A Year of Change: The Evolution of Monitor Resolutions in 2015 and Beyond

One year ago, I posted a New Year's resolution video where I took a poll to find out which monitor resolution people were using going into 2015. At that time, the display market was rapidly changing with the adoption of 4K and 21:9 panel technology spreading like wildfire. Last year's video showed us how people lied about their resolution, but without any data to compare it against, the results were less than revealing.

This time around, I issued the same survey on social media, and I'm happy to report that the findings have already started to paint a clear picture of where we're headed. The results are not intended to reflect multi-monitor setups, but instead focus on resolutions of the single primary display used by users. Without further ado, let's take a look at our data chart.

The Chart Reveals a Lot Has Changed in Just One Year

Right off the bat, we can see a lot has changed in just one year. The most glaring difference is the huge exodus from 1920 x 1080, which plummeted by an astonishing 25%. It's pretty evident where users have fled, as we see an increase in nearly every other resolution. Interestingly, 2016 welcomes a higher percentage of users below 1080, but what's interesting is that we now have more Quad HD users than those deprived of HD displays. This can certainly be attributed to the influx of the insanely successful releases of Quad HD panels like the Asus Rog Swift and the Acer XB 270. Not to mention the increasing affordability of high-res displays.

The 16:9 Aspect Ratio Remains Unchallenged

While the 16:9 aspect ratio is still the undisputed champ, we also see some big gains for both of our 21:9 contenders. Many critics have had their doubts about ultrawide resolutions in years prior, but our findings point to a sizable surge in user adoption that's likely prompted by the increasing market interest in curved displays and the fierce competition among manufacturers like LG, Acer, and Asus as more offerings are released into the ether and prices begin to fall within obtainable means.

The Stagnation of 16:10 Panels

However, not every aspect ratio is receiving the same attention. The 16:10 panels in our survey appear to have generated little to no growth in popularity since last year. This really isn't too surprising when you consider that they were never terribly prevalent to begin with. Try to name some flagship 16:10 panels that launched in 2015 off the top of your head, and you'll realize that you can't. The stagnation in our data suggests that while no one's eager to hop aboard the 16:10 train these days, users of these hypo-1080 resolutions probably don't feel the need to upgrade at least for now.

The Rise of Ultra HD

2015 was a big year for 4K monitors, TVs, and laptops sporting the resolution. The release of some powerful GPUs from Team Red and Green made 4K gaming more possible than ever. If not a tad premature it seems sensible then why more than double the percentage of users have switched over to Ultra HD since last year? Granted the thought of owning a 4K display in 2015 seemed impractical to most of us, and although Quad HD still seems to be the go-to option for high-end gamers everywhere, it'll be interesting to see how the next generation of GPU sporting new architecture and VRAM technology will shift our predisposition to 4K adoption. Factor in the support of DisplayPort 1.3 and 2016 could bring about a new wave of 4K panels that can be pushed well past the current 60Hz limitation making Ultra HD a tantalizing prospect.

The Rise of Miscellaneous Resolutions

Finally, we saw a big jump in miscellaneous resolutions outside of the ones that were outright listed. These are presumably users with uncommon dimensions that have been getting phased out for quite some time or impending signs of the small but steadily growing army of the 5K master race.

In Closing

It's really quite neat to see how the display market progresses, let alone how quickly it does so. I'm sure by the end of 2016 we'll have an even clearer picture of which pixel preferences are merely fads of yester-year and which ones are in it for the long haul. That's going to do it for now, guys. Let me know what you think of these results in the comments below. Don't forget to toss me a like on this video, and have yourselves a happy and safe New Year's. I'll see you all in 2016!

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enwhat's up guys so you may recall exactly one year ago when I posted my New Year's resolution video where I took a poll to find out which monitor resolution we were all rocking going into 2015 the idea came about with the rapidly changing face of the display Market as 4K and 21 by9 panel adoption began to spread like the plague while last year's video showed us where we all lied on the resolution scale the lack of any data to compare it against made the results less than revealing well earlier this week I issued the same survey on social media to see how the market has shifted 365 days later and I'm happy to report that the findings have already started to paint a clear picture of where we're headed here's the picture I should also mention that these results are not intended to reflect multim monitor setups but instead focus on resolutions of the single primary display that users are Computing at so without further Ado here's a look at our data chart which right right off the bat we can see a lot has changed in just one year starting with the most glaring difference is the huge Exodus from 1920 x 1080 which plummeted a whopping 25% and it's pretty evident where users have fled as we see an increase in nearly every other resolution oddly enough 2016 welcomes a higher percentage of users below 1080 but what's interesting is that we now have more Quad HD users than those deprived of HD displays whereas last year 2K took a back seat this can certainly be attributed to the influx of the insanely successful releases of Quad HD panels like the Asus Rog Swift and the Acer XB 270 hu not to mention the increasing affordability of highres displays while the 16x9 aspect ratio is still the Undisputed champ we also see some big gains for both of our 21 by9 contenders many critics have had their doubts about ultrawide resolutions in years prior but our findings point to a sizable surge in user adoption that's likely prompted by the increasing Market interest in curb displays and the fierce competition among manufacturers like LG Acer and Asus as more offerings are released into the ether and prices Begin to Fall within obtainable means you can bet that these percentages will continue climbing over the next year of course not every aspect ratio is receiving the same attention the 16 by10 panels in our survey appear to have generated little to no growth in popularity since last year which really isn't too surprising when you consider that they were never terribly prevalent to begin with try to name some Flagship 16 X10 panels that launched in 2015 off the top of your head and you'll realize you can't the stagnation in our data suggests that while no one's eager to hop aboard the 16 X10 train these days users of these hypo 1080 resolutions probably don't feel the need to upgrade at least for now now it goes without saying that 2015 was a big year for 4K monitors TVs and laptops sporting the resolution popped up like daisies a plethora of budget 4K panels were introduced and the release of some powerful gpus from team red and green made 4K gaming more possible than ever if not a tad premature it seems sensible then why more than double the percentage of users have switched over to Ultra HD since last year granted the thought of owning a 4K display in 2015 seemed impractical to most of us and although Quad HD still seems to be the go-to option for high-end Gamers everywhere it'll be interesting to see how the next generation of GPU sporting new architecture and vram Technology will shift our predisposition to 4K adoption factor in the support of display port 1.3 and 2016 could bring about a new wave of 4K panels that can be pushed well past the current 60 HZ limitation making Ultra HD a tantalizing Prospect finally we saw a big jump in miscellaneous resolutions outside of the ones that were outright listed these are presumably users with uncommon Dimensions that have been getting phased out for quite some time or impending signs of the small but steadily growing Army of the 5K Master race in closing it's really quite neat to see how the display Market progresses let alone how quickly it does so I'm sure by the end of 2016 we'll have an even clearer picture of which pixel preferences are merely fads of yester year and which ones are in it for the long haul but that's going to do it for now guys let me know what you think of these results in the comments below don't forget to toss me a like on this video If you enjoyed it before you go check the description below for awesome sauce shirts like this one and feel free to bookmark my Amazon affiliate link you use it when you buy stuff as always I'm C with awesome Z Network thank you guys for watching subscribe to the channel if you haven't already have yourselves a happy and safe New Year's and I'll see you all in 2016\n"