Each year, the Consumer Electronics show brings a ton of new computer monitor announcements, and it’s often difficult to figure out what’s worth paying attention to. When it comes to the most interesting models this year, there were two noteworthy themes.
First of all, my complaint in 2022 about there not being enough OLED monitors was largely addressed this year. CES revealed many plans for OLED monitors in 2024, with a good number of those screens set to be appropriately sized for desktops. That includes the introduction of 32-inch, non-curved QD-OLED options and other smaller screens for people who have been waiting for OLED monitors in more varied form factors.
Secondly, with more people blending their work and home lives these days, CES brought hints that the line between gaming monitors and premium monitors used for general or even professional purposes will be blurring more in the future. We’re not at the point where the best productivity monitor and ideal gaming monitor perfectly align in a single product. But this week’s announcements have me imagining ways that future monitors could better serve users with serious work and play interests.
For now, here are the most intriguing monitors from CES 2024.
Dell UltraSharps hit 120 Hz
Dell started adding 120 Hz models to its UltraSharp series.Scharon Harding
This monitor is VESA DisplayHDR 600-certified.Dell
Ports include Thunderbolt 4 with 140 W power delivery. There’s also a pop-out box of ports by the monitor’s chin.Dell
Dell UltraSharp monitors have long attracted workers and creatives and, with their USB-C connectivity, even Mac users. The last few CES shows have shown Dell attempting to improve its lineup, with the most landmark innovation being the introduction of IPS Black. With CES 2024, though, Dell focused on improved video resolution.
Dell’s UltraSharp 40 Curved Thunderbolt Hub Monitor (U4025QW), pictured above, is a 39.7-inch ultrawide with a 5120×2160 resolution and a 120 Hz refresh rate. As most monitors are aimed at workers still using 60 Hz, this is a big step up for people with systems capable of supporting 11,059,200 pixels at 120 frames per second. Such speeds have been relegated to gaming monitors for a while, but with TVs moving to higher refresh rates (with encouragement from gaming consoles), more people are becoming accustomed to faster screens. And with other attributes, like a 2500R curve, we wouldn’t blame workers for doing some light gaming on the U4025QW, too.
But Dell says the refresh rate boost is about increasing eye comfort. The UltraSharp U4025QW is one of two monitors with 5-star certification from TÜV Rheinland’s new Eye Comfort program, which Dell helped create, a Dell spokesperson told me last month at a press event.
According to TÜV, the certification program “is no longer limited to the old low-blue-light or flicker-free labels” and now “covers a broader range of safety indicators, such as ambient brightness, color temperature adjustment and regulation, and brightness.” New requirements include brightness and color temperature control for different ambient lighting. Dell’s ultrawide covers this with an integrated ambient light sensor.
The certification also requires a minimum 120 Hz refresh rate, which is probably where Dell got the number from. A Dell spokesperson confirmed to Ars that the use of IPS Black didn’t impact the monitor’s ability to get TÜV certifications and that it could have theoretically earned five stars with another panel type, like VA.
Dell announced bringing 120 Hz to the UltraSharp lineup in November when it debuted two 24-inch and two 27-inch UltraSharp monitors with 120 Hz refresh rates. At CES, Dell proved this upgrade wasn’t a fluke relegated to its smaller UltraSharps and went all in, bringing the refresh rate to a top-line ultrawide 5K Thunderbolt 4 monitor.
The U4025QW has an updated version of ComfortView Plus, which uses hardware to lower blue light levels. I’ve seen it function without making colors turn yellowish, as some other blue-light-fighting techniques do. After not significantly updating ComfortView Plus since its 2020 release, Dell now says it’s using a “more advanced LED backlight” to reduce blue light exposure from 50 percent to under 35 percent.
The effects are minimal, though. Dell-provided numbers claim the reduced blue light exposure could reduce eye fatigue by 8 percent after 50 minutes, but we should take that with a grain of salt. It’s nearly impossible to quantify how well blue light reduction techniques work from person to person.
The UltraSharp U4025QW releases on February 27, starting at $2,400.
Asus’ foldable portable monitor
Foldability feels more natural in a portable screen than in other gadgets.
Asus’ foldable doesn’t have an integrated battery, instead drawing power from a connected laptop or powerbank.
The 17.3-incher feels like a 12.5-incher when shut.
In 2024, Asus plans to release what should be the first foldable-screen OLED monitor. Asus’ ZenScreen Fold OLED MQ17QH is a 17.3-inch portable monitor that can fold in half so that it feels like you’re carrying a 12.5-inch display. Adding to its portability, the flexible screen is as thin as other portable monitors—it’s 0.38 inches thick when open—and lightweight for a portable screen this size.
But in typical emerging-tech fashion, the Fold OLED is expected to be wildly expensive for a portable—or any type of—monitor. An Asus rep told me that the company hopes to get the consumer-grade screen on shelves for about $2,000. With such a high cost for what’s likely going to be a secondary or tertiary screen, the vast majority of the consumers this monitor targets will not reasonably be able to buy it.
But beyond personal ownership and the MQ17QH specifically, this display is exciting because it hints at the future of foldables, a category that tech purveyors seem intent on popularizing despite its limitations.
This is the first type of foldable-screen device that I could see myself working on long-term. There’s still concern about the screen potentially having a distracting crease that catches glare and reflections. But those problems could be more acceptable in a backup screen like a portable monitor than with more primary devices like phones and PCs.
And with companies not having to account for the storage, memory, computing, and cooling issues that foldable phones and computers have, it could be easier to introduce more designs at lower prices and with improved durability… eventually, at least.
You can find monitors with many more capabilities and more screen space than what Asus’ foldable will offer. But the MQ17QH is a first of its kind that stands out not just because of what it does but because of what it could potentially do for monitors and foldable devices in general.
The MQ17QH should come out in Q2.
MSI’s “cheating” monitor
What advantage would you have over other players if your monitor added an icon to gameplay that showed the direction enemies were coming from? Sure, you could look at a map to see the same information, but an indicator visible in the action could make it easier to see incoming danger without having to dart your eyes around.
That’s what MSI’s AI accelerator SkySight is introducing in the company’s upcoming MEG 321URX 4K monitor (you can see an image of the monitor powered on via Tom’s Hardware here). MSI showed off the 31.5-inch QD-OLED monitor with League of Legends but told PCWorld that it plans to train the capability on other esports games like Dota 2 and Counter-Strike 2.
With SkySight, players could learn of an incoming enemy that is outside their field of view more quickly. Anti-cheating methods shouldn’t be able to detect SkySight because the AI processing and image generation happen on monitor hardware, not software.
Currently, SkySight doesn’t seem to literally break League of Legends rules. But its implementation could be considered to be against the spirit of fair gaming competition. After all, it gives you an ability that others don’t have. MSI says SkySight gives users a “strategic edge,” according to a sign near the demo that Tom’s Hardware photographed.
The monitor adds an extra AI spin to ongoing conversations about what qualifies as cheating as gaming computers and peripherals get more advanced and try to inject themselves more fully into gameplay.
For example, monitors that can add crosshairs to games have been controversial for years. MSI recently started selling monitors that can add crosshairs that automatically change color, making them visible at any time. Some MSI monitors also include the Optix Scope feature, which MSI says is an on-screen magnifier to aid aiming. IGN has gone so far as to say that Optix Scope is “clearly in the realm of cheating, and you should never ever use it.” It’s likely that MSI’s MEG 321URX will have these smart crosshair and Optix Scope features since its extremely similar counterpart, the MPG 321URX, does as well.
Another way MSI gets to market “AI” as it promotes its new monitor is the Spectrum Bar, an integrated RGB light bar at the monitor’s chin that can show different colors based on how much in-game health you have. Some RGB peripherals offer similar abilities, but the Spectrum Bar may be more visible while you’re trying to keep your eyes on the game.
Further, MSI says it will release an app that lets you train your AI model (using your computer’s processing) so that Spectrum Bar recognizes other in-game attributes and displays corresponding colors. After the training, processing for the feature will work on the monitor, according to Tom’s Hardware’s report.
MSI’s advantage-seeking display is supposed to debut this spring. There is no price yet.
Asus and LG monitors that easily go from 4K to FHD
Asus’ tease. The dual-mode monitors use WOLED panels from LG Display.Asus/YouTube
Both monitors claim a 0.03 ms GtG response time.LG
Examples of VESA’s certifcation logos for AdaptiveSync dual-mode certification.VESA
Asus and LG showed off monitors that can instantly swap from a native 3840×2160 at 240 Hz to 480 Hz by dropping the resolution down to 1080p at the press of a hotkey or by flipping the monitor’s OSD joystick. The idea is to make the monitor more versatile.
LG is incorporating the feature into its UltraGear 32GS95UE. “For fast-paced action titles and shooting games, users can select FHD 480Hz, while visually rich story-driven games can be enjoyed in 4K 240Hz,” the company said.
Asus announced the ROG Swift OLED PG32UCDP, which also has this capability.
Lending some more credibility to the concept, both monitors have been certified by the Video Electronics Standard Association (VESA). During CES, the organization behind standards like DisplayPort updated its AdaptiveSync variable refresh rate standard to include optional testing (for things like flicker and response time) for monitors that use two sets of resolution and refresh rates with AdaptiveSync.
The flexibility of dual modes shows that tech makers are looking for new ways to adapt monitors to different needs. But these monitors still feel rather niche due to their focus on two extremes: ultra-fast 4K and outrageously fast 1080p. Plus, it’s already possible to change the resolution and refresh rate at the OS level.
Still, I can’t help but imagine a world where this sort of thing is taken in a slightly different direction, where someone could just as simply go from something like 4K/60Hz to a gaming-appropriate resolution and refresh rate, all while maintaining good video resolution and image quality. While Asus and LG’s monitors seek to transition across different gaming genres, a monitor as described could have broader appeal by helping users take their monitor from work to play with a button press.
Asus’ PG32UCDP is coming out in the second half of this year and doesn’t have a set price yet. LG hasn’t confirmed its dual-mode monitor’s price or release date.
The fastest OLED monitor
LG Display’s 480 Hz WOLED panel uses a microlens array to boost brightness.LG Display
Asus is typically a speed demon at tech shows like CES.Asus
You can always expect monitors to go big at CES. Whether that means a big size or super-boosted specs, over-the-top monitors are at home at the show. At CES 2024, the monitor pushing the limits of its spec sheet was the 26.5-inch Asus ROG Swift OLED PG27AQDP. It’s the first monitor announced to hit a 480 Hz refresh rate while carrying a 1440p resolution. Since it uses an LG Display WOLED panel, it’s also the fastest OLED monitor ever announced.
LG Display paved the way for this monitor’s arrival when it revealed the 480 Hz panel driving Asus’ monitor at CES. The display claims a gray-to-gray response time of 0.03 milliseconds. Like other newer WOLED panels from LG Display, the 480 Hz display uses a microlens array for a brightness boost compared to older LG Display OLEDs.
1440p monitors, OLED or otherwise, have been limited to 360 Hz refresh rates, so this represents a 33 percent increase in how many frames a QHD monitor can display per second. That said, those coming from a 360 Hz monitor will likely have a hard time discerning the difference with the naked eye, especially compared to someone coming from a less extremely specced monitor, like 144 Hz or slower. Only users with extreme needs, like competitive gamers, should consider buying Asus’ monitor.
As OLED becomes increasingly popular among monitors, it’s inevitable that OEMs will look to push it to greater specs, such as those around speed and brightness. Currently, OLED monitors are still largely targeted toward gamers, but in the years to come, we could see that market expand, forcing more focus on advancements in other areas besides speed. But with non-OLED 1080p monitors already maxing out at 500 Hz (or 540 Hz if overclocked), don’t expect the monitor refresh rate race to end at CES 2024.
The PG27AQDP is expected to be released in the second quarter of the year, but it doesn’t have confirmed pricing.