blacks are grey-ish, colors lose a bit of their punch, and viewing angles aren’t stellar.

That said, it’s not bad. It’s just not “LG good.”

For streaming shows, watching YouTube, or even gaming on something like a Steam Deck, it’s solid. The 1440p resolution gives you decent sharpness, and the 500 nits of brightness are enough for most indoor settings — unless you’ve got it right next to a sunny window.

The size makes it feel more immersive than any tablet, and even though the color depth isn’t cinema-grade, it’s absolutely fine for casual use.

The Audio: Respectable, But Headphones Still Win

The StanbyME 2’s built-in speakers are perfectly adequate — maybe even above average for a device this weird. The AI Sound Pro mode tries to stretch the audio into faux surround, but it ends up hollow and overprocessed. Switching to Cinema or Standard modes delivers a warmer, more balanced experience.

For casual viewing or background music, it’s great. For movie night? Grab your headphones. There’s no 3.5mm jack, so you’ll need Bluetooth — a minor inconvenience, but still annoying for something this premium.

The Software: webOS Gets Personal

The StanbyME 2 runs a special version of LG’s webOS, redesigned to behave like a giant tablet interface. The icons are big, the layout touch-friendly, and for once, LG nailed the usability.

It’s basically a smart TV interface that grew up and decided it wanted to be a touchscreen.

All the major apps are here — Netflix, Disney+, Prime Video, YouTube, Apple TV, and a few local streaming services. The LG Content Store isn’t exactly brimming with options, but it covers most of what you’d need.

Performance-wise, it’s mostly smooth, though there are occasional hiccups. You’ll notice a second of lag here or there when launching apps or switching inputs, which feels unworthy of a device this expensive. But in daily use, it’s fine.

You can also use it for light productivity — emphasis on light. There’s browser-based access to Gmail, Drive, and Docs, but it’s like trying to work on a tablet that doesn’t quite understand why you’re doing this to it. It’s okay for checking emails or viewing presentations, but don’t expect to ditch your laptop.

Still, the touchscreen responsiveness is great. Flicking through menus, resizing videos, scrolling through YouTube comments — it all feels natural.

The Battery Life:

LG rates the projector for up to four hours of playback, giving you plenty of time to enjoy a full movie or a solid mini-binge on the go. Even with brighter settings, it still delivers enough viewing time for quick sessions, casual streaming, or a travel-friendly setup.

Pair it with a charger when you’re settling in for longer marathons, and you’ve got a flexible, ready-anywhere entertainment companion.

It charges via USB-C with a 65W adapter, and you can top it up with a compatible power bank — which is a neat touch if you’re rolling it around far from outlets.

But if I’m being honest, you’ll mostly use it plugged in. That’s okay — portability here means “movable” more than “wire-free freedom.”

The Price: A Hard Sell, But a Unique One

At AED 4,499 (around $1,200), this thing is pricey. So why would anyone buy this?

Because nothing else like it exists.

That’s the secret sauce. It’s not competing on specs or price — it’s competing on novelty, on flexibility, on pure “oh wow” factor. If you live in a small apartment, share your TV with someone else, or just love the idea of a screen that moves with you — the StanbyME 2 is the ultimate luxury toy.

For everyone else, it’s an expensive answer to a question they never asked.

The Verdict

The LG StanbyME 2 is absurdly over-engineered and entirely unnecessary — but I kind of adore it.

It’s the kind of gadget that could only come from LG, a company unafraid to chase weird ideas just to see where they land. And while it doesn’t replace your TV, tablet, or monitor, it finds a weird little space between them that’s all its own.

Is it worth AED 4,499? For most people, no. For the few who can see the potential — absolutely.

It’s tech for people who enjoy tech, who appreciate experimentation, who don’t mind paying extra for something that sparks joy in unexpected ways.