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This week, monitor maker Philips unveiled a new brand called Evnia, which the company hopes will restore its foothold in the lucrative market for gaming-specific computer accessories.
Philips is an established and respected manufacturer of computer monitors, although it has never had a game-specific brand before. Philips comes closest to AOC, a Philips brand that makes some of the best gaming monitors out there, but makes monitors for different audiences, not just gamers.
Evnia was designed from the outset to be a brand for gamers, but it definitely eschews the quintessential, aggressive gamer style that has dominated the PC gaming space for the past decade. Rather than build a gaming monitor that looks like a Decepticon, Evnia has a more modern-looking aesthetic, featuring predominantly white chassis with Ambiglow lighting along the back to create an aura lighting effect.
In addition to the lineup of gaming monitors, there is also Evnia PC gaming headsets, gaming keyboards and gaming mice, as well as a gaming mat. The first Evnia model to go on sale, the Philips Evnia 34M2C7600MV, will have an ultra-wide QHD panel (3,440 x 1,440p), with HDR 1400 and a refresh rate of 165 Hz. It will be available from December and has a suggested retail price of €2,069 (about $2,050 / £1,810 / AU$3,240).
While certainly expensive, this is one of the most premium offerings in the Evnia product stack, with less expensive monitors expected to go on sale from mid-January.
Can Philips win converts with its more approachable design?
It’s no secret that PC gaming has a certain style, for better or for worse. For at least a decade, gaming PCs and gaming laptops have generally been defined by how much RGB lighting it has and how much it can resemble a stealth bomber or a sports car.
Too much of anything for such a long time will no doubt be worn by consumers seeking change, and there’s no denying that the game aesthetic hasn’t changed that much in a very long time.
Philips isn’t quite throwing the whole thing out the window with its Evnia brand (it’ll still have RGB lighting, after all), but it does offer something new, design-wise, that’s rarely seen in the PC gaming space.
Will it be enough to win over gamers? It’s too early to say, but if there was ever a way to break back into the PC gaming space with a new product line, refreshing design is definitely a great place to start.