This article is sponsored by BenQ.
You’re reading this on a screen. Maybe a phone. Perhaps a tablet. Possibly a desktop. The good news is, you’re getting information from whatever is in front of you. The bad news is, you might also be getting headaches, eye strain, blurred vision, and fatigue.
Outside of your phone settings, you might not consider this or think there’s a fix. Fortunately, BenQ (pronounced Ben-Cue) saw the problems and then pioneered solutions that look out for consumers’ eyes. BenQ is the first company in the world to have included eye care features in their monitors and continues to innovate to this day.
BenQ Who?
You may not have heard of this global leader in consumer electronics, yet, but the rest of the world has. The $25+ billion company boasts clients who demand the best in color accuracy and eye care features.
Clients like the Associated Press, the NFL, and Sketchers. The type of clients who can’t settle for anything less than the best. It turns out, the best has much to do with two key factors:
- what a monitor can do for users, and
- what looking at a monitor can do to users.
Some of the specifications consumers prioritize are image quality, screen size, and refresh rates. Screen size and speed seem pretty straightforward, but image quality can vary greatly between manufacturers and models.
One of the arenas in which BenQ shines is color accuracy. This comes down to the precise representation of hue as it is intended to appear. Have you ever ordered a pink top that arrived and turned out to be red? Did you capture an amazing sunset only to have your monitor display an average end to the day? Clearly, you know how important color accuracy is.
That, however, is a topic for another time. Let’s talk eyes.
The Eyes Have It
The average person spends as much as 12 hours a day in front of screens (Forbes, 2019). Here’s what your display might be giving you along with informative and entertaining content:
- headaches
- blurred vision
- eye strain
- reduced productivity
- damaged retinas
Obviously, the challenge facing consumers today is how to get all of that good stuff and none of the bad. Addressing user ailments in a way that maintains image quality was also an opportunity for invested manufacturers.
BenQ stands for “Bringing Enjoyment ‘n Quality” to life. The company’s motto is “Because it Matters.” Clearly, this is one of those invested manufacturers.
As one of the first manufacturers to focus on eyes, pun intended, BenQ knew that the best user experience would not cause CVS. Nope, not the retailer. CVS, or Computer Vision Syndrome, is the fancy name for all the symptoms and ailments caused by computer use.
Jason Lee, LCD Product Marketing Manager, explains the company’s commitment to combating CVS:
At BenQ, we always put the customer first. We anticipate and respond to user needs. We integrate our proprietary eye-care™ features seamlessly into our products. Then, we don’t rest. We are always working toward perfecting existing technology and developing new innovations. It’s that commitment that makes BenQ eye-care™ worth trusting.
Why Care About Eye Care?
BenQ eye-care technology falls under three primary categories: ZeroFlicker™, Low Blue Light, and Brightness Intelligence Plus. Monitors such as the GW2780 are equipped with all three and are certified eye-friendly by TUV Rheinland®.
ZeroFlicker
5.8 million. That’s how many times eyes can perceive flickering screens in an eight-hour day. Adapting to those flickers takes a toll on eyes. These micro-adjustments lead to an uncomfortable viewing session in which you probably find yourself rubbing your eyes to refocus or get past fatigue.
The headaches you get in this environment are not coincidental, either. ZeroFlicker eliminates flickering at the source. No harm. No foul. No flicker.
Low Blue Light
Not all blue light is created equal. High-energy visible light (HEV) falls between 415-455 nanometers on the spectrum, and that’s the culprit we block on our phones, and now our monitors, as well.
A few clicks on your On Screen Display (OSD), those buttons tucked under the right-hand corner of your monitor, and blue light is filtered. Yes. Reducing eye strain, dry eyes, and damage to your retinas is as easy as that.
Brightness Intelligence Plus
Here’s where we get into fancy tech. To be accurate, Intelligent Tech. It’s tucked into a discreet sensor at the base of select BenQ monitors. Brightness Intelligence Plus, B.I.+, works in two ways. Firstly, it registers the amount of light in your viewing environment.
Depending on the brightness in your space, B.I.+ adjusts the brightness and color temperature on your screen so you get the optimal balance for viewing comfort. Color temperature is the warmth or coolness of colors displayed (think soft or hard white tones). The monitor delivers crisper images in bright light with warmer tones as you move toward evening hours and lighting.
Secondly, it turns an eye inward and assesses screen content. When activated on your OSD (yes, just a couple of clicks), B.I.+ adapts the brightness and color temperature on your display accordingly. Images are more balanced and easier on the eyes in every way.
Here’s a comprehensive list of the manufacturers who offer this technology:
- BenQ
Yep. That’s it. Only one manufacturer on the planet offers this adaptive tech.
Focus on You
Have you shopped for a monitor lately? It can be a daunting task, filled with varied resolution, refresh rates, color spaces, and other seemingly mysterious features.
Let us know in the comments if you want to learn more about these or other specs. We’ll take that alphabet soup of abbreviations and acronyms and break it all down for you.
Until then, here’s hoping all your screen time is happy and healthy. Why? Because it matters.
