While some might accuse curved displays of being a gimmick, they’ve picked up popularity. Gamers, in particular, love the more immersive experience they offer. Perhaps that’s why Acer has debuted the new XR341CK monitor, which features a curved 34″ diagonal panel, QHD (3,440 x 1,440) resolution and support for FreeSync frame matching technology. It also has a 4ms response time, which should be fast enough for most gamers, and a maximum refresh rate of 75Hz.
“This killer new monitor makes game play incredibly realistic,” said Charlotte Chen, Acer America product manager, in the marketing material. “The ultra-wide curved design, stunning image quality and dynamic audio take the thrill of gaming to a new level.”
In terms of connectivity, this monitor comes with HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort, mini-DisplayPort and USB 3.0 connectors, giving it a number of potential inputs. It also features a wide viewing angle on the horizontal and vertical axis, with accurate color up to 172 degrees and 178 degrees respectively.
Added technologies that aren’t quite as buzz-worthy as the curved panel include Acer’s EyeProtect, which help reduce eye strain by eliminating monitor flickering, and a filter that reduces the user’s exposure to blue light. There’s also special modes for low light, which reduces brightness to cut down on glare, and ComfyView, which reduces reflections from external lights, though a curved display does help prevent that itself.
One other aspect that’s worth mentioning is Acer’s Picture-By-Picture system, which uses the display’s huge screen real estate to let users connect two inputs to the same monitor, thereby giving them the ability to work on both at the same time.
The XR341CK is set to become available in the US by the end of July and will have a suggested retail price of $1,100. It will ship with a standard three year Acer hardware warranty.
