Every year we get a ton of new product announcements at CES, and CES 2021 is no exception, even if the format of the show is different. And after a year of working from home and teaching our kids remotely, computer monitors have become more than a desktop computer accessory, they're increasingly our window out into the rest of the world.
Well, this week's product announcements are more than window dressing, as companies unveiled new monitors that bring better clarity, higher resolution and more convenience to the monitor category. From blazing fast screens designed to compete against the best gaming monitors to displays tailored to our home office lives — not to mention monitors that toe the line between desktop display and full blown TV — we've rounded up the most exciting monitor announcements at CES 2021.
Acer Nitro XV282K KV
Acer's coolest announcement this year is definitely the Acer Nitro XV282K KV. This 28-inch monitor boasts 4K resolution (3840 x 2160), an IPS panel for rich color and wide viewing angles, and 144Hz refresh rate, not to mention a wide color gamut, with 90% DCI-P3 coverage. With AMD FreeSync and HDMI 2.1 connectivity, it will provide smooth, tear-free gaming for everything from gaming PCs to the latest gaming consoles. It will sell for $899.99 this May (although our Acer promo codes may help you get it for less).
Acer announced a trio of gaming monitors this week, with two new Acer Predator monitors along with the slightly more affordable Acer Nitro.
Asus ROG Strix XG43UQ
Asus has a number of new monitors coming in 2021, with four new gaming displays, two professional monitors and a portable USB-C monitor coming for 2021. But our favorite of the bunch may be the Asus ROG Strix XG43UQ.
Gaming monitors are nothing new, but with a giant 43-inch screen, the ROG Strix XG43UQ falls somewhere between gaming monitor and TV, giving you one of the biggest screens you can get on a monitor. The behemoth offers 4K (3840 x 2160) resolution, HDMI 2.1 connectivity and a speedy 144Hz refresh rate – fast enough to match the best gaming rigs and easily support new consoles. It should look great, too, with VESA DisplayHDR 1000 certification and 90% DCI-P3 coverage.
There's no pricing details for this beast yet, but it's coming sometime this spring.
Dell UltraSharp 40 Curved Monitor (U4021QW)
Bigger isn't always better, but it sure makes for an eye-catching monitor. Dell's biggest monitor announcement is the Dell UltraSharp 40 Curved Monitor (U4021QW), and it's one of the biggest monitors you can get for your home office. With a whopping 5120 x 2160 resolution — offering the same 140 PPI pixel density of a 32-inch 4K screen, but stretched for a 33% wider display — it offers ample room for productivity, effectively replacing most two- and three-monitor setups with a single curved screen.
The Dell UltraSharp 40 Curved Monitor has a 2,500 radius curve, keeping every inch of the screen at the same viewing distance, and Dell is touting the pre-calibrated color accuracy and wide color gamut — 98% DCI-P3 coverage and 100% of the Adobe sRGB color space.
It's also packed to the gills with capability, like Thunderbolt 3 that can power a laptop with up to 90 watts of power, DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0 a fistful of USB-A and C ports, as well as a pair of built-in speakers. The Dell UltraSharp 40 Curved Monitor (U4021QW) will sell for $2,099.99 starting January 28th.
HP E27u G4
The HP E27UG4 provides an excellent home office solution thanks to its USB-C connectivity, which lets you connect the PC, charge your laptop and connect devices through a built-in 4-port USB hub, all over a single USB-C cable. That four-port hub is outfitted with USB 3.2 gen 1 ports which are rated at 5 Gbps, and the monitor is set up with additional connections, such as DisplayPort 1.2 output and input so that you can daisy chain more than one together for a multi-monitor setup.
The display's QHD (2560x1440) resolution should offer plenty of detail for office work, and a blue light filter — HP's Eye Ease technology — eliminates much of the blue light that causes eye strain on normal monitors.
The HP E27u G4 arrives in stores this February, with a price of $339. HP also has a 24-inch model with full HD resolution, the HP E24u G4, that will be selling for $219.
Lenovo L27E-30
Lenovo has a pair of monitors, the Lenovo Lenovo L24i-30 and the Lenovo L27E-30, a pair of full HD (1920 x 1080) resolution monitors with some thoughtful design elements. One small touch that caught our attention is the inclusion of an integrated smartphone holder in the base. While this is a simple channel in the material of the stand that you can prop your phone up in, it's the sort of touch that improves a home office by making it easier to keep the important devices (and the information feeds they carry) easily accessible.
Both monitors feature IPS panels with wide viewing angles, as well as blue light filtering and anti-glare coatings for better visibility and comfort for all-day use. The monitors are AMD FreeSync compatible with refresh rates up to 75 hz.
Both monitors are expected to launch in March. The 23.8-inch Lenovo L24i-30 Monitor starts at $159.99 while the 27-inch Lenovo L27e-30 Monitor starts at $189.99.
LG UltraFine OLED Pro 32EP950
LG has announced what promises to be the best looking monitor of 2021, the LG UltraFine OLED Pro 32EP950. Featuring one of LG's excellent OLED panels, the monitor is built for creators and leverages the incredible contrast capability of OLED — a premium technology that rarely comes to desktop monitors.
The 32-inch OLED monitor boasts 4K (3840x2160) resolution, covering 99% of both the DCI-P3 and Adobe SRGB color gamuts. Paired with the 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio of the panel, it should be positively gorgeous, and well-suited to the professional users LG is targeting.
It also has a full range of connectivity options with two DisplayPort connections, a USB-C input with 90 watts of power for charging devices, one HDMI input and a three-port USB hub. Though it has no built-in speakers, it also has a 3.5mm audio jack for supporting external speakers, but audio will likely only be carried when using an HDMI connection.
LG has not announced the price for this model, and there's no word on when it's coming to stores.
Viewsonic Elite XG320U Gaming Monitor
Viewsonic's hottest announcement of the show is definitely the Viewsonic Elite XG320U Gaming Monitor. The 32-inch gaming monitor lives up to the Elite name with a sleek three-side borderless design, single cable connectivity over HDMI 2.1 and a slew of features gamers will love.
The monitor boasts 4K resolution (3840x2160) matched with 144 Hz refresh rates, AMD FreeSync Premium Pro for ultra-smooth gaming, VESA DisplayHDR 600 certification and 99% coverage of the Adobe sRGB color space. Included with the HDMI 2.1 support is auto low latency mode (ALLM), an especially helpful feature for console gamers looking for an edge over their TV-bound competitors.
But even PC gamers will love this monitor not only for its high refresh rates but it's speedy 1ms pixel response time and Viewsonic's Pure XP glitter reduction technology that keeps even fast motion clear.
The Viewsonic Elite XG320U will be coming in the first quarter of 2021. Pricing has not yet been announced.
