Monitors to grow half an inch in 2013
Sales to go soft as it's what we do with them that counts
Monitors will grow by about half an inch in 2013, but there's be no sales bulge for resellers according to Taiwanese market-watcher WitsView.
The firm says new manufacturing processes mean it is now just as easy and cost-effective to cut LCD screens 19.5 inches wide as it is to slice them into 18.5 inch slabs. While only one manufacturer – Taiwan's Chimei Innolux - has mastered the trick to date, LG and Acer/Unipac-derived outfit AUO are expected to follow suit as 2013 unfurls.
Today, WitsView says, 44% of all monitors are either 18.5 inches, 19 inches or 20 inches wide. The former two widths are now at risk, as manufacturers take the opportunity to sell a bigger screen at the same price.
But even the prospect of more monitor for your money won't help the industry, the analyst says, as manufacturers and punters alike turn their interest to smaller devices like LCD TVs, tablets and notebook computers. Manufacturers will follow consumers' interests by targeting screens for those in-demand devices, leaving ye olde monitors for desktops a low priority option.
WitsView therefore predicts a decline in monitor shipments for 2013, with the only bright spot being all-in-one PCs. Overall global shipments will reach 165 million, 2.8 per cent down on 2012 numbers.
That's a far smaller number than overall PC shipments, which seems to suggest that fewer PC upgrades involve a monitor upgrade too. ®
COMMENTS
Who cares about larger monitors, if the resolution is downgraded
I use my laptop for writing documents, not staring at widescreen movies. I want the extra vertical resolution that's lost thanks to the curse of consumer idiot led 1080p glossy screens and not see every light behind me("Oooh. Shiny!"). When that laptop & its 1600x1200 matte screen finally died I had to buy a used machine (a Lenovo W500 1920x1200 matte in excellent condition) but would have preferred to buy a brand new laptop with the same type of screen.
Re: I'd like a square monitor
2600 vertical resolution?!! But, but, that would mean you could see the Apple apology to Samsung link without scrolling!!!!
"there's be no sales"
I'm afraid you're a little late for International Talk Like a Pirate Day.
chicken and egg
This could easily be a self fulfilling prophesy of static sales. I'll probably upgrade my primary desktop next year but to spend money on new monitors I need new functionality e.g. bigger screens, touch, higher frequency, better colour. I'm prepared to pay a premium for better monitors but otherwise I'll keep current 1200 and 1440 units as long as possible until the manufacturers realize yet another 1080p screen 5mm thinner is a downgrade for professional users. I suspect I'm not alone in this thinking.
As per other comments - when you haven't increased the screen resolution in a decade, no wonder no-one is upgrading.
I replaced my cheap LCD panels about 3 years ago for a pair of HP IPS panels and the difference in colour, saturation and brightness was astonishing - put side by side with a friends almost new Samsung LED monitor and the difference was incredible.
However, if you want anything more than 1920x1200 (and even those are quite scarce), you have to go for either silly money (Eizo monitors) or larger screens and still expensive (£500+). If you can make a 7" 720p IPS display for a portable device, why cant you bolt 4 of them together and give me a 4K display? It doesn't even need all that touch gubbins in it!!
