Over the last few years, high resolutions for gaming, productivity and general use have really been in the spotlight, but the truth is that the standard 1080p screen is still the king, and by a huge margin.
According to Steam, the largest PC gaming store and social platform in the world, a resolution of 1920 x 1080 is still used by 57.87 percent of its users as of March 2025. Not only that, but dependable 1080p usage is still increasing, with a 4.80 percent increase in Steam’s numbers compared to the previous survey.
This result isn’t too surprising: 1080p is the default. The gold standard. Developers of all kinds of software target this resolution, it’s easier on your hardware to drive, and higher resolution hardware is still priced too high. Another benefit is that, while you stay at the 1080p resolution, you can crank in-game details to make your experience even better.
On top of all these benefits, Xiaomi is here to make 1920 x 1080 even better with its range of monitors that upgrade the default standard into something more, making Full HD relevant for the future.
How does Xiaomi do this? The first upgrade is a higher quality of panel used in its monitors. Take the Xiaomi G27i, Xiaomi G24i and Xiaomi A27i as examples. All three of these screens make use of in-plane switching (IPS) panels. IPS panels are made for quality from the beginning, giving you fantastic colours, brightness, blacks and sharpness. If you’ve been using older panel types until now, jumping to a modern IPS is a huge upgrade you won’t want to live without.
Xiaomi also packs extra features into their IPS monitors, low blue light certification, factory-calibrated accuracy and more.
The next upgrade comes from a higher refresh rate. The refresh rate, measured in Hertz (Hz) is the number of times every single second that the image on your screen changes or “refreshes”. In short, the higher the refresh rate, the smoother your experience is. For gaming, your refresh rate needs to match or exceed your FPS so, for example, if you want to go above the normal 60FPS, you need a screen with a refresh rate above 60Hz.
In the past, 1080p was paired with a refresh rate of just 60Hz, but we have since left those days in the past. The Xiaomi A27i has a refresh rate of 100Hz, the Xiaomi G24i goes all the way to 180Hz, and the Xiaomi G27i offers 165Hz. No matter which way you go, that’s a huge boost in capability, especially compared to the old 60Hz.
The third (and fourth) improvement is Xiaomi’s impeccable build quality combined with fantastic localised pricing for us in South Africa. All three of the monitors we’ve discussed today share a beautiful, sleek black design language paired with a minimalist stand and a large array of ports.
So which one to get?
The Xiaomi A27i, with a RRP of only R2 999, fits into most budgets while still giving you that IPS quality, 1080p resolution and 100Hz refresh rate on its large 27-inch screen. It makes for the ultimate office display while still giving you heaps of features for after-hours enjoyment.
For a larger focus on gaming, the 24-inch Xiaomi G24i has the highest refresh rate at 180Hz, making it perfect for e-sports and simulator titles. The one-millisecond response time further cements its capabilities, all for R3 199 RRP.
Finally, the Xiaomi G27i is big and bold at 27-inches while still giving you the impressive 165Hz refresh rate and one-millisecond response. This is the perfect trade between a slightly lower refresh rate for more screen size, and it’s yours for R3 899 RRP.
Do you want to go beyond 1080p? Check back to Hypertext soon, where we’ll cover even more monitors from Xiaomi. For those who are shopping on a budget, we’ll have you covered too. For now, shop the entire Xiaomi PC monitor selection on South Africa’s favourite online shop, Takealot.
