I’ve long relied on a dual-monitor setup, keeping work on one screen and Slack/email on the other. It felt so natural that I doubted a curved ultrawide would suit me.
But testing Innocn’s 49-inch ultrawide OLED monster changed everything. The curve enhances working focus, the 5K2K space makes compartmentalizing tasks effortless, and 32:9 OLED gaming is pure immersion — there’s no going back.
And do you know what’s even better? While others charge over $1,200 for an IPS panel (looking at you, Dell), Innocn’s 49QR1 is just $799 — $200 off for the Amazon Spring Sale. Let me tell you a bit about why this should be your next essential upgrade.
A massive canvas
So I know Innocn is really keen for me to tell you about gaming first, but I want to keep going on productivity. Because this has been the real game-changer for me. To take you through my average day:
- A whole lot of writing (duh)
- Photo and video editing
- Email and Slack
- Plenty of meetings
Normally, I’d have meetings and comms pawned off onto my secondary vertical display, and I feared that using a single ultrawide would muddle things up again. But a 49-inch screen is a lot of space that I was able to truly use to my advantage.
For the photos and video, that OLED flash flood of color ensured accuracy on a level my previous IPS panel simply couldn’t. The vast expanse of that 1800R curve (if you see an R number, that calculates the radius of the curvature), means you can pop apps just out of your peripheral vision to look at later.
And there’s all the I/O you could possibly want to slot this nicely into any setup — including HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4, but also USB-C with power delivery, and 2x USB-A for plugging in your peripherals to use across systems.
Put simply, this armed it perfectly for me, as I work on my M3 Pro MacBook Pro, and I game on my RTX 5070 Ti machine. Speaking of gaming…
Immersive gaming
Up until the moment I added Innocn’s monitor into my setup, I’d become used to 16:9 gaming. The traditional widescreen for play hasn’t let me down, but now I’m up to 32:9 on a 144Hz OLED panel, and I realize the constraints in playing like this.
There’s a new level of immersion that I never thought was possible — kind of like a middle ground between donning a VR headset and going to the movie theater.
There’s a new level of immersion that I never thought was possible — kind of like a middle ground between donning a VR headset and going to the movie theater. Playing Spider-Man 2 was a true revelation of watching so much of New York fly past in your peripheral vision in all its ray-traced glory.
Nvidia G-Sync ensures every frame is locked with zero screen tear, and it is a truly mesmerizing experience that feels super responsive too with a 0.03ms response time.
Oh, and as the sim racing guy on the Tom’s Guide team, giving this a whirl with my Logitech G Pro and PlaySeat Formula Instinct seat is a driving thrill that I’m struggling to put into words.
The extra visibility of the sides helps give you a better view of any cars alongside you for cleaner racing, and the curvature literally wraps the racing around you.
Should you buy it?
Now, in a trying time for the economy, I know every tech purchase needs to be a long-term investment that you won’t regret. So let me break this down.
This is (without a doubt) one of my favorite ever monitors for productivity and gaming, and with that does come a premium price of $800. However, when you compare that to the rest of the market — especially the big brand names — this is an incredible value for money.
I know I mentioned Dell up top, but Asus, Acer, Lenovo and more are expecting you to pay well over $1,000 for something similar. Innocn has truly shaken up this particular category with a shockingly great monitor at an even more shockingly low price for what you get.
So if you’re looking to level up your gaming and improve your working focus, this is the one to buy.
