A roundup of computer monitors launched at CES 2022, with some featuring “smart” functions, mini-LED displays, higher refresh rates, new form factors, and more
Context & Ripple Effects
The CES 2022 monitor roundup continues a pattern The Verge has tracked across prior shows: high-end displays debuting at CES each January, from the 49-inch ultrawides Samsung, Dell, and others showed in 2019 back to HP's $1,299 5K monitor in 2015. What distinguishes this year's batch is the feature mix — smart functions, mini-LED panels, and higher refresh rates — which pulls desktop monitors onto technology paths previously reserved for TVs.
That convergence matters because it erodes the historical separation between the monitor market, where PC makers like HP and Dell compete, and the TV market, where panel innovations like mini-LED first appeared. The 2023 CES preview already lists monitors among its expected categories, suggesting the annual cadence of display launches is now a fixture rather than a one-off.
First-order effects
- Buyers shopping premium displays at CES 2022 get TV-grade options in a monitor: mini-LED backlighting, higher refresh rates, and built-in smart functions reduce the need to choose between a desktop display and a living-room panel.
- Monitor makers adopting smart functions position their displays to work without a PC attached, directly expanding what a monitor is sold as.
Second-order effects
- TV manufacturers' panel innovations now flow into the monitor segment faster, pressuring PC-focused display vendors like HP and Dell to match mini-LED and smart features or concede the premium tier.
- Smart monitors that stream content without a computer begin competing for the same desk-and-bedroom use cases as small TVs, blurring the pricing boundary between the two categories.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, the monitor and TV categories converge into a single display market segmented by size and input rather than by function, with annual CES launches setting the feature baseline for both — a shift already visible in the 2023 show's combined TV-and-monitor expectations.
- Displays with built-in smart functions weaken the PC's role as the mandatory hub of the desk setup, a structural change for how monitor makers define and price their products.
The trend: Computer monitors are absorbing TV technology — mini-LED, smart functions, high refresh rates — turning the annual CES showcase into the point where the two display categories converge.