KITGURU SHORTLISTS: THE BEST MONITOR OF 2026

Being the first monitor we have seen to utilise LG's new 4th Gen Tandem OLED panel, it's hard not to be impressed by the ASUS ROG Strix XG27AQWMG. Brightness is noticeably higher, for instance, hitting almost 325 nits for a full-screen white, while in HDR we saw highlights of almost 1600 nits! The gamut is exceedingly wide, too, offering much higher coverage than previous WOLED panels, while it's also claimed to offer significantly enhanced lifespan thanks to the extra layer.

Having put this screen through our extensive test suite, it's hard not to be impressed with the MSI MPG 272URX. Offering a 4K/240Hz experience over the 27in screen size thanks to Samsung's latest 4th Gen QD-OLED panel, it's safe to say this screen ticks a lot of boxes.

The Philips Evnia 27M2N3501PA is easily the cheapest monitor we have reviewed all year, yet still packs in a Fast IPS panel that offers a 1440p resolution and 260Hz refresh rate, alongside a claimed sRGB colour accuracy deltaE of less than 2. The kicker is the 27M2N3501PA is currently on sale at just £150 here in the UK, with that price promo running until the end of October.

The Philips Evnia 27M2N8500 has been a very interesting screen to assess. Using the same 360Hz QD-OLED panel as the likes of MSI 271QRX and Gigabyte Aorus FO27Q3, the key differentiator here is pricing - the Evnia has a new RRP of just £500 as of May 1st, making it the cheapest 360Hz OLED on the market, and one of the most affordable overall.

The PA27JCV has to go down as the most colour accurate display I have ever tested. Out of the box results are good in their own right, with contrast hitting 1500:1 being a particular highlight for the IPS panel. However, ASUS' colour space modes are supremely well configured, to the point where anyone using the sRGB or DCI-P3 modes wouldn't even need to bother with calibration - they are that good.