Philips 27B2U6903 4K UHD Business Monitor with Thunderbolt 4
design
I’ve reviewed plenty of gaming-focused monitors lately, including members of Philips own Envia line, so from a design standpoint the 27B2U6903 is actually a breath of fresh air. Those other monitors like the Evnia 49M2C8900L are perfectly pretty, but they’re also quite a lot to take in at times, and it’s nice to see the brand strip it back for the more suit and tie 27B2U6903.
The Philips 27B2U6903 and its included stand are understated and simple, but with a little ‘business chic’ too. Only available in black, the rear features a subtle ribbon design while the stand is simultaneously slightly glossy and slightly brushed. It’s all plastic but everything feels premium and sturdy with plenty of weight in the stand base. As you’d expect if you want to do away with the stand there’s a VESA mount adapter included in the box, I’ve used the 27B2U6903 both with and without the standard in this review.
Although I did away with it part way through testing in favour of mounting the 27B2U6903 on a monitor arm, I was really impressed with its included stand. Compared to the giant, encroaching tree root legs of the 42M2N8900 gaming monitor, the Philips 27B2U6903 foot is compact and petite. The main central column barely extends outside of the footprint of the base with the monitor itself sitting nearly dead centre, meaning you won’t lose too much dead space and can push the 27B2U6903 quite close up to a wall. The base is also completely flat and as the vertical pillar is mounted towards the back of the base, most of the surface of the stand is still usable desk space. For a busy workspace, not losing this desktop real estate to the stand is a surprisingly impactful win and something I’ve seen plenty of other monitors fall foul of.
In an age of microscopic screen bezels the Philips 27B2U6903 doesn’t particularly impress or disappoint. There’s 4-5mm of bezel along the top and sides of the monitor, along with quite a chunky bottom chin. I’d say Philips have pushed this bottom lip about as far as they could before I’d begin to criticise it for being outdated-ly large. The one benefit of this (for me at least) is it allows for simple, front-mounted control buttons. No, they’re not the prettiest thing but they are infinitely more usable than the awkward rear-mounted thumbstick that’s starting to become the norm.
performance
For the last few weeks I’ve tested the Philips 27B2U6903 business monitor in the way I imagine most would use it, sitting alongside my laptop as a second, though primary screen. The simplest summary is that apart from a few quirks which may be more a Windows problem than a Philips one, it was a wonderful working companion for day to day use.
Unsurprisingly with an Ultra HD 4K resolution, the Philips 27B2U6903 delivers a wonderfully sharp picture and while you’d usually associate high-resolution displays with media content I found it particularly useful for less glamorous content too. Text remained crisp even at smaller font sizes and busy spreadsheets felt a little easier to digest. A 60Hz refresh rate might fall short of the lofty heights of many internal laptop displays in 2025 but realistically it’s plenty for day to day use and I never felt like the Philips 27B2U6903 was lagging behind.
It feels slightly strange to push the actual display itself to the back burner in a review of a monitor but for business use there were other features of the Philips 27B2U6903 that I found more interesting. The most useful of these was the great selection of ports available on the Philips 27B2U6903. Not only are there a boatload of them, they’re spread between both the rear and side of the unit which makes them super practical. You’re spoiled for input choice with two USB-A and two USB-C ports on the rear, with an extra pair of USB-A ports (one of which supports fast charging) and another USB-C input on the side. That’s a hefty selection and it doesn’t stop there.
The Philips 27B2U6903 is the first monitor I’ve used that features a 2.5Gbps-rated ethernet port and it’s this inclusion that was the most impactful. Adding network connectivity meant I was able to ditch my USB hub and run everything through the Philips 27B2U6903, freeing up desk space and simplifying the whole process. A single (included) Thunderbolt 4 cable connection to my laptop had me using an external display, external devices, external network connections, all while charging my laptop at full beans too. There’s even a 3.5mm headphone port for getting in the zone with lofi beats and while it’s a little bit gimmicky, the integrated headphone hook is a fun touch that some might benefit from. In my testing however I found it’s a little too short to be useful and most reasonably sized headphones I hung from it ended up getting more in the way or being distracting than anything else.
If you’re not a headphones wearer the Philips 27B2U6903 does have a solution though it’s nothing worth shouting about. The inbuilt pair of 3 watt speakers are fine as far as monitor speakers go, though really are only best-placed for the odd video call, quick YouTube video or dreaded Teams notification ping. For music listening or more detailed media consumption they’re unsurprisingly hollow and you’d be better off using an external option like the excellent SteelSeries Arena 7.
While the Philips 27B2U6903 does get a lot right, sadly one of its attempted party piece features falls well short and in my testing, simply didn’t work. Next to the Philips logo on the front of the 27B2U6903 is a mysterious little patch that while looking like a built-in webcam, is actually a proximity sensor. Branded the PowerSensor 2, it’s designed as an energy efficiency feature that’ll put your monitor to sleep when you walk away and wake it up again when you return. It’s a neat idea, except for me it simply didn’t work. No matter which combination of settings I tried on the monitor and in Windows 11s own settings the behaviour of the monitor didn’t change. Perhaps my environment isn’t well suited, perhaps I got a dud sensor, perhaps I’m a ghost and I don’t know it.
summed up
In the areas that matter most while you’re working, the Philips 27B2U6903 really shines. This self-labelled ‘business monitor’ puts in an effort worthy of employee of the month with a super-crisp 4K display and enough additional ports that you can say goodbye to your USB hub.
Price is a major factor here though because those added extras don’t come cheap. At £450 this is an exceedingly expensive monitor, even by 4K60 standards and there are options from plenty of other established brands at half that price. Now admittedly, the Philips 27B2U6903 does negate the need for a quality external USB hub, but even factoring this in it’s still a hefty price to pay. If you appreciate simplicity and can stomach the cost (or have your employer buy it for you) then Philips 27B2U6903 is a great monitor for work. If you’re simply looking for a quality 27″ 4K monitor it may be worth waiting for a sale or shopping around other models and brands.
