As mind-blowing as it is to see a screen bend and even fold in half without taking any damage, we haven’t quite figured out the perfect use case for flexible OLEDs yet. Corsair is taking a swing at the technology with its new Xeneon Flex gaming monitor that allows users to bend in each side to create a more immersive visual experience.
The Xeneon Flex isn’t an entirely new idea. Back at CES 2021, LG itself had a similar prototype on display at its booth, featuring a 48-inch flexible OLED panel that, at the push of a button, would slowly morph between a completely flat screen to one with a gentle curve that better filled a gamer’s peripheral vision. But as with most prototypes, LG’s demo was hands-off. It also used a motorised mechanism to gently bend and unbend the display.
Motors add cost, and yet another thing that can break, to consumer electronics. For the Xeneon Flex, Corsair has replaced them with a pair of pop-out handles on either side of the display. To introduce a gentle curve, you simply grab them and yank, and then do the opposite to flatten the panel back out again. You can even create a different level of curve on each side, which has no real practical benefits, but it’s nice to know it’s an option. Freedom!
The Xeneon Flex’s 45-inch LG W-OLED panel has a generous 21:9 aspect ratio pushing a resolution of 3,440×1440 pixels at a refresh rate of up to 240Hz, and is fully compatible with Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync Premium adaptive sync standards. Peak brightness is listed at 1,000 nits, with a 1,350,000:1 contrast ratio, and a well-featured assortment of connectivity ports both on the back of the display and accessible up front. The only thing we don’t know is pricing and availability, which Corsair promises will be shared before the year is out.
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