Microsoft Adds Monitors to its “Designed for Xbox” Program

Late last year, before the release of the Xbox Series S and X, Microsoft updated its “Designed for Xbox” program to focus on continuous compatibility across generations. And announced today, for the first time, they are adding monitors to the program.

The key for these pieces of hardware is that they take advantage of all of the visual protocols that the Xbox Series S and X support. Meaning, if you see the “Designed for Xbox” on a monitor, it will support HDMI 2.1 and features like HDR, 4K at 120Hz, and Variable Refresh Rate (VRR).

The idea is that with a confusing array of HDMI support, display technologies, and other variables like refresh rate, finding a monitor that supports all the features provided by the Series S and X can be difficult for gamers who don’t live in the trenches of “tech specs”. Keep in mind that these are high-end displays and don’t come cheap but for those wanting to experience the best visual quality, these displays are a good place to start.

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Philips Momentum 559M1RYV 55” – $1599.99

The Philips Momentum supports 4K resolution at 120Hz powered by AMD FreeSync Premium Pro technology to reduce screen tearing. It also introduces a new, dedicated Xbox picture mode. Players can enjoy high-contrast HDR with the VESA Certified DisplayHDR 1000, offering local-dimming and peak luminance more than 3x that of mid-grade displays on the market.

ASUS Strix Xbox Edition Gaming Monitor XG43UQ 43” – Price not announced yet

The ASUS ROG Strix Xbox edition comes in at 43 inches, delivering 4K UHD visuals and a 1ms moving picture response time, 120Hz gaming with HDMI 2.1, and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro.

Acer Xbox Edition Gaming Monitor XV282K KV 28” – $949.99

The Acer 28” Xbox Edition Gaming Monitor supports 4K at 120Hz and HDMI 2.1,  AMD FreeSync Premium Pro ready. Equipped with Acer VisionCare 3.0, the Acer Xbox Edition Gaming Monitor is among the first monitors to be TUV/Eyesafe certified.

Microsoft and the “Designed for Xbox” program are also dipping their toes into the cable game too. To unlock all the features these monitors offer, you will need an HDMI 2.1 cable at various lengths. But as long as you understand the differences in HDMI cables, and I don’t blame you if you don’t, you can likely find alternative cables that are not part of the program that work too.

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Conversation 20 comments

  • navarac

    22 June, 2021 - 11:54 am

    <p>Shame. I was expecting to read the monitor used in the Surface Studio would be on the list.</p>

    • Brad Sams

      Premium Member
      22 June, 2021 - 12:32 pm

      <p>I dont think it’s possible to connect an Xbox to a Surface Studio.</p>

      • navarac

        22 June, 2021 - 12:50 pm

        <p>I think you are right, in hindsight. Thanks.</p>

  • tk chillin

    22 June, 2021 - 1:46 pm

    <p>I like to sit a certain distance from my screen and for me 55" screen is the sweet spot for gaming. The $1500 dollar price is a bit steep for a screen that’s not an OLED!</p>

    • thretosix

      23 June, 2021 - 10:01 am

      <p>Not everyone wants an OLED, they can have burn in with static images such as the home screen or when someone plays a particular game repetitively. I had this problem with a plasma years ago, seen it happen on many OLED phones, backlit VA panels have zero burn in and are quite fine which also tend to have higher peak brightness for HDR because OLEDs can overheat. OLEDS have great blacks but local dimming has come a long way. I’m not trying to trash OLEDs they are beautiful in their own right, I’m just saying there is nothing wrong with LCD panels. There are some great gaming TVs around $1500 that use VA backlit LCD panels with local dimming.</p>

    • thretosix

      23 June, 2021 - 10:10 am

      <p>Sorry no edit. If someone is paying $1500 for a 55" VA panel they are getting robbed, they are closer to $1000 for a good one brand new. </p>

  • nbplopes

    22 June, 2021 - 1:57 pm

    <p>Money grab</p>

    • jimchamplin

      Premium Member
      22 June, 2021 - 2:24 pm

      <p>Literally <em>everything</em> a business does is a “money grab.” Their goal is to sell you things.</p>

      • nbplopes

        22 June, 2021 - 4:15 pm

        <p>Interesting POV. When I buy bread, strawberries, petrol … one does not think of “money grab” buy a simple transaction.</p><p><br></p><p>In spite of your best afforded to cloud you mind over this, Money grab is a term used when little to now value is being offered in return for a premium or for the price.</p><p><br></p><p>It personally don’t think MS is qualified to certify the quality of any of these hardware. Heck they aren’t qualified to certify the quality of their according to the Surface line long lineage of defective designs.</p><p><br></p><p>When J buy a</p><p><br></p><p><br></p>

        • jimchamplin

          Premium Member
          22 June, 2021 - 4:21 pm

          <p>Love the condescending diction in the second paragraph there. Really good discourse. 10/10 would have conversation again.</p>

          • IanYates82

            Premium Member
            22 June, 2021 - 5:26 pm

            <p>Yeah, he made a quality contribution there. </p><p><br></p><p>I think he also misses that it’s not Microsoft designing these monitors. There are specs to meet to do all the things an xbox can do with a display. If those specs are met, then that’s great. </p><p><br></p><p>There may well be a branding thing and exchange of money, or there may not. I’m actually guessing the latter at the moment since this could actually harm sales (small minority of PS5 fans) and Microsoft is keen for people to get into the ecosystem (more "xbox" devices helps in my opinion) </p>

            • jimchamplin

              Premium Member
              22 June, 2021 - 7:54 pm

              <p>My point was simply that Microsoft is wanting to move products, and probably through their storefront and that this is what any business would want to do. As someone who works in retail, the reality that companies want to sell products is rather understandable to me.</p><p><br></p><p>The brusque nature of the reply that I received made it seem that the poster I was replying to wanted to downplay my intelligence and/or experience. I felt it was rude and condescending, original point notwithstanding. </p><p><br></p><p>Businesses want to make money. Microsoft is a business that sells things. Therefore, they want to sell you things. If they can support products that make their own products sell better, that’s within their normal interests.</p>

          • nbplopes

            22 June, 2021 - 6:42 pm

            <p>Its not at all condescending. If you want to believe that “money grab” means the same as “selling” its ok by me, but don’t expect people to follow. But you already know that is not that is why you tried to redefine de term to excuse the marketing at hand.</p>

    • Calibr21

      22 June, 2021 - 7:36 pm

      <p>Not a money grab. Not many hdmi 2.1 VRR monitors out there. If this incentivizes manufacturers to build them because now they get bonus Xbox monitoring then that’s a good thing. As a buyer it’s nice to know the display was at least tested with an Xbox. </p><p><br></p><p>The hdmi cable cert is a good thing too. I’ve purchased two separate 25 foot “high speed hdmi 2.0” cables and neither of those can display 4:4:4 4k 60hz without artifacts. I wouldn’t imagine trying to find a 25ft cable that does 120hz…</p>

      • thretosix

        23 June, 2021 - 10:06 am

        <p>The length is likely the issue. I don’t know if it will help but try HDMI 2.1 cables that have a higher bandwidth, perhaps may resolve some of what is getting lost in the 2.0 cables. I believe it is somewhere around 10 feet where you may start getting some artifacts or performance hits.</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      23 June, 2021 - 12:51 pm

      Yeah. It’s a business, not a charity.

      Successful businesses can "grab" money when they sell something that customers want.

  • whistlerpro

    22 June, 2021 - 2:44 pm

    <p>Will there be “designed for Xbox” TVs I wonder.</p>

    • vernonlvincent

      Premium Member
      22 June, 2021 - 4:23 pm

      <p>Well – there are Designed for XBOX Refrigerators, so that kind of expands the possibilities here.</p>

      • nbplopes

        22 June, 2021 - 6:52 pm

        <p>Special kettles for the perfect XBOX coffee brew is the next. Let’s just go wild.</p>

  • bettyblue

    22 June, 2021 - 11:48 pm

    <p>I have my XSX on a 27inch 1440p, 144hz IPS gaming monitor. I have enabled 120hz and VRR on my XSX and it works great. The PS5 really needs to support 1440p and VRR.</p><p><br></p><p>While 4K is nicer than 1440p on paper, on a 27inch monitor it’s really hard to tell. Add to that most games are not really 4K on the Xbox (or PS), but some lower resolution upped and lowered via dynamic resolution. Depending upon the game it is not un common to see it go from 1080p to 2160P up and down with an average at 1440p-1800p.</p>

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