Gigabyte announces a pair of Aorus gaming monitors at Computex 2019-- the 27-inch CV27F with a "super immersive" 1500R curvature and flat-screen 24-inch KD25F boasting a super-fast 0.5ms (MPRT) response time and 240Hz refresh rate.

The company describes both monitors as "tactical," meaning they can improve on gaming by lighting up dark parts of the on-screen image in order to improve visibility. They also feature an Aim Stabiliser mode to reduce the blurriness of recoil effects in FPS games, and set of OSD functions dubbed GameAssist such as a customisable crosshair, counter, timer and multi-screen alignment lines. An Aorus Dashboard displays hardware information, such as mouse DPI and GPU/CPU usage, directly on the screen, while Active Noise Cancelling (ANC) allows for clear communications from microphones plugged in the monitor.

Japanese OLED display vendor JOLED announces plans to start mass production of such displays in 2020 through a manufacturing facility able to produce hundreds of thousands of panels using printed OLED technology.

JOLED brings together the OLED operations of Sony and Panasonic. It currently makes printed OLED displays at a 4.5 Gen production line in Nomi, Japan, and is building a 5.5 Gen pre-process printed OLED plant near the same location. It also started construction of another post-process printed OLED facility in Chiba to complement the Nomi 5.5 Gen line, set to go online in 2020.

The global PC monitor market sees a -2.1% Y-o-Y decline on shipments reaching 31.4 million units in Q4 2018, IDC reports, marking a change of pace after 4 consecutive quarters of annual growth.

The analyst predicts 2019 shipments will reach 118m, resulting in a Y-o-Y decline of -2.7% on Q4 2019 shipments to 30.5m units. By 2020, shipments should total around 114m units as the adoption of mobile devices at lower price points continues apace.

Curved monitors grow in popularity in Q4 2018, taking over 6.2% market share in Q4 2018 and growing by 27.1% Y-o-Y (or 15.4% Q-o-Q). IDC says the positive trend will continue as more vendors enter the curved space. The most popular monitor sizes are 21.5- and 23.8-inch, with 21.7% and 17.8% market share respectively.

Philips announces a monitor with a mix of productivity, ergonomic and energy saving features-- the 252B9 B-Line LCD monitor, with a 3-sided frameless design and a PowerSensor feature promising "up to 80% energy costs."

PowerSensor is an infra-red "people sensor." It essentially detects whether a human being is near the monitor, and dims the screen in case of absence, leading to energy savings. Furthermore the monitor features a "0W hard switch" on the back, is compliant with the EnergyStar 7.0, EPEAT, WEEE and RoHS energy standards, and is built out of 85% post-consumer recycled plastic and ships in 100% recyclable packaging material.

AOC announces an entry-level 4K gaming display-- the 28-inch G2868PQU, featuring 3840 x 2160 resolution with a fast 1ms response time and AMD FreeSync support to eliminate stutter and screen tear.

The display uses a "next-generation HDR-ready" TN panel with 300 nits maximum brightness, 1000:1 contrast ratio and 60Hz maximum refresh rate. As mentioned earlier the display supports FreeSync dynamic refresh rate technology, although AOC does not confirm whether it also supports Low Framerate Compensation.

BenQ announces the DesignVue PD3220U-- a professional-grade monitor aimed at designers offering support for virtually all colour gamuts together with a DualView mode able to display images in two different colour spaces.

The monitor features a 31.5-inch 10-bit 3840 x 2160 resolution IPS panel with 300 nits typical brightness, 1000:1 static contrast, 5ms response time, 60Hz refresh rate, 178-degree viewing angles and anti-glare coating. BenQ says it can reproduce 1.07 billion colours, covering the sRGB, Adobe RGB, DCI-P3 and Display P3 colour spaces. It also supports HDR10, whilie a built-in KVM switch allows use with more than one computer with one or two displays.

LG announces the 32UL750-W-- a mid-range 31.5-inch 4K monitor offering a 3840 x 2160 resolution VA panel capable of 400 nits brightness, 3000:1 contrast ratio, 178-degree viewing angles and a 60Hz refresh rate (with FreeSync).

Further features include 4ms response time, HDR10 support for more detailed shadows and highlights, 100% coverage of the sRGB colour gamut and 95% of DCI-P3 reproduction. The monitor ships factory calibrated and supports a number of features aimed at gamer customers, such as Black Stabiliser (makes dark scenes brighter) and Dynamic Action Sync (minimises input lag).

Customers in want of an extra-large display might be interested in the Philips Brilliance 499P9H, a curved 49-inch monitor the company says is equivalent to a pair of 27-inch QHD monitors connected in a curve.

The 499P9H features an unusual Dual Quad HD (5120 x 1440) resolution and 1800R curvature. A VA LED panel promises "dazzling colours, inky shadows and sparkling whites," while Low Blue Light and Flicker Free modes make it easier on the eyes. Philips does not give information on colour space coverage, instead saying it meets the VESA-certified HDR 400 standard, meaning it brings at least 400 nits of brightness.