CES is always full of futuristic technology announcements, but often, it’s also filled with practical tech. Computers monitors are essential to many of our workflows, especially in the era of COVID-19. So what were the best new monitors announced at CES 2021? Read on to find out.
Best overall: LG Ultrafine OLED Pro
LG’s new Ultrafine OLED Pro isn’t just your standard 31.5-inch 4K display. Even though OLED technology has become mainstream in smartphones and more prevalent in TVs, it’s still quite rare to find the tech in computer monitors. That’s a shame because OLEDs have the ability to turn individual pixels on and off for near-infinite contrast ratios.
LG says the Ultrafine OLED Pro can individually dim every one of it’s over eight million pixels, which should help remove the annoying haloing you’ll find in many backlit monitors. The monitor covers 99% of the PCI-P3 and Adobe RGB color space, making it fantastic for anything color-sensitive.
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Beyond its visual benefits, the Ultrafine OLED Pro comes absolutely stacked with I/O ports. On the back, you’ll find a USB-C port with 90W power delivery, two DisplayPort ports, three USB-A ports, one HDMI port, and a headphone jack.
LG hasn’t revealed a release date or price for this display quite yet, but based on its specs, we can assume it will cost quite a bit of cash.
Ultra-wide: Dell Ultrasharp 40 Curved
If you’re looking for an ultra-wide monitor, there are a lot of options out there at this point. However, Dell is a household name in quality monitors, and its new Ultrasharp 40 Curved sure is a looker.
The Ultrasharp 40 Curved has a nearly 5K resolution and an aspect ratio of 21:9 for a truly cinematic experience. The monitor covers 98% of the P3 color space and 100% of the sRGB color space.
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For connectivity, the Ultrasharp 40 Curved offers Thunderbolt 3, Ethernet, four USB 10Gbps ports, and a USB-C port on the front of the display. You’ll also find two HDMI ports and one DisplayPort input. Additionally, there’s even a security lock slot if you feel the need to anchor your monitor to your desk.
If you want to get your hands on one, you’ll have to pay up. The Ultrasharp 40 curved costs a hot $2,100. If you’re someone who needs the space and resolution, however, it should be worth a look. The monitor will be available January 28, 2021.
Gaming: Asus ROG Strix XG43UQ
HDMI 2.1 has made a huge splash at this year’s CES, and for good reason. It can support up to 8K streams at 60 frames per second. More importantly for gamers, it can handle 4K 120fps — a flagship feature of many of this year’s new consoles. If you’re someone who owns both a PC and a PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X, you’ll want to pay attention to this year’s monitor releases.
Known far and wide for its quality gaming hardware, Asus was quick to announce a number of gaming monitors that sport the HDMI 2.1 spec. However, maybe the most interesting is the ROG Strix XG43UQ. This 43-inch monitor could really double as a TV, but its gaming features will probably make you want to use it to play your favorites all the time.
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The ROG Strix XG43UQ has a 144Hz refresh rate with a 1ms response time. Since it features the new Display Stream Compression feature, it should also be able to push that full 4K at 144fps. Additionally, it features HDR1000 and covers 90% of the DCI-P3 color space. So, while you probably don’t want to do extremely color-sensitive work on this monitor, it should be fantastic for gaming.
The Asus monitor has two HDMI 2.1 ports, so if you own both a PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, you’ll be able to use both with it. It also features one DisplayPort 1.4 port for connecting your computer to the display.
Asus hasn’t yet announced a price for these monitors, but it’s set a release time frame of Q2 2021.
Art and color work: Asus ProArt PA148CTV portable monitor
While this may not be the art monitor with the best specs introduced at CES 2021, it’s certainly one of the more interesting ones. The Asus ProArt PA148CTV is a 14-inch portable display that covers 100% of the sRGB and Rec. 709 color spaces. It’s even factory-calibrated and Calman Verified to achieve an average Delta E value of less than two.
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This monitor is really made for use in portable studio environments. Because of this, it’s not 4K, but only 1080p. That said, it has multiple different stand angles for your changing use cases, and it features a specialized dial to tune it exactly how you like it.
The ProArt PA148CTV also has a special trick up its sleeve. It can be used as a touch display with specialized shortcut controls for creative apps like Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop. So, while this monitor is great for showing clients work on location, it’s also good for editing at home.
Asus has not yet announced pricing or availability for the ProArt PA148CTV display.
High-res: ViewSonic VP3286-8k
More resolution means more workspace, and we could all use more of that now. Now that 8K TVs are starting to bleed into the mainstream, it only makes sense to get some 8K monitors too. That’s why ViewSonic released its newest offering, the VP3286-8K.
The VP3286-8k is a 32-inch high-res monitor that ViewSonic says is perfect for photographers. It covers 99% of the Adobe-RGB gamut and also includes a color-blind mode to help the visually impaired.
The monitor also comes with a small puck to calibrate it yourself, as well as a backlight for easier photo editing. For connectivity, it has a Thunderbolt 3 port, DisplayPort, and a USB hub.
If you want to get your hands on this bad boy, you’ll have to pay up. It will be available in the Summer of 2021 for about $5,000.
That concludes our roundup of the best monitors of CES. Want more CES goodness? Check out our roundups for the best new wearables, smart home gadgets, and more.