While other OEMs are working hard at smoothening software and hardware compatibility or fine-tuning camera array, TCL is quietly working on NXTPAPER display technology, to make sure users don’t have to choose between eye comfort and capability when picking up their next mobile device.
The Chinese corporation has some interesting devices already featuring NXTPAPER display on the market. Whether it’s the TCL NXTPAPER phones or the Note A1 tablet, the idea is simple: A device that has a high-performance display focused on eye-comfort and offers a paper-like reading experience. Now building this tech to the next level, TCL has taken to MWC 2026 to unveil a new NXTPAPER screen based on an AMOLED panel.
First launched in the year 2021, TCL’s NXTPAPER display technology has been ahead of the curve as a solution to screen fatigue, which we are becoming accustomed to. The earlier versions of the tech have appeared chiefly on LCD-based mobile devices. But with the introduction of the new, eye-protective experience built on AMOLED, TCL is setting new standards for the mobile industry.
The comfortable, paper-like, full-color display based on an AMOLED panel, according to TCL, is likely to find its way into the first AMOLED NXTPAPER smartphone soon. If the reports are correct, we are looking at a time frame as early as the end of 2026. The display, still in the works, is designed to deliver rich colors and contrast that’s expected from AMOLED displays. Of course, while still maintaining a paper-like, eye-friendly viewing comfort.
According to the information shared with the press, the new AMOLED-based NXTPAPER display can reach peak brightness levels of up to 3200 nits. It boasts a 120Hz refresh rate and supports 100% coverage of the P3 color gamut, which is comparable to some of the flagship phones on the market. Despite the capabilities of everything AMOLED with a layer of comfort, the upgraded display, TCL says, remains easy on the eyes for long reading, viewing, or playing sessions as compared to other smartphones with a plain AMOLED display.
To achieve this comfort and paper-like visual texture, TCL has layered the AMOLED panel with an anti-glare coating and a light-homogenizing film. This helps the display upgrade at three levels. One, the screen can reach 90% circular polarization rate to reduce eye-glare; it can have lowered blue light emissions of 2.9%; and automatically adjust screen brightness and color according to the surrounding lighting conditions.
TCL has already created a concept phone based on the new NXTPAPER paneled AMOLED display, and it’s turning heads at the MWC. The company is hopeful to launch a phone with the technology by the end of the year, and when it does, I am sure I am going to be in the queue to get my hands on it.
Most of the screens that you encounter everyday is always fighting for your attention, always buzzing, glowing, pulsing with red notification badges designed to hijack your focus. The TRMNL X, a 10.3-inch e-ink smart display priced at $219, takes the opposite approach entirely. It just sits there, calm and papery, waiting for you to glance over when you’re ready. And that restraint might be the most radical design choice in consumer tech right now.
TRMNL’s original model was deliberately lo-fi, a smaller 7.5-inch 1-bit screen with no touchscreen and no backlight. It was almost stubbornly analog in spirit. It appealed to developers, minimalists, and those of us tired of all the bright screens. The TRMNL X is the company’s answer to users who loved the philosophy but wanted more screen real estate and polish. And it delivers on both counts without losing what made the original special.
The display itself is gorgeous in the understated way that only e-ink can be. At 1872 x 1404 resolution with 16 shades of gray, it renders calendars, weather dashboards, news headlines, and artwork with a crispness that feels more like a printed page than a screen. Partial refreshes happen in under 200 milliseconds, which is fast enough that the display doesn’t feel sluggish when cycling through your content. It’s the kind of screen you can stare at for hours without your eyes complaining, which is something no LCD or OLED can honestly claim.
What I find most compelling about the TRMNL X is how much it trusts you. There’s no algorithm deciding what you should see. You configure your own dashboard with plugins pulled from a library of over 850 options, everything from Google Calendar and Reddit feeds to ChatGPT summaries and YouTube subscriber counts. You arrange them in one of eight layout templates, set your refresh interval, and walk away. The device wakes up periodically, pulls a new image from the server, displays it, and goes back to sleep. That’s it. No infinite scroll. No dopamine trap. No dark patterns. Just information you asked for, presented when you want it.
The hardware reflects this same philosophy of quiet confidence. The frame comes in six finishes, from black and white to sage and faux wood, and the front is completely clean with no visible branding. There’s a magnetic USB-C charging connector, a built-in accelerometer for auto-rotation, and a touch gesture bar for quick navigation. Battery life stretches anywhere from two to six months depending on your refresh rate, which means you can genuinely forget it needs power at all. The enclosure is also waterproof and dust-proof, so it can live in a bathroom or a workshop without issue.
But the real personality of the TRMNL X shows in its hacker-friendly DNA. The firmware is fully open source. The case has actual screws, not glue, so you can open it up, swap components, and tinker to your heart’s content. There’s a Qwiic connector for attaching external sensors, and the community on Discord has already built custom integrations for Home Assistant and all sorts of niche projects. In an era when most gadgets are sealed shut and locked down, this level of openness feels almost rebellious.
At $219, the TRMNL X isn’t an impulse buy. But it’s also not competing with tablets or smart home hubs. It occupies a category that barely existed a few years ago: the passive information display. Something you put on your desk or mount on a wall that keeps you informed without pulling you into a screen-time spiral. The fact that it runs for months on a charge and requires almost zero maintenance makes it feel less like a gadget and more like a piece of furniture.
There’s a growing appetite for technology that respects boundaries, that does its job and then gets out of the way. The TRMNL X is a beautifully considered expression of that idea, a screen that proves sometimes the most powerful design choice is simply knowing when to stay quiet.
Circular interfaces keep showing up in design. Thermostats, smart speakers, automotive dials, wearable-inspired dashboards, the circle feels friendly and “instrument-like” in a way that rectangles don’t, especially when the goal is a glanceable, ambient piece of hardware rather than something you stare at for hours. The problem is that most prototyping hardware is rectangular, so designers either fake a round interface on a square screen or spend weeks sourcing a custom circular panel.
Waveshare’s 7-inch round touch display tries to remove that bottleneck. It’s a 1080×1080 IPS panel with 10-point capacitive touch, optical bonding, and toughened glass, all in a circular form factor that connects to a host device over HDMI with a separate USB-C cable for touch data. The premise is simple: treat it like a normal monitor and touchscreen, then build whatever circular UI you want on top of it.
The spec choices that matter for actual design work are mostly about reducing friction. HDMI video input and USB-C touch make the display behave like a standard external monitor to any device that supports it, so you’re not writing drivers or fighting kernel modules before you can see your UI on screen. Waveshare claims driver-free operation on Windows 11 down to Windows 7, plus Raspberry Pi OS with full 10-point touch, and Ubuntu and Kali with single-point, which is more than enough for early-stage prototyping.
Brightness is rated at 800 cd/m², with a 160-degree viewing angle from the IPS panel. For a prototype that’s going on a wall, into a vehicle mock-up, or onto a demo table for a client presentation, that combination means the display stays legible from reasonable distances and off-angle views. The optical bonding also closes the air gap between the glass and the LCD, so it reads more like a laminated consumer screen than a development board display, which makes a quiet difference when you’re showing work to someone who doesn’t build hardware for a living.
The small onboard controller adds a few practical tools: a physical touch rotation button for flipping between portrait and landscape without touching software, and a backlight adjustment that can be controlled via software. There’s also a 3.5mm audio jack and a 4PIN speaker header if you want to add sound to the build. None of these are headline features, but they’re the kind of things that accelerate iteration without requiring extra components or hacks.
Platform support stretches from Raspberry Pi 3 all the way through Pi 5, plus NVIDIA Jetson boards for more compute-intensive builds, and standard Windows PCs for larger installations or kiosk-style demos. That breadth means the same display can serve a lightweight Pi-based smart-home prototype one week and a Jetson-powered vision demo the next.
A circular screen goes beyond novelty into a very different product personality. Having an off-the-shelf option that handles touch, connects over standard cables, and doesn’t require driver work means designers can spend time on the actual interaction and enclosure instead of fighting the hardware stack to get a circle on screen.
Walking through a mall means passing bright rectangles looping 2D video, occasionally interrupted by a viral 3D billboard that makes people stop and film it. Those 3D moments usually feel like one-off stunts with custom hardware and bespoke content, not something you can bolt to a wall like normal signage and manage alongside the rest of your screens without rebuilding your entire workflow from scratch.
Samsung’s Spatial Signage tries to make that volumetric effect practical. The first global product is an 85-inch 4K portrait display that uses a patented 3D Plate behind the LCD to create depth you perceive behind the glass, without glasses or headsets. It is still wall-mounted, but it behaves more like a window where products and scenes sit in real space instead of just flickering on a surface.
Picture a flagship store or museum lobby where a life-size figure or product appears to stand just behind the glass, rotating to show front, back, and side views. The 9:16 portrait format and 4K resolution let brands run 360-degree spins or full-height characters that feel more like installations than ads. Samsung’s Quantum Processor handles upscaling, color mapping, and HDR tweaks so older assets stay sharp, and an anti-glare panel keeps the illusion working under bright retail lighting.
The 85-inch unit is only 52mm thick and weighs 49kg, so it mounts with a Slim Fit Wall Mount like regular signage instead of needing a deep box enclosure. That means it can integrate into compact or design-sensitive locations without construction overhauls. Samsung is launching smaller 32-inch and 55-inch versions later, making it easier to repeat the same 3D language in window displays or feature walls across a retail chain.
Of course, the content side matters as much as the hardware. AI Studio, the new app inside Samsung’s VXT cloud platform, can take static images and automatically turn them into signage-ready video, adjusting shadows, margins, and backgrounds specifically for Spatial Signage. That means brands without dedicated 3D pipelines can still get depth-friendly motion from existing imagery instead of hiring specialized studios for every campaign.
Spatial Signage launches alongside other supersized displays, like a 130-inch Micro RGB signage and a 108-inch The Wall All-in-One that simplifies LED installs, plus Cisco and Logitech partnerships for meeting rooms. The point is that this 3D panel is not a toy but one piece of a lineup meant to cover storefronts, lobbies, and boardrooms with different flavors of immersive screens that plug into the same management stack.
Samsung’s Spatial Signage hints at a future where digital signage is less about flat loops and more about volumetric storytelling that fits into normal walls and workflows. It does not ask passersby to put on glasses or download an app; it just quietly makes content feel like it occupies space. Brands and venues that live or die by how long people stop and stare will see this, pun intended, as the logical next step after everyone got bored with rectangles running the same video on repeat.
Do you remember that scene from Minority Report when Tom Cruise’s character was walking around and there were 3D hologram ads being served to him after scanning his eyeballs? You might think we’re decades away from this, but the technology is actually already being developed. Well, we still won’t get that kind of personalized marketing just yet, but the holographic structure of these displays may already be here sooner than we thought.
The Hololuminescent Display (HLD) is a revolutionary razor-thin holographic display that transforms standard 2D video content into three-dimensional, spatial experiences. Basically, it can display virtual space from your ordinary videos to make it seem like the people, products, and characters in them are floating in mid-air on the display screen. So those scenes from sci-fi movies with hologram videos in public spaces won’t be sci-fi anymore in the very near future.
The HLD has a built-in holographic layer inside the LCD/OLED panels that creates what they call a “holographic volume.” There’s a 16″ model that is perfect for your desktop or counter, and there’s an 86″ model that can be used in retail stores, public installations, and as signage. It has an ultra-slim design, so you can display it anywhere you could put a regular 2D screen. It uses patented technology (with some patents still pending) for both the hardware and software, with worldwide protection.
Unlike some of the VR/AR devices out there, this one doesn’t need any glasses or additional devices. Viewers can experience these 3D holograms with just their naked eyes, making it completely accessible and barrier-free. What’s more, it can transform standard 2D videos into holographic displays, so you don’t need to pay for expensive 3D modeling or complex production pipelines. Of course, there may probably still be some expense involved in optimizing these videos, but it will likely not be as expensive as the usual methods.
There are many uses for this kind of device. For retail stores, it can be used to catch passersby’s attention without blocking sightlines. Imagine walking past a storefront and seeing a gorgeous piece of jewelry or a designer handbag floating in the air, rotating to show every exquisite detail. Point-of-sale displays can also now be more dynamic if you have this holographic display, potentially increasing customer engagement and dwell time.
For collectors, this opens up fascinating possibilities. Imagine showcasing your most prized collectibles, whether it’s limited edition art, rare figurines, or vintage fashion pieces, in holographic format. You could create a digital gallery that brings your collection to life in ways traditional display cases never could. The technology could revolutionize how we preserve and share precious memories too, transforming video messages from loved ones into immersive, lifelike experiences.
This display is also incredibly useful for remote presentations, brand experiences, and entertainment venues. Since it works under normal lighting conditions (no dark rooms required), it’s also perfect for outdoor public spaces like bus shelters, museum installations, and trade show booths.
The 86″ model is currently priced at $18,000 (down from $20,000) and is set to ship in Spring 2026. While that might seem steep for individual consumers right now, early adoption by businesses and institutions will likely drive innovation and eventually make smaller, more affordable versions available for home use.
What’s truly exciting is that we’re witnessing the birth of an entirely new display category. The Hololuminescent Display bridges the gap between our current flat-screen world and the immersive future we’ve only seen in movies. As the technology matures and becomes more accessible, we might soon find ourselves surrounded by holographic displays in our daily lives, from shopping malls to our living rooms. The future of visual communication is literally taking shape before our eyes, and it’s more tangible than we ever imagined.
As I get older, smaller screens and fonts are becoming my enemy as my eyesight is visibly strained. I’m actually scared that someday I would need a humongous screen to do all my work and tasks, or at least something that can enlarge the font to something I can comfortably read. We’ve seen huge screens like the Amazon Echo Show 21 and the Skylight Calendar Max for those who need larger displays, but this new one from Cozyla takes the cake. Or rather, takes the screen.
The Calendar Plus Max is a massive 55-inch 4K touchscreen that serves as a smart home command center, a calendar for your entire household, and even as a smart TV so you can watch together. Cozyla announced this at the ongoing CES 2026 and it’s considered to be the largest smart calendar display on the market right now. I don’t have a household to manage and I don’t have the space, but the idea of having this huge screen in my place seems like a dream.
This huge display comes with a wheeled stand for portability, so you can bring it around your house wherever you need it. It’s Wi-Fi enabled, so you get seamless connectivity as well. Imagine wheeling it into the kitchen during the morning rush when everyone’s trying to figure out their day, then moving it to the living room for family planning sessions, or even into your bedroom for a movie night. The mobility factor is something most smart displays don’t offer, and it’s honestly a game-changer.
Instead of having different devices to manage your home or various sticky notes if you’re still analog, you can use this display so that everything’s in just one huge place. It has a large touchscreen, so kids, adults, and grandparents can all easily manage it without squinting or fumbling. You also get a sleek, contemporary design that makes it look like premium tech and not just a utility device. At 55 inches, it’s the same size as a standard household TV, which means it commands attention without looking out of place in a modern home.
Since “calendar” is in its name, one of the main features of this device is its CalendarOS Smart System. You can create up to 8 family member profiles, and you can even personalize the color coding for each person. You can sync calendars from various services like Apple, Google, Outlook, and others, so you get one unified view instead of checking multiple apps across different devices. No more “I didn’t see that on my phone” excuses from the family. You can also create a customizable dashboard with widgets, shortcuts, and lists that make sense for your specific household needs.
As your “home mission control” device, you can add meal planning features to prep your weekly menus, create chore charts so everyone knows their responsibilities, manage to-do lists, and keep shopping lists updated in real-time. It centralizes all the tiny organizational tasks that usually get scattered across phones, refrigerator magnets, and forgotten notebook pages. Since the display runs on full Android OS, you can also use it as a smart TV for family movie nights, play YouTube videos as you cook or do chores, play games with the kids, and basically do any other thing that you use Android features and apps for.
It’s a device that can be used for both productivity and entertainment, whatever your family needs at the moment. The 4K resolution means whether you’re viewing your calendar details or watching your favorite show, everything looks crisp and clear. For those of us with aging eyes, being able to see text and images clearly from across the room is an absolute blessing. The Cozyla Calendar Plus Max represents a new category of home technology, one that acknowledges that families need centralized, visible, and accessible information hubs. It’s not trying to be another device you check occasionally; it’s meant to be the family communication center that everyone naturally gravitates toward.
While Cozyla hasn’t announced official pricing for the Max model yet, their smaller calendar displays typically range from around $165 to $400 and up, so expect this premium 55-inch version to be positioned as an investment piece. But for families drowning in scheduling chaos, or for anyone who appreciates having technology that actually simplifies life rather than complicating it, this could be worth every penny.
Samsung is going big on Micro RGB and Micro LED TVs for the CES 2026 event. They’ve already revealed the enormous 130-inch micro-RGB TV that we’re keenly looking forward to being bettered by other major players. But where is the biggest Micro LED TV going to sway? Samsung looks to have that one covered too, with the 140-inch Micro LED TV that elevates cinematic viewing to another level.
If that’s not enough, the South Korean giant is taking things a notch higher with display innovation that’s unparalleled, at least for now. Just like some of the smartphones with a waterfall design that extends beyond the horizontal plane of the phone, Samsung is bringing a whole new tech to the event. On the sides, the TV’s screen extends beyond the watchable area, extending as a continuation of the screen.
Samsung is calling it the Mirror Bezel, creating a more immersive 3D effect that we’ve not seen before. For instance, the side panels can display the in-game score during live sports, commentary text, or show the news headlines. The side panels can be turned on independently to show customizable patterns. The possibilities are endless, and Samsung will put the hardware to good use for an extended experience beyond the flat display.
Other than this innovation, they have designed the TV to fold into two for displaying artwork. The display has a hinge system at the center, which should be half the size to 70 inches of display for your artwork. This apparently makes it the world’s first TV that folds in half. This puts it flush against the LG Gallery TV and their own Frame TV. The design makes it well-suited for your living room or even a sizeable bedroom.
The AI in the display is used to analyse the content being displayed and extend the picture, or show other elements depending on the content being viewed. More information is expected to seep in about this exciting display tech at the event. For now, there’s no word on the detailed specifications, availability, or the price.
For most musicians and artists, the album artwork of their albums or EPs is serious business. In the days of cassette tapes, CDs, LPs, and other physical forms of media, they also served as part of your space’s display, especially if you’re a collector. But when streaming came along, you could only display these works of musical art on your smartphone or music player. But what if you really love your favorite albums’ cover art and wanted to show them off while listening to them?
That’s the idea behind the Tuneshine Album Art Display, which may become your newest favorite piece of technology. Created by Tobias Butler and lovingly assembled by hand in the USA, this charming little display brings a touch of vintage record store vibes into the streaming age. It basically shows off the album artwork of the song or album that’s currently playing. But if you’re not using it, it can also serve as an image display device.
At its heart, Tuneshine is a 6.3″ x 6.3″ square LED display that’s about 1.57″ thick (or 16cm x 16cm x 4cm if you prefer metric). Don’t let the compact size fool you, as this beauty packs 64 x 64 extra-bright pixels that make your album artwork pop with vibrant colors and impressive clarity. Plus, you have brightness control, so whether you’re setting the mood for a dinner party or jamming out in broad daylight, you can adjust it to perfection.
You can connect it to your music service of choice, including Spotify, Apple Music, Sonos, and last.fm. As long as your albums or playlists live in these services (no idea if YouTube Music will eventually be added), their album covers will be displayed in Tuneshine. You can also use Shazam to display artwork from other sources like vinyl records, CDs, radios, etc., and capture the magic of the art that the artists put effort into. You just need an iOS or Android device and a Wi-Fi connection to do the initial setup.
For those times when you’re not using the device to play music, you can actually customize it to display the image of your choice, whether it’s a favorite photo, a work of art, or a motivational quote. When it comes to the design, the Tuneshine comes in light and dark wood options like Beechwood + Walnut in a solid wood case. You can also get it in a solid anodized aluminum case with five options: Sapphire (a rich blue), Onyx (deep black), Obsidian (dramatic dark tones), Pearl (elegant and light), and Ruby (bold red).
You have to note that Tuneshine doesn’t include an internal or external speaker, so you have to use it alongside an existing speaker or sound system. For collectors, there’s an extra special touch: each Tuneshine unit is assembled, signed, and numbered inside the case by creator Tobias Butler himself, making it a genuine piece of functional art. The wooden versions are fulfilled quickly in 1-2 business days, while the Gems collection takes 1-2 weeks, but the wait is worth it for something this unique.
In our streaming age, we’ve gained incredible convenience but lost some of the tangible magic that came with physical music collections. Remember the ritual of carefully placing a record on the turntable, admiring the cover art before the first note played? Or displaying your favorite albums on your shelf like the treasures they were? Tuneshine bridges that gap beautifully, letting us reclaim that visual connection to our music without sacrificing modern convenience.
Whether you’re a longtime collector missing the days of physical media or simply someone who appreciates beautiful design and wants to celebrate the artistry behind your favorite music, the Tuneshine Album Art Display transforms any space into a personal gallery. It’s not just a gadget; it’s a love letter to album art, a conversation starter, and a daily reminder that music is meant to be experienced with all our senses.
We spend a lot of time staring at our screens, so it’s worth finding one that actually feels good to use. The right monitor can make your desk setup feel faster, brighter and easier on the eyes, whether you’re deep into spreadsheets, watching a show or chasing higher frame rates in your favorite game.
What the best monitor means, though, depends on what you do. Gamers might want smooth, fast refresh rates. Creators usually prioritize color accuracy. Office workers and students just need something clear, comfortable and reliable. Thankfully, monitors in 2025 cover all of those needs, with options that range from compact 24-inch displays to massive ultrawides built for serious multitasking.
We’ve tested a variety of monitors across price ranges and use cases to find the ones that stand out for everyday use. No matter your budget, setup or screen-size preference, these are the monitors that make your PC, and your time in front of it, a little better.
The cheapest monitors are still TN (twisted nematic), which are strictly for gamers or office use. VA (vertical alignment) monitors are also relatively cheap, while offering good brightness and a high contrast ratio. However, content creators will find that LCD, IPS displays (in-plane switching) deliver better color accuracy, pixel density, picture quality and wide viewing angles — making them a strong option for general computer monitor use.
If maximum brightness is important, a quantum dot LCD display is the way to go — those are typically found in larger displays. OLED panels are now available and offer the best blacks and color reproduction, but they lack the brightness of LED or quantum dot displays. Plus, they’re expensive. The latest type of OLED monitor, called QD-OLED from Samsung, is now common among gaming monitors. The most notable advantage is that it can get a lot brighter, with recent models hitting up to 1,000 nits+ of peak brightness.
MiniLEDs are now widely used in high-end displays. They’re similar to quantum dot tech, but as the name suggests, it uses smaller LED diodes that are just 0.2mm in diameter. As such, manufacturers can pack in up to three times more LEDs with more local dimming zones, delivering deeper blacks and better contrast. MiniLED displays also tend to offer excellent backlight control, making them a great choice for HDR content and video editing.
Screen size, resolution and display format
Where 24-inch displays used to be more or less standard (and can still be useful for basic computing), 27-, 32-, 34- and even 42-inch displays have become popular for entertainment, content creation and even gaming these days.
Nearly every monitor used to be 16:9, but it’s now possible to find 16:10 and other more exotic display shapes. On the gaming and entertainment side, we’re also seeing curved monitors and widescreen ultrawide monitors with aspect ratios like 21:9. If you do decide to buy an ultrawide display, however, keep in mind that a 30-inch 21:9 model is the same height as a 24-inch monitor, so you might end up with a smaller display than you expected.
A 4K monitor is nearly a must for content creators, and some folks are even going for 5K or all the way up to 8K. Keep in mind, though, that you’ll need a pretty powerful computer with a decent graphics card to drive all those sharp pixels. And 4K higher resolution should be paired with a screen size of 27 inches and up, or you won’t notice much difference between 1440p. At the same time, I wouldn’t get a model larger than 27 inches unless it’s 4K, as you’ll start to see pixelation if you’re working up close to the display. That’s when a lower resolution monitor shows its limits.
One new monitor category to consider is portable monitors designed to be carried and used with laptops. Those typically come in 1080p resolutions and sizes from 13-15 inches. They usually have a lightweight kickstand-type support that folds up to keep things compact and maximize portability and functionality.
HDR
HDR adds vibrancy to entertainment and gaming – but be careful before jumping in. Some monitors that claim HDR on their marketing materials don’t even conform to a base standard. To be sure that a display at least meets minimum HDR specs, you’ll want to choose one with a DisplayHDR rating with each tier representing maximum brightness in nits.
However, the lowest DisplayHDR 400 and 500 tiers may disappoint you with a lack of brightness, washed out blacks and mediocre color reproduction. If you can afford it, the best monitor to choose is a model with DisplayHDR 600, 1000 or True Black 400, True Black 500 and True Black 600.
Where televisions typically offer HDR10 and Dolby Vision or HDR10+, most PC monitors only support the HDR10 standard, other than a few (very expensive) models. That doesn’t matter much for content creation or gaming, but HDR streaming on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and other services won’t look quite as punchy. In addition, the best gaming monitors are usually the ones supporting HDR600 (and up), rather than content creation monitors – with a few exceptions.
Refresh rate
High refresh rate is a key feature, particularly on gaming monitors. A bare minimum nowadays is 60Hz, and 80Hz and higher refresh rates are much easier on the eyes. However, most 4K displays top out at 60Hz with some rare exceptions and the HDMI 2.0 spec only supports 4K at 60Hz, so you’d need at least DisplayPort 1.4 (4K at 120Hz) or HDMI 2.1. The latter is now available on a number of monitors, particularly gaming displays. However, it’s only supported by the latest NVIDIA RTX 3000- and 4000-series, AMD RX 6000-series GPUs. Support for G-Sync and AMD FreeSync is also something to look for if you want to eliminate screen tearing and stuttering during fast-paced gameplay — especially when paired with a high refresh rate.
Inputs
There are essentially three types of modern display inputs: Thunderbolt, DisplayPort and HDMI. Most monitors built for PCs come with the latter two, while a select few (typically built for Macs) will use Thunderbolt. To add to the confusion, USB-C ports may be Thunderbolt 3, and by extension, DisplayPort compatible, so you may need a USB-C to Thunderbolt or DisplayPort cable adapter depending on your display.
Color bit depth
Serious content creators should consider a more costly 10-bit monitor that can display billions of colors. If budget is an issue, you can go for an 8-bit panel that can fake billions of colors via dithering (often spec’d as “8-bit + FRC”). For entertainment or business purposes, a regular 8-bit monitor that can display millions of colors will be fine.
Color gamut
The other aspect of color is the gamut. That expresses the range of colors that can be reproduced and not just the number of colors. Most good monitors these days can cover the sRGB and Rec.709 gamuts (designed for photos and video respectively). For more demanding work, though, you’ll want one that can reproduce more demanding modern gamuts like AdobeRGB, DCI-P3 and Rec.2020 gamuts, which encompass a wider range of colors. The latter two are often used for film projection and HDR, respectively.
Monitor FAQs
Is OLED better than mini-LED for monitors?
OLED is better than mini-LED in many areas but not all. Here are the advantages of OLED panels:
OLED monitors don't have any "blooming" or halos around bright parts of the image.
OLEDs have blacks with zero brightness, which is not achievable on mini-LED. That means they also have higher contrast ratios.
OLEDs consume less energy.
OLEDs have faster response times for gaming.
And here are the advantages of mini-LED monitors:
They are brighter (often much brighter), so it can be better for HDR content.
They don't suffer from burn-in like OLED can.
What size monitor is best for a home office?
This depends on the individual. For normal use, 27-32 inches is the sweet spot. If you're one who likes many windows open at a time (like a stock broker), then you might want to go up to 37 or even 42 inches.
Are curved monitors worth it for gaming?
If you need as much speed as possible, a curved monitor lets you rapidly look around the screen without changing focus or moving your head as much compared to a flat screen. It also provides more immersion. The drawback is that curved displays tend to be wider so they take up more desk space. They're also generally more expensive.
This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/computing/accessories/best-monitor-130006843.html?src=rss
Samsung is a tech giant with its hands in many industries, but one of its biggest businesses is in making displays. These cover anything from TVs to laptops to smartphones to signage, supporting a variety of display technologies like LCD, LED, and everything in between. One kind of technology it has barely touched, however, is Electronic Paper Displays or EPDs, the same kind of eye-friendly, battery-efficient screens found on eBook readers. That is changing now, however, with Samsung dipping its toes into this market with a new Color E-Paper display that’s currently aimed at indoor signage and posters but could also be extended to new types of devices in the very new future.
E Ink signage is becoming more common these days, especially as these electronic paper displays start to show improvements in color rendering. It’s not hard to see the benefits of the technology for this particular use case, since EPDs don’t use power to retain their image and use very little power when changing what’s on display. Although it is hardly the first of its kind, even for the tech giant, Samsung’s presence in this growing market is pretty much a stamp of approval from a brand that sells large TVs and screens for the same purpose of advertising in indoor signage.
The new Samsung Color E-Paper display seems to be really pushing the boundaries of the technology. The 32-inch has a QHD resolution of 2560×1440, though its real boasting feature is the 60,000-color gamut (six per pixel) which is quite high for a color electronic paper. This is thanks to the new E Ink Spectra 6 panel, the very same that flaunted artistic designs and images on the ASUS ROG Project DALI at Computex 2024 last week. This laptop concept utilizes a smaller panel that acts as a canvas for owners to customize the design of the laptop cover as they desire.
ASUS ROG Project DALI laptop concept @ Computex 2024
While the gigantic size of the Samsung Color E-Paper limits it to applications like signs and posters, it does make one wonder if Samsung will stop there. Its collaboration with E Ink could, in fact, lead to more devices with smaller screens, particularly in the eReader market that Samsung has never ventured into before. And with its close ties with Wacom, it could even add stylus support for these devices, potentially putting the likes of the Amazon Kindle and Kobo on notice.
Display (HLD) is a revolutionary razor-thin holographic display that transforms standard 2D video content into three-dimensional, spatial experiences. Basically, it can display virtual space from your ordinary videos to make it seem like the people, products, and characters in them are floating in mid-air on the display screen. So those scenes from sci-fi movies with hologram videos in public spaces won’t be sci-fi anymore in the very near future.
