For many of us, many of the screens we look at every day could easily be OLED. The iPhone in your pocket. The screen of the new laptop you finally bought. That fancy 4K TV and even that beloved Nintendo Switch. But OLED awesomeness is far from scattered computer monitors, especially if you’re not into gaming.
Numerous hurdles limit the adoption of OLED monitors, including concerns about screen burn-in. But one thing we hope to see in 2023 is a bigger selection. Right now, on the one hand, you can count the number of OLED monitors that aren’t juggernauts over 42 inches or push refresh rates that require serious GPUs. OLED monitors aimed at productivity, photo editing or HDR get minimal love.
By the time 2023 is over, we hope there will be more than a handful of OLED monitors available to non-gamers. We don’t expect homes and offices to be flooded with them, but 2023 could be a big step towards OLED monitors with the variety and availability that OLED TVs and other devices have enjoyed for years.
Waiting for the breakthrough year of OLED monitors
Let’s temper expectations first. OLED monitors are far from mainstream among PC displays, and that won’t change dramatically next year. In September, market researcher Trendforce predicted that OLED monitors will represent 2 percent of the monitor market by 2023. That is far from mainstream. For example, IPS monitors accounted for 43 percent of monitors shipped in 2021.
Business consultant and market researcher UBI Research estimated via OLED-Info that OLED tablets, monitors and laptops for “IT applications” will increase from 9.5 million units this year to 48.8 million units in 2027.
So if we had to bet on what type of monitor a given person would buy in the next two years, our chips would be LCD.
And with supply and demand closely linked, desktop-sized OLED monitors remained a rarity this year, with options even scarcer if you want a non-gaming screen under 42 inches. Here’s the dizzying list of four:
- Asus ProArt display OLED PA32DC ($3,500 MSRP)
- LG 27EP950 ($3,000 MSRP)
- LG 27EQ850-B ($2,000 MSRP)
- LG 323P950-B ($3,000 MSRP)
However, computer users had plenty of OLED laptops to consider this year, from the HP Specter x360 2-in-1 to Dell’s flagship XPS 13 Plus clamshell ultraportable. But given the association between OLED laptops, high prices, and shorter battery life, there’s a reason to buy an OLED from a dedicated monitor instead.
New year, new OLED monitors
Most OLED monitors are in the 40-inch class with ultra-high resolutions, adding a size-related premium to an already expensive technology. But the end of this year already promises more variety in monitor size, resolution and price.
LG will start selling its first high-refresh-rate OLED monitors on Dec. 12, The Verge reported this week. The 26.5-inch, 2560×1440 LG UltraGear 27GR95QE-B has an MSRP of $1,000, and the 45-inch, 3400×1440 LG 45GR95QE-B is $1,700.
MSI too plan to announce a new ultra-wide OLED monitor at CES next month, but we don’t know much about it other than it’s ultra-wide, curved and 240Hz.
It’s also possible we’ll see the release of a bendable OLED monitor next year. Corsair hasn’t confirmed when its Xeneon Flex 45WQHD240 will be out or for how much, but it did tease the 45-inch, 3440×1440 gaming monitor back in September.
The 27-inch Philips 27E1N8900 4K video editing monitor was set to release in the US for around $1,070, which would be a competitive size and price, a What HiFI report said in May, but we haven’t heard from Philips yet.
Furthermore, we could see OLED monitors with even smaller designs next year or later. LG Display is reportedly working on 20-inch OLED panels that could be used in small monitors.
With any luck, we’ll hear about 2023 OLED monitors in the coming weeks and during CES.
