Asus presents 32-incher with 8K resolution

4K, 5K and 6K are a thing of the past: Asus is showing a new graphics monitor with 8K at the NAB electronics trade fair in Las Vegas. The ProArt PA32KCX has a resolution of 7680 × 4320 pixels. With a 31.5 inch screen diagonal, this means a pixel density of 280 pixels per inch (ppi). For comparison: a 4K monitor in 27 inches has 163 ppi, the laptop display of the MacBook Pro has 254 ppi.

Asus has also packed everything that current technology has to offer into the new monitor apart from the resolution: The IPS panel is illuminated by MiniLEDs with 4096 dimming zones, which should ensure very good contrast values. The full screen brightness is a whopping 1000 nits, while the peak brightness is as high as 1200 nits. The monitor is the first 8K device of this size to support the HDR10 standard.

In order for all the pixels to arrive at the maximum frame rate of 60 hertz, Asus has installed a Thunderbolt 4 connection with 96 watts PowerDelivery and a DisplayPort 2.1 for signal transmission in addition to HDMI 2.1. The exact standard of the latter is not yet known.

Creative professionals as target group

The screen should be colour accurate. It covers 97 per cent of the DCI-P3 colour space and 99 per cent of AdobeRGB. According to Asus, the maximum DeltaE is less than 1, which meets professional requirements. The screen also has a light protection cover, a built-in colourimeter and can save colour profiles on the hardware side.

How useful the 8K resolution is in everyday life depends on the application. In most scenarios, the additional pixels don't add much. The image may look extremely sharp, but it already does with 6K.

The Asus ProArt PA32KCX is intended for professional creative professionals. In particular, editors who work with 8K videos and want to see them in their native resolution - without any scaling. This is becoming increasingly common with VR videos, for example. Even 4K material can be displayed without artefacts thanks to the even conversion factor.

ProArt version of the 4K QD OLED with 240 hertz

Also interesting is the PA32UCDM - a ProArt version of the gaming OLED ROG Swift PG32UCDM. The difference: a more discreet design and supposedly higher colour accuracy. This means that the PA32UCDM is also primarily aimed at photographers and videographers. Although Asus does not install an integrated colourimeter, the monitor can save profiles from external calibration solutions. You can see the screen from minute 3:00 in the following video:

The remaining key data is the same as the PG32UCDM: 4K resolution, 240 hertz, QD OLED panel, 1000 nits peak brightness, 99 per cent coverage of DCI-P3. Asus has not changed the connections either and has dispensed with DisplayPort 2.1.

Both monitors do not yet have a launch date. Prices are also not known. The ProArt PA32KCX is likely to cost over 4000 francs, while the ProArt PA32UCDM will probably cost a little more than its gaming brother. The latter currently costs around 1400 francs.