Hands on: Asus MX34 curved monitor review

If you feel like it’s time to broaden your horizons, the Asus MX34 curved monitor just might do the trick. This 34-inch, QHD (3,400 x 1,440 resolution) monitor will dramatically improve the aesthetics of any office or desk space.

The MX34 features a 21:9 aspect ratio, which is phenomenal for viewing widescreen movies, browsing through panoramic photos, or opening several windows side-by-side.

You’ll need an ultra-wide desk to house this ultra-wide display. However, its 2000R curvature will bend about an inch back toward you at the edges, so if you’re sitting close to the screen, you’ll feel surrounded on three sides by content.

Design

Asus houses the QHD screen in an incredibly thin black bezel that is hardly noticeable, especially when bright colors are emanating from the screen. The bezel is about half-an-inch thin toward the edges of the monitor and gets progressively thicker as you reach the center-back of the panel.

The side edges are so thin Asus was resolved to place all of the inputs at the bottom base of the display, which is convenient for neat cord storage, but somewhat annoying when trying to plug in peripheral devices. You won’t get much in the way of ports at the bottom; the MX34 features only a DisplayPort 1.2 and an HDMI 2.0 input.

Connected to the back of the display is a gorgeous silver and black circular base that features a clear glass center that can wirelessly charge any Qi-enabled devices.

Specs

There’s so much we still don’t know about this monitor. For example: we don’t know its release date or price. More importantly, we don’t really know what’s happening under the hood.

If we base our assumptions on what its predecessor, the Asus MX299Q, looked like, the MX34 will feature about 300 nits of brightness, an 80,000,000:1 contrast ratio and a 5ms response time. The MX299Q was initially listed for $449 (about £449, AU$599) and it’s down about 20% now in all regions.

Unfortunately, this isn’t an apples-to-apples comparison. The MX299 is a flat-panel, 29-inch monitor with a 2,560 x 1,080 resolution screen. The 34-inch, QHD MX34 is a different, and superior beast. Here’s hoping the response time improves a bit over the 5ms mark.

We’ve reached out to Asus for more information. We will update this piece when it becomes available.

Early verdict

Because we don’t know how much this monitor will cost or what its specs are, it’s difficult to draw any solid preliminary conclusions. What I can tell you for certain is the MX34 curved monitor is absolutely stunning. If you want to improve the appeal of your office, and enhance the experience of viewing content, keep your eyes open for the Asus MX34’s release date.