Technologies

Best Monitor Under $200 You Can Get for 2023

Monitors are necessary for a large number of employees and students to work efficiently, and you don’t need to spend a fortune to get a good one from LG, Samsung, or Dell.

For remote workers, gamers and creatives, a good monitor is a critical piece of your workstation. Even if you usually work on a laptop, adding a second screen to your setup can make a huge difference in your productivity. And fortunately, you don’t have to drop $500 or more to get your hands on a decent display. We’ve rounded up some of the best monitors on the market right now that you can pick up for less than $200 below.

There are a few things to keep in mind: When buying a budget monitor, you should check out the listing to see what’s included. Make sure it’s not missing items that you would have to purchase separately and that would drive the price above that «cheap monitor» threshold, like a stand or cables. The stand might not be an issue if you’re planning to use the VESA mount to put it on a wall or arm. But in that case, you should ensure the mount screws on the back of the monitor match yours: The bulk of these have 100×100-millimeter mounts, but in some cases, they have 200x200mm or 75x75mm mounts — or they don’t support a VESA mount at all.

Got a Mac? If it’s an old MacBook Pro with an HDMI port, or an iMac or Mac Mini, you won’t have a problem. MacBooks with USB-C/Thunderbolt 3 connections will require an adapter or cable with conversion built-in because they won’t have a dedicated display port. You may also need to fiddle with the resolution and scaling settings in Mac OS, since it natively prefers a 16:10 aspect ratio, not the 16:9 aspect ratio that’s much more popular on Windows.

Unless you’re a hardcore gamer or creative professional, many of the most technical specs — latency and color gamut, for example — won’t really matter to you (though many of these could serve as a budget gaming monitor). You should always take them with a grain of salt, anyway.

For less than $200, you can generally expect to get:

A maximum of 1,920×1,080-pixel screen resolution (dubbed by marketers as «Full HD resolution» and also referred to as 1080p or 2K for its roughly 2,000 pixels across). Below 27 inches, that’s fine. At 27 inches or larger, it’s not great except in one important case. Essentially, the reason you buy a 27-inch monitor over a 24-inch is usually because you want to fit more on to it. But if it’s using the same number of pixels, it just makes everything bigger — it doesn’t put more on the screen. And because it’s spreading them across a bigger screen, some people (like me) may get annoyed at seeing the pixel grid. I find a pixel density (the number of pixels per inch, or ppi) of at least 90 a good balance, but YMMV. The exception? If you actually need things like text to be bigger, such as if you have impaired vision.
A stand that lets you tilt the computer monitor, not raise or lower it. We want to reduce eye strain and optimize ergonomics wherever possible.
While there might be one or two larger, the monitors go mostly up to 27 inches.
Between 250 and 350 nits of brightness. That should be fine for most uses.
Up to 75Hz refresh rate for an IPS (which stands for in-plane switching) monitor or 144Hz refresh rate for a TN (twisted nematic). A high refresh rate matters if you’re planning to play a lot of FPS, racing, fighting or other motion-sensitive gaming. An IPS monitor is better for general-purpose use, since it’s superior for off-angle viewing and typically has better color. But the fastest IPS monitor you’ll find for the money is 75Hz. A TN monitor is better for fast gaming and a better gaming experience; it has a higher contrast ratio, but poorer viewing angle — color accuracy and contrast changes as you move further from looking straight-on.
If it comes with built-in speakers, don’t assume they’re a replacement for real standalone versions. They’re occasionally better than expected, but think of the speakers as a nice perk for basic system sounds or videoconferencing and consider it a windfall if they’re satisfactory for entertainment. (I’ve been relatively impressed with the speakers in BenQ’s EW series.)
A lot of these cheap monitors support AMD’s adaptive refresh FreeSync technology, which works with AMD’s graphics processors for syncing game frame rates with the display.
A curved monitor, which can make a wide display fit into your field of view without requiring you to sit too far back, isn’t worth paying more for in monitors 27 inches or smaller; then the bezels are too far within your field of view. One potential exception is if you plan to span across three identical monitors for gameplay. Then they wrap around you better than three flat screens.

Upping your budget to between $200 and $300 will bring more 32-inch screen size options and 2,560×1,440 resolution. And, of course, the more you’re willing to spend, the more you’re likely to find something in stock and ready to ship.

Samsung

Samsung T35F 27-inch FHD IPS Monitor

If you are looking for budget gaming monitors, this budget FHD monitor’s 75Hz refresh gives you a little latitude for gaming and has an IPS panel for better color and viewing angle in the sea of VA competitors; plus, this cheap gaming monitor option is pretty attractive with thin bezels and a stand that’s less clunky-looking than some. You’ll get an HDMI cable in the box, and it has a 100×100 VESA mount. There are some drawbacks, such as some backlight bleed that buyers have noticed, and it has an HDMI 1.4 connection instead of 2.0 (if you care), plus the stand only allows the screen to tilt, not raise or lower.

$161 at Walmart

$150 at Amazon

$220 at Target

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LG 24-inch FreeSync Monitor (24ML600M-B)

The LG is a solid, attractive general-purpose choice with some gaming perks. Though I’d hardly call it a gaming monitor, it has features for a good gaming experience, such as AMD FreeSync support, the ability to overdrive the response time, a 1ms motion-blur reduction mode and an optional center crosshair. It’s slightly brighter than most, and there’s a Photo mode that seems to improve the color accuracy. It’s got a VGA connector in addition to the two HDMIs (though that’s not uncommon in this price range) if you’ve got a really old device to connect. The 24-inch is a smaller version of the 27-inch monitor we tested which has since been discontinued (though still available in places at a much higher price).

$117 at B&H

$120 at LG

LG 27MP60G-B 27-inch FHD IPS FreeSync Display

This looks to be a more recent follow-up to the 27MK600M-B we tested, with a different stand and a DisplayPort connection instead of the second HDMI. Like that one, it’s got some gaming perks, identical to the 24-inch LG I mentioned above.

$150 at Target

LG 29-inch UltraWide FHD FreeSync Monitor (29UM59A-P)

This big ‘un doesn’t have ultraskinny bezels or a curved screen — it’s four years old — but when you consider its size, a 75Hz refresh rate and USB-C DisplayPort connector (as well as two HDMI 1.4 ports), you get a lot for the money. It often lists for closer to $300, but right now you can snag it for less than $200 at Amazon and Walmart, making it a pretty good value for the features. There’s a slightly more game-oriented model for $200, the 29WP60G-B, with FreeSync support, thinner bezels and a slightly sleeker design, but don’t get FOMO over the «HDR» you’ll see in the name; it has the same color and brightness specs as the cheaper model. LG has simply added decoding hardware that lets it more-or-less intelligently cram real HDR content to the dim, small gamut display, which is never pretty.

$177 at Amazon

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Gigabyte

Gigabyte G27FC A 27-inch 1080p 165 Hz Curved Gaming Monitor

I don’t like curved 27-inch monitors or VA panels much, but in a sea of 75Hz options, the Gigabyte is a refreshing 165Hz. That makes it a lot more suited to gaming than all the 75Hz models. It also has a greater-than-sRGB color gamut, low-power stereo speakers and a USB hub, which you rarely find together in this price class. The lowest price you’ll find on this monitor right now is $230, but we’re keeping it on this list for the moment as we’ve often seen it discounted to $200 or even lower.

$200 at Amazon

$200 at Best Buy

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Technologies

All the Important New iOS 26 Features, From Liquid Glass to Photos App Fixes

Your iPhone will look different and get new features when iOS 26 ships in the fall.

While we look ahead to what new iPhone 17 models might bring to the phone’s hardware, we’ve already got a look at the future of iPhone software, iOS 26. The new Liquid Glass interface is a major design refresh that will make its way across all of Apple’s product lines. The Camera and Photos apps are gaining long-awaited functional redesigns; the Messages and Phone apps are taking a firmer stand against unwanted texts and calls; and Apple Intelligence contributes some improvements in a year when Siri has been delayed.

The next version of the operating system is due to ship in September or October (likely with new iPhone 17 models), but developer betas are available now, with a public beta expected this month.

Transparent new Liquid glass design

After more than a decade of a flat, clean user interface — an overhaul introduced in iOS 7 when former Apple Chief Design Officer Jony Ive took over the design of software as well as hardware — the iPhone is getting a new look. The new design extends throughout the Apple product lineup, from iOS to WatchOS, TVOS and iPadOS.

The Liquid Glass interface also now enables a third way to view app icons on the iPhone home screen. Not content with Light and Dark modes, iOS 26 now features an All Clear look — every icon is clear glass with no color. Lock screens can also have an enhanced 3D effect using spatial scenes, which use machine learning to give depth to your background photos.

Dynamic and adaptable lock screen

Translucency is the defining characteristic of Liquid Glass, behaving like glass in the real world in the way it deals with light and color of objects behind and near controls. But it’s not just a glassy look: The «liquid» part of Liquid Glass refers to how controls can merge and adapt — dynamically morphing, in Apple’s words. In the example Apple showed, the glassy time numerals on an iPhone lock screen stretched to accommodate the image of a dog and even shrunk as the image shifted to accommodate incoming notifications. The dock and widgets are now rounded, glassy panels that float above the background.

Camera and Photos apps go even more minimal

The Camera app is getting a new, simplified interface. You could argue that the current Camera app is pretty minimal, designed to make it quick to frame a shot and hit the big shutter button. But the moment you get into the periphery, it becomes a weird mix of hidden controls and unintuitive icons.

Now, the Camera app in iOS 26 features a «new, more intuitive design» that takes minimalism to the extreme. The streamlined design shows just two modes: Video or Camera. Swipe left or right to choose additional modes, such as Pano or Cinematic. Swipe up for settings such as aspect ratio and timers, and tap for additional preferences.

With the updated Photos app, viewing the pictures you capture should be a better experience — a welcome change that customers have clamored for since iOS 18’s cluttered attempt. Instead of a long, difficult-to-discover scrolling interface, Photos regains a Liquid Glass menu at the bottom of the screen.

The Phone app gets a revamp

The Phone app has kept more closely to the look of its source than others: a sparse interface with large buttons as if you’re holding an old-fashioned headset or pre-smartphone cellular phone. iOS 26 finally updates that look not just with the new overall interface but in a unified layout that takes advantage of the larger screen real estate on today’s iPhone models.

It’s not just looks that are different, though. The Phone app is trying to be more useful for dealing with actual calls — the ones you want to take. The Call Screening feature automatically answers calls from unknown numbers, and your phone rings only when the caller shares their name and reason for calling.

Or what about all the time wasted on hold? Hold Assist automatically detects hold music and can mute the music but keep the call connected. Once a live agent becomes available, the phone rings and lets the agent know you’ll be available shortly.

Messages updates

The Messages app is probably one of the most used apps on the iPhone, and for iOS 26, Apple is making it a more colorful experience. You can add backgrounds to the chat window, including dynamic backgrounds that show off the new Liquid Glass interface.

In addition to the new look, group texts in Messages can incorporate polls for everyone in the group to reply to — no more scrolling back to find out which restaurant Brett suggested for lunch that you missed. Other members in the chat can also add their own items to a poll.

A more useful feature is a feature to detect spam texts better and screen unknown numbers, so the messages you see in the app are the ones you want to see and not the ones that distract you.

Safari gets out of its own way

In the Safari app, the Liquid Glass design floats the tab bar above the web page (although that looks right where your thumb is going to be, so it will be interesting to see if you can move the bar to the top of the screen). As you scroll, the tab bar shrinks.

FaceTime focuses on calls, not controls

FaceTime also gets the minimal look, with controls in the lower-right corner that disappear during the call to get out of the way. On the FaceTime landing page, posters of your contacts, including video clips of previous calls, are designed to make the app more appealing.

New Music app features

Do you like the sound of that song your friend is playing but don’t understand the language the lyrics are in? The Music app includes a new lyrics translation feature that displays along with the lyrics as the song plays. And for when you want to sing along with one of her favorite K-pop songs, for example, but you don’t speak or read Korean, a lyrics pronunciation feature spells out the right way to form the sounds.

AutoMix blends songs like a DJ, matching the beat and time-stretching for a seamless transition.

And if you find yourself obsessively listening to artists and albums again and again, you can pin them to the top of your music library for quick access.

New Games app is a reminder that yes, people game on iPhone

The iPhone doesn’t get the same kind of gaming affection as Nintendo’s Switch or Valve’s Steam Deck, but the truth is that the iPhone and Android phones are used extensively for gaming — Apple says half a billion people play games on iPhone.

Trying to capitalize on that, a new Games app acts as a specific portal to Apple Arcade and other games. Yes, you can get to those from the App Store app, but the Games app is designed to remove a layer of friction so you can get right to the gaming action.

Live translation enhances calls and texts

Although not specific to iOS, Apple’s new live translation feature is ideal on the iPhone when you’re communicating with others. It uses Apple Intelligence to dynamically enable you to talk to someone who speaks a different language in near-real time. It’s available in the Messages, FaceTime and Phone apps and shows live translated captions during a conversation.

Maps gets more personal

Updates to the Maps app sometimes involve adding more detail to popular areas or restructuring the way you store locations. Now, the app takes note of routes you travel frequently and can alert you of any delays before you get on the road.

It also includes a welcome feature for those of us who get our favorite restaurants mixed up: visited places. The app notes how many times you’ve been to a place, be that a local business, eatery or tourist destination. It organizes them in categories or other criteria such as by city to make them easier to find the next time.

New CarPlay features

Liquid Glass also makes its way to CarPlay in your vehicle, with a more compact design when a call comes in that doesn’t obscure other items, such as a directional map. In Messages, you can apply tapbacks and pin conversations for easy access.

Widgets are now part of the CarPlay experience, so you can focus on just the data you want, like the current weather conditions. And Live Activities appear on the CarPlay screen, so you’ll know when that coffee you ordered will be done or when a friend’s flight is about to arrive.

Wallet improvements

The Wallet app is already home for using Apple Card, Apple Pay, electronic car keys and for storing tickets and passes. In iOS 26, you can create a new Digital ID that acts like a passport for age and identity verification (though it does not replace a physical passport) for domestic travel for TSA screening at airports.

The app can also let you use rewards and set up installment payments when you purchase items in a store, not just for online orders. And with the help of Apple Intelligence, the Wallet app can help you track product orders, even if you did not use Apple Pay to purchase them. It can pull details such as shipping numbers from emails and texts so that information is all in one place.

New features powered by Apple Intelligence

Although last year’s WWDC featured Apple Intelligence features heavily, improvements to the AI tech were less prominent this year, folded into the announcements during the WWDC keynote.

As an alternative to creating Genmoji from scratch, you can combine existing emojis — «like a sloth and a light bulb when you’re the last one in the group chat to get the joke,» to use Apple’s example. You can also change expressions in Genmoji of people you know that you’ve used to create the image.

Image Playground adds the ability to tap into ChatGPT’s image generation tools to go beyond the app’s animation or sketch styles.

Visual Intelligence can already use the camera to try to decipher what’s in front of the lens. Now the technology works on the content on the iPhone’s screen, too. It does this by taking a screenshot (press the sleep and volume up buttons) and then including a new Image Search option in that interface to find results across the web or in other apps such as Etsy.

This is also a way to add event details from images you come across, like posters for concerts or large gatherings. (Perhaps this could work for QR codes as well?) In the screenshot interface, Visual Intelligence can parse the text and create an event in the Calendar app.

Some iOS 26 updates Apple didn’t mention

Not everything fits into a keynote presentation — even, or maybe especially, when it’s all pre-recorded — but some of the more interesting new features in iOS 26 went unremarked during the big reveal. For instance:

If you have AirPods or AirPods Pro with the H2 chip, you can use AirPods Camera Remote to start recording video on your iPhone by pressing and holding one of the AirPods.
You can choose your own snooze duration of between 1 and 15 minutes for alarms.
Audio recording options have expanded, enabling high-quality recording during conference calls and high-definition recording in the Camera app with AirPods and AirPods Pro that contain the H2 chip.
Accessibility features include an «all-new experience designed with Braille users in mind,» more options for the Vehicle Motion Cues feature to avoid motion sickness and «a more customizable reading experience.»
Reminders uses Apple Intelligence to «suggest tasks, grocery items and follow-ups based on emails or other text on your device.»
The Journal app supports multiple journals, inline images and a map view that tracks where journal entries were made.
Parental controls have been updated in unspecified ways, including «enhancements across Communication Limits, Communication Safety and the App Store.»

iOS 26 availability

The finished version of iOS 26 will be released in September or October with new iPhone 17 models. In the meantime, developers can install the first developer betas now, with an initial public beta arriving this month. (Don’t forget to go into any beta software with open eyes and clear expectations.)

Follow the WWDC 2025 live blog for details about Apple’s other announcements.

iPhone models compatible with iOS 26

iOS 26 will run on the iPhone 11 and later models, including the iPhone SE (2nd generation and later). That includes:

iPhone 16e
iPhone 16
iPhone 16 Plus
iPhone 16 Pro
iPhone 16 Pro Max
iPhone 15
iPhone 15 Plus
iPhone 15 Pro
iPhone 15 Pro Max
iPhone 14
iPhone 14 Plus
iPhone 14 Pro
iPhone 14 Pro Max
iPhone 13
iPhone 13 mini
iPhone 13 Pro
iPhone 13 Pro Max
iPhone 12
iPhone 12 mini
iPhone 12 Pro
iPhone 12 Pro Max
iPhone 11
iPhone 11 Pro
iPhone 11 Pro Max
iPhone SE (2nd generation and later)

Technologies

Microsoft Offers Free Windows 10 Security Updates for Those Who Don’t Want to Upgrade to Windows 11

You can still get support for a year, under one condition: It requires linking your OneDrive account to your PC.

The Windows 10 era is almost at an end. Microsoft is ending support for Windows 10 and stopping security support in October. Initially, Microsoft was offering a one-year extended security update for $30, but we’ve got some good news: Microsoft has added a free option, allowing you to stick with Windows 10 for another year. However, in order to access it, you’ll need to use cloud backup and connect it with your OneDrive account.

The ability to get free updates on Windows 10 is a pretty big deal because it is still the most widely used Windows OS, accounting for just over 53% of installs as of May 2025. That leaves millions of people without security support in just a few months unless they upgrade. So the cloud backup option gives users a way out without costing them any money.

The only potential issue is OneDrive. Anyone with a Microsoft account gets up to 5GB of storage for free. However, as The Verge points out, some backups may exceed this limitation, requiring users to purchase a monthly or yearly plan. At $2 per month for 100GB of cloud storage, a year of OneDrive still costs less than the $30 for a year of additional security updates, but it may still cause frustration among some customers.

Windows 10 was released a decade ago, in July 2015.

How to get Windows 10 security updates for free

Per Microsoft’s blog post, there are now three options for those who want to stay on Windows 10 and still receive security updates:

Use Windows Backup to sync settings to the cloud via OneDrive.
Redeem 1,000 Microsoft Rewards points. Redeeming those points can buy you one year of security updates.
Pay $30 for the extended security updates program.

You will be presented with these options starting in July, which is when Microsoft plans to roll out the sign-up wizard for the Extended Security Updates program. Signing up for this option will guarantee updates until Oct. 13, 2026, although businesses will have the option to purchase up to three years of additional updates. So, this isn’t a long-term solution, but rather gives you more time to upgrade to Windows 11.

It’s been an uphill battle for Microsoft, as people have been reluctant to upgrade their existing hardware. There are myriad differences between the two operating systems, but Microsoft’s string of unpopular decisions along with Windows 11 compatibility issues have kept the prior generation OS around a lot longer than it normally would be.

Technologies

Today’s NYT Connections Hints, Answers and Help for July 18, #768

Find hints and the answers for the NYT Connections puzzle for July 18, #768, which might be easy if you do yoga.

Looking for the most recent Connections answers? Click here for today’s Connections hints, as well as our daily answers and hints for The New York Times Mini Crossword, Wordle, Connections: Sports Edition and Strands puzzles.

Today’s NYT Connections puzzle is all over the place. If you want to solve the blue category, it helps if you know yoga. (I don’t.) Read on for clues and today’s Connections answers.

The Times now has a Connections Bot, like the one for Wordle. Go there after you play to receive a numeric score and to have the program analyze your answers. Players who are registered with the Times Games section can now nerd out by following their progress, including number of puzzles completed, win rate, number of times they nabbed a perfect score and their win streak.

Read more: Hints, Tips and Strategies to Help You Win at NYT Connections Every Time

Hints for today’s Connections groups

Here are four hints for the groupings in today’s Connections puzzle, ranked from the easiest yellow group to the tough (and sometimes bizarre) purple group.

Yellow group hint: Order of things.

Green group hint: Ah, I get it.

Blue group hint: Flexible positions.

Purple group hint: Eddy Grant sang about this avenue.