Now that Apple’s Pro Display XDR has been revealed, we all realize it’s not meant for most of us. It’s a pro display with a pro price tag. Instead, we’re still looking for the perfect companion to our Mac laptops that will serve our needs without breaking the bank.
About two-and-a-half years ago, Apple announced a partnership with LG to provide a display that, when plugged into a Mac, just worked. And it did, but at $1,300, it was a fairly steep price for a display not made by Apple.
This year, LG released a new, slightly different UltraFine display that works seamlessly with Mac. It’s 24-inches instead of 27 and supports 4K instead of 5K, but it’s also only $700, which is much easier on the pocketbook… At only $700, you can get two of them for almost the price of one LG UltraFine 5K Display.
MacDailyNews Take: Yeah, but that “design.”
If Soviet-era utilitarian boxiness and bezels are your things, have at it!
I get tired when people write that a high quality graphics display is expensive at $1,300. It’s not. In fact, it’s inexpensive. We have to be aware of what we’re comparing it to. Are we comparing it to cheap displays, or to comparable displays? Because if it’s the former, then yes, it’s expensive. But if it’s the latter, then it’s inexpensive.
NEC and Eizo make graphics displays, and all are more expensive. In fact, when you compare the specs, the LG display is way less expensive. And remember that LG did have a 21.5” 4K version for about $700. That’s been replaced by this 23” 4K model. It’s a tremendous bargain.
What makes anyone think that if Apple today came out with a Thunderbolt, 4 or 5k display, that it wouldn’t cost even more? At some point Apple decided to not make these displays, and cooperated with LG instead. They must have had a reason.
I have an Eizo CG2420 for photo editing work and the bezels, etc., look comparable to this LG. The internals are a whole other story, though, along with the built-in color calibrator. It’s not 4K but I can stare at it for hours.
Eizo is made for the pro market, and are more expensive than these. Same thing with the NEC graphic displays. I expect both to exceed the long term stability of the LG. But those I know who have bought them are pretty satisfied.
I’d love to see what the reasoning the guy who gave me one star had. Likely, it’s just that he wants something really cheap. Don’t be a coward, I won’t bite you.
I think it’s insulting to tell others how to calculate value. Everyone’s needs and abilities are totally different.
MDN are such hypocrites. I have been personally insulted by a MAGA maniac for driving a Porsche, Now MDN, long-standing Trumpanzees, endorses Asian made imports. Who exactly is supposed to decide what import is good and which is bad????
Then to add further hypocrisy, they say everyone should be happy to pay top dollar for whatever is sold in an Apple Store when literally dozens of alternatives exist. LG, Samsung, whatever Apple uses must be the “best”, let’s not even bother to do a comprehensive objective comparison.
It all boils down to one thing: if you’re too lazy to think for yourself, you are happy to be a sheep following whatever brand/strongman/cult advertises the simplest “solution”. You don’t even have to think about what the many competitors will offer, if you restrict yourself to one flavor of kool aide. Just don’t be so arrogant as to believe one cult has all the best of everything. If it did, it wouldn’t need walls and tariffs and Faux News to keep the scapegoats and competition out. An intelligent person would always pick the superior choice if it truly was superior. LG is okay but, sorry, like Apple, the one size fits all approach does NOT work for many.
The problem with some of what you’re saying is that it assumes a falsehood. That falsehood is that the only displays you can but for your headless Mac is from the Apple store.
That’s so far from the truth that it’s hard to see how you seem to believe it. I argue with a lot of MDM’s positions. But recommending a product is no big deal.
MDN insults anyone who doesn’t buy the Apple product. It’s getting old. Maybe someday MDN will provide something useful to say in their condescending “takes”.
Readers here often vote down comments not based on the comments’ merits but for irrational reasons.
I just read your comment (with 13 votes) and I think you took the article out of context. Not everyone has the same quality needs you do. Apple provides integrated display solutions on almost all Macs but refuses to provide bigger standalone displays for those same target Macs. Just imagine if you can, pairing an entry level MBP with a 6K 30 inch display… However for that same user who has a mac with a decent quality 13 inch retina display a stand alone $1300 monitor could be to much. Why can’t Apple produce a 24 inch monitor at a reasonable consumer price for general use if they provide the iMacs with such a screen?
I fear the answer is ‘iMac’ sales
A curated display from Apple is the only one I will buy….
MDN is a shill called it right. Danox, way to prove his point
I’ve seen those cheap displays that some office worker wanted. After sitting at it for 30 minutes I thought my eye strain was going to cause a migraine. Slightly fuzzy edges, fonts that don’t quite look crisp.
There is a reason designers use good displays.
In the very old days, we hooked our computers to TVs to serve as displays — 240i or 320i, I think — totally terrible compared to anything that you can find today. But I was wondering if a modern OLED 4K TV might make a decent display for a Mac mini…any thoughts?
i have a 52 inch 1080p tv hooked up to my mini and it is a wonderful media center
for computing i just sit a ways away and don’t do a lot of it
P.S. will upgrade to 4K when i get a new mini
I used to use a very high quality Sony TV as a display. It was not ideal.
Check to see how the controls work. Verify Color accuracy, brightness, angle of view, glare, black levels, power consumption, etc.
If it works for you, go for it. For me, the old Sony felt like a heat lamp and I could never get the brightness and color dialed in. Most consumer TVs offer inferior performance for extended close viewing. TVs tend to prioritize motion smoothing, high contrast, and now digital streaming stuff. On the plus side, every other display besides Apple offers a free mount in the box and VESA compatibility without a $200 adapter.
The older 22″ model comes up for refurb sale at Woot, all the time. Just looked, it was on sale last weekend for $269. The bigger 27″ 5k model was $649.