There’s a ton of innovation happening in the monitor space these days. Companies are experimenting with different sizes, form factors, panel technologies, and more. With more people permanently working remotely, there’s more and more interest in how to both work and game in different ways from your PC with the best monitors you can buy.
So, from futuristic designs to wildly high gaming specs, these are the most anticipated monitors of 2022.
Samsung Ark gaming monitor
No monitor has created as much buzz going into 2022 as the Samsung Ark monitor. Debuted at CES, this monitor made a splash with its 55-inch curved screen that can rotate vertically. The result is a “cockpit” mode that wraps the screen around you like a mini-IMAX screen. It’s gimmicky and niche, for sure. But the special dial control that comes with the monitor makes it particularly special.
When we saw the monitor in person, Samsung demonstrated how it could essentially handle three 16:9 screens stacked on top of each other. The dial, then, allows you to move and adjust these screens without needing to dig into clumsy software settings.
There’s a lot we still don’t know about this ambitious project, but there’s no other monitor I’m more excited to plop on my desk and spend some quality time with.
LG DualUp
Speaking of experimental form factors, the LG DualUp monitor introduces a more vertical aspect ratio as its primary orientation. Never use a 16:18 aspect ratio display? Me neither. But just looking at it, your head might already be spinning with imaginative ways you might use it. It’s the equivalent of two 21.5-inch displays stacked on top of each other, which LG claims “helps reduce side-to-side head movements, the main cause of neck pain.”
But it’s the potential use cases that make the DualUp so interesting. Whether it’s splitting the screen between your timeline and video playback in Premiere or between a streamer’s game and live chat, there are more use cases for a square-ish monitor shape that you might initially assume.
The 2560 x 2880 resolution is certainly odd, but LG has the credentials to make this square monitor more than a gimmick.
Apple external monitor
There’s very little we know about Apple’s next external monitor, but we do know that it’s rumored to be in the works. It’s been over two years since the Pro Display XDR and well over five years since the $999 Thunderbolt Display was retired — and it’s more than time for Apple to bring back a consumer-level external monitor that doesn’t cost 5,000 dollars.
Early reports have indicated that this stand-alone display will be a follow-up to the Thunderbolt Display and would hence land in a similar price bracket. Later reports indicated a higher price, around half that of the Pro Display XDR, which would be around $2,500.
Anything beyond that, however, is speculation. However, a Twitter leak from December claimed that LG was working on three new displays that could potentially be for Apple, “two of which have the same specifications as the upcoming 27 inch and current 24 inch iMac displays.” The third is an improved 32-inch Pro Display XDR with a custom chip inside. The Tweet thread ends with mention that the 32-inch and 27-inch monitors have mini-LED panels and 120Hz variable refresh rates.
Whether or not Apple will release three new monitors or merely an update to the Pro Display XDR, some kind of external monitor from Apple seems to be on the horizon later this year.
Samsung Odyssey Neo G8
The Samsung Odyssey gaming monitors have been leading the charge in advanced technology, primarily with its curved ultrawide Odyssey G7 and G9. It even has its 49-inch Neo G8, which comes with a 5120 x 1440 resolution, 240Hz refresh rate, and Samsung’s Quantum Dot tech.
The Odyssey Neo G8, though, takes things even further. This new addition to the lineup has a higher 3840 x 2160 resolution and a 240Hz refresh rate, making it the first of its kind. Very few games even in the most powerful gaming PCs could actually make use of all that, but the Odyssey Neo G8 futureproofs you for many, many years. It also comes with VRR (variable refresh rate) in support of both Nvidia and AMD graphics cards through the two HDMI 2.1 ports.
Alienware 34 Curved QD-OLED
The latest display technology usually takes its time to get to monitors. But with QD-OLED, the latest advancement from Samsung, PC gamers are getting an early sneak peek at it. By the time we get the first Samsung QD-OLED televisions in our living rooms, we may also have the Alienware 34 Curved QD-OLED on our desks. That’s exciting from an industry perspective, especially when technologies like OLED and mini-LED are still rare in monitors.
QD-OLED, also known as Quantum Dot OLED, gives the best of both worlds. The absolute blacks of OLED and the brightness and better colors of Samsung Quantum Dot panels. In the past, the best gaming monitors have been all about performance. But as higher refresh rates and resolutions become the norm, image quality will be the next hurdle, and the Alienware 34 Curved QD-OLED may be a glimpse of that future.
I won’t know for sure until I can spend some more time with it, but I certainly have my hopes high.
Samsung Smart Monitor M8
Most monitors are nothing more than a shell for your PC. Not Samsung’s Smart Monitors, though. These bring all the goodness of smart televisions to the monitor form, whether that’s convenient access to streaming apps, wireless connectivity, and a remote — all without the need for a PC. It’s for the person who wants their monitor to double as a television.
The latest model, the Smart Monitor M8, though, brings an important new addition for 2022. Game streaming. Through the new service, Game Home, you can access all your game streaming apps in one place and easily pair controllers. That’s a lot of functionality for just a monitor.
Of course, it’s a large, 32-inch 4K monitor, of course. It even features a new bezel-less frame, an external magnetic webcam, and a thinner, white chassis. But the brains inside are what get me excited about this one.
