Monitor

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA) has announced that the upcoming 100% virtual version of its flagship conference is now taking registrations. They include a special reduced price from now until January 4, 2021. The actual digital show itself starts on the 11th of that month.

The AOC C32G2AE and CQ32G2SE are two 31.5-inch and 165 Hz gaming monitors. The pair have a 1500R curvature and a 3,000:1 contrast ratio too with support for AMD FreeSync Premium. The C32G2AE is a 1080p monitor though, whereas the CQ32G2SE can reach 1440p.

Streamview is an Austrian-based retailer specializing in TVs and streaming boxes. Its latest launch is for new Nokia TVs for the European market. They have 32- to 75-inch screens, most of which are also 4K and support Dolby Vision. They will be available to order within the EU in December 2020.

The Vizio-Gamestop partnership might be more beneficial to the Microsoft XBox series than for the Sony PS5 at least in the short term. The TV maker is pushing hard to make it the brand of choice for console gamers.

ViewSonic has announced new monitors with specific kinds of support for accessibility in content creation. The OEM claims they come with color accuracy certified by Pantone out of the box, and also include color-blindness modes. These 24- and 27-inch displays are also equipped with a USB type C port that can support video, audio and charging.

BOE has announced that it has made active-matrix quantum dot light-emitting diode (or AMQLED) technology 4K and TV-sized for the first time. This emerging display standard is based on quantum dots, as is QLED, but does not require a backlight. This may mean it offers more consistent colors and brightness compared to those high-end panel types.

Panasonic has its answer to the Mi TV Lux, the Transparent OLED Display Module. The device will begin shipping from next month and will be available in two models. One of these contains a special dimming unit, which should give it the effect of not being transparent at all.

The MateStation B515 is here, but not with Huawei's in-house processor, as was expected. Instead, the B515 comes with a choice of the AMD Ryzen 5 4600G or Ryzen 7 4700G. A 23.8-inch IPS monitor and a keyboard will come bundled with the MateStation B515, while Windows 10 Pro is pre-loaded, too.

Huawei is now said to be about to mimic Apple in launching a PC with its own in-house ARM CPU. However, this putative desktop can also apparently support DDR4-2400 RAM, M.2 SSDs and PCIe 3.0 expansion. These internals may be housed in a relatively slim tower-form case, and may be paired with the OEM's also-rumored first-gen monitor.

Its $699 USD price tag is hefty, but the XtendTouch Pro XT1610UO is promising a long list of features not found on most other portable monitors. The big AC adapter and uncalibrated display, however, could use some more work.

Sony has promised to address the 4K/120 Hz issue affecting its XH90, XH900H, X9100H and XH92 TVs. The issue, which Sony has blamed on video processing, makes content at 4K and 120 Hz look blurry.

The lack of a native 1440p mode on the PlayStation 5 has created issues for owners of 1440p displays. MSI announced an innovative "fix" on some of its monitors, allowing certain 1440p monitors to accept the PlayStation 5's 4K signal and downsample.

AOC's latest gaming monitor has been developed in partnership with Porsche Design, and it certainly looks the part. However, the Agon PD27 also packs a 27-inch panel that has a WQHD native resolution and a 240 Hz refresh rate. The Agon PD27 is VESA DisplayHDR 400 certified too and will be available from this month for US$799.99.

The 15.6-inch portable display is well-built and with plenty of connectivity features including Bluetooth 4.0 for smartphones to control. Unfortunately, its dim and glossy display is troublesome to use if outdoors where glare becomes inevitable.

Eluktronics will be one of the first to offer Advanced Optimus on its MECH-15 G3 and MAX-15 Ultra laptops this month for a starting price of $2100 USD. The reseller promised in September that it would begin shipping the systems before the end of the year.

Sony bills its XH90 range of TVs as being next-gen ready, thanks to their support for 4K and 120 Hz gaming. However, multiple reports have demonstrated that the TVs do not support high refresh rate gaming at 4K natively.

LG's CX and C9 OLED TVs may look exquisite, but they have a serious issue with displaying content with variable refresh rate (VRR) enabled. From washed-out dark areas to image flickering and instability, VRR is currently a no-go on some of LG's expensive OLED TV series. A firmware update may not be able to resolve the issues, either.

LG has introduced its latest gaming monitor, the UltraGear 27GN800-B. Equipped with a 27-inch IPS panel, the UltraGear 27GN800-B supports AMD FreeSync, NVIDIA G-Sync and 144 Hz gaming. The UltraGear 27GN800-B runs natively at 2,560 x 1,440 pixels too, making it a WQHD monitor.

Video doorbells enable the user to see who is at their door on their smart screens or mobile devices. A recent study indicates that 10% of US households with high-speed internet surveyed owned one of these devices in the second quarter of 2020, compared to 7% in 2017. This increased popularity has driven doorbell OEMs to improve innovation and integration with other smart things over the years.

OLED TVs cost stacks of cash anyway, but Xiaomi's transparent Mi TV Lux takes it up a notch. Costing around US$7,000, the Mi TV Lux looks brilliant, but its showstopper design is held back by its 1080p resolution and its limited connectivity.

A new development in OLED technology could result in ultra-high-resolution displays, thanks to the latest developments in increasingly thin, effective solar panels. It involves cutting-edge physics that could be relevant to both fields, which feature in a new paper co-written by R&D scientists at Samsung.

LG's display division has just released its financial performance figures for the third quarter of 2020 (3Q2020). It has posted a net profit of about US$9.7 million, whereas it reported losses in 2Q2020 and in 3Q2019. There are also year-on-year (YoY) and quarter-on-quarter (QoQ) gains in revenue and operating profits in this new report.

Eve Devices is adamant that it should not ship its upcoming Spectrum monitor "until it is ready". To this end, it has revealed that the shipping date for its QHD/240Hz and 4K/144Hz SKUs has been pushed back to February 2021. This, apparently, will give it time to iron issues with its production out.

The Xiaomi Fast LCD 24.5-inch Monitor has been launched in China with a regular price tag of 1,499 yuan (US$224), although it is on sale to early-bird purchasers. The gaming-friendly external Fast LCD Monitor promises 144 Hz refresh rate, Full HD resolution, 2 ms GTG response time, HDR400 display, and Adaptive-Sync for reduced tearing and stuttering.

The CXI4 is Acer's new Chromebox with up-to-date connectivity, featuring Wi-Fi 6, USB 3.2 Gen 2 and type C ports. Therefore, it may prove an option for the processing needed in retail or learning spaces. It also has the dimensions and VESA mount necessary to hide it behind nearly any screen paired with it in these environments.

The Covid-19 pandemic often has connotations of economic downturn and general consumption-insecurity. Nevertheless, the US consumer tech sector is now projected to grow by 18% year-on-year for the final quarter of 2020 (4Q2020), whereas this figure was 4% in 4Q2019. This increase is thought to be connected to the need for remote working and learning equipment, particularly laptops and monitors.

OPPO unveiled products new to this OEM during its October 19, 2020 Wisdom Life conference in China. They include its first-ever TVs, which run on a version of ColorOS developed specially for this new category. They have 4K panels, the highest-end of which is also QLED and has a 120Hz refresh rate.

TCL now sells its 4-series smart TVs in the US. These 4K Android devices support Google's Assistant and have Chromecast functionality. They are available in 50-, 55- and 75-inch variants, some of which are already on sale for 2020's Black Friday.

ASUS has packed an awful lot of features into the slim chassis of the ROG Swift PG32UQX, its 32-inch gaming monitor. Not only has ASUS included a 4K panel, but it also has equipped the PG32UQX with a 1,152 zone Mini-LED backlight and a 144 Hz refresh rate. The PG32UQX supports NVIDIA G-Sync Ultimate too, although there is no HDMI 2.1 on board.

The $200 USD 15.6-inch portable monitor uses a brand new IPS panel with full sRGB coverage and a much brighter backlight than any other external monitor we've tested thus far in this price range.

Dell has announced a whole range of sales events and deals for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and winter 2020 in general already. They include discounts on some Alienware laptops, desktops and monitors. Some of this hardware will be cut by up to 50% in price during these events.

Dell's end-of-2020 holiday deals have been outlined in good time this year. They are a range of discounts on PCs and monitors for entrepreneurs as well as those looking for gift ideas already. This includes Vostro-brand machines, in addition to the new XPS 13 Touch.

You can't expect too much from a 21.5-inch monitor for less than $100 USD. The Auzai is great for basic browsing and multimedia tasks, but casual gamers or even amateur content creators will want to invest in something better.

The Dell UltraSharp 32 HDR PremierColor UP3221Q is the world's first 2,000-zone mini-LED monitor, and it will begin shipping as early as November 5. The monitor can reach 1,000 nits, but it will set you back US$5,000.

A new research report has concluded that the market for wireless headphones worldwide will accrue a value of approximately US$42.1 billion over the next 6 years. This growth may be based on the demand for products that connect users to their smartphones, tablets or TVs, as well as using them while working out or consuming content.

The US State of California's legislative body has passed a resolution that makes today (October 10, 2020) Blue Light Awareness Day in the jurisdiction. The device certification group Eyesafe has welcomed the motion, particularly in light of the trend towards remote working and learning and, thus, the ever-growing rate of screen use in the region.

CTL has announced the Chromebox CBx2, which as the OEM asserts, is versatile enough to take on the demands of a retail display as it is those of a remote worker. It has a range of up-to-date connectivity options; plus, with 2 variants with CPU choices between 1 Intel Celeron and 1 Core i7 processor, it may indeed be configurable to a range of use-cases.

Alienware confirmed pricing and availability for its three new monitors: the 25 Gaming Monitor, 27 Gaming Monitor, and 38 Gaming Monitor. The high-refresh-rate displays start at US$899.99 and go up to $1899.99.

Nokia has added updated models to its range of smart TVs sold through Flipkart in India. They include 2 new 43-inch units as well as the 2 new 32- and 50-inch sizes hinted at in an earlier leak. This new series has speakers tuned by Onkyo, a "Pronto Focal" AI engine and up to 4K/UHD resolutions.

Dell has announced a new range of UltraSharp monitors starting with the U2421E. The U2421E is a FHD 60 Hz IPS panel with a 16:10 aspect ratio. The U2421E offers a host of connectivity options including data, display, power, and MAC address pass-through through a single USB-C cable to the laptop.

Dell is currently launching its latest UltraSharp monitors for home-office and prosumer use. The OEM also now unveils the SB521A, touted as the "world's lightest and slimmest soundbar". This accessory can snap onto a monitor from its own brand with its top-mounted magnets, thus immediately adding 3.6W RMS audio power to the display in question.

Remote-working products reign supreme at present; however, Dell has prepared its new Meeting Space Solutions against the come-back of the real-life boardroom. They are bundles tailored to in-person conference settings of different sizes and conformations, and also adapt to the software preferred by the business client in question: Microsoft Teams or Zoom.

Dell announced three new monitors joining its P-series of displays today. Included in the announcement are a 27-inch 4K monitor, a 32-inch QHD display, and a 34-inch Ultrawide (21:9) WQHD monitor. Each of these displays features a USB-C port that can be used for USB pass-through or a display input and can deliver up to 65 W of power to a connected device.

The RTX A6000 and A40 have been introduced as state-of-the-art GPUs for content creation, data-centers or engineering. They are based on the latest Ampere architecture, and have been equipped with next-gen tensor, RT and CUDA cores. These cards are therefore rated to outstrip their Quadro predecessors in terms of throughput and performance.

Nokia started selling its Android-powered TVs in the Indian market earlier in 2020. Now, its website is building hype for two new models for this series, one of which may be more wallet-friendly than its predecessors. They are to launch in October 6, 2020, and may feature a different audio partner for their speakers this time.

OWC has launched its first dock specifically aimed at PCs equipped with Thunderbolt 4 ports. It offers a further 3 USB type Cs with the same standard, as well as a 3.2 type A port. It is rated to support dual 4K displays or one 5 to 8K monitor, as well as a range of additional peripherals, storage media or devices to 1 state-of-the-art machine.

A Chinese tech blog has posted what it claims as renders of an upcoming monitor from the OEM Huawei. It shows that this apparent 23.8-inch model is to have an IPS display with a 3-side-near-borderless design. The device may also have a rear panel finished in matte gray, if few ports on this side.

AOC has presented three new entries in its E2 series, called the Q3232N, Q3432A and U32E2N, respectively. All three monitors offer good value for money, yet are designed for different use cases.

Samsung appears to be targeting the Mini-LED TV market according to a new report from market analyst TrendForce. Apparently, the South Korean OEM is aiming to ship over two million Mini-LED TVs worldwide in 2021, with potential customers having a wide selection of sizes to choose from.

Mobvoi is an OEM perhaps best known for its TicWatch line of wearables. However, it has branched out into other device classes as of late. The latest example of this diversification is the Home Treadmill, a new piece of remote gym equipment rated for a compact footprint and flat storage. It joins other products such as the Amazfit AirRun in this market.