CES 2021: Dell debuts world's first 40-inch, 5K curved monitor — time to upgrade your home office

Dell 40-inch curved monitor
(Image credit: Dell)

Among the many work-from-home lessons of 2020 is the importance of a good monitor, and Dell has just announced a new 40-inch curved monitor at CES 2021 that could turn you into a multitasking master in 2021. The immersive 5K2K panel easily takes the place of two monitors and offers remarkable connectivity options as well.

If you don't need that much screen real estate, and you find yourself spending hours a day video conferencing, the 34-inch Dell C3422WE may be the better choice for you with a built-in pop-up webcam that also supports Microsoft Hello facial recognition.

Dell Ultrasharp 40-inch curved monitor - U4021QW

If you already picked up one of the best webcams and you like the idea of an even larger display, then take a look at the Dell U4021QW. The massive 40-inch curved display gives you a 21:9 aspect ratio with a 5120 x 2160-pixel resolution, offering over 35% more screen real estate than a 32-inch 4K monitor. Yes, this is a 5K monitor.

Dell boasts that it will deliver 100% sRGB and 98% DCI-P3 color coverage, making it an excellent option for creative professionals. Connectivity options abound with Thunderbolt 4, DP 1.4, HDMI, RJ45 Ethernet, and 10Gbps USB 3.2 Gen2. That allows you to deliver up to 90W of charging for a connected laptop and up to 15W to a connected smartphone or tablet. 

While it drops the webcam of the C3422WE, it retains many of the other thoughtful features like the low blue light emissions and extensive tilt, swivel and height adjustments along with VESA mounting support. It also benefits from reduced bezels and delivers an even more powerful speaker setup with dual 9W stereo speakers.

Dell 34-inch curved video conferencing monitor - C3422WE

Dell 34-inch video conferencing monitor with built-in webcam

(Image credit: Dell)

While you do need to bring the computer, be it a laptop or desktop, the Dell C3422WE handles the rest with its 34-inch curved WQHD (1440p) display, pop-up 5MP IR camera, large dual 5W speakers and noise-canceling microphone. 

The camera will not only vastly improve your video conferencing compared to whatever grainy lens your laptop has, but it also offers support for Windows Hello facial recognition. Moreover, you get some peace of mind when it comes to privacy concerns as the camera retracts into the frame of the monitor when not in use. No more wondering if your webcam really is off after a meeting. 

Connectivity options are great with the ability to connect up to your laptop or desktop via a single USB-C cable if you like. If you have both a laptop and a desktop, or multiple laptops, you can also hook them both up and use them simultaneously with picture-by-picture or picture-in-picture modes. The monitor includes 38 pre-set options for partitioning your windows with up to five personalized windows.

Dell is looking out for your comfort too with the often long work from home days. This includes your eye health with built-in low blue light emission, and your posture with tilt, swivel and height adjustments available on the included stand and VESA mount support for those who want even more flexibility. 

If you are bought into the Microsoft ecosystem you get a couple of added benefits as well with support for Microsoft Cortana and a dedicated Microsoft Teams button to get you into your meetings in a moment.

If you've been looking to upgrade your work from home setup in 2021, either of these monitors should deliver a significant leap in productivity. 

Sean Riley

Sean Riley has been covering tech professionally for over a decade now. Most of that time was as a freelancer covering varied topics including phones, wearables, tablets, smart home devices, laptops, AR, VR, mobile payments, fintech, and more.  Sean is the resident mobile expert at Laptop Mag, specializing in phones and wearables, you'll find plenty of news, reviews, how-to, and opinion pieces on these subjects from him here. But Laptop Mag has also proven a perfect fit for that broad range of interests with reviews and news on the latest laptops, VR games, and computer accessories along with coverage on everything from NFTs to cybersecurity and more.