The global PC monitor market sees a -2.1% Y-o-Y decline on shipments reaching 31.4 million units in Q4 2018, IDC reports, marking a change of pace after 4 consecutive quarters of annual growth.

The analyst predicts 2019 shipments will reach 118m, resulting in a Y-o-Y decline of -2.7% on Q4 2019 shipments to 30.5m units. By 2020, shipments should total around 114m units as the adoption of mobile devices at lower price points continues apace.

Curved monitors grow in popularity in Q4 2018, taking over 6.2% market share in Q4 2018 and growing by 27.1% Y-o-Y (or 15.4% Q-o-Q). IDC says the positive trend will continue as more vendors enter the curved space. The most popular monitor sizes are 21.5- and 23.8-inch, with 21.7% and 17.8% market share respectively.

Philips announces a monitor with a mix of productivity, ergonomic and energy saving features-- the 252B9 B-Line LCD monitor, with a 3-sided frameless design and a PowerSensor feature promising "up to 80% energy costs."

PowerSensor is an infra-red "people sensor." It essentially detects whether a human being is near the monitor, and dims the screen in case of absence, leading to energy savings. Furthermore the monitor features a "0W hard switch" on the back, is compliant with the EnergyStar 7.0, EPEAT, WEEE and RoHS energy standards, and is built out of 85% post-consumer recycled plastic and ships in 100% recyclable packaging material.

AOC announces an entry-level 4K gaming display-- the 28-inch G2868PQU, featuring 3840 x 2160 resolution with a fast 1ms response time and AMD FreeSync support to eliminate stutter and screen tear.

The display uses a "next-generation HDR-ready" TN panel with 300 nits maximum brightness, 1000:1 contrast ratio and 60Hz maximum refresh rate. As mentioned earlier the display supports FreeSync dynamic refresh rate technology, although AOC does not confirm whether it also supports Low Framerate Compensation.

BenQ announces the DesignVue PD3220U-- a professional-grade monitor aimed at designers offering support for virtually all colour gamuts together with a DualView mode able to display images in two different colour spaces.

The monitor features a 31.5-inch 10-bit 3840 x 2160 resolution IPS panel with 300 nits typical brightness, 1000:1 static contrast, 5ms response time, 60Hz refresh rate, 178-degree viewing angles and anti-glare coating. BenQ says it can reproduce 1.07 billion colours, covering the sRGB, Adobe RGB, DCI-P3 and Display P3 colour spaces. It also supports HDR10, whilie a built-in KVM switch allows use with more than one computer with one or two displays.