Review: LG UltraFine 27" 5K Display
I’ve been using this display for about a month now, doing full-time software development (and more).
If you want top of the line clarity and color quality, this is one of the best options available. There’s just not much competition, especially for a Mac. I also used the latest 27" iMac, and this is indistinguishable in display quality. Fonts, especially, are super crisp and smooth — takes a load off when reading, and if you do that all day like I do, that makes a big difference.
Things That Make This Great
The quality of the display. It’s truly outstanding. The header picture is a photo of it, you can see the proof here:
- If you have the new MacBook Pro, this serves a great dock — it has passthrough power to charge, it connects to a stunning display, and it gives you several high-speed USB-C ports to boot. This is really great; it’s awesome just plugging in one cable and you get all these extras, including charging.
- This size is great — expansive. I actually tried a 32" before this, and I felt that was too big. This is perfect for putting two documents (code files in split pane for me, is my main usage) side by side. I use Moom to quickly position windows — much better than the included LG display management software cuz it doesn’t force you into the layout you choose. You can even do 4x4, though it’s not quite tall enough to feel right that way, IMO.
- Built-in camera/mic that is more than good enough for video conferencing. I was pleasantly surprised with the video quality; I think it’s better than the built-in camera on the MBP. At least it feels brighter/clearer to me.
- Built-in speakers that are pretty good, especially for monitor speakers.
- Being able to control brightness and volume through the Mac/keyboard — no fussing with an OSD.
- While it is far from the sleek aluminum Apple aesthetic, it’s actually not bad looking. The base and stand are sturdy and have pretty good lines. Since Apple has been moving away from the unicolor silver (and my MBP is space gray, it actually goes better with it than I anticipated.
Things That Make This Not So Great
While I like being able to control it thru the Mac, not having an OSD/buttons makes this more or less a non-starter to use as a PC display. I’d like to use it for both. You pretty much have to commit that this will be only a Mac display, at least for the foreseeable future.
Despite this, I give it five stars because, at the end of the day, it’s really all about the display quality.
The Problems People Initially Complained About
Of course, it did have problems as others have reported. I thankfully waited until they fixed the WiFi interference issue, but prior to macOS 10.12.4, it had other issues (as others have reported): 1) if the Mac went to sleep, and you disconnected, it would not wake up, 2) the shake to find cursor feature would leave a copy of the big fat cursor on screen, and 3) the volume control was even worse than it is now. I have been on the beta for a couple weeks, and these were largely resolved. Now I’m on the final release, and as far as I can tell, they are all resolved. So all of the major issues people were seeing are now fixed.
I’ve only used it with my Late 2016 13" MacBook Pro (with TouchBar), so I can’t speak to other configurations, but this thing drives the display well. I don’t play games, but I have watched some 4K video and shows on Netflix, and it’s beautiful and not laggy at all. I am sure the 15" ones would only do better. I have read that you can use it with most recent older Macs, but you will only get 4K out of it.
The Built-in Hub
About the USB C hub, I have put both a hard drive and a gigabit ethernet adapter on it, and it runs those at full speed. I use AirDisplay (plugged in), and it can run my iPad Pro 12.9" as a third display that way. They really did the hub thing right on this one. You just have to accept getting adapters or buying USB C things going forward, which is fine cuz it’s the new standard. I suspect if you’re able and willing to pay $1300 for a display that you can handle buying a few extra adapters. And in a few years or less, everything will be on USB C anyways.
So Should You Buy?
I can definitely recommend it if it’s for the new MacBook Pro. It’s your best choice for display quality — and the built-in powered hub, cam, speakers, and mic top it off nicely. If you stare at it like all the time like I do, it might be a worthwhile investment.
