the desk lamp used to live next to the monitor and bounce a white rectangle into every ranked night. i kept moving it. it kept winning. the benq screenbar halo 2 sits on the monitor instead, so the light is on the desk and not in the screen.
usb-c into the hub. clip on the top bezel. wireless dial on the desk that i actually use, which is rare for a gadget dial. here's what it does that a $20 lamp did not:
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the light that left the desk
benq screenbar halo 2
- clips on the monitor — no base eating mouse pad
- front light for the desk, backlight so the wall isn't a black hole
- wireless controller for brightness and warmth. i leave it warm after 11
- fits flat monitors in the usual thickness range. check yours if the back is weird
what changed at the desk
overhead off. lamp gone. the bar does the 1am shift. my eyes last a full session instead of tapping out because the screen was the only light in the room. it is not magic. it is just not glare.
price is around $199. that is a lot for a light. i would not have bought it if the cheap lamp had stayed in its lane. it did not. halo 2 is the one with add-to-cart as of 2026-09-18; the older halo listing was thinner. if you only need front light, the cheaper screenbar exists. i wanted the backlight because the apartment is dark.
honest pros and cons
pros: desk space back. no reflection on the panel when it's aimed right. the dial is one thing, not an app. cons: it is $199-ish. the clip cares about bezel thickness. if your monitor back is a sculpture, measure first. usb power is another cable, which i already had in the hub.
the board under it is the keychron k2 pro. light first if your problem is glare. keyboard first if your problem is noise. mine was both, in that order, because i could hear the clicks before i noticed the lamp.