Is that actually the first 16:9 1440p monitor with mini leds? Not going to lie that gets me a bit excited since im not going to buy a 4K screen while a midrange GPU's cant drive them like they can do 1440p screens now.

At £849.99 the AG274QXM has a lot of potential, eagerly awaiting reviews (and actual store prices)!

spec-wise this is proper. this is the monitor that Asus should be making ( or will soon be), a back-lit HDR monitor. the mini-leds are a nice touch and should eliminate any "halo" effect found on older monitors with too few (regular) leds. of course that remains to be seen as we do not know the number of leds or the type of array. but other than that it was a wise move to include two panels with one @ HDR 1k and the other at HDR 600 (the real minimum for true HDR). plus, as someone else noted there is a wider selection of existing gpus that can drive these.

4k at 27" is...meh... 32" is a minimum for 4k imo.

mig_07:

Whilst it may be proper for most people's use cases, it won't change the fact this brand isn't available for those in North America (Canada specifically). For someone like myself where productivity takes precedence over gaming, an ultrawide is still preferred.

not available in Canada? damn shame. i'm in California and i had a 38" Agon (VA) that was made really well (lives on @ my nephew's). agreed UW is better for productivity (and CinemaScope movies) but this is about gaming.

Not really concerned about speed these days but rather contrast

Kaleid:

Not really concerned about speed these days but rather contrast

understood. but contrast is the most over-stated spec (not by you) without context. the most horrible panel can have a stellar contrast ratio, simply because it is far easier for a panel to get brighter than black. and that is because all non-OLED panels are back (or side) lit and there will always be residual light leaking from the panel. this is the so-called IPS glow (especially on side lit screens), VA does this also but not to the same degree - leading some (uninformed) people to say VA panels have "inky" black when they do not. FALD (full array local dimming) is the only solution to using LCD (incl. VA & IPS/Q-IPS) technology properly. and any negative comments about FALD come from early models with insufficient numbers of LEDs and/or in a poorly designed array. this AOC Agon is using mini-leds, which allow for desktop close viewing. standard LEDs are too large for close viewing which may lead to an artefact (ringing). i totally agree the refresh rate wars are getting close to the pointless level (i.e. beyond abilities of gpus) except at the highest level where pro-gamers live and pro-gamer wannabes want to move.