The question is whether they can actually ship it

Eve, the Finnish hardware startup that crowdsourced ideas for what turned out to be a pretty great Windows 2-in-1 but then struggled to meet demand, has announced its next product. The Spectrum is a “crowd-developed” monitor that, if the company can deliver, sounds like a compelling option. Of course, as with the Eve V, that is a big if.

The Spectrum is actually three monitors, all of which use 27-inch IPS panels from LG Display with 98-percent P3 gamut coverage along with FreeSync and G-Sync compatibility. The $349 entry-level model is 1440p, 165Hz, and DisplayHDR 400 (450 nits peak brightness), then there are two higher-end DisplayHDR 600 (750 nits peak brightness) models with a choice of 1440p/240Hz ($489) or 4K/144Hz ($589).

While the specs make the Spectrum a good gaming monitor on paper, the metal design is a lot more understated than most options in the space. Like the Eve V, the port selection will be a major selling point: two USB-C (one with 100-watt USB PD output), two DisplayPort, one HDMI, three USB-A, an audio jack, and a USB-B port for hub functionality. That’s far more than you get on pretty much any consumer monitor.

Eve V creators’ next crowd-developed product is a monitor

What’s the catch? Well, much like Apple’s Pro Display XDR, the Spectrum doesn’t come with a stand. Eve says that 47 percent of its community wanted the option to buy without. Fortunately, the $99 official Eve stand costs ten times less than Apple’s and offers height adjustment, portrait orientation, and a quick-release switch.

The other catch, of course, is that Eve can’t necessarily be trusted to deliver this product on time, though the company has a new supply chain partner and is trying to be more realistic than it was with the V. The Spectrum can be reserved with a $100 down payment that’s refundable at any time before your monitor is actually produced. That should be Q3 for the entry-level model and Q4 for the other two, if all goes to plan.

I would recommend waiting to see if all does, in fact, go to plan. We’ll keep you posted on whether that turns out to be the case.