LG's 4K HDR monitor gets a price and release date, heralding a new era for PC displays

The future of PC displays is almost here.

The age of high-dynamic range displays is coming to the PC this month. Several online retail outlets are now selling LG’s 31.5-inch 32UD99, making it the first HDR PC display available for consumers.

The 32UD99 is available for pre-order on B&H for $999, as first spotted by The Verge. It’s also on Amazon for the same price. The B&H page says the monitor will become available on Wednesday, March 28, while Amazon’s page says the item “usually ships within 2 to 4 weeks.”

So what’s the big deal about HDR, you ask? It’s no less than the next major evolution in display technology. HDR dramatically improves the contrast and color range on displays. This means more vibrant and accurate colors, as well as more accurate blacks. The difference is stunning, almost making the jump from 1080p to 4K resolution look like a minor step forward in comparison.

The 32UD99’s highlight features include 3840-by-2160 (4K) resolution and support for the HDR 10 standard. There’s also a USB Type-C port that can simultaneously display a 4K image, charge a laptop, and transfer data. The rear of the display has two HDMI ports, a DisplayPort, and two standard USB 3.0 ports in addition to the Type-C outlet.

The story behind the story: Don’t necessarily pull out that credit card just yet; LG’s HDR monitors aren’t the only ones headed to store shelves in the coming months. Glorious G-Sync HDR displays from Acer and Asus are coming before the summer, featuring 4K resolution, a 144Hz refresh rate, quantum dot technology, and 1000 nits brightness. Pricing for these monitors is not yet announced.

On top of that, AMD is releasing an update to FreeSync called FreeSync 2 that will improve a monitor’s ability to render HDR with a FreeSync 2-supporting graphics card. While this new LG monitor supports the original FreeSync, we don’t expect to see it get FreeSync 2 later this year. The 32UD99 still looks like a compelling monitor on paper, but a little caution could save you from potentially experiencing buyer’s remorse before the year is out.

Join the newsletter!

Or

Sign up to gain exclusive access to email subscriptions, event invitations, competitions, giveaways, and much more.

Membership is free, and your security and privacy remain protected. View our privacy policy before signing up.

Error: Please check your email address.

Tags AMDlg

Keep up with the latest tech news, reviews and previews by subscribing to the Good Gear Guide newsletter.

Ian Paul

PC World (US online)
Show Comments

Most Popular Reviews

Latest Articles

Resources

PCW Evaluation Team

Cate Bacon

Aruba Instant On AP11D

The strength of the Aruba Instant On AP11D is that the design and feature set support the modern, flexible, and mobile way of working.

Dr Prabigya Shiwakoti

Aruba Instant On AP11D

Aruba backs the AP11D up with a two-year warranty and 24/7 phone support.

Tom Pope

Dynabook Portégé X30L-G

Ultimately this laptop has achieved everything I would hope for in a laptop for work, while fitting that into a form factor and weight that is remarkable.

Tom Sellers

MSI P65

This smart laptop was enjoyable to use and great to work on – creating content was super simple.

Lolita Wang

MSI GT76

It really doesn’t get more “gaming laptop” than this.

Featured Content

Product Launch Showcase

Don’t have an account? Sign up here

Don't have an account? Sign up now

Forgot password?