Everyday usability and audio
The Moda 2's IPS panel delivers a vibrant and colour-accurate image while the Full HD resolution is enough to provide an adequate Windows environment. In this day and age the 1080p resolution on a 27in panel is a little lacklustre - a lack of pixel density is noticeable when sitting close to the display. A QHD (2,560 x 1,440) option would be well-received, even if it brings with it the expected price price premium.
The Moda 2 isn't really geared towards gamers as it lacks G-Sync or FreeSync compatibility, has a 60Hz refresh rate and a response time of 14ms typical, or 5ms when the SmartResponse featured is enabled. A response time like this isn't out of the ordinary for an IPS panel and it has little impact on the end-user experience, because an extra 10ms of panel latency will go unnoticed by most. Gamers are more likely to notice framerate-induced tearing or a lack of pixel density than they are the response time.
Philips has deployed an OSD which lends itself to multimedia consumption. A variety of options, prefixed with Smart, allow users to enhance particular aspects of the display, such as sharpness or contrast, for consuming text, films and photos. The Moda 2 is well-suited for a workplace environment with its combination of wide viewing angles and mobile device integration.
Audio
The quality of the Philips Moda 2 speakers is surprisingly pleasant compared to typical integrated monitor speakers that are often tinny and quiet. The Moda 2 boasts a very loud maximum volume and extensive customisations to the treble, bass and EQ. Only one specific customisation can be enabled at a time but each profile has its advantages to different audio tasks.
The overall audio experience is roughly similar to a £20-30 set of 2.0 speakers. The mids and highs are capable of rich movie and music playback, though, the lack of a bass speaker means low frequencies come across as muffled and a little hollow. At higher volumes the quality of the sound does deteriorate but most users simply won't need the volume to be that high - at the medium volume range of 40-60 there is no noticeable distortion.
The Bluetooth functionality works seamlessly after being enabled using the dedicated Bluetooth button on the monitor bezel. The Bluetooth broadcast, which is unprotected, takes a little while to show up on the mobile device but once it does it connects swiftly and can be locked to that particular device to prevent other devices connecting. The Bluetooth connection overrides any other audio connections that are active, such as from a connected laptop or desktop PC. The audio connection seems snappy with no observable latency between a mobile handset and the Moda 2 speakers.
