We don’t usually review 24” 1080p monitors – so yesterday – but the Acer B248Y 24” FHD USB-C colour calibrated monitor stimulated our interest. This $549 100% sRGB monitor with a USB-C 100W dock and a Windows Hello IR 1080 webcam is just the business-class mix it needs.
Now, sure I would prefer 27 or even 32”, 4K and Acer can help there with its B326HK at a very reasonable $1099. So while it’s a review of a 1080p screen, the 32” 4K has a similar pedigree.
Who would buy it? First, it accepts HDMI, DP, and UBS-C (with 100W downstream charge) so you need a USB-C 3.1/2 Gen 1/2, 5/10Gbps laptop or PC or a Thunderbolt 3 or 4 laptop – just like the excellent Acer TravelMate Spin 6 9.5/10 we recently reviewed.
Acer B248Y 24” FHD USB-C monitor
| Website | here |
| Manual | here |
| Price | $649 but on sale at $549 at the time of the review – free delivery |
| From | Acer Online and specialist computer resellers |
| Warranty | 3 Years ALC (Pick & Return in some areas) |
| For | Professionals wanting colour calibrated 1080p and have a USB-C/TB3/4 laptop |
| About | Acer (Est 1976) is a Taiwanese multinational hardware and electronics corporation specialising in advanced electronics technology, headquartered in Xizhi, New Taipei City. It is the 5th largest global computer manufacture and the 3rd largest in Australia behind HP and Dell. |
| More | You can read GadgetGuy’s Acer news and review here |
First impressions – business black
Acer won’t win any styling awards (as they have with ConceptD products), but it is black and functional. A lot of effort has gone into an excellent ErgoStand – Tilt (+/-5-35°), swivel (landscape or portrait) and height adjust (150mm) for great flexibility. And it can easily VESA 100 x 100 mount too.
Panel – picture perfect
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080, 16:9 flat, IPS |
| Refresh | 45-75Hz adaptive sync (AMD compatible) |
| HDR | HDR10 and Windows HDR capable |
| Lag | 4ms G-t-G |
| Brightness | 250 nits (max) – test OK |
| Contrast | 1M:1 ACM means very low black levels (good) but closer to 1000:1 |
| Colours | 8-bit, 16.7 million colours |
| Gamut | 100% sRGB Delta E <2 (<4 is excellent) About 80% DCI-P3 |
| View | 170° but colours and brightness changes at about 145° |
| Eyecare | Acer VisionCare 3.0 Light sense and colour sense and low glare matte |
| Bezels | Small top and sides |
It is a great IPS panel – 1920 x 1080 x 75Hz (45-75Hz adaptive sync). We understand this is a premium panel made by Samsung for its Business Grade monitors.
It is easy on the eye and produces incredibly accurate sRGB, so it can be used by web designers and those working in digital print media.
And you can use it in landscape and portrait mode, so it is perfect for A4 page layouts.
Acer has an ICC profile on its support site.
Ports – I love USB-C
| HDMI | 2.0b |
| DP Out | 1.4 |
| DP Daisy | Can daisy chain to other compatible DP monitors |
| USB-C | 3.1 Gen 1 5Gbps |
| USB-A | 4 x 3.0 5V/1A (requires either USB-C or separate USB-A cable connect) |
| RJ-45 | 1 Gbps (for use with USB-C cable) |
| 3.5mm | 4-pole combo mic and speakers |
The USP is USB-C, and that it can act as a basic docking station. Remember that it is only a 5Gbps data stream, so don’t get overly excited. The real advantage is 100W upstream charging.
Don’t forget that you can use Thunderbolt 3 and 4 laptops as well via USB-C.
User interface – comprehensive
I will point you to the manual because there are way too many options to cover. But here are a few relevant ones
- sRGB, Rec 709, HDR,. Graphics and Movie gamut selection
- Fully adjustable colour, brightness and contrast if you ever need to recalibrate
- Performance – OverDrive, Adaptive Sync, Refresh rate fixed, Ultra-Low Latency
- Control of Input ports
Webcam – Hello!
It’s a 1920x1080p@60fps (or less) as well as a Windows Hello sign-in camera. It’s a great step over a basic 720p camera you see on most devices. However, make sure that you have good office lighting and not too much direct sunshine as it tends to blow out colours. It can swivel down for privacy.
Speakers – adequate
The 2 x 2W RMS speakers produce 80dB – more than sufficient for personal use. But don’t expect great sound because there is no bass at all, steeply climbing mid from 200Hz to 5kHz (good for clear voice) then a very gradual drop off to 20kHz.
This is Bright Vocal (bass recessed, mid/treble boosted) – thought to be for vocal and string instruments, but it actually makes them harsh. We have more here if you want to know more about sound signatures and why they are so important.
In layman’s terms – forget about rock and roll!
Power sipper
It averages 17/20W in SDR and HDR modes, so less than 1c per hour.
Build – business class
Size with stand: 540 (W) x 533 (H) x 218 (D) x 6.86kg. It is extremely easy to put together – no screws needed.
Box: USB-C to USB-C cable, HDMI 2.0 cable and USB-A 3.0 to USB-B 3.0. Power cable (no brick needed).
It is well made and suitable for office environments and hot desk use.
GadgetGuy’s take
I have been using the Acer B248Y 24” FHD USB-C monitor for a couple of weeks now to see if factory colour calibration <2 Delta E is worth the money. Combined with Acer VisionCare 3.0, it is a dream to use.
If you are a creative and want a 100% sRGB monitor with USB-C input this, is it. With the narrow bezels, it is ideal for dual monitor setups.
Rating
As a 1080p@75Hz, 100% sRGB calibrated, USB-C monitor, it has few competitors. A delight to use, but I like big 4K monitors now, so the B326HK would score even better.
