Philips is giving its insanely-wide 49-inch monitor a resolution bump

Philips is outfitting its super-wide Brilliance 492P8 monitor with an upgraded QHD panel for its US debut later this year, the company announced. It won't be the first 49-inch monitor when it arrives, but it will offer more pixels than Samsung's CHG90, which is already available to purchase.

When the Brilliance 492P8 was first announced at IFA earlier this year, it had a 3840x1080 resolution, the same as Samsung's massively wide monitor. That's getting bumped up to 5120x1440. As such, it will retain its 32:9 aspect ratio, while qualifying as the highest resolution 32:9 display to date.

Outside of the bump in resolution, other specs remain the same. Philips is still using a VA panel with an 1800R curvature, and it's still rated to deliver a max brightness of 600 nits with a 5,000:1 contrast ratio and 178-degree viewing angles (horizontal and vertical). There is no mention of the refresh rate. Connectivity options look fairly robust with DisplayPort, HDMI, USB-C, VGA (D-Sub), USB 3.0 Type-A, and Ethernet ports all on tap.

Philips appears to be targeting the professional market rather than gaming, with the pitch that its 49-inch panel can replace a multi-monitor setup. It's a different approach than the one Samsung has been taking with its own 49-inch monitor. Samsung's double-wide display offers certain gaming amenities that the Philips display seems to lack, notably HDR and FreeSync 2 support. You also get a 144Hz refresh rate with Samsung's monitor, whereas Philips hasn't specified the refresh rate on its Brilliance 492P8.

The lack of a gaming focus does make sense, as driving a 5120x1440 resolution is nearly as demanding as driving 4k, which is something most gaming PCs can't handle at reasonable refresh rates. Still, fans of surround gaming setups would certainly be interested in the seamless doublewide approach to gaming.

Philips will bring its Brilliance 492P8 to the US market sometime in the fourth quarter of this year. There's no mention of price. For reference, AnandTech reported in September that it would cost €899 ($1,077), but that was before Philips upgraded the resolution. Samsung's CHG90 sells for £1,182 in the UK and $950 in the US.

Paul has been playing PC games and raking his knuckles on computer hardware since the Commodore 64. He does not have any tattoos, but thinks it would be cool to get one that reads LOAD"*",8,1. In his off time, he rides motorcycles and wrestles alligators (only one of those is true).