Displays

At Computex 2025, we got our first look at G-Sync Pulsar in action at CES 2026, where only a few monitor companies demonstrated the new NVIDIA-powered technology designed to improve motion performance.

For those who don't know how G-Sync Pulsar works, typical LCD monitors suffer from sample-and-hold blur, which causes frames to remain on the display long enough for our eyes to perceive them as motion smear. What NVIDIA has done is combine Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and backlight strobing to create a rolling backlight pulse that improves motion clarity performance by 4x when compared to standard displays. NVIDIA states that G-Sync Pulsar provides perceived motion clarity equivalent to 1,000Hz, despite the panel being a 360Hz refresh rate.

On a more technical note, G-Sync Pulsar works by detecting when a frame is sent through G-Sync VRR, then updating the pixels from top to bottom with the strobing light (the pulsar). Additionally, Pulsar strobes sections of the backlight only when pixels are stable, which reduces the time each frame remains visible to the eye, or the "object hold time." By reducing the object hold time, motion blur is reduced.

Apple has been rumored for quite some time to be quietly working on foldable OLED displays intended for release in an iPhone and an iPad. While Apple hasn't recognized these rumors or officially announced anything about what would be its first foldable device, a Weibo leaker known as "Instant Digital" has given an update.

Rumors point to Apple's first foldable device featuring a 7.8-inch display that has solved the infamous crease problem plaguing other foldables. Additionally, this device is expected to have a 5.5-inch cover display, Touch ID, two rear cameras, Apple's new C2 modem, and the A20 chip. Rumors suggest Apple will release this mysterious device alongside the iPhone 18 Pro and iPhone 18 Pro Max.

As for leaks, user "Fixed Focus Digital" has claimed that Apple's new foldable iPhone display is meant to be flatter than many existing foldable devices currently available on the market, suggesting the company, or rather Samsung Display, the manufacturers of the upcoming OLED, have largely solved the crease problem with foldable displays. Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, a known Apple insider and industry analyst, has described the new display as mostly eliminating the crease, but it's "not perfect".

Windows 11 insiders have noticed that Microsoft has added support for monitors with refresh rates above 1000Hz in two Release Preview builds of the operating system.

The inclusion of this support arrived on March 12, and for those who don't know how Microsoft's Insider Program works, the software giant has the Canary Channel, which is extremely early experimental, the Dev Channel, which is early feature testing, the Beta Channel, for upcoming release versions of Windows 11, and the Release Preview, which is nearly final builds before they are pushed out to the public.

Each of these channels can be opted into by users, and each serves a purpose in Microsoft squashing as many bugs as possible before a new feature-rich update is pushed to Windows 11 users. As for 1000Hz+ monitor support, the item was discovered in both Release Preview builds 26100.8106 and 26200.8106.

Apple recently unveiled the MacBook Neo, a new $599 MacBook that is aimed directly at students, and anyone looking for a simple laptop capable of answering emails, spreadsheet work, social media, and even some very light photo and video editing. Essentially, Apple now has a Chromebook competitor.

The "Neo" branding is an odd choice from Apple, as it isn't a word we have heard from the company in the past, and previous rumors indicated Apple would be calling this device just "MacBook," which would make sense when considering Apple's current naming schemes for its devices (Pro, Max, etc). However, those rumors weren't true, and we now have Neo. A report suggested that Apple chose Neo because it's just one letter short of "Neon," which ties into the colors of the laptop, such as Citrus and Blush.

However, that theory was incorrect, as Colleen Novielli, Director, Mac Product Marketing at Apple, told Techradar, "We wanted something that felt fun and friendly, and fresh, and felt like it really suited the spirit of this product." And that is simply it. There are no play on words about its size, or color relations, just "fun and friendly, and fresh." Well, if that was the goal, I would say it has been achieved. Neo is fun, friendly, and fresh.

TCL has unveiled the P2A Ultra series, and one model of gaming monitor that stood out among the line-up was the 28P2A Ultra, a new Mini-LED esports monitor.

The 27P2A Ultra is touted as the world's first 1040Hz Mini-LED esports gaming monitor, specifically built around motion clarity and refresh rate. According to TCL, the 27P2A Ultra is also a dual-mode monitor, meaning it can switch between refresh rate and resolution through the On-Screen Display (OSD) options, or a dedicated button on the rear of the display. TCL states in its 27P2A Ultra image that it's capable of switching between 550Hz at 2560 x 1440p and 1040Hz at 720p.

Notably, TCL's claim of a "world's first" with the 27P2A Ultra is specifically about it being a Mini-LED display, as Samsung already snagged first place for a 1040Hz dual-mode gaming monitor with the debut of the Odyssey G6 (G60H), which is an IPS panel. TCL didn't announce the price of this monitor or whether it would reach North America.

The LG UltraGear evo G9 might just be one of the most impressive gaming displays ever made, and it doesn't even feature an OLED panel. The reason for this is that, as the company explains, it's the "world's largest 5K2K gaming monitor." With dual-mode resolution support of ultrawide 5K and 2K, a fast 240 Hz refresh rate, and a massive 52-inch size, it's the sort of display that will take up your entire field of view.

To set the scene, the LG UltraGear evo G9 sports the height of a 42-inch 4K 16:9 display, which is then stretched to the ultrawide 21:9 aspect ratio with a 5K resolution of 5120 x 2160 pixels. Yes, it's huge, and probably too big for many PC gaming setups out there, but it'll no doubt deliver a truly immersive gaming experience. In addition to the 52-inch size, the display itself features a 1000R curvature.

As for the hardware, you're looking at a VA panel with a decent 4000:1 contrast ratio, VESA DisplayHDR 600 certification, and 95% DCI-P3 color accuracy. Outside of OLED panels, VA panels offer the most cinematic image regarding deep black levels and vibrant colors. Throw in a 1ms GtG response time, and you're looking at the sort of display that would be perfect for a racing or flight sim setup.

Samsung has unveiled its next-generation QD-OLED technology for premium displays called 'QD-OLED Penta Tandem.' This brand-new, proprietary tandem technology features a five-layer organic light-emitting structure that the company says will be not only a game-changer but also unique to its QD-OLED panels.

Samsung's QD-OLED panels are found in some of the most impressive gaming monitors and TVs on the market. The company notes that as the number of organic material layers increases, overall brightness and efficiency improve. That means the same display can deliver a brighter image at the same power level as a standard QD-OLED display.

With a 1.3X improvement to luminous efficiency, Samsung believes that this also extends the lifespan of the 'QD-OLED Penta Tandem' display by a factor of 2X. And when it comes to peak brightness, these new displays will be impressive, with 4,500 nits for TVs and 1,300 nits for monitors.

Samsung Display is reportedly increasing the investment on its A4 factory, gearing up to make even more foldable OLED panels for Apple's upcoming foldable iPhones.

In a new report from ETnews, the outlet says that Samsung Display is currently working on what it needs to do to increase its CapEx on foldable OLED equipment for its A4 factory located in Asan, South Chungcheong Province of its home country: South Korea.

Samsung's proposed investment expansion should start in Q2 2026, focusing on boosting the production capacity of flexible OLED panels by adding more backplane-related parts like thin film transistors (TFTs). This will allow Samsung to be better prepared for when Apple launches its new foldable iPhones and bigger shipments are required.

Apple is expected to unveil its refreshed Studio Display 2 later this year, with a rumored 5K @ 90Hz Mini-LED display, and a faster A19 or A19 Pro iPhone processor inside.

In the latest rumors and tease from Mark Gurman's recent PowerOn newsletter on Bloomberg, the new Studio Display from Apple "looks quite similar to the current one". It was only last month that a purported Apple monitor (model A3350) turned up in a Chinese regulatory database, leading to more speculation on this being the new Studio Display 2.

The current Studio Display was launched in 2022 with a 27-inch LCD screen with a 5K resolution @ 60Hz, up to 600 nits of brightness, an A13 Bionic processor, a single Thunderbolt 3 connector, and 3 x USB-C ports, with pricing starting at $1599.

OLED displays have come a long way in recent years and are now widely considered the best option for PC gaming and entertainment. From the near infinite contrast to the vibrant colors and per-pixel lighting, the "upgrade" over a traditional LCD panel is such that once you go OLED, it's hard to look back. However, burn-in, or image retention, has been a primary concern since the display technology was introduced and persists to this day.

Which is why it's always good to look at in-depth burn-in reporting for more modern OLED panels. YouTube channel and creator Optimum has put their LG UltraGear 32GS95UE-B dual-mode 32-inch OLED monitor to the test, reporting on the state of image quality with respect to burn-in after over 3,000 hours of use.

And even though there is some burn-in after this amount of time, with static objects on the screen as the culprits, the "damage" is barely visible. Optimum notes that they primarily used this display for three apps: Blizzard's Overwatch, and using DaVinci Resolve and Fusion 360 for creating video content.

Samsung has announced that its 2026 OLED TV lineup and next-generation Odyssey gaming monitors, set to release this year, will all be NVIDIA G-SYNC Compatible. G-SYNC is all about matching a display's refresh rate to a game's frame rate to reduce tearing, stuttering, and improve the gaming experience.

Samsung confirms that its two flagship OLED TVs for this year, the S95H and the S90H, will support refresh rates of up to 4K 165 Hz, while the S85H model will support the standard 4K 120 Hz. 4K at 165 Hz is great to see, as a GPU like the GeForce RTX 5080 should be able to deliver close to that in a wide range of games, and thanks to G-SYNC, deliver that level of performance with a smooth and seamless presentation.

In addition to being G-SYNC Compatible, Samsung's 2026 OLED TV lineup will also support AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and the new HDR10+ ADVANCED format for enhanced brightness and contrast. On the display front, Samsung has confirmed that its impressive 27-inch Odyssey G6 (G60H), with its 1,040 Hz refresh rate, will be G-SYNC Compatible.

LG has officially pulled out of making 8K TVs in both 8K OLED and 8K LCD form, following the footsteps of both Sony and TCL in recent times leaving the 8K TV market.

In a new report from FlatpanelsHD, which talked to LG to confirm the news, LG has left the 8K TV market. 8K TVs have been mostly a flop so far, with almost zero content in the form of movies and TV shows, and while a super-high-end gaming PC can play 8K... they're not the target market.

There has been heavily misleading 8K upscaling marketing, and most high-end 4K TVs outperform 8K TVs in picture quality. Sony enabled 8K support on its high-end PlayStation 5 Pro console in late 2024, but there wasn't a big shift in the market, which brings us to another issue: most 8K TVs don't accept compressed 8K signals over HDMI 2.1.

Philips has just unleashed what they're calling the world's first dual-mode 1000Hz gaming monitor with its new ENVIA 27M2N5500XD. Check it out:

The new Philips ENVIA 27M2N5500XD gaming monitor features a 27-inch Fast IPS panel that is capable of 1440p @ 540Hz or 720p @ 1000Hz. Philips explains in its press release: "As the first dual-mode monitor with a true 1,000Hz panel, the 27M2N5500XD eliminates motion blur and screen tearing in fast-paced FPS games like CS:GO and Valorant, making moving targets and bullet trajectories crystal-clear".

We also have a 1ms gray-to-gray (GtG) response time, 2000:1 contrast ratio, 100% coverage of the sRGB color space (96% of DCI-P3 and 107% of Adobe RGB), with a peak brightness of 500 nits and DisplayHDR 400 certification. On the back, Philips includes 2 x HDMI 2.1 ports, 1 x DisplayPort 2.1 port, and a 3.5mm headphone jack.

AOC has unveiled a new OLED gaming monitor, a 27-inch model capable of producing 1,500 nits peak brightness with its 4th-generation WOLED panel from LG.

The AOC Q27G4ZDP/WS is a 27-inch WOLED gaming monitor that sports a somewhat rare white housing, but it's not its white finish that has turned heads; it's the fact that the Q27G4ZDP/WS is one of the first monitors to debut with LG's 4th generation WOLED panel, which features the new 4-stack Primary RGB Tandem structure. Additionally, the Q27G4ZDP/WS features an Anti-Glare Low Reflection (AGLR) coating.

As for other specifications, the Q27G4ZDP/WS rocks a 2560 x 1440p resolution, a 0.03ms (GtG) response time, and a 280Hz refresh rate. Furthermore, it has 99% DCI-P3 color space coverage, along with a 335 full panel brightness (Average Picture Level/APL 100%), which can increase to 555 nits at APL 12.5%, and can be bumped up to the aforementioned 1,500 nits in HDR mode.

Sony is spinning off its TV business with a new deal with TCL, signaling the end of an era for Sony electronics.

Today, Sony announced a landmark deal that would effectively see the Japanese company step out of TV manufacturing. As part of the deal, Sony and TCL will form a new company with the majority 51% stake belonging to TCL, and Sony taking a 49% stake.

The new company will design, produce, and ship next-gen home entertainment audio and visual technology, including TV sets. The new line of TVs will retain both Sony's name and the Bravia branding, with the specifics of the deal to be ironed out by March 2026. Sony and TCL expected the new unit to start operations in April 2027. Based on the vocabulary used in the announcement, TCL and Sony may be focusing their new products on the higher-end of the tech spectrum.

Researchers from Seoul National University and Drexel University have achieved a breakthrough in display technology by creating stretchable OLED panels.

What could be the holy grail of modern day display technology was achieved through a class of materials called MXenes. Traditional OLEDs work by layering conductive and organic materials that emit light when electrical charges meet. Engineers have been using indium tin oxide (ITO) as the transparent electrode as it conducts electricity well while enabling light to pass through it. The limitation is that ITO is brittle and cracks when under pressure, resulting in brightness loss. This means its unsuitable for a display that needs to stretch.

MXenes are ultrathin, highly conductive materials that are made of layered carbides and nitrides. MXenes are also capable of bending and stretching without breaking as their layered structure enables sheets to slide past one another instead of fracturing under the pressure. Researchers used MXenes as a replacement for ITO, enabling the display to become both stretchable and produce stable levels of brightness.

Apple is reportedly gearing up to implement OLED displays across a range of its products, but some of the company's most popular products won't receive the upgrade until 2028, according to reports.

The information comes from Bloomberg's Mark Gurman, a known Apple insider with an extremely healthy record of knowing the inner workings of the Cupertino company, and DigiTimes. According to Gurman, Apple plans to upgrade the iPad Mini, MacBook Pro, iPad Air, iMac, and MacBook Air with OLED displays, though at different times.

A recent report from DigiTimes states that the change will occur between 2026 and 2028, with the iPad Mini slated for an OLED upgrade in 2026, along with the MacBook Pro. The iPad Air, iMac, and MacBook Air are all pegged to receive OLED upgrades in 2027 and 2028, with the MacBook Air being sometime in 2028.

ASRock unveiled a selection of new OLED gaming monitors under its Phantom Gaming brand, and its new brand of Taichi gaming monitors, with the company now expanding its premium line of gaming products.

ASRock showcased three new OLED gaming monitors featuring QD-OLED panel technology and WOLED panel technology, and each is branded Taichi. Starting with the TCO27USA, a 27-inch QD-OLED panel that features a 4K resolution and a refresh rate of 240Hz.

The TCO27USA also features a 0.03ms (GtG) response time, 250 nits standard brightness, and a range of I/O ports, such as 2x HDMI 2.1 (48G), 2x DisplayPort 1.4, 2x USB 3.2 Gen1 Type-A, 1x USB3.2 Gen 1 Type-B, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C with DP Alt Mode PD 65W, 1x Type-A (upgrade only), 1x headphone out, and x2 3W speakers. There is also tilt, swivel, and pivot adjustment available.

ASUS has showcased a number of cool products at CES 2026, but one that particularly caught my eye was the ROG XREAL R1 glasses.

ASUS had a few demo units of the R1 on display at CES 2026, and they are ASUS's solution to a gamer needing more screen space, but their desk simply isn't going to cut it. The XREAL R1 glasses are 240Hz micro-OLED 1920 x 1080p gaming glasses that are powered over a single USB-C cable. The glasses act as any normal display would, meaning they can be plugged in to any device that supports display out over USB-C. ASUS demonstrated they can even be plugged into smartphones.

When wearing the XREAL R1 glasses you are presented with a 171-inch display that can be locked in place by pressing the lock button on the frame of the glasses. A second button also engages the transparency or blacked-out modes, which can be used to quickly drop the immersion and engage with someone speaking to you while the XREAL R1's are in use. The glasses give a 57-degree field of view, and include Sound by Bose technology.

ASUS has unveiled a few new gaming monitors at CES 2026, and one of them is a refreshed version of the PG32UCDM, a 32-inch 4K QD-OLED 240Hz gaming monitor.

At CES 2026 ASUS has unveiled the third-generation of the P32UCDM3, and the key difference between this new model and its predecessor is the inclusion of BlackShield Film, which is an improvement to the QD-OLED panel's durability, and more impressively, the steep increase in black levels, particularly in well lit environments.

One of the biggest criticisms of QD-OLED panels is how they perform in well-lit environments, as direct light on the panel can cause colors to look completely washed out. ASUS intends BlackShield Film to be an answer to that problem, and judging from the small amount of testing I did at the ASUS booth with the new P32UCDM3 and the previous generation model right next to it, the results speak for themselves. BlackShield Film definitely improves black levels, with ASUS estimating a 40% boost in bright environments.