Philips 345E2AE 34″ WQHD Ultrawide Monitor Review

A Closer Look

First impressions are good, and for such a large monitor, it’s not overly heavy, which is a little bit of an indication of the lower price point, as less weight means fewer raw materials costs usually. However, it also means it’ll be pretty easy to accommodate on a cheap wall mount if you so desired.

The panel on the 345E2AE looks alright, doing a modest job of dealing with reflections, Phillips says it has an “Anti-Glare, 3H, Haze 25%” coating. The panel isn’t curved though, and I must admit, it’s not often we see flat panels in this ultrawide format anymore. Of course, that’s a bit of a preference, but to me, it gives this more of a home/office vibe rather than a more immersion-focused gaming monitor.

The bezels are pretty slim on all sides, so matching up with multiple displays should be easy enough. Other than that though, there are very few distractions on this monitor, it’s just a big panel and a surprisingly neat and tidy stand.

Around the back, it has a single thumbstick control that controls the power (hold it down) or opens the UI by tapping it up/down/left/right, but strangely clicking it isn’t an OK or open menu. The main UI opens specifically by tapping right, with shortcut menus in the other directions.

The port layout is simple enough, with a pair of HDMI ports and a single DisplayPort. Philips doesn’t provide the specifications of these ports, so they’re unlikely the latest generations, but at this resolution and refresh rate, those aren’t required anyway.