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BenQ’s 4K HDR monitor for graphics pros has a glare hood
It's easy and cheap to go buy yourself a 4K HDR TV with billions of colors these days, so why the heck is it so hard to find a PC monitor that can do the same? Benq's latest professional monitor, the SW271, shows how the economics of the PC business has a lot to do with it. The 27-inch, 4K monitor can accurately render 10-bit, HDR images for professionals working on photos, video or graphics, and is actually pretty cheap in its category at $1,100.
Xbox One X will support 1440p monitors
With less than a week to go until its release, more details are emerging about the Xbox One X. We've known all along that Microsoft's all-powerful console would output at native 4K on a 4K TV or display. And, if a 1080p screen was connected it would supersample games -- rendering them at a higher resolution before dropping them back down to 1080p. But, what about all the gamers with 1440p monitors? If you thought your display would end up with the same scaled-down image, you're wrong. According to Xbox group program manager Kevin Gammill, the console will output to native 1440p on a supported monitor. So, you can stop fretting about the picture getting upscaled from 1080p.
Alienware's 34-inch curved monitor supports NVIDIA G-Sync
Gaming monitors are becoming more specialized and less useful for regular movies thanks to widescreen and often curved designs. Alienware is a good example with its latest 34-inch displays, the curved AW3418DW and flat AW3418HW (or the "A W 3 4 1 8 H W," as some genius Alienware typography designer wrote it). Both use 21:9 widescreen designs, with 3,440 x 1,440 and 2,560 x 1,080 resolutions, respectively.
ASUS made an even bigger curved monitor especially for gamers
Yeah, ASUS, we get it: You're really into games these days. About halfway through the company's Republic of Gamers press conference here at Computex in Taipei, the company previewed its latest gamer-friendly monitor: a curved 35-inch Quantum Dot LCD panel with a max resolution of 3,440 x 1,440, plus HDR support and a maximum 200MHz refresh rate.
ASUS ZenScreen is the slickest USB monitor I've ever seen
ASUS is known for its design chops, so much so that it could turn even a router into an eye candy. The same goes for its latest USB monitor, the ZenScreen (MB16AC), which turned up on the show floor here at Computex in Taipei. This 15.6-inch, 1080p IPS device is the slickest of its kind I've ever seen, which is largely thanks to its slim 6.5mm bezel, as well as the addition of a metallic chin on the front and the usual spun-metal back. It also helps that the buttons have been moved to said chin -- "Confirm" and "Menu" on the left, "Power" on the right -- in order to keep the edges clean, leaving just a USB-C port on the bottom left side.
LG's latest 4K monitor puts four displays in one 42.5-inch panel
LG's Apple-flagship 5K monitor may have stumbled on its release, but the company's newest display looks like it'll cover all the bases in terms of sheer flexibility and screen real estate. The LG 43UD79-B, as it's cleverly called, is a 42.5-inch UHD panel with a 3840 × 2160 resolution, plus a nice range of gaming and productivity-focused features.
Dell's first HDR display is aimed squarely at video editors
HDR10 and Dolby Vision are the two main competing standards for high dynamic range displays. Today, Dell lent its support to the former as it announced its first HDR10-compliant display, the Dell UltraSharp 27 4K HDR Monitor. Dell revealed the new device at the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) show today, along with two other UltraSharp monitors and various PC workstations for high-end image, video and VR production.
Marshall's next long-lasting wireless headphone has a familiar look
Until now, if you wanted a set of wireless headphones that matched your Marshall guitar amp, you had to choose between two on-ear options. Today, the company revealed an over-ear model in the Monitor Bluetooth. As the name suggestions, this new entry into Marshall's personal audio line is a wireless version of the Monitor headphones it launched it 2013.
Dell's 8K monitor is available for $5,000
Dell introduced its 31.5-inch 8K monitor at CES, which the company claims is the world's first consumer screen to meet such a ridiculous resolution. While it took a backseat to the artist-aimed Canvas at the tech show, the Ultrasharp 32 is finally available on Dell's online store for initial shipping in mid-April. Assuming you've got a spare $5,000 to spend.
ASUS' new displays include one with a wireless charging pad
ASUS didn't show all its cards at its CES event. The computing giant has unveiled a pair of high-end desktop displays that each have their own clever tricks. The Designo Curve MX38VQ (above) is arguably the star if you're an everyday user: the 37.5-inch, 3,840 x 1,600 monitor packs a Qi wireless charging pad to top up your smartphone. We've seen charging before, but not on a screen this big and wide. It also packs a "frameless" panel and Harmon Kardon-boosted speakers (albeit a modest 8W) if you're tight on space.
Apple extends its discounts on USB-C gear through March 31st
Apple has tacitly acknowledged that prospective MacBook Pro buyers remain skittish about having to buy dongles just to keep using their favorite peripherals. The company is extending its sale on USB-C and Thunderbolt 3 peripherals through March 31st, giving you another three months to pick up adapters and cables at a discount. As before, some of the bargains are better than others -- the USB-C to USB-A adapter is down from $19 to $9, for instance, while SanDisk's USB-C SD card reader is down from $49 to $29. This still won't be completely satisfying if you absolutely need dongles to attach your devices (a USB-A adapter in MacBook boxes would be great, Apple), but there's a bit less pressure to buy them before you're ready.
LG targets media pros and gamers with 4K HDR display
With an onslaught of products coming at CES 2017 in January, LG has decided to pre-announce its latest 4K HDR monitor. Its 32-inch, IPS panel-equipped 32UD99 supports the HDR10 standard that delivers pro-level 10-bit (over a billion) colors and a wide color gamut covering 95 percent of the DCI-P3 standard. The monitor should be ideal for new MacBook Pro owners, since Apple isn't making its own displays anymore. It supports 4K HDR with a single USB-C cable that can simultaneously charge your laptop and can also act as a USB hub. The company is also targeting color-sensitive gamers, saying it'll play well with new consoles that support HDR and or 4K, including the Playstation 4 Pro and the Xbox One S.
The best tech and apps for your home office
By The Wirecutter Staff This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer's guide to the best technology. Read the full article here. You don't need the thinnest, lightest, or most elegantly designed items for your home office. You want reliable, comfortable, efficient tools—but it doesn't hurt if they look nice, too. That's why a team of three experienced remote workers spent more than 150 hours researching and testing new gear and apps, and picking the most office-friendly items from The Wirecutter's guides, to give you a selection of tools that we're sure will earn a place in your workspace.
Apple stops selling the Thunderbolt Display
We hope you weren't dead set on getting an Apple monitor to go with your Apple computer. The company has discontinued the Thunderbolt Display after keeping it on the market for nearly 5 years. Apple didn't say why it was dropping the 27-inch screen in a statement provided to us and our colleagues at TechCrunch. However, it does note that the Thunderbolt Display will only be available in stores "while supplies last," and that there are a "number of great third-party options" available if you need a stand-alone monitor.
Nanit's baby monitor offers wearable-free sleep tracking
A company that's describing itself as the "Tesla of baby monitors" has produced a device that it says is the best way to watch your munchkins at night. Nanit (geddit?) stands over your baby's crib like a shower head, with a night vision camera and motion sensor aimed towards the mattress. Should it detect any noise or movement, your smartphone will get a ping, enabling you to watch the action as it unfolds. That way, parents in another room avoid the vagaries of simply listening out for signs of distress.
Apple standalone 5K display might include its own graphics chip
To call Apple's Thunderbolt Display long in the tooth would be an understatement. It's so old that the first Retina display Macs were still a year away when it was new, and it's now easy to get a 4K display for less. At last, though, it looks like Apple might be ready to give its standalone screen an upgrade... with an interesting twist, to boot. Sources for 9to5Mac understand that Apple is building a 5K display that includes its own graphics chipset. It'd be an odd move, but it would let many Macs use the display, not just high-end models. If your Mac's onboard graphics weren't fast enough, it'd automatically switch to the monitor's GPU.
Dell's 43-inch, 4K monitor supports four clients on one screen
Dell's latest monitor is a doozy. The Dell 43 Multi-Client Monitor (P4317Q) is a 4K, 43-inch beast that acts as if it's four displays squished into one. When shown on a single screen, the displays are borderless, but users are able to swap any of the clients to full-screen mode, too. The entire monitor has a max resolution of 3840 x 2160 at 60Hz, a response time of 8ms, two 8-watt speakers and a USB 3.0 hub with four ports.
uHoo edges out other air quality monitors with extra sensors
We've now gotten to the point where we can rely on pigeons for monitoring outdoor air quality, and there are plenty of conventional options for indoor as well. But there's always room for improvement, which is why we're looking at the uHoo. Impressively, this pint glass-sized device packs up to five air pollutant sensors, thus allowing it to measure the usual dust and volatile organic compounds, as well as carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide and ozone -- these three can't be detected by most other monitors in the consumer market. On top of that, the uHoo can also keep an eye on the temperature, humidity and air pressure, which comes in handy as these contribute to our wellness, too. The live data is fed to your iOS or Android device via Wi-Fi, and the app will alert you when the air goes bad in one of the rooms.
Acer reveals new Predator gaming desktop, notebook and display
Acer is made a truckload of PC announcements at its NYC event today, and new gaming gear was part of the news. The company pulled the wraps off of a trio of Predator series devices, including the Predator 17X gaming notebook, Predator G1 gaming desktop and Predator Z1 monitors. The trio joins Acer's gaming line that already includes a pair of gaming laptops, desktops, displays and even an 8-inch tablet. Let's take a closer look at each of the new machines, shall we?
The best 24-inch monitor
By David Murphy This post was done in partnership with The Wirecutter, a buyer's guide to the best technology. Read the full article here. After spending 50 hours researching 19 different monitors and testing six finalists, we recommend the 24-inch Dell UltraSharp U2415 to most people looking for a large computer monitor right now. It has the best picture quality of any 24-inch display we tested, indistinguishable from perfection thanks to its factory-calibrated IPS screen.
