Philips has debuted its Evnia monitor range, a series of gaming-oriented monitors using OLED, QD-OLED and miniLED panels depending on the model. While the miniLED and QD-OLED options feature 34-inch displays, it's the OLED model that has caught our eye with its whopping 42-inch screen size, putting it squarely in the new-found TV/monitor crossover genre we’ve seen from the likes of Samsung’s Odyssey Ark and LG UltraGear 48GQ900-B.
Starting small with the 34-inch QD-OLED model, the Philips 34M2C8600. This monitor features a 3440 x 1440 (QHD) resolution with a refresh rate of 175Hz, as well as a host of gaming features including VRR. However, VRR support is a tricky one with this monitor as its two HDMI ports are the older 2.0 specification - limiting this for use with the likes of the PS5 that requires HDMI 2.1 for VRR. However, not all is lost, as Philips says the monitor delivers deep blacks and high contrast thanks to its QD-OLED panel, as well as true HDR capabilities (specifications suggest HDR10) - despite how vague that is, it sounds like the monitor should deliver solid black depths and punchy colours. Awkwardly, pricing only looks to be available in Euro at the moment, with this monitor coming in at roughly €1850, which is around £1610 / $1825 / AU$2880.
Philips has another 34-inch monitor, this time in a miniLED flavour, titled the Philips 34M2C7600MV. This monitor has the same QHD resolution as the above monitor, as well as a slightly slower refresh rate of 165Hz. The headline feature here is the 1152 dimming zones and up to 1400 nits brightness for HDR content. However, this is the most expensive of the line of monitors, coming in at roughly €2100 or around £1830 / $2090 / AU$3270, so you’d better be prepared to cough up the big bucks for this super bright monitor. Both of these 34-inch monitors feature a curved screen of 1500R and 1800R respectively, ideal for added immersion during long gaming sessions.
Last and certainly not least is Philips’ biggest and most TV-like monitor of the bunch, the 42M2N8900. This flat, 42-inch display uses an LG OLED panel that brings the resolution up to 3840 x 2160 (4K) and has a refresh rate of 138Hz. Unlike its siblings in the Evnia range, the 42-inch variant includes two HDMI 2.1 ports, ideal for PS5 and Xbox Series X gamers. It also sits just below its smaller miniLED counterpart at around €2000, or £1740 / $1990 / AU$3115. This Philips monitor looks to be about as close as you can get to a 4K OLED TV that can sit on your desk, it even features Philips’ Ambiglow lighting system from its TVs that syncs the image on the screen with a set of rear-firing lights for an immersive glow.
The 42-inch OLED Envia monitor will supposedly begin shipping in December of this year, while the 34-inch miniLED and QD-OLED models will make their debut in January of 2023.
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