Asus launches air-purifying monitors starting at $129 — 27-inch and 34-inch models retail for $159 and $359

Earlier this morning, Asus launched a trio of VU Air Ionizer series monitors: the 23.8-inch IPS panel Asus VU249HFI-W, the 27-inch IPS Asus VU279HFI-W, and the 34-inch VA Asus VU34WCIP-W.

All VU Air Ionizer series monitors have a no-filter "VU Air Ionizer" that Asus claims can clear up to 90% of airborne dust and pollutants from an effective workspace coverage area of 1m³. Though we can certainly see how this can be useful for users in areas with poor air quality, the actual effectiveness of air ionizers as air purifiers is a hotly debated topic.

The two smaller IPS monitors of the Asus VU Air Ionizer series have near-identical specifications. Both target a standard 16:9 1080p resolution at up to 100 Hz on their IPS panels. Meanwhile, the 34-inch VA panel Asus VU34WCIP-W monitor employs a 3440 x 1440 21:9 Ultrawide resolution and aspect ratio but still targets the same 100 Hz refresh and 1 ms MPRT response time.

The VA monitor additionally operates at 300 nits brightness instead of the 250 nits on the IPS monitor, but realistically, none of these are HDR-class displays. However, the VA panel monitor is sure to have the best contrast due to VA's per-pixel dimming, a trait shared with market-leading OLEDs.

Asus VU Air Ionizor Monitor Specifications

Unfortunately, historically, VA panels do not share all their traits with market-leading OLEDs. Effectively, VA panels are understood to be an intermediate between TN's lower pricing and IPS's superior color reproduction. They tend to have a slower pixel response time (higher motion blur) than either of those standards. Improvements to VA panels over time have resulted in displays more favorably comparable to good IPS monitors, but outside of high-contrast scenes, IPS still typically looks better across the board.

According to the official specifications provided by Asus, these three monitors should have identical 100 Hz refresh rates, a 1 ms MPRT response time, and "16.7M display colors." However, the VA panels' downsides are worth noting, even if Asus seems confident in the 34-inch Asus VU34WCIP-W model's image quality.

At 100 Hz, though, any reasonable interpretation of 1 ms MPRT response time should still yield a respectable degree of clarity for the refresh rate. 100 Hz seems to be a particularly good fit for the 34-inch model as well, considering just how demanding modern games can still be at 3440 x 1440—and all the monitors come with VRR Adaptive Sync support starting from 48 Hz.

Finally, it's worth noting the pricing of these monitors since they're all already available for purchase. With the Asus VU249HFI-W starting at just $129.99, the Asus VU279HFI-W starting at $159.99, and the Asus VU34WCIP-W leading the series at $359.99, these are some pretty affordable entry-level monitors with a pleasant gimmick. They all also come with a free month of Adobe Creative Cloud.