The BEST PRODUCTIVITY Monitor GUIDE 2022

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Aspect Ratio:

The popular 16:9,21:9 and ultra-wide and super ultra-wides, we now have a new, never seen before aspect ratio of 16:18.

The latest LG Ergo monitor broke the standards last month.

SIZE:

The most popular

Only a few options of the 16:9’s are now available in 43”

The ultrawides (42:9) are coming with new choices of 40” such as the latest 5K2K display from LG.

SUPER ULTRAWIDES ARE 43/49-inch behemoths and are very niche.

The super ultrawides are used by some for productivity but it is in gaming is when you find more applications of the super ultrawides.

In gaming simulators, you can take full advantage of the curvature and that extra real estate for the ultimate immersive experience.

Think of 16:18 as having a vertical dual monitor setup-which to be honest is more productive way.

It takes far less space in this orientation and gives a much smaller footprint on the desk with no horizontal bezel in the middle.

Curvature is expected from the Ultra-wides and super ultra-wides, although not all of them have it.

It is necessary for something wider than 16:9 since at certain points toolbar items and UI elements around the edges of the display becomes too off-center and hard to focus on when the display is flat.

If you get used to a curved ultra-wide, you will definitely need some time adjusting to flat display which will look like a fish eye lens.

The 27-inch displays being the most popular are ideal for any type of work and entertainment.

It is not too small nor too large for any desk.

32-inch monitors might be better.

Working on a 32-inch monitor with great scaling and proper resolution is bliss and reduces eye strain a lot.

When using it, it will be best to think of a monitor arm, because most stands are bigger and might take up too much space.

RESOLUTION AND PPI:

The monitor you choose can be as big as the distance you keep it from your face.

It is ideal to have a display with a PPI above 110, preferably close to 200.

The iPhone 13 Pro has 450 PPI. The higher the PPI the crisper the picture.

A 27-inch 4K display has a PPI close to 160. Unless you are into very specific features like high refresh rate for gaming, for example, anything below 110 PPI will feel ugly and outdated for a productive workflow.

Note;

If you are looking for a 27/32-inch display look for a 4K display.

If you are in ultrawides, 5K2K resolution will be optimal.

5K2K means that the ultrawide is 5K horizontally and 2K vertically, like a stretched out 4K 16:9.

6K and 8K displays are still too niche and expensive to talk about at this time.

PANEL TYPES.

There are four panel types to keep in mind.

TN, VA, IPS and OLED.

TN or twisted nematic panels

They are the oldest variety of LCD panels which are still common these days.

They are cheap to produce

They have very low input lag – this makes them very appealing for gamers.

They Disappoint in:

Viewing angles

Image quality

Color.

The IPS Panel:

This is the most sought-after panel.

It stands for in-plane switching, which is a type of LED (a form of LCD) display panel technology.

Characteristics:

Have best color

Best viewing angles

Produce much higher display quality.

The VA Panel:

VA stands for vertical alignment and some companies like Samsung are embracing this panel to deliver great products at affordable prices like the recently released 4K 32-inch Samsung M8.

VA panels are an excellent compromise to IPS. Because They have Great contrast vibrant colors for a reasonable price.

They are as good as the IPS in terms of viewing angles.

OLED Panels:

They are the most expensive.

OLED means Organic Light-Emitting Diode.

These panels enjoy excellent viewing angles because the technology is very thin and the pixels are extremely close to the surface.

OLEDs are:

lighter and thinner

use less energy

boast extremely low input lag

have an incredible response time

have great color fidelity

Downside:

they are very expensive

the brightness is not great.

Depending on your budget it is advisable to start from VA and go up to IPS.

If your budget allows it, OLED is awesome.

Color Gamut:

A monitor’s color gamut describes a specific range of colors that it can produce.

A wider color gamut means that the monitor can display colors more accurately withing the color space or in other words a mor true-to-life image.

A wider gamut such as DCI-P3 or Adobe RGB delivers an extra vibrancy look.

The sRGB gamut delivers a more beautiful will deliver a more faithful representation of shades.

When looking at the specs of a display, look for sRGB accuracy above 90%.

If it supports DCI-P3 above 90%, even higher the better.

Refresh Rate:

Most of the productivity monitors come standard with 60Hz. Even the expensive Apple Pro.

The influence and need of the gamming community for higher refresh rate and response time is blending with the productivity sector as time goes by.

Now you can find an ultra-wide, color-accurate productivity monitor that boasts 75 or 144Hz refresh rate which translates to smoother performance.

Anything above 60Hz will give the feeling of working on a faster machine where even the gentlest mouse movement will be silky smooth.

Also, a higher refresh rate means a smoother-looking screen that is easier on the eyes.

If you are trying to ease your eyestrain, a refresh rate of 120Hz or above is optimal.

PORTS:

Connectivity is one place to invest in.

A monitor with decent IO will save you cash from having to buy external docks.

Look FOR A Monitor that can charge your laptop with a power delivery of at least 60W.

USB-C Ports and USB-A Ports are always welcome.

A stereo jack is important too.

It would be better if it supports Thunderbolt 3 or 4.

AVIOD:

When buying a monitor avoid spending features that cannot possibly be good enough.

1. Built-in speakers.

Everything average on the market sounds weird save for the very expensive Apple Studio display which is famous for its sound.

• Built-in RGB:

RGB advertising on a monitor is a necessary feature, it is something you can achieve with a greater result on your own.

This only exempted in gaming monitors.

Brilliant:

Brilliant’s logic of course helps spot logical fallacies, eliminating the impossible to uncover the truth.

When shopping for a monitor you can use this concept to identify helpful information starting from very little.

Ambience Sensor for Automatic Brightness:

Adjusting the brightness automatically will reduce the stress of light in your eyes at night or as the sun goes down since one might easily get carried away in the work.

Built-in Power Supplies.

These are beneficial since having them will reduce the clutter underneath the desk and make things a lot cleaner.