Not long ago, the curved monitors they were the order of the day, and almost every major display manufacturer had curved models in their catalogs, and all of them told us about the benefits and the fancy things we could do with them. However, it seems that this “fashion” has been deflated lately, and although for the moment they have not disappeared from the manufacturers’ catalogs, it seems that they are now focusing on other technologies.
And it is that if we look just a few months ago there are not many manufacturers who have presented novelties in the curved monitor market… in fact, if we stick to the real novelties and not just “one more model of the group” Only CORSAIR has announced its new Xeneon Flex monitor, which also has the particularity that the screen is flexible and we can modify the curvature whenever we want.
What are the benefits of these monitors?
As always when a new technology is introduced to the market and manufacturers start to implement it in their product catalogs, they all start telling you about the many advantages of this type of monitors; However, as a curved monitor user for over 3 years, we can tell you what those real benefits are based on experience.
When we talk about curved monitors “without further ado”, i.e. it’s a normal monitor with a curved screen, we don’t see much benefit when using it for g aming or work. However, if, as was the case in our case, we are already talking about a curved monitor and also an ultra-panoramic one, things change because we notice very well that the ends of the monitor are at the same distance from the eyes than the center of the screen, while less in terms of immersion
And it is precisely in terms of immersion that this type of monitor stands out; Some manufacturers say its curvature means the sides are the same distance from the eyes as the center, giving a greater feeling of immersion, and from our experience we can confirm that to be true. Now those who say its curvature is the curvature of the eyes and that gives more immersion… pure smoke and marketing strategy.
Beyond that, it doesn’t make much sense to implement curvature on a monitor, because in fact, depending on the radius of the curve, it may even be counterproductive for other tasks like working. For example, in Excel you can see distorted cells, so imagine the impact this could have for someone who wants to use photoshop professionally with such a monitor.
Are curved monitors disappearing?
Precisely because the only benefit this type of monitor offers is greater immersion, the curved monitor market has remained almost exclusively for the gaming segment. Of course, adding curvature to a monitor makes the production process more expensive and as a result they have to sell the monitors at a higher price…and given what they bring, users are quick to disinterested.
We really don’t believe that curved monitors are going to disappear in the short term, because after all they still have a certain level of sales and, in addition, manufacturers have invested in developing this technology in their products and they still want to make a profit; Also, as long as users keep buying them, manufacturers will keep making and selling them, right?
Now, if we go to the extreme, like the new CORSAIR Xeneon Flex, which costs a whopping $2,400, we don’t think there are many users willing to spend that amount. Same thing with Samsung and its Odyssey Ark, a monitor that we were able to review and test for ourselves and which, while delighted with its performance and quality, we don’t think many people will spend the $3,000 we expect. ‘it costs.
Bottom line: we don’t think they’ll stop manufacturing in the short to medium term, but interest in curved monitors has waned over time and there will come a time when, yes, manufacturers will stop investing in them and they will eventually disappear from the market. .