QD-OLED monitors are as beautiful as they are fragile, as their self-emissive panels require more care than their LCD counterparts on account of burn-in. It’s an anxiety that I personally deal with on a daily basis in my own setup, automatically hiding my taskbar, making sure my screen saver triggers after a minute of inactivity, among other manual mitigations. However, looking after such screens could become much simpler thanks to MSI and a dose of artificial intelligence.
Meet MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50, one of MSI’s new gaming monitors debuting at Computex 2025. This is a seriously impressive display, rocking a 27in panel with a native resolution and refresh rate of 3840×2160 and a whopping 500Hz. Combine this with DisplayHDR True Black 500 certification among other enticing specifications, it’s difficult to fault this screen. Speaking from my brief time using it, the temptation to cram it into my suitcase back from Taiwan to Blighty was palpable. Naturally, I’m keeping my fingers crossed for a sample.
What makes MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50 a maverick among monitors, though, is its AI Care Sensor. Slotting on to the display’s chin like a n ocular goatee, MSI has equipped the screen with a camera complete with transformative AI smarts. It’s the first of its kind on the market but it’s something I’d be happy to see competitors emulate after going hands-on with the device.
This AI Care Sensor provides several features that improve the longevity of MPG 271QR QD-OLED X50’s panel, as well as other controls that aim to improve image quality. The most compelling of the bunch in my eyes are ‘Lock on Leave’ and ‘Wake on Approach’. These are creature comforts similar to those that proximity sensors have offered for years now, but an NPU (Neural Processing Unit) helps make this implementation all-the-smarter.
Through Lock on Leave, the screen will automatically enter standby if it doesn’t detect a person facing it. Those distinctions are important, as the monitor won’t turn back on (Wake on Approach) if objects in the background are moving or if your pet decides to get up and close and personal with your setup thanks to the NPU. During standby, the panel will begin a refresh cycle, prolonging its lifespan and saving you the trouble of having to wait for a cycle to complete while you’re in the middle of a gaming session or task.
In lieu of a secluded space to test this feature, I gamed the sensor by covering it with my hand and sure enough the monitor turned off promptly (along with the connected system’s RGB LEDs). Upon removing my hand, the screen took a moment to come back to life but did so after a short moment. MSI says it’s working to improve resume times before launch and future firmware updates.
MSI also includes adjacent functionality via this same sensor via Adaptive Dimming, and Auto Brightness and Colour Temperature controls. I sadly wasn’t able to try these features due to a crowded environment but I’m certainly hungry to get hands-on with them in due course.
Naturally, the way AI Care Sensor works is via a camera which will understandably raise concerns about privacy. MSI assures me that no photography data is stored on the monitor nor does it leave the confines of your home to a cloud server. If you’d rather just rock the monitor sans this feature, you can disable it altogether but there seems little reason to given these assurances.
From my perspective, AI Care Sensor makes me more comfortable living with the prospect of burn-in. I understand I’m exceptionally cautious about caring for my QD-OLED monitor, but any move to assist and automate the process is welcome.
Be sure to follow Club386 on Google News for the latest on all things tech. The team’s currently roaming the halls of Computex in search of scoops, and you don’t want miss our coverage of all the weird and wonderful devices on the showfloor.
