Due to COVID-19, many professionals and students are operating remotely. To mitigate the potential impacts of increased screen time, companies are investing in low-blue light tech.
Image: iStock/TeroVesalainen
In recent months, organizations around the globe have transitioned to remote work due to the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, many students and teachers are also participating in online education to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the classroom. To assist with remote collaboration, students and professionals alike are leveraging a vast suite of technologies and platforms. During this time, a marked increased screen time has led to concerns about potentially damaging effects related to the blue light emitted from various smart devices. At CES 2021, a number of companies have unveiled displays with an eye toward the potential risks associated with blue light.
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“COVID-19 has placed a spotlight on what was already widespread concern around blue light as people are spending more time in front of their screens. New research from Eyesafe shows that people are now spending more than 13 hours a day in front of their digital devices since the pandemic began,” said Stefan Engel, VP and GM of Lenovo’s Visuals Business via email.
From smartphones and tablets to office setups with multiple monitors, blue light is emitted from a host of devices many people encounter throughout their both during the workday and after hours. What is it about blue light that makes it potentially damaging?
“Because of the high energy it produces, blue light can penetrate deep into our eyes to the retina. While longer-wavelength blue light has been shown to help regulate our circadian rhythm, new research has pinpointed the specific range of blue light that poses the most risk to human eyes,” Engel said.
At CES 2021, Lenovo unveiled several new products designed to reduce blue light during use. This includes new gaming laptops, the dual-screen ThinkBook Plus Gen 2, the ThinkPad X1 Carbon Gen 9, X1 Yoga Gen 6, and the 2-in-1 Tab P11. The company also announced several new monitors with low-blue light capabilities.
“Instead of filtering out blue light completely which leads to poor color perception, select Lenovo monitors with natural low-blue light technology concentrate on reducing the harmful spectrum of blue light, at 415nm to 455nm. By targeting only certain bands of the light spectrum, our technology allows other segments of the spectrum to remain unfiltered,” Engel said.
“In contrast, older technologies have focused on removing the full spectrum of blue light, which leads to an incorrect color perception and a more yellow or orange looking picture,” Engel continued.
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Lenovo isn’t alone in this ocular undertaking by any means. As we reported earlier this month, LG Display and Eyesafe designed a new TV screen engineered to reduce blue light. Acer’s new Predator XB3 series monitors utilize VisionCare 4.0 technologies and are “among the first monitors in the world to be TÜV Rheinland Eyesafe certified,” according to the company.
Ahead of CES, Dell announced a number of new low-blue light monitors including the 34-inch Curved Video Conferencing Monitor, the UltraSharp 24-inch and 27-inch monitors, and more. ASUS unveiled the ZenBook Duo 14 featuring a 12.6-inch touchscreen and is “TUV Rheinland-certified for low blue-light emissions,” according to the company.
“As the COVID-19 ushered in an era of remote work and online learning on an unprecedented scale, we knew we would have to provide technologies that would support our customers’ blended lifestyles. The health crisis has blurred the lines between our professional and personal lives, and Lenovo has made it a priority to respond to new customer pain points brought on by the pandemic,” Engel said.
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