New insights from Omdia’s Desktop Monitor Intelligence Service indicate that the gaming monitor market, featuring refresh rates over 120Hz, is set to grow by 9 percent year-on-year (YoY) to 24.7 million units in 2024.
Meanwhile, the smart monitor market, equipped with operating systems and streaming service portals, is expected to expand by an impressive 63 percent YoY to 1.2 million units.
Market Growth and Trends
In the first quarter of 2024, desktop monitor shipments reached 30.7 million units, marking a 5 percent YoY increase. The industry has shown steady growth since the third quarter of 2023, successfully navigating post-pandemic logistical disruptions. Significant growth is particularly evident in the gaming monitor and smart monitor segments, driven by their added value and high functionality.
Rapid Expansion of Gaming and Smart Monitors
The market for gaming monitors with refresh rates exceeding 120Hz and smart monitors equipped with operating systems and streaming service portals is expanding rapidly. Hidetoshi Himuro, Senior Principal Analyst at Omdia, noted, “Monitors are following the same trajectory as TVs in becoming smarter. The focus is on maximizing the content they can handle and broadening the user experience in the B2C market for gaming and smart monitors.”
Leading Brands and Market Dynamics
Currently, Samsung and LG Electronics from South Korea lead in smart monitor shipments, with Acer following. Other brands from Taiwan, the US, and China are expected to enter the market soon. In the gaming monitor sector, the potential for non-gaming monitors featuring refresh rates exceeding 120Hz is growing. As a result, the shipment performance of gaming monitors, defined by their maximum refresh rates, is anticipated to rise.
Omdia forecasts that the gaming monitor market will expand to 27.4 million units by 2028, while the smart monitor market will grow to 2.1 million units, including demand from B2B applications.
Smart Monitor Market Outlook
The smart monitor market is projected to reach 1.2 million units in 2024, driven primarily by TV system-on-chip (SoC) technology due to the integrated operating systems, setting them apart from traditional desktop monitors. In 2023, MediaTek, Novatek, and Realtek were the leading TV SoC vendors, and their combined market share is expected to rise to 84 percent in 2024, up from 83 percent in 2023.
Himuro highlighted the importance of operating systems and user experience in this evolving market, stating, “There are distinct issues in the smart monitor market depending on the vendor type. We anticipate that four operating systems – Tizen, WebOS, AOSP China, and Google – will become key players in 2024-25. Additionally, Wi-Fi experience and new user interfaces, such as remote control, are crucial factors in this evolving market.”
Conclusion
The anticipated growth in the gaming and smart monitor markets underscores a significant shift towards high functionality and enhanced user experience, reflecting broader trends in the tech industry. As brands continue to innovate and enter these expanding markets, consumers can expect more advanced and versatile monitor options in the coming years.
