6K, USB-C, docking station… Dell pulls out all the stops for new computer monitors

Dell is taking advantage of CES 2023 to announce updates to three of its high-end UltraSharp series displays. It combines IPS Black technology and USB-C docking station functionality.

Dell isn’t exhibiting at CES 2023, but today it’s making official the monitors it gave us in early December as part of an invitation to a preview presentation. Dell, world No. 3 in PCs but well ahead of rivals HP and Lenovo (source: IDC PC Monitor Tracker) in monitors, announces three new high-end UltraSharp monitors.

After the first two models last summer, Dell thus completes the IPS Black series. Introduced last year by LG Display, this new LCD display technology combines the good colorimetry of IPS with the good contrast of VA technology. In this case, Dell claims 1.4 times higher contrast ratio and 1.2 times higher color accuracy (Delta E) than competing IPS screens.

Dell UltraSharp 32 6K Monitor: Alternative to Apple Pro Display XDR

For starters, the Dell UltraSharp 32 6K Monitor (U3224KB) is the first 6K monitor with an IPS Black panel. Designed for engineers and creatives, but not “only” VESA DisplayHDR 600 certified (i.e. maximum brightness of 600 cd/m²), it offers an alternative to Apple’s Pro Display XDR. It displays 99% of P3 color spaces at 31.5 inches diagonally.

And if “6K” looks only 1.33 times better than “4K”, it actually displays 2.5 times more pixels than an Ultra HD screen’s 3840 x 2160 pixels (8.3 million pixels), because only 6144 x 3456 pixels (16 :9), or 21.2 million pixels. Note that 6K here means 6 times 1024, while “4K” is usually 2 times 1920, i.e. 4 times 960 pixels. (Prove that it would be better to convey the definition directly.)

In place, with a slightly higher resolution of 200 pixels per inch, it’s difficult to distinguish between pixels and aliasing, as you can “only” when zooming in on a 4K screen. With its matte finish and ambient light-adjusted brightness, it looks more like paper than a screen in some ways.

“Perfect fit” uses Thunderbolt 4 connection to transmit uncompressed video signal with PCs as well as Macs, through the latest DisplayPort 2.1 standard. It can also serve as a docking station for a laptop. Indeed, it supplies it with up to 140 W of electricity, it incorporates a 7-port USB hub at 10 Gbit/s, including one USB-A and two retractable USB-C (not down), 2 .5 Gb/s Ethernet connection, two 14 W speakers, two echo-cancelling microphones and finally a 4K webcam “tall” The Sony sensor, compatible with Windows Hello, is suitable for quality video in the dark of the studio. On the other hand, the color calibration probe is not included.

The Dell UltraSharp 32 6K Monitor will be available in the second quarter of 2023 for an as-yet-undisclosed price. The higher-end Apple Pro Display XDR with 576-zone local illumination costs 5,000 euros, as a reminder.

Photo credit: Romain Heuillard

Photo credit: Romain Heuillard

Dell UltraSharp 43 4K USB-C Hub Monitor: a quarter screen

Dell also provides two monitors designed to optimize productivity.

First, the Dell UltraSharp 43 4K USB-C Hub Monitor (U4323QE) is designed for those who need a very large screen area, such as analysts.

It differs from 24- to 32-inch 4K screens in that the interface on it has the same size as “2K” screens (1920 x 1080 or 2560 x 1440 pixels), but is thinner (scaled. 150 and 200%, Apple ” Retina). Indeed, this 42.5-inch diagonal (110 cm) Ultra HD (3840 x 2160 pixels) screen is designed to be used without scaling, thus offering the same screen area as four 22-inch Full HD screens arranged in a square, borderless manner. .

You can also display single or four computers simultaneously, through four of its five inputs (2 HDMI 2.1, 2 DisplayPort 1.4 and 1 USB-C DP 1.4 Alt Mode). You plug a keyboard and mouse into the hub with four built-in 10Gb/s USB ports (including USB-A and a retractable USB-C forward), then switch from one computer to another with a keyboard shortcut. It also offers a 1 Gb/s Ethernet port, but no speakers, microphone or webcam.

This Dell UltraSharp 43 4K USB-C Hub Monitor (U4323QE) will be available in the US on January 31, 2023 for $1,330 before tax.

Dell UltraSharp 34 Curved USB-C Hub Monitor: The New Benchmark for Productivity

The best, certainly the most popular of the three: Dell UltraSharp 34 Curved USB-C Hub Monitor (U3423WE). It’s a 34-inch (86 cm) curved display with 3440 x 1440 pixels (unknown radius), but with an IPS Black panel. So it reproduces 98% of the sRGB and P3 color spaces and promises a 2000:1 contrast ratio, but it’s not HDR with a maximum brightness limit of 300 cd/m².

This display format offers an alternative to the common configuration of a pair of 24-inch Full HD displays. We can easily to calculate displays about 20% more pixels in a smaller space (about 10% less screen area including borders).

As the name suggests, this “USB-C Hub Monitor” can be used as a docking station. It has a USB-C port that can simultaneously power a compatible laptop (up to 90W), pass a DisplayPort 1.4 video signal, and connect to an Ethernet port at 1 Gb/s (sadly, not at 2.5 Gb/s, yet in the process of democratization) and 6 USB ports at 10 Gb/s, including USB-A and USB-C on the front. So when you get back to your office, you connect a single cable to your laptop.

It also has a DisplayPort 1.4 input and two HDMI 2.1 inputs for non-USB-C desktops or laptops. It works without a webcam, microphone or speaker, and lacks the notch that non-curved monitors need to add one of the soundbars that Dell sells as an accessory.

This Dell UltraSharp 34 Curved USB-C Hub Monitor (U3423WE) will also be available in the US on January 31, 2023, priced at $1,260 including VAT.

Coming soon: 38 inches and over 60 Hz

The new UltraSharp 34 Curved is missing only one thing: a refresh rate of more than 60 Hz, almost essential for video games, but also nice for office automation. As far as we know, there are no 120Hz or higher IPS Black displays yet. For example, many 34-inch VA panel monitors sold by Huawei or Xiaomi for €500 hold the upper hand at this point. But a Dell representative promises us “good news” In this regard, for the second half of 2023.

A variant with a slightly higher diagonal and, respectively, 38 inches and a resolution of 3840 x 1600 pixels, with a USB-C PD port that provides power up to 140 W, is also being prepared, since it was this model that was shown in New York. 34 inches that was finally made official today.

N.B. This article was written following Dell’s initial product launch during a press trip to New York.

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