Sales of High Refresh Gaming Displays Skyrocketing, Curved Gaming LCDs Prevail
by Anton Shilov on December 7, 2018 2:00 PM EST- Posted in
- Displays
- Acer
- Samsung
- Asus
- BenQ
- AOC
- Monitors
- Market Trends
- Philips
- Curved Display
The number of news stories about gaming displays that we post has increased significantly in the past couple of years. Established suppliers have broadened their lineups of gaming LCDs, and meanwhile new players have decided to join the party. Apparently, our coverage has been reflecting market sales trends, as sales of such monitors have been increasing at a rapid pace. According to WitsView, shipments of displays with a 100 Hz refresh rate or higher (i.e., gaming LCDs) will exceed five million units in 2018. Moreover, over half of them will be curved monitors.
Curved Gaming LCDs Leave Flat Displays Behind
Global sales of gaming displays with high refresh rates are expected to reach 5.1 million units in 2018, an annual growth of 100%, reports WitsView, a division of TrendForce. This is still a small fraction of the 126 million total LCDs projected to be sold in 2018 (up 1.5% year-over-year), according to the company. The researchers attribute the growing demand for displays with high refresh rates to recommendations from game developers, with groups such as the PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds devs recommended 144 Hz+ displays. Meanwhile, it is evident that as the number of available models on the market is increasing, their prices are getting lower and gamers are more inclined to buy them.
One interesting point about gaming displays in general is that 54% of gaming LCDs sold this year will be curved monitors, leaving only 46% of them to be flat. Last year 77% of gaming displays were flat and only 23% were curved, according to WitsView. Shipments of around 2.75 million units is a big win for curved LCDs at large. In fact, keeping in mind that there are even more numerous curved models with refresh rates below 100 Hz, it is safe to say that sales of such displays in general will clearly surpass 5 million units, up from around a million in 2015. Since price difference between curved and flat monitors is diminishing, curved displays are no longer penalized with a price premium.
ASUS Leading the Pack
When it comes to suppliers of gaming displays, ASUS has been leading the pack for quite a while now, and this year was no exception. Acer maintained its second spot in 2018. By contrast, BenQ left the Top 4 and the third place now belongs to TPV, which sells products under AOC and Philips brands and is particularly successful in the Chinese, European, and APAC markets. Samsung moved up to fourth place (from the No. 5 spot) after expanding its gaming lineup with numerous new models in 2017 – 2018 timeframe, including the world’s first FreeSync 2-supporting monitors and numerous curved models of various sizes. It is noteworthy that 95% of Samsung’s gaming displays are curved.
| Top Suppliers of Gaming LCDs in 2017 - 2018 Data by WitsView, December 2018 |
|||
| Ranking | 2017 | 2018 Estimation |
|
| 1 | ASUS | ASUS | |
| 2 | Acer | Acer | |
| 3 | BenQ | AOC/Philips | |
| 4 | AOC/Philips | Samsung | |
| Shipments | 2.5 million | 5.1 million | |
Other vendors with impressive sales growth in 2018 noted by WitsView are MSI, HKC, and SDC. The latter two are particularly successful in China, whereas MSI is promoting its Optix gaming displays globally. Meanwhile, general LCD market leaders like Dell, HP, Lenovo, and LG are not exactly among the frontrunners on the market of gaming monitors.
| Top LCD Suppliers: 2017 - 2018 Data by WitsView, October 2018 |
|||||||
| 2017 | 2018 (Estimated) |
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| Ranking | Brand | Market Share | Ranking | Brand | Market Share | ||
| 1 | Dell | 18.5% | 1 | Dell | 19.6% | ||
| 2 | AOC/Philips | 13.5% | 2 | HP | 13.8% | ||
| 3 | HP | 12.7% | 3 | AOC/Philips | 13.1% | ||
| 4 | Lenovo | 9.8% | 4 | Lenovo | 9.6% | ||
| 5 | Samsung | 9.6% | 5 | LG | 8.7% | ||
| 6 | LG | 9.3% | 6 | Samsung | 7.6% | ||
| 7 | Acer | 6.0% | 7 | Acer | 6.8% | ||
| Others | - | 20.5% | Others | - | 20.8% | ||
| Shipments | - | 123.7 million | Shipments | - | 125.6 million | ||
Related Reading:
- Acer Unveils KG1 Displays with Sub-1ms Response Time
- ASUS Lists ROG Strix XG32VQR Curved FreeSync 2 Display with RGB
- JapanNext Launches 35-Inch "UWHD" Curved LCD: AMVA & 200Hz Refresh w/FreeSync
- MSI’s 49” Optix Curved Display and Oculux 25” High Refresh Monitors Announced
- ASUS Announces ROG Strix XG32VQ and ROG Strix XG35VQ: Large, Curved, & Fast
- Smooth As 240 Hz Butter: LG's 27GK750F-B, a 27-inch eSports Monitor with FreeSync, Launched for $550
- BenQ Announces ZOWIE XL2546 ‘eSports’ Display: 24'', FHD, 240 Hz, DyAc ULMB Tech
Source: WitsView/TrendForce
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PeachNCream - Monday, December 10, 2018 - link
I think there is a certain amount of validity to the argument that a curvature helps with the view angle problem introduced by means of large and wide display panels. I haven't done more than play around with a couple of curved displays for a few hours and my computing usage is fine with low resolution, small laptop panels so the problem the curve is designed to overcome doesn't apply to my personal situation. Despite the justification for them, I think that curved screens are ultimately somewhat impractical and we'll see them follow suit behind 3D monitors, VR headsets, and tablet computers where they'll sooner or later fade from fashion. In the meantime, there are profits to be reaped and sales to generate so companies are rightfully pumping out products and that benefits all of us that are going to reap a reward from our share price and/or dividends.poohbear - Saturday, December 8, 2018 - link
Why are all the 144hz monitors with G-sync and HDR only 27"?!? Its 2018, you'd think we can finally make the jump to a bigger monitor size. My Dell 27" IPS monitor from 2010 is still kicking, but i'd like to upgrade to a bigger monitor size instead of a side grade.:pnevcairiel - Saturday, December 8, 2018 - link
Monitor size isn't something that necessarily has to increase just because we move forward in time. There is a certain sweet spot the majority of people like, and 27" is IMHO in that area.Personally I wouldn't consider bigger an "upgrade". I'm on 27" now, and I had a 30" for a time, and for me it was too big. I literally couldn't use some parts of the screen while gaming (ie. had to move UI elements out of it), or my eyes would tire quite a bit faster. Or I would have to move further away, but whats the point of a bigger screen then?
Gaming on huge screens is even more of a niche then 144Hz GSYNC HDR already is.
Spunjji - Sunday, December 9, 2018 - link
Agreed here. Even 27" is a bit large under certain circumstances.Beaver M. - Tuesday, December 11, 2018 - link
Depends on a lot of things. Someone wearing glasses and is slightly short sighted, probably likes something more close to 30", for example.Lolimaster - Saturday, December 8, 2018 - link
Maybe because they're FORCING users to only buy curved gimmicks. Pretty much 4 of 5 high refresj monitors is a curved sht.oRAirwolf - Saturday, December 8, 2018 - link
I am just waiting for HDMI 2.1 to become standard on 4K televisions. Right now I am using a 43-inch Sony XBR43800D 43" 4K with a VA panel and triluminos (quantum dot lighting). It is a great display and the color and contrast is amazing but I do wish it had a higher refresh rate. I don't want any of the current offerings that include g-sync because it is hard to downgrade in size after having such a large, beautiful display on my desktop. I am really hoping that the next generation of televisions will have similar displays but higher refresh rates and I hope that the next generation of graphics cards will support HDMI 2.1 as well as variable refresh rate. That is when I will be upgrading.TheJian - Saturday, December 8, 2018 - link
ROFL...So <5% of sales are this stuff that's up 100%. Ah, so 2.5 to 5% now. Ok, so nobody cares...LOLThis is like claiming 4K is now mainstream, and everybody loves it...ER, UH, 1.5% according to steam hardware survey...ROFLMAO. Oh, and for those that think 1440p is mainstream, well, NOPE, sorry..That's a meager 3.52% of steam hardware survey, which for those that don't know, is 126MILLION gamers. So again, if you think either of these resolutions is mainstream, you're...wait for it...STUPID.
As I've said MANY times before to anandtech (er, since 660ti at least, see review section where they name called me etc - Jared walton and Ryan Smith...LOL), 1080p is what everyone is using. Again, today 67% according to 126 million steam users. That's a freaking huge sample size!
So unlike your headline that is FAKE NEWS (TM Trump...ROFL), NOBODY CARES. Wake me in 4-5yrs, you've been claiming 1440p was norm since 660ti...Who pays you guys to do FAKE NEWS? Monitor makers sending you checks trying to push this crap, or just pushing it for AMD as they keep claiming 4k crap? They might win a few GPU contests if they'd CONCENTRATE on what people actually do...You know, that 1080p crap :)
GreenReaper - Sunday, December 9, 2018 - link
It's true enough, for now - and even more so outside of gaming. I run a large art hosting site and 1440p has gone up 15% in the last year. But it's still only 1.3% of visits. Here's the full rundown:1920x1080 21.1%
360x640 14.6%
1366x768 10.7%
1536x864 5%
375x667 3.7%
1600x900 3.4%
412x846 2.8%
768x1024 2.7%
360x740 2.3%
1440x900 2.1%
320x568 1.8%
1280x800 1.7%
414x736 1.6%
1280x720 1.5%
412x732 1.4%
1680x1050 1.3%
2560x1440 1.3%
640x360 1.3%
1360x768 1.1%
1280x1024 1%
360x720 1%
1024x768 1%
The "odd" resolutions are likely to be browsers reducing apparent resolution to improve scaling. 1536x864 is 1920x1080 / 1.25 (hence Full HD is over 25% of visitors); iPhone 6-8 (750x1334) shows up as 375x667. Mobiles may actually be the highest-resolution device a user has - if they're not their *only* device, although whether that's true of a "gamer" depends on your definition.
TheJian - Saturday, December 8, 2018 - link
I've got an idea, how about you concentrate on 1080p and quit 1440p-4k crap testing except for maybe once a year, but instead DOUBLE 1080p games tested so people get a better idea of what they will actually be using and how their gpu/cpu might act in the real world.One more point, tons of people (according to steam again) buy Titans/1080/1080ti etc for ...1080P. Myself, 1070ti for 1920x1200 (1200p). :) No plans for a new monitor until my 24in 1200p dies, well unless Dell puts the $1050 30in 1600p on sale for oh, 1/2 off :) ZERO 4k plans (don't even have a 4k tv). 3 HTPC's running 1080p in my family now too. Who are you guys writing for? 1.5% 4k people? Nobody cares. 3.52% 1440p? AGain...You should get the point by now. This is why I come here once a month, or just to check news headlines real quick...LOL. Same with toms, well, duh, you are both owned by the same joint. So many other review sites with far more games tested etc.