FLAT PANEL PROGNOSTICATION
WHAT’S NEXT FOR PC MONITORS?
If microLED is years away, what’s in the immediate future for the PC monitor? In short, refined LCD and OLED displays.
But what exactly can you expect? From a productivity perspective, one of the more exciting screens is Dell’s UltraSharp U3224KB.
It’s a plain old LCD monitor—it doesn’t even have a mini-LED backlight. What it does have is 6,144 by 3,456 pixels or full 6K resolution. It’s also a 32-inch panel, so that immediately begs comparison with Apple’s Pro Display XDR, which is also a 32-inch 4K model. Could the two, in fact, be based on the same LCD panel?
It seems not. The Pro Display has a slightly different 6,016 by 3,384 pixel resolution. Anyway, the Dell screen also sports LG’s IPS Black tech for improved contrast, which should clock in around 2,000:1 or about twice as good as typical IPS monitors. It’s only HDR 600 certified, so it won’t set new standards for brightness. But with 99% coverage of the DCI-P3 gamut, it promises strong color accuracy. And boy is it going to be crispy, with over 220DPI pixel density. Yum.
On the LCD side, we’re also looking forward to Samsung’s latest Odyssey Neo G9. The last Neo G9 was buggy, but we can’t ignore the specs of the upcoming refresh. How about an increase from 49 to 57 inches, 7,680 by 2,160 pixels and 240Hz refresh? Oh, and HDR 1000 certification. More broadly, you can expect zillions of high-refresh 4K monitors in both 27-inch and 32-inch form factors, plus 1440p screens running at 300Hz and more.
One of the more exciting developments for gamers will be the AU Optronics
M320QAN03.0. That’s actually a bare
LCD panel that monitor makers will buy in rather than a finished display. But it promises 4K at 240Hz refresh from a 32-inch IPS form factor. It’s due to go into mass production later this year, so we might just see a retail monitor with those specs by the end of 2023.
AU Optronics also has an 8K 32inch panel with a 4,608-zone mini-LED backlight in the works for this year, which sounds like one heck of a basis for a high-end productivity screen, albeit only running at 60Hz. AU’s rival BOE has a similar 5,000-zone 8K 32-inch panel on its roadmap for this year and LG also has a new 8K IPS panel planned, though for now that one is a bit of a mystery regarding further specifications. Still, it’s certainly looking like 8K is going to be more widely available by the end of the year. So if you’re a high-DPI aficionado, 2023 could just be the year you’ve been waiting for.
Speaking of 8K, believe it or not, AU Optronics actually has a 32-inch 8K OLED panel on its roadmap. Even better, it’s 120Hz capable.
AU Optronics says it will have a conventional RGB subpixel structure, so it’s properly optimized for the PC rather than being a TV panel reworked for PC usage. It certainly sounds like it will be the ultimate do-everything display. AU will also offer a 144Hz 4K 32-OLED option, which sounds very appealing, too, but the company hasn’t revealed precise availability yet.
In the meantime, we’ll see plenty more OLED monitors based on LG and Samsung TV panels. The 27-inch and 34-inch ultrawide models will all be 1440p rather than anything higher resolution, so will be essentially gaming centric rather than high-DPI and thus productivity friendly. And of course, monitors based on full 4K OLED TVs measuring 42 inches and more will become even more common, albeit they’re all best suited for gaming, too. The size and pixel density isn’t exactly optimal for more general desktop duties.