What's the ultimate productivity monitor form factor? 32-inch 4K? Nice, but arguably a little constraining when it comes to running lots of app windows side by side. 34-inch ultrawide, then? Maybe, but the pixel density isn't great. The same goes for one of those 49-inch 32:9 aspect beasts. No, what you want is the new Philips 40B1U6903CH, all 40 inches and five thousand pixels of it.

That's five thousand pixels in just the horizontal, of course. This is a 5K2K panel, so that's 5,120 by 2,160 pixels for a grand total of 11 million pixels overall. Phew. To put that into context, this is really a 32-inch 4K monitor with some extra width. The pixel density is exactly the same, but the panel aspect is extended here from 16:9 to 21:9.

The immediate upshot is that where a 16:9 32-incher is most comfortable with two app windows side by side, you can make the jump to three with this Philips while maintaining the same crispy fonts and image detail. 

Having tested many of the best 5K and 8K monitors and best business monitors, we can safely say this is a pretty large display. So ergonomics do come into the, well, picture in a manner that arguably doesn't quite apply to a conventional 32-inch 4K monitor.

More on that in a moment. Size and resolution aside, this very much a productivity panel. So there's no high refresh or true HDR sizzle, but there is lots of connectivity. Time to find out more.

Philips 40B1U6903CH: Design & features

• Sober-suited but well-built
• Connectivity includes Thunderbolt 4 and KVM switch 
• It's big and needs plenty of desk space 

The Philips 40B1U6903CH is an out-and-out productivity panel. And that's just fine by us. It's very much all business when it comes to the design and aesthetic. But it's well built and about as ergonomic as a display this big can be. 

That includes a headphone hook on  the left of the panel and an integrated pop-up 5MP webcam up top. The latter supports Windows Hello facial recognition, which is a nice touch. Then there's the Thunderbolt 4 / USB-C interface which supports 40Gbps, plus up to 90W of power delivery for single-cable connectivity to a laptop.

There's a second Thunderbolt 4 port, too, which enables multi-monitor daisy-chaining. All that combined with the built-in KVM switch - so no need to worry about best KVM Switches deals - will really help with minimising cable clutter. At 40 inches, of course, this is still a beast of a monitor for which you'll require plenty of desk space. For some, the sheer size will simply be too much. But all those features will help you integrate the Philips 40B1U6903CH neatly into your workspace.

The panel also has a gentle 2500R curve, which is generally desirable on an ultrawide monitor this big. It means that you're not viewing the extremities of the panel at too oblique an angle. The only arguable ergonomic snafu is that the audio-out port is located on the side of the panel. That's fine for headphones, but less optimal for long-term usage connected to some desktop speakers.

Philips 40B1U6903CH: Performance

• Huge size with sharp pixel density 
• Nice IPS panel but not high fidelity 
• Limited HDR capability 

For pure image quality, this is a fairly middling IPS monitor. While the panel will process an HDR10 signal, there's no true HDR support or local dimming and the brightness tops out at 300 nits. Similarly, the refresh rate tops out at 75Hz and the response is rated at 4ms.

Philips doesn't quote DCI-P3 colour coverage, so it likely isn't anything special. This isn't a monitor pitched at professional content creation like video or image editing. The lack of true HDR support won't matter for most all-round computing tasks, but the mere 300 nits brightness could be more of an issue. It's plenty for most working environments. But if you like a really bright and punchy panel and especially if you use your PC in a location with lots of ambient light, 300 nits could be marginal. Were this a gaming monitor, those shortcomings would be more of an issue. As it is, they're something to be aware of regarding your needs and workflows.

The main benefit here, then, is all those pixels from the 40-inch, 5,120 by 2,160 resolution panel. If what you've been waiting for is a large format ultrawide monitor that doesn't compromise on pixel density, well, this is it. Fonts are just as crisp and sharp as a 32-inch 4K panel and there's just oodles of both working space and image detail.

These days, Windows does a much better job of handling a panel like this in terms of the DPI settings. For most users, setting the scaling to 125% is probably a nice compromise between working space and legibility. Texts and icons are a bit teensy weensy when the scaling is set to 100%.

Moreover, this is a fantastic display for getting stuff done. The combination of huge working space with the sharpness and precision of the 5K2K resolution is a bit of a revelation. A "regular" 32-inch 4K monitor feels very limiting by comparison.

This monitor can work well with Macs, too. The catch involves the way MacOS does scaling. Without getting into the weeds over the details, to get the best results, you'll need a Mac with one of the M Pro, Max or Ultra chips. The base M chips can drive this monitor at full native. However, they have more limited support for scaling options while maintaining high-DPI Retina functionality. In really simple terms, this display is one of the best monitors for MacBook Pro, Mac Studio, and Mac Pro, but less so with the MacBook Air and Mac mini. 

Philips 40B1U6903CH: Final verdict

No question, the Philips 40B1U6903CH comes with a few caveats. There's no high refresh, almost no HDR support, not a huge amount of pure backlight power. The IPS panel isn't terribly high fidelity, either, so serious content creation pros will need to look elsewhere. The ergonomics won't suit everyone, either, this is a very large display, and the high resolution is a little problematic with low-end Apple Mac computers.

But if what you want is image precision, in terms of high pixel density, on a much larger scale, this monitor is a revelation. Even a 32-inch 4K monitor feels limited and constraining by comparison.

You also get a really strong feature set with excellent connectivity that includes Thunderbolt 4 and a KVM switch. The integrated webcam with Windows Hello facial recognition is welcome, too. All of which means that for a certain kind of all-purpose precision productivity computing on a really epic scale, this monitor is about as appealing as it gets.

All of which means that the main sticking point will be pricing. You can get a very nice 4K 32-inch productivity panel for less than one third the cost of this monitor. So, it's a huge premium for the ultrawide experience. But then in terms of size and pixel density, this is ultimately an extremely high-end option. And that's always going to cost.

Pair the Philips 40B1U6903CH monitor with the best business computers - tested, reviewed, and rated by us 

Laptops come in nearly all shapes and sizes. However, there is an upper realistic limit to screen size. Which is where the best portable monitors fit in. 

The new Asus Zenscreen MB249C is an example on the larger side of portable screens. At 24 inches, it's much bigger than any laptop display. But, in theory at least, this portable monitor gives you the option of something bigger on the move. Obviously at 24 inches and 2.8kg, this isn't something you're going to slip into your shoulder bag. But with its integrated kickstand, speakers and USB-C with 60W of power delivery, you could leave your laptop charger behind and pack this screen instead.

The idea isn't so much pulling this screen out at a coffee shop or the airport. Moreover, it gives you a reasonably portable way of achieving a more ergonomic desktop monitor experience at multiple locations.

The Asus Zenscreen MB249C also comes with a C-clamp stand that provides a more permanent desk setup but also sports a quick-release mechanism, plus a frame kit that allows the screen to be hung from the top of office partitions. A little niche, perhaps, but this monitor certainly gives you lots of install options.

If there is a catch it's that it's limited to 1080p resolution and 75Hz refresh. Given the panel size, that's perhaps not a huge surprise. But a higher resolution would have been an interesting way of achieving a premium computing experience on the move. As it is, the pixel density is very low, albeit the panel sports IPS technology, which bodes well for other aspects of image quality. 

Asus Zenscreen MB249C: Design & features

• Lots of installation options 
• Slim bezels 
• Not actually all that portable 

The Asus Zenscreen MB249C's 24-inch panel is both a blessing and a curse. The upside is that you get far more screen real estate than any laptop. The downside is that it's not actually all that portable.

The built-in kickstand does mean that the overall unit, which measures 53.93 by 34.63 by 2.36 centimetres, is fairly slim. The slim bezels on three sides of the panel keep the proportions in check, too. But it's not all that much smaller than a conventional monitor with the clip-in stand removed. At 2.8kg, it's not exactly ultra-light, either, though it is certainly lighter than most conventional monitors of a similar size.

Still, put it this way. It's a pretty narrow use case where you'd be happy to take this monitor with you, but for those that do, this display is reasonably well thought out.

The kickstand on the rear doubles as a carry handle and the USB-C input has 60W of power delivery. So, you can leave your laptop charger behind and power it from the MB249C. There's also an HDMI input, so connecting to most device types shouldn't be a problem.

In terms of other more permanent and semi-permanent installation options, included in the box is a C-clamp arm with a pivot arm for fixing the screen to a desk. It adjusts for not only tilt, swivel and rotation into portrait mode, but also up to 144mm of extension.

So, you could have that as your daily setup, and then pull the screen off from the quick-release attachment and use the kickstand on the move. There's also a frame that allows it to be hung from the top of office partition walls and offers 150mm of height adjustment.

Asus Zenscreen MB249C: Performance

• Low pixel density
• No HDR support
• Terrible speakers

A few years ago, the specifications and performance of this display would have been unremarkable. Here in 2024, it all feels a little dated. 

The Asus Zenscreen MB249C runs what would have been a perfectly adequate 24-inch panel. It's IPS, so the colours are pretty accurate and the viewing angles are good. It's actually reasonably bright, too, and in that regard far exceeds the lowly expectations set by the very modest 250 nit specification.

There's no HDR support at all, however, and the refresh rate tops out at 75Hz. There is adaptive refresh support, but the low refresh rate and mere 5ms response are hardly the stuff of gaming joy. That's tolerable for many productivity applications, of course, but it's also all pretty low spec by today's standards.

More of a problem is the poor pixel density. The native resolution of 1,920 by 1,080 on a 24-inch panel makes for pretty big, blocky pixels. That makes for pretty rough looking fonts and icons, and generally not a lot of image detail. It also means that you've got no more usable desktop real estate than most laptops. If anything, you might have less, depending on how you have your scaling set up.

Moreover, this monitor would be so much more appealing with a higher resolution of at least 2,560 by 1,600. You'd have nicer, sharper fonts plus the option of more working space. As it is, the experience feels a little low rent and dated. You'd really have to want the portability aspect an awful lot to put up with it.

As for the built-in speakers, they're absolutely awful, with a harsh and thin tone, plus little volume on offer. Even a budget laptop will have as good or better speakers, and something like a MacBook Air let alone a MacBook Pro is on another level for audio quality. In truth, the speakers would have been better left out, they're borderline useless.

Asus Zenscreen MB249C: Final verdict

This is not a terrible monitor. It's well calibrated and offers reasonable image quality from its IPS panel. However, the low pixel density makes for a dated viewing experience, with rough looking fonts. It also means that you're not getting much desktop working space, which surely defeats the whole object of lugging around what isn't a hugely portable device—namely to give you that extra space. The audio quality from the speakers is horrendous, too.

There are some nice features. The C-clamp with pivot arm is a welcome extra. The USB-C with 60W of power delivery also means you won't need to bring your laptop's power supply with you.

But overall, the limited portability and poor pixel density combine to compromise the appeal and utility of the Asus Zenscreen MB249C fairly comprehensively. It's just not a product that will make sense save for a very limited set of niche use cases.

For more screen recommendations, we reviewed the best business monitors

With a bigger screen, you can get more done. That's the basic theory behind Philips' latest ultrawide productivity panel, the Philips 40B1U5600. It's a 40-inch beast with a 21:9 aspect ratio.

Aiming to be one of the best business monitors with a large panel and plenty of screen real estate, it adds a range of features that help you get work done. For starters, there's a KVM switch allowing you to share this monitor across two computers. Then there's USB-C connectivity with power delivery, so you can drive the display, charge your laptop and connect peripherals, all with a single cable.

For image quality, the good news is that you get an IPS panel that supports HDR and runs at 120Hz. That relatively high refresh is normally the preserve of gaming monitors. But it has a benefit for general computing in terms of day-to-day smoothness and responsiveness. 

Similar thinking applies to HDR support. It's not directly relevant for most mainstream workflows, but it's nice to have. If all that sounds impressive, there is a catch. The Philips 40B1U5600 only offers a native resolution of 3440 by 1440. That's pretty low for such a large display.

Likewise, the HDR support is fairly limited and the USB-C charging power tops out at just 15W. That latter figure is arguably the most problematic of all, as it's not enough to stop even the best business laptops from discharging when under moderate to heavy load. 

Philips 40B1U5600: Design & features

• Strong feature set
• KVM switch
• Mostly good connectivity
• USB-C limited to 15W power delivery

As a productivity-oriented monitor, it's no surprise to find the Philips 40B1U5600 is pretty sober suited. The all-black plastics and unadorned, straight-edged design is fairly anonymous. That said, the large 40-inch panel size and ultrawide 21:9 aspect ratio do make for plenty of desktop appeal. This isn't your average office monitor.

It's also pretty ergonomic for such a large display, thanks to a stand that adjusts for height, tilt and swivel and a plug-out arm for hanging headphones. Speaking of ergonomics, most ultrawide displays of this large scale feature a curved rather than flat screen.

Consequently, it's notable that the edges of the display do feel like they're at quite an oblique angle when viewing the monitor from a normal working distance. In the end curved versus flat is a personal preference. But if curved makes sense at all, it makes sense on this size and format of display and a gentle curve would probably be preferable here.

Whatever, you also get a KVM switch allowing this monitor to share a single keyboard and mouse across two computers. Even better, there's USB-C connectivity with power delivery. That means you can drive the display, charge your laptop and connect peripherals, all with a single cable.

Philips has specified the power delivery at 100W, which should be enough to keep even pretty high performance desktop replacement laptops fully charged under fairly heavy load. All of which means this monitor is very well specified in terms of connectivity and ergonomics.

Philips 40B1U5600: Performance

• Nice IPS panel
• Low pixel density
• Limited colour space and HDR support

The Philips 40B1U5600's IPS panel is a decent performer. It's rated at up to 500 nits, which is plenty of punch for all by the brightest indoor ambient light conditions.

There is HDR support, but it's the entry-level HDR400 variety, which means no local dimming and limited dynamic range. This isn't a true HDR monitor, but it does support an HDR signal and will show the colours correctly.

It's just a pity that the colour balance of SDR content in HDR mode is a little off. In practice, that means you'll have to toggle between HDR and SDR modes depending on content type to ensure the best image quality results. That's a bit of a pain, but probably only a problem if you need to view HDR content regularly.

Similarly, the OSD menu offers a pretty limited range of colour spaces, with just sRGB beyond the default user mode. So, don’t go in expecting one of the best monitors for photo editing or the best video editing monitor. It’s not aimed at those users, and as such, it's not the end of the world that there's no Adobe RGB or DCI-P3 mode. And the IPS panel is pretty well calibrated and offers pleasing, well saturated colours and decent contrast for this panel type.

The 120Hz refresh support is also a nice extra. It's not strictly necessary for most workflows. But it makes for an added sense of smoothness and responsiveness for day-to-day computing. Put simply, once you've tried 120Hz or higher, you won't want to go back to the old school 60Hz experience. 120Hz is just better.

What's more, you get user-configurable overdrive, so you can tweak the response to your preference. This is a fairly quick display and even if it's not actually designed for gaming it isn't actually half bad as a gaming panel.

Where it isn't so good is pixel density. The 3440 by 1440 pixel native resolution is pretty low for a 40-inch ultrawide panel and makes for low pixel density. As a result, images aren't as sharp as higher resolution monitors and font rendering isn't as sharp.

In Windows, font rendering is tolerable on this display and as an overall productivity device, the Philips 40B1U5600 is pretty appealing. However, in MacOS using, say, an Apple MacBook, text is very soft due to the low pixel density.

Philips 40B1U5600: Final verdict

As a big screen for getting stuff done, the Philips 40B1U5600 has lots to recommend it. The connectivity, including a KVM switch and USB-C with 100W of power delivery is great. The core image quality of the 40-inch ultrawide IPS panel is pretty nice, too.

The basic HDR support plus 120Hz refresh are likewise welcome extras and ensure this monitor is pretty versatile and very pleasant to use day-to-day. It'll even make a decent fist of playing games.

Despite all that, there is one pretty obvious limitation and it's pixel density. 3440 by 1440 is quite a low resolution for this large a monitor and both overall sharpness and font rendering do suffer. For Windows users, this remains a pretty usable monitor. But this is in no way one of the best monitors for MacBook Pro laptops and Macs, and we'd advise Apple users to steer clear since macOS isn't terribly well-optimised in terms of font rendering for pixel density this low. 

Pair the Philips 40B1U5600 monitor with the best business computers - tested, reviewed, and rated by us