What Display Daily says: The gaming monitor market has a broad spectrum of price points so, it is hard to pinpoint or define it in any specific way. That is if you want to dig into the weeds and find out what the real opportunity is going to be.
But, if you take the notion that refresh rate is the breakpoint for when a monitor is game-worthy or not then it raises the other interesting point which is, when are all monitors gaming monitors?
Despite the general functional value of smart monitors – they have operating systems and they do stuff without needing an external computing source – they lack consistency in terms of the quality of their software services and performance. There probably isn’t enough of a market or demand to really test their performance and do an in-depth usability analysis of the various software platforms, but I wish there were.
I’ve tried Tizen, WebOS, Apple TV and Google, and none of them really differentiate themselves or acquit themselves fully. As for Google? Which version, flavor or twist are you going to get on your displays?
The monitor business looks like it will be consistent but flat. That opens up possibilities for many things, and chiefly it is the notion that a monitor is a gaming monitor is a smart monitor is a monitor. In other words who can deliver SKUs in the $100-300 that can do it all: 120Hz refresh rates plus, be smart, and probably break the 37 inch screen size plateau.
The gaming monitor market, though, offers one hope, it could be the Formula 1 of display development. PC gaming isn’t going away, and the most avid and hardcore players will invest in the best equipment and push the hardware envelope. If you want to road test your best display technology, this is the demographic you want. There is probably a crossover from hardcore gaming monitor to future buyer of premium TVs or an endorsement of next gen display technology.
You’ll find a lot of gamer social media chatter that juxtaposes LG OLED gaming monitors with LG’s OLED TVs, for example, probably the most active discussions of OLED tech that you can find, all for the good. So, there’s something there. Gaming monitors is not a growth market but provides great leverage. It’s also a fickle market which makes it more spongy than solid as a launchpad for new technologies. It’s not an easy market to break into and not an easy market to maintain.
Gaming Monitor Lead the Way
The desktop monitor market is experiencing significant growth, particularly in the segments of high-refresh-rate gaming monitors and smart monitors with integrated operating systems and streaming capabilities. The market is being driven by advancements in technology and the increasing value and functionality of these monitors.
Omdia is reporting that the gaming monitor market – monitors with refresh rates exceeding 120Hz – is expected to grow by 9% year-over-year (YoY) to 24.7 million units in 2024 and is projected to reach 27.4 million units by 2028. Similarly, the smart monitor market, distinguished by its operating systems and streaming service portals, is forecasted to expand by 63% YoY to 1.2 million units in 2024 and is expected to grow to 2.1 million units by 2028, including B2B applications.
Overall, desktop monitor shipments reached 30.7 million units in the first quarter of 2024, marking a 5% YoY increase and continuing the steady growth seen since the third quarter of 2023, overcoming post-pandemic logistical challenges.
In the smart monitor segment, Samsung and LGE currently dominate shipments, with Acer and other brands expected to enter the market soon. For gaming monitors, there is potential for non-gaming monitors to feature refresh rates exceeding 120Hz, further boosting the shipment performance defined by maximum refresh rates.
A key factor distinguishing smart monitors from traditional desktop monitors is the integration of TV system-on-chip (SoC) technology. In 2023, MediaTek, Novatek, and Realtek were the leading TV SoC vendors, with their combined market share expected to rise to 84% in 2024, up from 83% in the previous year. Additionally, the market for smart monitors is expected to see significant influence from four key operating systems: Tizen, WebOS, AOSP China, and Google, which are anticipated to play major roles in 2024-25. The user experience will also be enhanced by improvements in Wi-Fi capabilities and new user interfaces, such as remote controls, which are crucial in this evolving market, according to Omdia.
