IDC PC Monitor Trends: IPS and 21.5-Inch Most Popular, Curved Displays Get Traction
by Anton Shilov on October 3, 2019 5:00 PM EST
Sales of large displays and/or gaming displays have been increasing in the past few years, but recently monitor manufacturers have also rolled-out oversized displays and curved LCDs for their clientele. But while the market install base of such advanced displays is growing, the most popular monitors still measure 21.5 inches, according to analysts from IDC. Meanwhile, IPS LCD panels now dominate the market, leaving TN and VA behind.
IDC market researchers expect 122 million PC monitors to ship in 2019, down 1% from the previous year. In Q2, sales of PC displays totaled around 30 million units, driven by migration of commercial desktops to Windows 10 yet offset by manufacturers’ focus on premium gaming and curved LCDs and their emphasis shift away from volumes to focus on higher ASP growth.
Based on data from IDC, displays featuring a 21.5-inch diagonal are still the most popular, and analysts expect that populatity to stick until 2023, where it sees the 23.8-inch market becoming top. Whether this popularity stems from the screen size or the price of the display is another matter entirely. As larger displays are manufactured in larger quantities, in a commodity market, eventually pricing of the larger displays is reduced.
Nonetheless, sales of curved monitors (which mostly belong to the premium segment) grew 44.7% year-over-year in the second quarter. It is believed (by some other analysts) that half of all curved displays are designed for gamers, which means that these displays offer advanced features and might command a significant premium because of that market.
It is also noteworthy that IDC reports that IPS-based LCDs now account for about 50% of the market, trailed by TN and VA panels, which inidicates demand for higher-quality displays is growing. The one market that TN panels still held was for fast refresh rates, but so-called ‘Fast IPS’ panels have entered the market which have refresh rates of up to 240 Hz while offering great viewing angles and saturated colors, so it remains to be seen how the panel market develops in the coming years.
As far as monitor manufacturers are concerned, Dell retained its No. 1 position in Q2 with a 21.4% market share followed by HP with a 15.2% share. TPV, the only Top 5 display maker that managed to significantly boost its shipments in the second quarter, commanded 14.4% of the market trailed by Lenovo with a 10% share as well as LG with a 8.2% share.
| Top 5 PC Monitor Makers Q2 2019, IDC |
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| Q2 2019 | Q2 2018 | Q2 2018-> Q2 2019 |
|||||
| Sales | Share | Sales | Share | Growth | |||
| Dell | 6.4 million | 21.4% | 6.4 million | 20.7% | 1.1% | ||
| HP | 4.6 million | 15.2% | 4.7 million | 15.2% | -1.9% | ||
| TPV | 4.3 million | 14.4% | 4.0 million | 13.0% | 8.9% | ||
| Lenovo | 3.0 million | 10.0% | 3.2 million | 10.4% | -5.8% | ||
| LG | 2.5 million | 8.2% | 2.5 million | 8.3% | -3.3% | ||
| Others | 9.2 million | 30.7% | 10.0 million | 32.4% | -7.3% | ||
| Total | 30.1 million | 100% | 30.7 million | 100.0% | -2.2% | ||
This information is derived from recent IDC press releases. IDC offers the full report.
Related Reading
- Sales of High Refresh Gaming Displays Skyrocketing, Curved Gaming LCDs Prevail
- HP Launches Their S430c 43.4-Inch Ultrawide Curved Display
- Need for Speed: The LG UltraGear (27GN750) 240 Hz IPS Monitor with G-Sync
- Lenovo’s ThinkVision S28u-10: A 4K Business Display
- ASUS ProArt PA32UCG: The Ultimate Mini LED 4K 120 Hz Monitor with HDR 1600
Source: IDC
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dullard - Friday, October 4, 2019 - link
3840×1600 (21:9) is 24% fewer pixels than 3840x2160 (16:9) at the same pixel density.Beaver M. - Saturday, October 5, 2019 - link
I wont knock it if it doesnt have massive BLB, clouding and IPS glow.Thats never the case.
Dribble - Friday, October 4, 2019 - link
It's what triple display gaming has turned into. Now we use 1 big curved display instead which makes a lot more sense then 3 flat panels at different angles with a bezels.Black Obsidian - Friday, October 4, 2019 - link
This is especially true of the 49" 32:9 displays. One of those would have comfortably replaced my 3x 24" 16:10s for driving/flying simulators.lilkwarrior - Thursday, October 3, 2019 - link
Just sell a 34" inch OLED 4K monitor w/ HDMI 2.1, Displayport 2.0, Dolby Vision HDR, HLG HDR, & HDR10+ already.lilkwarrior - Thursday, October 3, 2019 - link
I meant 32" and my hope is for that to be planned out & announced at 2020 CES hopefully, but my main point still stands.43" seems more closer to fruition at the moment w/ LG's new plant. It's mind boggling Apple of all companies get this right (i.e. their 32" monitors w/ understandably expensive blue-filter-oriented mini-led panel coming up, the Pro Display XDR), but a lot of monitor manufacturers continuously do moronic decisions.
evanh - Thursday, October 3, 2019 - link
I have a 32" IPS 4K monitor and it is nice, and it was expensive back then. However, these days, I'd recommend 43" for 4K now that they are available.Death666Angel - Friday, October 4, 2019 - link
How so @ 43"? I have a 31.5" 4k AOC that I am very happy with (10 bit, no FRC, VA). Only (realistic) thing I miss is no 30-60 HZ Freesync, but at 320€ over a year ago, that would have been unrealistic. On my normally sized desk and i being wall mounted, I would not want it to be any bigger. I sit between 40 and 90cm (eye distance) away from the monitor. If it were larger, I think I'd have trouble seeing everything at once. I also use a 2nd monitor to the side (currently a 19" 1280x1024, I had a 21" 1200p one there and could get a 27" 1440p one but don't really need to, I just need enough space for one PDF site).CU - Friday, October 4, 2019 - link
I have the AOC U3277PWQU which I bought a few years ago. Like you I really like it, but I wish it had Freesync.Death666Angel - Friday, October 4, 2019 - link
Heh, U3277FWQ here. No USB 3.0 hub and worse stand, but I wall mounted it anyway. :)