Computer monitor history
Updated: 04/02/2019 by Computer Hope
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1964 | The Uniscope 300 machine had a built-in CRT display. While not a true computer monitor, it was a precursor to CRT monitor technology. |
| 1965 | Touch screen technology was invented by E. A. Johnson in 1965. |
| 1973 | The Xerox Alto computer, released on March 1, 1973, included the first computer monitor. The monitor used CRT technology and had a monochrome display. |
| 1975 | The first resistive touch screen display was developed by George Samuel Hurst in 1975. However, it was not produced and used until 1982. |
| 1976 | The Apple I and Sol-20 computers were the first computers to have a built-in video output port, allowing for a computer monitor or video screen. |
| 1977 | LED display technology was developed by James P. Mitchell in 1977, but LED monitors were not readily available for purchase on the consumer market until about 30 years later. |
| 1977 | The Apple II, released in June 1977, allowed for color display on a CRT monitor. |
| 1987 | The first VGA monitor, the IBM 8513, was released by IBM in 1987. |
| 1989 | The SVGA standard for computer displays was officially defined by VESA in 1989. |
| late-1980s | By the late 1980s, color CRT monitors were capable of a 1024 x 768 resolution display. |
| mid-1990s | One of the first LCD monitors for desktop computers was the Eizo L66, manufactured and released by Eizo Nanao Technologies in the mid-1990s. |
| 1997 | Apple, IBM, and Viewsonic began developing color LCD monitors that offer comparable or better quality and resolution compared to CRT monitors. |
| 1998 | The Apple Studio Display was one of the earliest affordable, color LCD monitors for desktop computers, manufactured by Apple in 1998. |
| 2003 | LCD monitors outsold CRT monitors for the first time in 2003. By 2007, LCD monitors consistently outsold CRT monitors, and became the most popular type of computer monitor. |
| 2006 | The first interface-free, touch-based computer monitor was introduced at TED by Jeff Han in 2006. |
| 2009 | NEC was one of the first companies to manufacture LED monitors for desktop computers. Their first LED monitor, the MultiSync EA222WMe, was released in late 2009. |
| 2010 | AMD and Intel, with a handful of computer monitor manufacturers, announced they were phasing out support for VGA starting in December 2010. |
| 2017 | Touch screen LCD monitors started to become cheaper, more affordable for the average consumer in 2017. Prices for 20 to 22-inch touch screen monitors dropped below $500. |