Show Me the Gimmicks: Surprising Monitor Features Coming in 2019

By Scharon Harding
published

...to OLED

Dell surprised us all at CES when it unveiled a true rarity: an Alienware OLED gaming monitor. OLED has made its way into professional monitors, but even those are rare and very pricey. With the OLED monitor we saw coming from Dell’s gaming brand, we expect it to be more accessible than professional OLED monitors that have come to market so far.

Dell didn’t have pricing or availability information, so we’re not sure if this monitor will actually arrive by 2019’s end. But the fact that Dell has managed to bring OLED to a gaming monitor at all made our jaws drop.

Scharon Harding
Scharon Harding

Scharon Harding has a special affinity for gaming peripherals (especially monitors), laptops and virtual reality. Previously, she covered business technology, including hardware, software, cyber security, cloud and other IT happenings, at Channelnomics, with bylines at CRN UK.

14 Comments Comment from the forums
  • truerock
    I do not want a sound bar attached to my monitor. I do not want anything attached to my monitor except 1 USB-C, Thunderbolt cable.
    Reply
  • Giroro
    What's so jaw dropping about Dell making an OLED monitor?
    A monitor is just a TV without the TV tuner installed, and OLED TVs have been around for like, almost 10 years. If anything it's jaw dropping that it took so dang long.
    I mean, a few years ago, curved TVs thoroughly failed as a product (and for good reason) and OLED TVs are becoming quite successful - yet manufacturers decided to waste everybody's time with curved monitors before finally giving us what we've been asking for all along.
    Reply
  • AlistairAB
    Would have been jaw dropping to see a 32 or 40 inch OLED monitor. Everything here was actually sad and uninspiring.
    Reply
  • JamesSneed
    I would love to see some built in bias lights on the back of the monitors that change color based on what's on the screen. This works really well for monitors it really should be a common feature as its fairly cheap to implement.
    Reply
  • gasaraki
    21678469 said:
    What's so jaw dropping about Dell making an OLED monitor?
    A monitor is just a TV without the TV tuner installed, and OLED TVs have been around for like, almost 10 years. If anything it's jaw dropping that it took so dang long.
    I mean, a few years ago, curved TVs thoroughly failed as a product (and for good reason) and OLED TVs are becoming quite successful - yet manufacturers decided to waste everybody's time with curved monitors before finally giving us what we've been asking for all along.

    Monitors and TVs are totally different animals. Try and take a TV and make it your monitor. TVs don't make good monitors at all. I actually don't think OLEDs are a good technology for a computer monitor however. Curved TVs are useless, curved monitors are actually very nice since you sit so close to it.

    Reply
  • gentlesnow
    I'd be ecstatic to have buttons clearly labeled. Don't know who decided the design aesthetic of being opaque about a device's interface, but can't wait to see this fad die.
    Reply
  • fireaza
    Regarding “Motion-Activated Port Lighting” I remember old Alienware cases having a light on the back you could turn on in order to let you see the ports on the back of your case. It was such a great idea, it’s a shame that none of the major case manufacturers ever borrowed it.
    Reply
  • JamesSneed
    21682976 said:
    Regarding “Motion-Activated Port Lighting” I remember old Alienware cases having a light on the back you could turn on in order to let you see the ports on the back of your case. It was such a great idea, it’s a shame that none of the major case manufacturers ever borrowed it.

    Yeah its odd the sensible things have not caught on. Like using RGB lights to light all the motherboard ports like color coding the audio outs etc with light. Or monitors using RGB for propper bias lighting which is awsome for monitors sitting up close makes them seem to have higher contrast. Or similar to this having a motion sensor near front panel ports on PC cases that then light up to help plug into the case.
    Reply
  • mlee 2500
    I would love to see that motion sensing LED light idea make it's way to the back of PC's as well. It would be cool to have that in the back of Home Theater amps and receivers as well, for that matter.

    Really, low power LED lighting is one of the most underrated but revolutionary advances of the past couple decades.
    Reply
  • InvalidError
    21680747 said:
    Monitors and TVs are totally different animals.
    They are fundamentally the same, especially with newer TVs that have low(er)-latency computer/console input option. The main drawback is that having a 50" TV on your desk can be a neck-breaking experience if you like sitting something like 25" from your monitor. I typically sit 35-40" from my 24" monitor and would be fine using a 50" TV on my desk - I did it for a few weeks but didn't like having to give up on all my desk shelves to put that there at a suitable height, so I ended up going back to my 24" monitor for primary and wall-mounting the TV above as a secondary display.
    Reply