How we score Blog Advertise
  1. opendesign.foundation
  2. Trends
  3. Brightness (typical)
Displays & pen tablets

Monitor & pen tablet brightness (typical) by year

Median brightness (typical) of displays & pen tablets released in 2019 — 300 nits, in 2026 — 300 nits.

MedianMiddle 50% of models
012525037550020192020202120222023202420252026
YearMedianMiddle 50% of modelsModels
2026300 nits235 nits – 350 nits55
2025350 nits300 nits – 400 nits44
2024350 nits300 nits – 400 nits25
2023320 nits250 nits – 350 nits39
2022300 nits250 nits – 350 nits25
2021300 nits250 nits – 350 nits19
2020300 nits228 nits – 350 nits22
2019300 nits246 nits – 313 nits12

By year of release; only models in our catalog are counted, so the newest year may still change.

Top 2026 models by brightness (typical)

1 Asus ProArt PA32KCX
Asus · 2026
ProArt PA32KCX
32″7680 × 432095%96 W
7.2
2 Apple Studio Display XDR
Apple · 2026
Studio Display XDR
27″5120 × 288096 W
9.7
3 Apple Studio Display (2026)
Apple · 2026
Studio Display (2026)
27″5120 × 288096 W
9.6
4 ViewSonic VP2788-5K
ViewSonic · 2026
VP2788-5K
27″5120 × 288088%15 W
7.3
5 BenQ MA270S
BenQ · 2026
MA270S
27″5120 × 288096 W99%
9.3
6 BenQ MA320UG
BenQ · 2026
MA320UG
31.5″3840 × 216096 W98%
8.9
7 Dell UltraSharp U5226KW
Dell · 2026
UltraSharp U5226KW
51.5″6144 × 2560140 W99%
8.2
8 ViewSonic VP3276T-4K
ViewSonic · 2026
VP3276T-4K
32″3840 × 216015 W98%
7.0
To compare: 0up to 4 models
Compare