Enlarge / Acer continued selling laptops, like these Chromebooks, in Russia after saying it suspended business there, Reuters reports.

Per a report by Reuters on Thursday, Acer said it sold monitors in Russia after publicly declaring that it would suspend business there due to the Russia-Ukraine war. In Reuters ' report, Acer claimed it only sold a "limited number of displays and accessories" for "civilian daily use." Additionally, Reuters reported that Acer sold laptops in Russia after saying it wouldn't.

On April 8, 2022, Acer, like many tech companies (see: HP , Dell , Microsoft , Intel , Nvidia , etc.), said it would no longer do business in Russia for the foreseeable future.

"Acer strictly adheres to applicable international trade laws and regulations and is closely monitoring the conflict between Russia and Ukraine. Due to recent developments, Acer has decided to suspend its business in Russia," the company's statement said at the time.

Enlarge (credit: Daniel Acker/Bloomberg via Getty Images )

Dell Technologies' Australia subsidiary misled online shoppers into thinking that adding a monitor to their purchase would get them a discount on the display, even though doing so sometimes resulted in customers paying a higher price for the monitor than if they had bought it on its own. That's according to a declaration by the Australian Federal Court on Monday. The deceptive practices happened on Dell's Australian website, but they serve as a reminder to shoppers everywhere that a strikethrough line or sale stamp on an online retailer doesn't always mean you're getting a bargain.

On June 5, the Federal Court said Dell Australia was guilty of making "false or misleading representations with respect to the price" of monitors that its website encouraged shoppers to add to their purchase. The purchases were made from August 2019 to the middle of December 2021.

The website would display the add-on price alongside a higher price that had a strikethrough line, suggesting that the monitor was typically sold at the price with the line going through it but that customers would get a discount if they added it to their cart at purchase. (The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission, or ACCC, posted a screenshot example here .) However, the strikethrough prices weren't actually representative of what Dell was charging for the monitors for most of the time before the purported discount.

Enlarge / Philips' display connects a QHD IPS monitor to a 13.3-inch eReader via a hinge. (credit: Philips )

For daily productivity, work, web browsing, and entertainment, eReaders can't compete with the crisp colors and high refresh rates of LCD displays. LCDs (and increasingly OLEDs) have and will be center stage for monitors and laptops. But that doesn't mean LCDs can't share some of the spotlight. There have been various attempts to unite LCD and E Ink technology for computer users over the years. But with limited selection and the offerings typically involving sacrifice in other parts of the product, this hybrid display category hasn't become mainstream.

Even as the iPad and other tablets have become common household gadgets, eReaders have maintained value among certain technologists. Analysts say the market's declining, with Statista showing an expected fall from $396.4 million in 2021 to $204.7 million by 2027. But there are still exciting eReader releases, like the Kindle Scribe that came out in November. And as people grow increasingly concerned about preventing eye strain from screens, some are turning to E Ink for reading sessions over bright LCD screens.

But as stated, there are plenty of experiences that suffer on an eReader compared to a traditional computer display. And that's why some products try to offer both.

Enlarge (credit: Lenovo )

Smart displays have struggled to gain a foothold in a saturated market. Even an old smartphone or tablet can give the best smart displays a run for their money. From the Facebook Portal videoconferencing display and Amazon Echo Show 15 to Samsung's series of desktop-sized smart monitors , companies have been trying to find a purpose that sticks. The next effort is Lenovo's 27-inch ThinkView Plus. It attempts to find a niche for smart displays for business purposes but does so with a limiting focus on Microsoft Teams.

Announced at Information Systems Europe conference in Barcelona today, the ThinkView Plus is two parts videoconferencing display, one part USB-C monitor.

On the monitor side, you get decent connectivity options—one HDMI, one DisplayPort in and out, two USB-A ports, and one USB-C (versions not specified). However, at 1920×1080 resolution and a pixel density of only 81.6 pixels per inch, you're not going to get the type of image quality you might expect from the price tag alone. Lenovo hasn't specified the ThinkView Plus' panel type or other related specs.

Enlarge / HDMI cable. (credit: Getty )

If you're using a USB-C port to connect a computer to a display, you're most likely using DisplayPort Alternate Mode (Alt Mode). Some less-intensive uses might opt for DisplayLink to connect to a dock or adapter and eventually output to a screen. But due to non-existent adoption, we can pretty much guarantee you're not using HDMI Alt Mode. And according to the HDMI Licensing Administrator (HDMI LA), you never will because the feature is dead.

NotebookCheck spoke with HDMI LA, which is responsible for licensing the HDMI Forum's HDMI specs, at CES 2023 in Las Vegas last week and learned that there won't be any certified adapters supporting HDMI Alt Mode over USB.

"According to HDMI LA, there are simply no more uses for Alt Mode," the publication reported on Wednesday. "One of the reasons is that companies like Apple have begun putting HDMI ports on their products again. HDMI Alt Mode also no longer offers any advantages. As a result, the specification will not receive any further updates."

Enlarge / Dell's 6K USB-C monitor was the one of the most tantalizing displays at CES 2023. (credit: Scharon Harding)

The Consumer Electronics Show ( CES ) never fails to deliver a pile of new gadgets and gizmos, but finding products that bring something new and valuable to the table can be a real challenge. CES 2023 had its share of product refreshes, clones, and minor updates, but this year also proved there's still some "wow" factor to be found at the tech show.

And that includes the event's PC monitor selection. All the monitors on this list are promised to be real products coming out this year. Better yet, they all have some unique features that aren't readily available to consumers today.

Here are the seven most intriguing monitors from CES 2023.

Enlarge / Dell's upcoming UltraSharp 32 6K Monitor (U3224KB). (credit: Scharon Harding)

Today, Dell announced a beefed-up monitor to expand the limited options available to creative professionals who want more pixels. With 6144×3456 resolution, the Dell UltraSharp 32 6K Monitor (U3224KB) places itself firmly in the professional category, right alongside the likes of Apple's 6K Pro Display XDR . We briefly checked out the U3224KB in person in New York, and it showed strong contrast through IPS Black technology, plus several built-in extras that help it stand out. And we're not just talking about the graciously included stand.

6K resolution

Dell’s U3224KB is a 31.5-inch monitor with a 16:9 aspect ratio and 60 Hz refresh rate. When we saw it at a press event, a company spokesperson said the monitor's form factor is based on power users' preference for 220–260 pixels per inch (ppi) in high-end notebooks. Dell wanted to incorporate that same level of pixel density in a 32-inch-class screen, a popular size among its users.

The U3224KB has a pixel density of 223.79 ppi, to be precise, making it noticeably more pixel-dense than a 31.5-inch, 4K (3840×2160) monitor like the Dell UltraSharp U3223QZ (139.87 ppi). The Dell monitor also gets you more pixels per inch than a 27-inch, 5K (5120×2880) monitor like Apple’s Studio Display (217.57 ppi), and even the Pro Display XDR monitor. Apple’s display is a hair bigger, at 32 inches, with a slightly lower resolution of 6016×3384, giving you 215.7 ppi.

Enlarge / Lenovo expects its new 31.5-inch Mini LED monitor to cost $1,599. (credit: Lenovo)

Lenovo is preparing to release a pair of Mini LED monitors that are cheaper than its current Mini LED offering but don't skimp on features. The 4K USB-C displays offer up to a whopping 140 W over USB-C, the most extreme power-delivery spec we've ever seen a monitor claim.

Both of the 27-inch ThinkVision P27pz-30 and 31.5-inch P32pz-30 have a USB4 port supporting up to 40Gbps data and video and up to 140 W of power. USB-C monitors with power delivery are popular with many types of users, from Mac users without HDMI or DisplayPorts to Windows people seeking a streamlined setup with an ultralight PC. Monitors like the Apple Studio Display (up to 96 W), HP's E242d G4 (up to 100 W), and Lenovo's first Mini LED monitor, the ThinkVision Creator Extreme (up to 90 W), have enough juice to keep powerful thin-and-light systems happy, but at 140 W, creatives and the like can consider workstation-level systems.

Lenovo's announcement said each of its upcoming Mini LED monitors can support up to two daisy-chained 4K monitors. The monitors also have another USB-C port offering 15 W of power delivery for smaller devices, like smartphones.

Enlarge

For many of us, a lot of the screens we view daily can easily be OLED. The iPhone in your pocket. The screen on the new laptop you finally bought. That luxurious 4K TV and even that beloved Nintendo Switch . But OLED awesomeness has far from proliferated computer monitors—especially if you're not into gaming.

Numerous hurdles limit OLED monitor adoption, including concerns about screen burn-in. But one thing we're hoping to see in 2023 is a greater selection. Right now, you can count the number of OLED monitors that aren't 42-inch-plus juggernauts or push refresh rates that require serious GPUs on one hand. OLED monitors that focus on productivity, photo editing, or HDR get minimal love.

By the time 2023's done, we hope there's more than a handful of OLED monitors available to interest non-gamers. We don't expect homes and offices to become flooded with them, but 2023 could be a big step to OLED monitors having the variety and availability that OLED TVs and other devices have enjoyed for years.