Have you ever been sitting at your desk wishing you had room for an air purifier alongside all of your computer gear? No? Me neither, but those who have serious hay fever or similar allergies to airborne allergens likely already have such a setup. In case you fall into that category and haven’t arranged for an air filter next to your workspace, ASUS has a new option for you: three monitors that integrate air ionizers.
Two of these monitors are decidedly rather pedestrian as monitors go. The VU249HFI-W and VU279HFI-W are 24″ and 27″ IPS LCD monitors in 1920×1080 resolution with a 100-Hz refresh rate. They support Adaptive Sync, but considering that they only have a pair of HDMI 1.4 ports for input, you may not be able to use that function with NVIDIA graphics. You get peak brightness of 250cd/m², a rated contrast ratio of 1300:1, and a “1ms MPRT” response time, which seems to suggest that “Motion Sync” is a blur reduction strobing feature.
The real stand-out feature is of course the integrated air ionizer. ASUS is careful to never actually use the “purifier” terminology, because these ionizers are just that—they don’t include filters. Instead, the company’s press release explains that these are ionizing purifiers that force dust to settle instead of hanging in the air.
ASUS claims repeatedly that one of these monitors can “remove up to 90% of airborne dust in three hours” in a one-meter cube around the monitor, but it’s important to remember that with no filters, it’s not “removing” the dust, it’s just forcing it to settle. That can keep it out of your sinuses, but it can still be kicked back up by your air conditioner or a fan.
If you like this idea but want a nicer display, there is also a 34-inch ultrawide, the VU34WCIP-W. This model uses a high-contrast VA LCD in WQHD resolution (3440×1440). As we explained before, this is basically like a 27″ QHD screen with extra space on the sides. It’s rated for the same 100-Hz refresh rate with Adaptive Sync support as well as the same “1ms MPRT” response time, although brightness is up to 300cd/m² and contrast skyrockets to 3000:1, as expected of this type of panel.
The 34″ model has other benefits, too; it picks up some extra features over its smaller siblings, including HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4, and a USB Type-C input that feeds into a four-port USB Type-A 5Gbps hub and has the ability to charge a connected device for up to 65W. Notably, all three displays support VESA mounting, Kensington locks, and have integrated power supplies, which means no external power brick, thankfully.
Despite the integrated ionizer, these monitors are actually quite affordable. You can pick up the VU249HFI-W right now at Amazon for just $129.99 with free Prime shipping. The larger 27″ model is only a bit more at $159.99. The fancier 34″ ultrawide isn’t on Amazon at this time, but you can pick it up directly from ASUS for $359—a fair bit more, but not out of line considering the upgraded feature set.