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In the past few years, I've used two curved monitors. My first one was a 27-inch Samsung Odyssey G5 with a curved VA panel, which I later replaced with the Alienware AW3423 ultrawide OLED in late 2022. One of the many reasons why I swapped the Samsung monitor for an Alienware one, besides the fact that the latter is OLED, was its aggressive 1000R curve on a smaller 16:9 display. In contrast, the AW3423DW has a gentler 1800R curve on a much wider 34-inch screen. The Samsung monitor was just too curved for my liking.
Manufacturers love to boast about the curvature of their displays and how immersive that supposedly makes them for gaming, but I've always been skeptical. As it turns out, the experience isn't as groundbreaking as they make it seem. Sure, a slight curve can enhance immersion in some single-player games, but for other everyday tasks, like web browsing, working in spreadsheets, and photo or video editing, it gets in the way. Over time, some of their drawbacks became hard to ignore, to the point that I now regret buying a curved monitor.
Distortion at the edges
It's hard to ignore straight lines that look warped
The first thing I noticed after switching from a flat monitor to a curved one was the edge distortion. Pretty much any content with straight lines, like websites, UI elements, and spreadsheets, started looking warped around the edges of the display. At first, I thought I just needed some time getting used to the new form factor, but even months later, the aggressive 1000R still bothered me, especially while editing photos and videos. For example, grid lines in Photoshop didn't look straight anymore, which made simple edits time-consuming.
Sure, gaming on it wasn't much of a problem, but would I call it immersive, considering it's a 27-inch panel? Probably not, especially since the HUD elements at the corners of the screen also looked too warped for my liking. However, when I upgraded to the AW3423DW in 2022, its 1800R curve felt more subtle and manageable; the wider aspect ratio definitely helped with immersion while playing single-player games. Yes, the edge distortion was still there, but it wasn't as bad as on the Samsung unit with its standard 16:9 aspect ratio.
Horrible glare and reflections
Any light source in front of the monitor becomes a distraction
Unlike flat displays, which reflect glare predictably, curved monitors tend to direct reflections from any light source in front of them toward you. For instance, even if a light source is off to the side, the reflection may not miss your line of sight. This effect is more noticeable when the curve is aggressive and you're using the monitor in a bright room. Surprisingly, this wasn't an issue with the Samsung Odyssey G5 I had, mainly due to its matte coating. But when I upgraded to the AW3423DW, its glossy OLED screen immediately started to bother me whenever it was pitch black.
I usually play games at night in the dark, so reflections aren't a problem at that time. But during the day, when I'm working, I constantly see reflections on the monitor because there's a window directly in front of it. No matter how I adjusted the monitor on the arm, the ambient light never missed my eyes. The glare is distracting enough that now I keep a random video playing on it to mask the reflections while I work. So, unless your workspace has near-perfect lighting, i.e., there's no light source in front of the screen, a curved glossy monitor will probably end up being more frustrating than immersive.
Multi-monitor challenges
Curved screens don't play nicely with others
When I bought the AW3423DW, I thought it'd fit in seamlessly with my existing flat panels, but that wasn't the case at all. Aligning the curved monitor with flat screens is so challenging that I've now given up. No matter how much you adjust them, you won't get a uniform viewing experience when pairing a curved screen with flat panels, mainly due to the differences in angles. Even when you do something simple like dragging windows from one monitor to the other, you'll notice they look slightly warped on the curved screen because of the angle and curvature.
This mismatch becomes even more obvious when you're using the monitors for productivity. Text and UI elements might appear larger or skewed on the curved screen compared to your flat panels, especially if you're not running everything at the same resolution or scaling. Overall, it made my monitor setup visually lopsided. For an ultrawide monitor that's supposed to boost productivity, it ended up doing the opposite by breaking the sense of cohesion I had with an all-flat layout.
You'll either love curved monitors or hate them
If you're on the fence about buying your first curved monitor, I highly suggest choosing an ultrawide model with a gentle curve, because that's a lot more manageable in my experience. The wider aspect ratio makes better use of the curvature, especially for gaming and multitasking, and it feels more natural than the aggressive bends you'll find on smaller 16:9 displays. All in all, I've had mixed experiences with the two curved monitors I've owned so far. Do I regret buying the AW3423DW? Not really, because the OLED panel brings a slew of benefits. What about the Samsung Odyssey G5, you ask? Absolutely; the curve was too aggressive for a smaller 27-inch screen with a standard 16:9 aspect ratio. In fact, I'm confident enough to say I'd never buy a curved 16:9 monitor again.
