Philips Evnia 49M2C8900 QD-OLED review: A strong highlight among the greatest super ultrawide monitors
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Philips Evnia 49M2C8900 QD-OLED: Review in two minutes
In my experience, I wasn’t able to take full advantage of the Ambilight feature as much as I thought, given the length of the screen (which can serve as a complement to its immersion), and yes, I tried it without another monitor mounted on it, and I came to the same conclusion. It’s also worth noting that the Ambilight feature can sometimes fail to represent accurate colors.
That’s not to say it’s bad by any means, but it made me realize that I probably would have appreciated this feature a lot more on the Philips Evnia 34-inch 1440p or 4K 42-inch models. It just gets to a point where you wonder if the 32:9 aspect ratio is a bit too much, but ultimately, if that’s not a problem for you, you’ll love this display.
On a more positive note, however, starring in titles like Call of Duty Or Battlefield 6 on this screen gives you an added advantage and allows you to enjoy a refresh rate of 240 Hz. If you have hardware capable of achieving high frame rates, you will benefit from smooth gameplay and a gray-to-gray (GtG) response time of 0.03 ms, minimizing ghosting and blurring during pixel transition.
It’s not just in multiplayer FPS shooters where this shines, as it’s a standout display in narrative action games and really makes you feel like you’re at the center of the action. The increased vantage point you get with super ultra-wide screens, as such, shouldn’t be underestimated, providing a cinematic experience to get lost in, and I felt this through the many single-player games I tested on this screen.
The 49M2C8900 is another display that highlights how much better OLED is compared to regular LED or even mini-LED monitors. Of course, mini-LED displays can provide better and more consistent brightness levels, not least because there’s no frustration with ABL. However, OLED is simply undefeated when it comes to deep black levels, and you can see that in my Wallpaper Engine screenshots below – truly fascinating.
Just to point out, if you’re a big fan of horror games that take full advantage of dark environments or even ones with constant color changes like Kronos The New Dawnso there’s a lot of fun to be had with this screen. The images don’t do it enough justice, and some might even suggest heavy overgrowth or overexposure, but that’s not the case at all with this display.
It gets even better when Ambilight works at its best, blending seamlessly into jumps or gameplay sequences where colors change quickly on screen, giving extra ammunition to an immersive visual experience. I can definitely see this being appreciated by those who weren’t particularly excited about Ambilight when purchasing this monitor, unlike me, who was disappointed by its inconsistencies.
Philips Evnia 49M2C8900 QD-OLED: price and availability
- How much does it cost? $1,500 (retail) / £799 / AU$1,799
- When is it available? Available now (first released in 2023)
- Where can you get it? Available in the US, UK and Australia
The Philips Evnia 49M2C8900 is an expensive super ultra-wide monitor, retailing at $1,500 and around £1,649.99 in the UK, which would have been an instant deal-breaker for me and many others. Still, it’s been available since 2023, so prices have inevitably dropped, meaning you can find it at much lower prices – specifically £799 (around $1,050) – with more active sales seeing it drop further.
Is it worth the retail price it was at before? No, and it doesn’t hurt the quality of the screen, as $1,500 is a tough ask for any gaming monitor. However, at its current price, I can easily recommend it to anyone who wants to immerse themselves in the super ultra-wide QD-OLED gaming experience, with added productivity benefits.
However, it should be noted that if you are considering purchasing this display, it is best to act quickly, as it can be quite difficult to find it in various online stores. It doesn’t appear to have been discontinued yet, but new Philips Evnia monitors should be on the horizon soon.
Philips Evnia 49M2C8900 QD-OLED: Specifications
Philips Evnia 49M2C8900 QD-OLED: performance and design
Again, more consistently, I was happy with the Philips Evnia 49M2C8900, as it gave me what I needed for almost all of my games (excluding those that don’t support the 32:9 aspect ratio).
It’s really simple: if immersion is your top priority and you’ve never used a screen like this, I’m confident this will be a great fit for you. I have to admit that I’m an ultrawide enthusiast, so I have an element of bias in favor of these displays. Still, that ultimately makes me more critical of them – but aside from the issues with Ambilight and ABL, I have virtually no complaints about this display.
When ABL isn’t an issue, you really notice how high the brightness is for gaming, and thanks to the QD-OLED panel, I had no issues with any form of ghosting or smearing, which you might find with a VA mini-LED monitor, like the Mobile Pixels 34-inch ultrawide monitor I reviewed.
It’s also worth noting that while this monitor is FreeSync Premium Pro certified, it supports G-Sync, so AMD and Nvidia GPU users will be able to enjoy gaming without screen tearing.
Speaking of GPUs, it would be worth investing in a beefy GPU; to give you an idea, I was using the Asus TUF RTX 4080 Super OC GPU (the second GPU behind the RTX 4090), and the display resolution of 5120 x 1440 gives it a run for its money, striking Cyberpunk 2077The frame rate of up to its knees is around 50-60fps with ray tracing enabled and frame generation disabled.
In terms of design, there’s a lot to like about the Ambilight feature when it works smoothly, and, excusing my personal issues with the width of these super ultra-wide monitors, I think many others will appreciate the color changes and effects even more than I do.
I haven’t had a chance to use a monitor stand, and the stand that comes with it is usable, but I would recommend purchasing a desktop stand because the base of the stand takes up a decent amount of desk space – and the screen itself is already quite large, taking up the majority of the available space.
Philips Evnia 49M2C8900 QD-OLED: Productivity and OSD
But it’s not just in gaming where it shines, as productivity was a strong point when testing this display. If you thought the 32:9 aspect ratio would hurt your work-from-home tasks, think again, because I was very pleased with what the 49M2C8900 had to offer.
I tend to do a lot of tasks simultaneously when working, with multiple browser tabs left open and maybe videos playing in the background, and this is the monitor designed specifically for that. Yes, there are readability issues, as you’ll find with a wide variety of OLED displays with fringed text, but that was never a major issue for me, and it wasn’t the case with this display either.
Although my review unit didn’t come with a remote, the addition of one is a godsend, and another aspect that I don’t see enough monitor manufacturers take into account. I haven’t gotten my hands on the remote at all, but I don’t need to, because I know that anything other than constantly pressing the power button and the OSD control behind the screen is much more convenient.
The OSD itself is usable with many tabs on settings for Ambilight (in the Ambiglow tab), SmartImage and other input and audio options. Besides the option of a remote control or OSD control on the back of the monitor, the Philips Evnia Precision Center software works wonders as a replacement, allowing you to change settings via mouse and keyboard.
Should you buy the Philips Evnia 49M2C8900 QD-OLED?
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Philips Evnia 49M2C8900 QD-OLED: also think
How I tested the Philips Evnia 49M2C8900 QD-OLED
I used the Philips Evnia 49M2C8900 QD-OLED for a little over a month, both for work and play, testing numerous games and movies to understand the screen performance and Ambilight color capabilities.
It’s a 32:9 screen, so multiplayer shooter games like Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 have been tested to take full advantage of the screen real estate and enhanced perspective of the on-screen action. This is incredibly ideal for games that rely on instant reactions and a better view of peripherals, and it’s one of the strong points I’ve consistently noticed.
Having used a handful of displays now (especially QD-OLED), I’ve been able to differentiate the pros and cons of these displays versus regular LEDs or mini-LEDs, which is why I’m certain this is among the best you can find on the market.
