Design and Ergonomics

The external design of the INNOCN 40C1R is completely unassuming. There are no in-your-face details to mention; if anything, it looks more like an office monitor than a gaming one. Whether you see that as one of its advantages or a drawback depends mostly on your age. I for one am fully supportive of INNOCN opting for straight lines and dark metal surfaces rather than red plasticky ones. The massive 40-inch panel is surrounded by thin bezels measuring only 9 mm (0.35 in.) on both sides and the top. The bottom bezel is naturally thicker, coming in at 20 mm (0.78 in.). Regardless, all four bezels practically disappear in the sheer size of the panel.


The bottom bezel has a centrally positioned INNOCN logo and clearly marked OSD button functions on the right side.


The metal base is surprisingly thin, but also quite wide, deep, and heavy. This is of course an absolute necessity as there's no other way to confidently prop up a 40-inch ultrawide panel. In exact numbers, the base measures 234x273 mm (9.2x10.7 in.), which is also the space you're going to need above your mousepad if using the INNOCN 40C1R on your table. You could in theory get away with a bit less because the aforementioned thinness of the base allows you to partially cover it with your mousepad. It won't look nice, but should be usable.


The stand is made of plastic, but shows no signs of relenting under the heft of the large panel. It is firmly affixed to the base with a single thumbscrew.


On the bottom-third of the stand is a round cutout that can be used for cable routing. This hole is visible with the panel lifted as high as it can go, but fully hidden with it in a normal position.


The stand and panel are connected by a stiff joint for the panel to be swiveled to both sides. Removing the stand reveals four VESA 100x100 mounting holes. Those can be used to mount the monitor to a standard table or wall mount.


The screen can be swiveled by around 45° in both directions. The swivel motion can be performed with one hand; you don't have to hold the base of the monitor in place as there's no risk of it accidentally moving.


Also adjustable is the height of the panel. In the topmost position, the distance from the table to the bottom edge of the screen is 155 mm (6.1 in.), dropping to 36 mm (1.4 in.) after pushing the screen as low as it will go. That gives the monitor a total height adjustment range of 12 cm (4.7 in.). You should have no trouble finding the optimum height for your desktop environment.


The monitor can also be tilted from -5° to +15°.


Somewhat surprising is that the 40-inch ultrawide panel of the INNOCN 40C1R is completely flat. Most ultrawide monitors are curved, with a 1500R-1800R curvature radius being the norm. The point of curvature is to prevent the vignetting effect on the screen's edges due to LCD panel viewing angles and fill the peripheral vision more naturally. If you're coming from a curved monitor, especially an ultrawide one, it might take a couple of days or even weeks to adjust to the flat nature of the INNOCN 40C1R's panel. Before starting this review, I was using three different curved 34-inch ultrawides as primary screens on both my home and studio computers. It took me almost a full month to stop noticing and being bothered by the complete flatness of the 40C1R. Until that happened, I couldn't get rid of the feeling that the panel of the 40C1R warps outward, and that its corners are much further from what my eyes would consider a natural distance. Thankfully, I did eventually stop noticing it, so while I'd still prefer for the panel to be curved, the 40C1R shouldn't be dismissed because of its flatness.

Several forum members shared interesting insights into this phenomenon when I mentioned it in my Gigabyte M34WQ review, which is another ultrawide with a flat panel, albeit a 34-inch one. Do take a look at the discussion on our forum to find out more, and feel free to contribute with your own thoughts and experiences.