Reinvigorated Monitor Makers See Opportunities in Niche Markets

[[Coi] Mr.CLuBBeR]

Monitor market is transforming

For the longest time, it seemed as though the monitor market was frozen in time. While CPUs and graphics cards became increasingly advanced and faster with each new generation, monitor makers were content to stick with Full HD 1080p panels of varying sizes for mainstream users, and 30-inch panels checking in at 2560x1600. Ah, but the landscape is changing, so don't be shocked if monitor makers test the market with bigger size and higher resolution displays.
According to Digitimes and whatever "industry sources" it spoke with, panel makers (including those that make touchscreens) are seeing opportunities in the 34-inch WQHD (2560x1440) UltraWide category to be the new high-end option. At present, high-end solutions still consist of 30-inch panels at 2560x1600 and, more recently, 32-inch 4K displays. There are less pixels in a WQHD display, though it's still visually appealing, easier on the GPU for pixel-intensive tasks (primarily gaming), and offers tons of horizontal screen space for those who like that sort of thing.
However, that's not the only segment monitor makers will toy with. They will also experiment in niche categories with high-resolution and curved displays taking center stage. These panels will feature wide color gamuts and, in some cases, 10-point touch features.
Finally, monitor makers will also push out 24-inch, 27-inch, and 28-inch models with 4K Ultra HD and even 5K resolutions in 2015.
In short, it's going to be a wild year for monitors, versus what's mostly been a stagnant market up until recently.
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