What you need to know
- The 'Designed for Xbox' program guarantees a level of quality and feature support across a wide range of Xbox accessories.
- Now, the program also includes high-end gaming monitors that fully support the Xbox Series X and S, with three monitors being announced today.
- All three monitors support features like 4K at 120 FPS gaming, HDR, Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), and more, powered through HDMI 2.1.
- Designed for Xbox monitors will continue to be revealed over time, and hopefully, make it easier to find the best monitor for Xbox or PC gaming.
The Designed for Xbox program offers a brand of certification for Xbox accessories that guarantee compatibility and a certain feature set, and it applies to a wide range of accessories like some of the best Xbox controllers and best Xbox headsets. Now, Xbox has announced new Designed for Xbox monitors, which promise an awesome gaming experience across PC, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S.
Designed for Xbox monitors support all the best Xbox Series X|S features, including HDR, Variable Refresh Rate (VRR), and a 4K resolution at 120hz or greater. They accomplish all of this through the power of HDMI 2.1 ports, which are necessary to get the most out of Xbox Series X and S. Xbox has announced three monitors in the Designed for Xbox program, which release later this year. More are bound to be announced as more manufacturers seek to earn the new "Gaming Features for Xbox" brand for their gaming monitors.
The three new Designed for Xbox monitors include:
- Philips Momentum 559M1RYV 55". The highest-end monitor announced, the Philips Momentum is a 55" inch beast of a monitor, and includes a full soundbar and ambient lights built-in. This monitor is the complete package, and has support for a dedicated Xbox gaming picture mode, full DisplayHDR 1000, and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro. The Phillips Momentum arrives later this summer for a whopping $1,600.
- ASUS Strix Xbox Edition Gaming Monitor XG43UQ 43". The ASUS Strix Xbox Edition is slightly more reasonable than the Phillips Momentum, dropping the built-in soundbar and ambient lights but keeping all of the premium gaming features like DisplayHDR 1000 certification, 4K at 120hz, and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro. This monitor also boasts of an extremely fast response time. The ASUS Strick Xbox Edition will be available in October 2021 at around $1,400, although prices may vary.
- Acer Xbox Edition Gaming Monitor XV282K KV 28". Finally, we have the Acer Xbox Edition. While the smallest and most affordable of the three new Designed for Xbox monitors, this display is no less impressive. Offering 4K at 120hz, DisplayHDR 400 support, and even a dedicated switch to quickly change between multiple devices, this monitor is perfect for those with both an Xbox and gaming PC. The Acer Xbox Edition will be available this fall for $950.
The first three monitors announced for the Designed for Xbox program certainly look impressive, but they're not the only displays that offer this feature set for Xbox Series X|S. If you're in the market for a new TV or monitor right now, you don't have to wait. Be sure to check out our best monitors for Xbox Series X|S and best 4K TVs for Xbox Series X|S.
Less exciting than the new monitor announcements, there's also a new Designed for Xbox HDMI cable, which promises to support all the latest features from HDMI 2.1 over unprecedented distances. For a cost, that is. The Cable Matters Certified Active Ultra High Speed HDMI Cable is now available, which you can check out below.
Only the best.
If you need an HDMI cable that can handle all the ridiculous gaming and viewing content you'll throw at it, but can also span longer distances, you may need to invest in something like the new Designed for Xbox Cable Matters HDMI cable, which supports HDMI 2.1 features like 4K at 120hz, 8K, and more.
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