Asus' 8K Mini LED ProArt display is the king of new ultra high-end professional monitors — 1200 nits and 4096 lighting zones

Aaron Klotz
·2 min read
Asus PA32KCX.
Asus PA32KCX.

Asus has unveiled a brand new 8K monitor for professional workflows dubbed the ProArt PA32KCX. It is the world's first 8K professional monitor with Mini LED technology, enabling the panel to display near-OLED-like black levels. The PA32KCX comes in a 32-inch form factor and features 10-bit color capabilities, with built-in self-calibration functionality. Display brightness peaks at 1200 nits. Pricing was not announced, but expect this new display to be priced well into the thousands of dollars.

The monitor specs include a pixel-dense 7680 x 4320 panel (275 PPI) that covers 97% of the cinema-grade DCI-P3 color gamut. The monitor comes with Asus ProArt hardware calibration tech to provide color-accuracy optimization and color profile write-back. Calibration can be done manually or automatically by the display itself. The monitor also comes with a built-in motorized flip colorimeter, making it easy to check and maintain the monitor's color accuracy over long-term use.

Asus PA32KCX
Asus PA32KCX

Thanks to the mini LED tech, the PA32KCX comes with a whopping 4096 backlight zones. Peak brightness is rated at 1200 nits which is more luminous than the 1000 nits of HDR10. HDR compatibility includes multiple HDR meta formats, including HLG and HDR10, enabling creators to check their HDR content for different target displays.

The PA32KCX also comes with all of Asus' eye comfort technologies including an anti-glare finish, low-reflection tech, and Eye-Care+ (which includes a flicker-free backlight). All these technologies aim to reduce eye strain and improve comfort levels during long work (or play) sessions.

The PA32KCX features DisplayPort 2.1 and HDMI 2.1 video inputs, as well as dual Thunderbolt 4 USB Type-C ports with up to 96W of power — perfect for running Asus' new ProArt display off of Thunderbolt 4-equipped laptops.

On paper, Asus' PA32KCX looks like it could be the best display on the market for tasks other than gaming. Its combination of mini-LED tech, cinema-grade color accuracy, 1200 nit peak brightness, and 8K resolution should give it very similar performance to some of the best OLED displays and TVs on the market. And of particular importance for a professional user who might want to use their expensive monitor for a decade or more, it achieves all of its performance without the risk of OLED burn-in thanks to mini-LED.