In brief: Monitors are getting better and better with every passing year. Refresh rates climb, pixel response times decrease, and, perhaps most importantly, image quality continues to improve. Even OLED tech can be found in select gaming monitors, albeit at a hefty price. While those displays may be a bit out of reach for ordinary consumers, Dell might have the next best thing now: the world’s first “IPS Black” monitors.
If you haven’t heard of it yet, IPS Black is mostly the same as normal IPS tech, but with one key difference: monitors built with IPS Black panels feature a contrast ratio of 2,000:1 instead of the 1,000:1 average that we usually see in IPS displays.
In theory, this should pave the way for deeper, truer blacks that we usually only see in VAs or OLEDs. Color reproduction should also get a bit of a bump as a result, but IPS panels are usually good at that sort of thing, anyway.
Dell’s two new monitors have been dubbed the UltraSharp U2723QE and the UltraSharp U3223QE. Most of the devices’ specifications are shared, with the only real difference being their screen size: the former is 27-inch while the latter is 32-inch.
They both have 4K, 60Hz panels capable of reaching a peak brightness of 400 nits, a 2000:1 contrast ratio, and an 8ms response time, though we’re not sure if Dell is using MPRT or GtG averages for that measurement. The monitors technically meet VESA’s DisplayHDR 400 specification, but that’s largely a meaningless HDR tier, anyway. 400 nits of brightness just isn’t enough to meaningfully display HDR-supported content in most cases. That said, the color reproduction of both devices should still be pretty solid, with Dell promising support for 98 percent of the DCI-P3 color space.
In addition to a higher contrast ratio, the other stand-out feature of these monitors is their many built-in connectivity options. They boast five USB 3.2 Gen2 ports, one standard USB-C port, and two additional USB-C ports for upstream and downstream connections, respectively. You’ll find your standard DisplayPort and HDMI ports here, too, of course. Both monitor models also support limited tilt, swivel, height, and pivot adjustments.
So, with most of the specs out of the way, how about pricing? The U2723QE comes in at $780 on Dell’s website, whereas its 32-inch cousin is priced considerably higher at $1,150. Given that you can quite easily find a 4K IPS display for under $350 these days, it’s clear that you’re paying quite a bit extra for the USB ports and the higher contrast ratio here. Whether or not those are worthwhile additions is for you to determine.