Review: LG 23.7-inch Thunderbolt 3 4K UltraFine Display excels with Mac integration

2»

Comments

  • Reply 21 of 36
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    I do hope Apple one day comes out with a 5K 27" (or more) monitor for the masses that don't need the XDR monitor.  I just abhor the 3rd-party monitors that are out there.  Even though the LG monitor is the same display used in the iMac, I want the finishing touches that only Apple can provide which is a nice design, aluminum shell, etc... Design is important for me too and these are just fugly.
  • Reply 22 of 36
    lendenlenden Posts: 2member
    lenden said:
      Can the monitor support other devices now that it has a separate TB3 input? Like a PS4? Or is it just limited to Macs only? I was thinking about getting one for my Mac but ideally I’d like to connect my PS4 or Windows laptop as well to the other TB3 input and just switch inputs. Considering there’s no physical buttons maybe there’s no other inputs?
    PS4 doesn’t have Thunderbolt, so how would you even connect it? There are no other inputs to switch to. The other TB3 port is for daisy chaining, not another input. 
    With the right adapter to hdmi I was hoping you could switch it. What would happen if you plugged a Mac in to one TB3 port and a windows laptop to another?
  • Reply 23 of 36
    boboliciousbobolicious Posts: 1,139member
    sflocal said:
    tht said:
    sflocal said:
    Where's the Ethernet jack?
    There isn’t any. 

    There’s just the 3 USBC ports and the 2 TB3 ports. There isn’t a front cam and mic either. At least there are speakers. 


    I know.  If anything, my question was rhetorical.

    I know there's no ethernet jack.  Since it's a TB3 (or TB2) monitor, it should include ports as would a Thunderbolt dock would have, and that means an ethernet jack, and possible (but not expected) an SD card slot.  

    Sure, I suppose one can simply get a TB3->Ethernet dongle but that's beside's the point.  That's the great thing about Apple's Thunderbolt2 monitor.  It did include an Ethernet jack.  The additional cost is negligible for something at this price range.
    That and support for legacy (FW/USB) connectivity - and presumably with some measure (obligation) of compatability and functionality from Apple with a calendar macOS churn...
    edited June 2019
  • Reply 24 of 36
    DuhSesameDuhSesame Posts: 1,278member
    sflocal said:
    I do hope Apple one day comes out with a 5K 27" (or more) monitor for the masses that don't need the XDR monitor.  I just abhor the 3rd-party monitors that are out there.  Even though the LG monitor is the same display used in the iMac, I want the finishing touches that only Apple can provide which is a nice design, aluminum shell, etc... Design is important for me too and these are just fugly.
    At least it's not you don't have options.
  • Reply 25 of 36
    Two of these are also the perfect display for the Mac mini
    arthurba
  • Reply 26 of 36
    sflocalsflocal Posts: 6,092member
    DuhSesame said:
    sflocal said:
    I do hope Apple one day comes out with a 5K 27" (or more) monitor for the masses that don't need the XDR monitor.  I just abhor the 3rd-party monitors that are out there.  Even though the LG monitor is the same display used in the iMac, I want the finishing touches that only Apple can provide which is a nice design, aluminum shell, etc... Design is important for me too and these are just fugly.
    At least it's not you don't have options.
    Plenty of options.  Just not the Apple-branded one is like.  It’s why I’m still using several TB2 Apple monitors at the office and home.
    arthurba
  • Reply 27 of 36
    mr lizardmr lizard Posts: 354member

    @AppleInsider ;said:
    As for the hardware itself, it is either just OK or excellent depending on who you are comparing it to. Comparing it to Apple and it is decent —but not amazing.

    Apple doesn’t make a standalone monitor, so there’s no Apple product to compare it to. They make all-in-one computers (iMacs) where Apple can fine tune the display to work perfectly with the built-in computer hardware, but that’s not a meaningful comparison as this product is designed to attach to a variety of Mac models.

    Apple recently announced a new display to ship later this year, but this monitor can’t be compared to it as there are currently no review units of Apple’s future monitor. Apple’s announced display is also a 6K model, not 4K, so even if Apple’s new monitor was available now it still wouldn’t be a meaningful comparison. 

    Claiming that this model is only “decent” is perfectly fine and entirely reasonable, but arriving at that conclusion because it doesn’t compare favourably to a fictitious monitor made by Apple doesn’t make sense. 
     
  • Reply 28 of 36
    fastasleepfastasleep Posts: 6,408member
    lenden said:
    lenden said:
      Can the monitor support other devices now that it has a separate TB3 input? Like a PS4? Or is it just limited to Macs only? I was thinking about getting one for my Mac but ideally I’d like to connect my PS4 or Windows laptop as well to the other TB3 input and just switch inputs. Considering there’s no physical buttons maybe there’s no other inputs?
    PS4 doesn’t have Thunderbolt, so how would you even connect it? There are no other inputs to switch to. The other TB3 port is for daisy chaining, not another input. 
    With the right adapter to hdmi I was hoping you could switch it. What would happen if you plugged a Mac in to one TB3 port and a windows laptop to another?
    1) adapters don’t work that direction, it’s expecting an incoming Thunderbolt signal. 
    2) no idea
  • Reply 29 of 36
    tht said:
    Waiting, waiting, waiting on Apple to take the 27” 5K display in iMacs and make it a Thunderbolt Retina Display, with modern MacBook Pro aluminum and glass industrial design. 0.6 inches thick, 3 TB3 ports, 2 USBA, Ethernet, SD card slot, speakers, and front camera. Hard to believe they won’t sell a million units of these per year for the next 5 years at least, at $2000 per unit.

    My Thunderbolt Display is getting pretty long in the tooth now.
    Why in the hell would they do that when you can already buy one + a whole computer for $1,799?

    And unless I'm wrong, target display mode made a comeback recently which lets you use an iMac 5K as a monitor for a MacBook Pro over TB3.

    So why not just pretend Apple already sells a 5K 27" display for $1,799 and go get one or two?
    edited June 2019
  • Reply 30 of 36
    Eric_WVGGEric_WVGG Posts: 966member
    tht said:
    ...
    And unless I'm wrong, target display mode made a comeback recently which lets you use an iMac 5K as a monitor for a MacBook Pro over TB3.
    You're wrong. No iMac since 2014 has had Target Display Mode. https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204592
  • Reply 31 of 36
    thttht Posts: 5,421member
    tht said:
    Waiting, waiting, waiting on Apple to take the 27” 5K display in iMacs and make it a Thunderbolt Retina Display, with modern MacBook Pro aluminum and glass industrial design. 0.6 inches thick, 3 TB3 ports, 2 USBA, Ethernet, SD card slot, speakers, and front camera. Hard to believe they won’t sell a million units of these per year for the next 5 years at least, at $2000 per unit.

    My Thunderbolt Display is getting pretty long in the tooth now.
    Why in the hell would they do that when you can already buy one + a whole computer for $1,799?

    And unless I'm wrong, target display mode made a comeback recently which lets you use an iMac 5K as a monitor for a MacBook Pro over TB3.

    So why not just pretend Apple already sells a 5K 27" display for $1,799 and go get one or two?
    Per Eric, I’m not aware of Target Display Mode working for the iMac 5K either, but it is a horrible experience if it did, if I recall right.

    In target display mode, the ports aren’t functional, but the speakers are. Right? That’s the big sell of the a TB display though. It is a combination dock and display with speakers and front camera. This 24” LG doesn’t have a front cam. It has 2 TB3 ports and 3 USBC ports. You can take that pretty far with adaptors, but more could be done there too. Then, it’s PPI is just bigger than a typical MBP PPI, so screen elements will appear larger relative to a MBP.

    So, I’m very willing to pay $2k for a Thunderbolt 27” 5K display with the right ports and other features. It would be great with my MBP. Would I like it cheaper? Of course I would. From Apple’s perspective however, there isn’t any price pressures on them if they offered a 5K monitor. There is basically one 5K monitor, the LG UltraFine 27”. It’s port selection is little limited. It has plastic, black ID, and it has MSRP of $1300, but you can get one for about $1000.

    An Apple version with its aluminum & glass industrial design, a good set of ports (3 TB3, 2 USBA, Ethernet, SD card), it’s usual display features (True Tone, etc) will sell at $2000. They have a customer base that primarily use laptops and virtually all new models use TB3. A significant fraction will want the matching ID, matching PPI, and the convenience. And, there is only one competitor right now: the LG 27” UltraFine 5K.
    Eric_WVGG
  • Reply 32 of 36
    jdb8167jdb8167 Posts: 626member
    tht said:
    Waiting, waiting, waiting on Apple to take the 27” 5K display in iMacs and make it a Thunderbolt Retina Display, with modern MacBook Pro aluminum and glass industrial design. 0.6 inches thick, 3 TB3 ports, 2 USBA, Ethernet, SD card slot, speakers, and front camera. Hard to believe they won’t sell a million units of these per year for the next 5 years at least, at $2000 per unit.

    My Thunderbolt Display is getting pretty long in the tooth now.
    Yeah, right now, I don't see anything that can replace the convenience of my 8 year old Thunderbolt display. I would love a retina screen but I don't want to give up the ports and the build quality. There is one caveat though, the built-in thunderbolt cable on my monitor died. It sort of works but the USB functions will silently fail. The fix was easy enough, use the second daisy-chain Thunderbolt connection with a new cable. It took me a while to figure out why my trash can Mac Pro was crashing and didn't have brightness controls but since I replaced the cable, the display is still working well.

    So if your TB display starts acting up before Apple or LG can come out with a better retina 27", check the TB cable.
    Eric_WVGG
  • Reply 33 of 36
    Eric_WVGGEric_WVGG Posts: 966member
    jdb8167 said:
    tht said:
    ...
    Yeah, right now, I don't see anything that can replace the convenience of my 8 year old Thunderbolt display. I would love a retina screen but I don't want to give up the ports and the build quality. There is one caveat though, the built-in thunderbolt cable on my monitor died. It sort of works but the USB functions will silently fail. The fix was easy enough, use the second daisy-chain Thunderbolt connection with a new cable. It took me a while to figure out why my trash can Mac Pro was crashing and didn't have brightness controls but since I replaced the cable, the display is still working well.
    oh snap, that's a great idea

    the Thunderbolt Display's non-removable cable is Apple at its worst
  • Reply 34 of 36
    ...a few concerns/questions...

    - webcam (macOS feature, is there an Apple desktop Facetime solution?)
    - speaker quality?
    - rotation (macOS feature with no hardware support, easy to offer, why not?)
    - vesa (not mentioned, listed as VESA cover on Apple.com)

    No webcam (unfortunate IMO)
    Speaker Quality is ok, but that's all one should expect from rear built in speakers
    ?
    Yes.

    I have 2 in my office now daisy-chained like this review and love them. Maybe they are a little pricey for what they are but overall excellent. Color is good, brightness is fine, viewing angles are very good, no glare. It's awesome sitting down in the morning and with one plug my MBP is powered, and everything is set to go. Love having so many USBC ports. I leave one small A adapter in each the back for the occasional need. I do wish they had a webcam, probably the biggest miss. 
  • Reply 35 of 36
    Eric_WVGGEric_WVGG Posts: 966member
    FYI, this display does have a camera, but I can't figure out how to enable it. No manuals or drivers on the website.

    It does have speakers and they're not bad at all! Sounds a lot louder than my Thunderbolt display. I don't have good speakers here to compare sound quality or bass.
    edited June 2019
  • Reply 36 of 36
    I bought the 24” LG UltraFine 4K display to replace the aging 23” ACD connected to my 2018 Mac Mini. Wow! What a gorgeous display. Sure, I was coming from a tired old ACD. I run it at 2304X1269 with 32GB of memory in the Mini and the display is plenty crisp with no noticeable lag. The 2304X1269 resolution seems perfect for this size monitor. The sweet spot for UI size and plenty of screen real estate. I tweaked a few preferences including Finder view options and everything is very readable even for my old eyes. Great color, very bright, speakers sound good, and all the ports on the back are nice. I’m a retired graphic designer who still does some design work. I find the display attractive and actually like the thin black bezel. I work in Affinity Design, Affinity Photo and MacOS Photos primarily and this monitor is perfect with those apps.

    edited September 2019
Sign In or Register to comment.