Philips Evnia 49M2C8900 OLED review: A joy from all angles

Super ultrawide monitors have become increasingly popular over the last couple of years, with almost every major brand now offering up their own unique variant. One of the latest is the Philips Evnia 49M2C8900 QD-OLED – a stunning 240Hz, 49-inch QD-OLED behemoth that looks to take the market by storm.

The monitor sports a stylish, unique design that pairs nicely with a star-studded specs sheet that offers everything you’d want for a truly awesome experience – whether that be gaming or just everyday tasks. Better yet, the 49M2C8900 is one of the cheapest QD-OLED 49-inch monitors on the market right now, hitting shelves for well under £1,000 at the time of writing this.

In this review, we’ll be taking a closer look at the Philips Evnia 49M2C8900 to see how it performs in gaming, work tasks, and general entertainment consumption, pitting it against high-end rivals like the Samsung G95SC, ASUS ROG Swift PG49WCD, and MSI MPG 491CQP. We look at picture quality, color accuracy, pixel response time, and value for money – concluding with our thoughts on whether this monitor is worth the investment.

Philips Evnia 49M2C8900

Specifications

• Panel size: 48.9 inch
• Refresh rate: 240Hz
• Response time: 0.03 ms
• Panel technology: QD-OLED

• Viewing area: 1196.7 (H) x 339.2 (V) – at a 1800R curvature
• Display Screen coating: Anti-reflection, 2H
• Aspect Ratio: 32:9
• Contrast ratio: 1,500,000:1
• Pixel Pitch: 0.233 x 0.233 mm
• Viewing Angle: 178º (H)/178º (V); @ C/R > 10
• Display colours: Colour support 1.07 billion colours (10-bit)
• Scanning Frequency: 30 – 388 kHz (H) / 48 – 240 Hz (V)
• sRGB: Yes
• Picture enhancement: SmartImage game
• Pixel Density: 108.77 PPI
• Flicker-free: Yes
• LowBlue Mode: Yes
• EasyRead: Yes
• AMD FreeSync™ technology: Premium Pro
• Delta E: < 2 (sRGB)
• Maximum Resolution: 5120 x 1440 @ 240 Hz
• Low Input Lag: Yes
• Ambiglow: 3 sided
• G-SYNC: Compatible: 50 Hz ~ 240 Hz
• Pixel format: RGB Q-Stripe
• Brightness (nits): SDR: 250 (APL 100%) nit, HDR: 450 (APL 10%) nit, HDR E/P: 1000 (APL 3%)
• SmartContrast: Mega Infinity DCR
• Colour Gamut (typical): NTSC 127.4%*, sRGB 153.1%*, Adobe RGB 125.2%
• Colour Gamut (min.): DCI-P3: 99%
• HDR: DisplayHDR True Black 400 certified
• KVM: Yes
• USB Hub: USB version 3.2 Gen1 / 5 Gbps, USB-B upstream x 1, USB-A downstream x 4 (with 2 for fast charge B.C 1.2)
• Signal input: HDMI 2.1 x 2, DisplayPort 1.4 x 1, USB-C x 1 (DP Alt mode, Power Delivery)
• Sound Enhancement: DTS Sound
• Speaker Configuration: 7.5 W x 2 tweeters, 7.5 W x 2 woofers with flow port
• Height adjustment: 120 mm
• Tilt: -5/15 degree
• Swivel: -/+ 20 degree

Show more

• Shop on Amazon

Specifications

You can see a complete specifications list below:

What’s in the box

The monitor comes in a large box that showcases marketing material and core features on the exterior. Inside, the 49M2C8900 is packaged between two robust pieces of styrofoam, with each separate piece of the monitor individually wrapped in a thin layer of foam wrapping.

Some construction is required, with the foot of the stand screwing into the base of the neck. The entire stand then clips into the back of the monitor, secured by two screws. Overall, construction is simple and takes less than a few minutes.

Inside the box, users will find the following accessories:

• DisplayPort cable
• HDMI cable
• USB Type-C cable
• USB Type-B to Type-A cable
• Remote control

All the standard accessories can be found here. We’ll touch upon the remote control in more detail further down the review.

Previous

Next

1 of 8

Previous

Next

Design

The Evnia 49M2C8900 sports an eye-catching design that is symbolized by its large 49-inch scale and 1800R curvature. The monitor sports the same Evnia design language that we’ve seen in other models within the range, following the same white-on-silver color theme that characterizes the lineup. The panel seems to flirt between office subtleness and outlandish gaming prowess, offering up excellent design versatility that suits almost any setting.

Like many panels in today’s market, the 49M2C8900 features fairly thin bezels (compared to the size of the monitor) and a wide V-shaped stand that protrudes out from the base of the monitor’s screen. When at full height, you can see the monitor’s stand and the cable management solution – a cable tidy grip and an opening where wires can run. Philips and Evnia branding are found on the bottom left of the monitor’s frame, completing the front-on design of the display. At this point, it’s fair to say that I thoroughly enjoyed the design of the monitor and its welcomed uniqueness when comparing it to other 49-inch panels on the market – which often use a more lackluster all-black design.

Moving to the rear, the monitor sees Evnia Ambiglow lighting utilized on three sides (top and sides) which is fully customizable within the monitor’s OSD. The rear of the monitor offers a fairly simple design, with input ports found at the base of the rear. Small labels can be found underneath each port to highlight where each input resides. A large portion of the panel protrudes out from the rear of the monitor (due to the monitor’s technical gubbins and ports), but nothing out of the ordinary.

Overall, I really enjoyed the design of the Evnia 49M2C8900. It features a unique design that walks a line between futuristic and modern aesthetics. And despite it looking fairly similar to other 49-inch monitors in today’s market, it offered enough variance to make it unique amongst rivals.

Performance

Unlike our normal review process, we opted for a lighter review style for the Evnia 49M2C8900, and despite not being able to fully test the panel’s picture quality, color accuracy, and pixel response times, it still performed to a very high standard.

The 49M2C8900 was an absolute joy to use, offering excellent picture quality when used in a more day-to-day setting. I used the panel for around 2 months and working on it was a fantastic all-round experience – especially when you compare it to the 32-inch AOC AGON PRO AG276QZD that I was using prior.

Work on this thing was a game-changer thanks to its 5120 x 1440 screen resolution – allowing me to have not one, not two, but three decent-sized windows spread across its 1800R curvature. Even splitting the screen three ways gave me enough screen real estate to efficiently work on each tab.

Work aside, the monitor was a great all-rounder for other tasks – including gaming and entertainment consumption – albeit with limited 32:9 content to view. I fired up a movie on this thing and while it did take a few moments to adjust to the enormity of its size, once you do, you’re really watching a movie on this thing. Not only does it look fantastic at face value, but thanks to the QD-OLED panel used, the colors looked fantastic too. As we know, QD-OLED panels utilize OLED technology which means the panel can create perfect blacks and infinite contrast ratio, making those dark scenes really stand out. Like always, we ran through the numerous presets within the monitor’s OSD to find the best fit for our viewing experience.

Looking at other reviewers who were able to get a good read on the color accuracy of this monitor, it seems that it was incredibly accurate right out of the box. Expert Reviews claim that the monitor offered a decent 1.03 delta E color variance right out of the box when using the built-in sRGB preset – which is pretty good when compared to today’s standards. Additionally, the review goes on to discuss the panel’s impressive 171.7% sRGB color coverage – which equates to 121% Adobe RGB and 121.6% DCI-P3.

Gaming

As you can probably imagine at this stage, the Evnia 49M2C8900 offers all the credentials needed for a stunning gaming experience – and that’s exactly what I found.

Being a 240Hz OLED monitor, it’s going to be hard to dislike this panel when it comes to gaming. OLED technology means that the monitor offers up stunningly low input lag and near-instantaneous pixel response time – basically, the perfect marriage for a high-end gaming experience.

When you throw on perfect blacks, an infinite contrast ratio, a 240Hz refresh rate, and a 49-inch behemoth canvas to enjoy your games on, then it’s really a no-brainer for me.

Of course, you don’t have to enjoy the full breadth of this monitor when gaming – you can reduce your screen size by using black bars – take CS 2 as a prime example. I played for at least a couple of hours a day for the first week of having this thing and gaming really was a joy. I noted that there was limited ghosting or overshoot during gameplay, and generally speaking, the panel just looked sharp at all times.

When it comes to flight sims or racing games, however, using the monitor’s full 1800R curvature – which easily fits into one peripheral range – really brings things to life. Flight Simulator looked absolutely amazing on this thing, as did fast-paced racing games thanks to its speed response time and epic proportions.

Overall, I really enjoyed using the 49M2C8900 from a gaming perspective, and why wouldn’t I? It really does offer everything you’d want for a truly immersive experience.

Features

There are plenty of other features on board the monitor as well if just the core specs and performance aren’t enough for you. Starting off with the onboard speakers, which are themselves quite impressive for just something slapped inside the display. With a total combined 30W power in them split across two woofers and two tweeters of equal power, it blasts surprisingly good audio. Helped by being DTS-certified it’s an incredible solution for basic speakers, considering most users will probably be using headphones or a standalone audio setup, it does provide a good alternative.

As for the IO on board, there is quite a good selection when it comes to USBs in particular. The unit can be used as a KVM, with an upstream USB and four downstream connections letting you connect up quite a few devices and switch between one of the main video connectors and one via the USB-C. The latter of which has support for power delivery 3.0 acting as a charger and video port at the same time.

As for the rest of the video inputs, you also get one DisplayPort 1.4 and two HDMI 2.1. That does provide you with a good range of options and the HDMI is the latest standard to get high resolutions and framerates. But the DisplayPort is still on the older side considering DP2 is out, although 1.4 will get the job done to match the monitor’s specs and capabilities at the minimum.

Even then, it has support for FreeSync Premium and is G-Sync compatible. That means you won’t get any bothersome screen tearing and some improved smoothness. That is handy with the high refresh rate monitor when your graphics card can’t quite match with an equal framerate. Plus it comes without the input lag and annoyance of turning on V-Sync.

Verdict

So, the Evnia 49M2C8900 is a monster amongst a growing market of monsters. What can I say – I really enjoyed using this thing and can’t praise it enough right now. Every time I review an OLED monitor it sort of catches me off guard – because I forget just how good they are.

The Evnia offers all the specifications and prowess you’d want for a well-rounded experience, whether you’re gaming or just enjoying day-to-day tasks. It has a star-studded specs sheet and that translates to a truly immersive experience. Philips has utilized a beautiful design for the 49M2C8900 as well, offering up an unobnoxious styling that suits almost any setting.

The only real downside, and I mean only, was that the monitor did experience some heat when using it for long periods of time. However, that may be due to the fact that my office is like a sauna most of the time. Outside of that, you have to say that the Evnia 49M2C8900 is arguably one of the most attractive, value-for-money prospects in the 49-inch OLED range right now.