LG announces first OLED 4K UltraFine 31.5-inch display

AppleInsider · January 11, 2021 4:28PM

LG is starting to use OLED panels in its UltraFine monitor line, with the first model having a 31.5-inch 4K display with a 99% P3 gamut and Adobe RGB color accuracy.

LG UltraFine Pro with 4K OLED

The latest LG UltraFine display revealed at CES 2021 uses USB-C, Display Port and HDMI for video connection. Color accuracy and gamut are in line with Apple's color ratings for the iPhone and iPad.

The eight million pixels in the 3840x2160 4K display can be individually dimmed, with the unit providing a 1,000,000-to-1 contrast ratio, according to LG.

The LG UltraFine Pro has a 90W USB-C PD port, two DisplayPorts, one HDMI port, three USB-A ports, a USB-B port, and headphone jack. It isn't clear if a single USB-C cable will also carry data for the USB-A ports, or if the USB-B port on the display is only required for HDMI or DisplayPort connections.

Users can also leverage the built-in KVM functionality to connect one monitor, keyboard, and mouse to multiple computing devices.

DisplayPort, HDMI, and USB ports for several connection options

You'll be able to chain displays together using the multiple port options, though you'll still be limited to one monitor when using an M1-based Mac.

LG has not announced a release window or pricing for the LG UltraFine Pro.

polymnia · January 11, 2021 4:37PM

Hopefully this is the display on the next iMac. I have an Eizo at this size on my desk and it is great for my photography & design work.

mknelson · January 11, 2021 5:56PM

polymnia said:

Hopefully this is the display on the next iMac. I have an Eizo at this size on my desk and it is great for my photography & design work.

Some of the technology in this display looks interesting, but this specific model is inferior to the 27" iMac display in resolution and gamut.

mobird · January 11, 2021 6:04PM

I am a long time fan of Eizo displays and use one on my Mac Pro and another recent Eizo purchase for the recently purchased Mac Mini (2018). They do displays/monitors very well IMHO.

polymnia said:

Hopefully this is the display on the next iMac. I have an Eizo at this size on my desk and it is great for my photography & design work.

sflocal · January 11, 2021 6:05PM

I wish Apple would bring back an updated refresh of its 27" Thunderbolt monitor. I have two of them connected to my iMac here at the office, and another one connected to my 2020 iMac at home and enjoy them immensely. Sure, there are better-quality monitors out there now considering how old the Apple's TB monitors are, but they work perfectly and (as important) I like the styling.

EsquireCats · January 11, 2021 6:16PM

LG's screen quality hasn't really been an issue - the problem is (and you'll find an utterly breath taking number of MacBook Pro users complaining about this) - their top of the line displays seem to have significant issues. You may recall an earlier issue with malfunctions if the display was in the proximity to a WiFi basestation, but even after that was fixed the displays still have issues with crashing Macs or software (such as the Adobe Suite), and other problems on wake: such as not waking up, waking up very slowly, or waking up with visual artefacts.

Apple would do well making their usual all-in-one displays again. (i.e. The XDR doesn't contain speakers, facetime camera, microphones, usb hubs etc.)

joefrank · January 11, 2021 6:54PM

is it just me or are displays not getting ridiculously large? There's really a lot of use for the smaller sizes we were used to. And there's not much point for sizes larger than the already humungous 31.5".

ShapeshiftingFish · January 11, 2021 7:06PM

I've had two LG 31.5" 4K monitors go bad in a little more than a year. And it was a problem both with panels (edges fading) and connectivity. The new specs sound very good, so I hope they up their QC. In the meantime I'm using an HP Z32 and am very happy with it.

polymnia · January 11, 2021 7:43PM

joefrank said:

is it just me or are displays not getting ridiculously large? There's really a lot of use for the smaller sizes we were used to. And there's not much point for sizes larger than the already humungous 31.5".

It’s not just you. Even though I much prefer a big display for my photography work that pays me, I have a Mac Mini that does nothing but host my iTunes library. I run it headless now since a nice, modestly proportioned display isn’t easily available. I’d love a small monitor with a fit & finish I’m willing to look at in the living area of my home.

It seems that USB displays may by moving into that space. I saw an article here on AI the other day for a 15” USB display that checked the boxes for compact & nice looking.

joefrank · January 11, 2021 8:17PM

I d love a 23" 4k monitor to use two of them side by side, to replace my eizo ones that were 1080 but there doesn't seem to be any. Two 27" side by side is way overkill.

zimmie · January 11, 2021 9:42PM

joefrank said:

I d love a 23" 4k monitor to use two of them side by side, to replace my eizo ones that were 1080 but there doesn't seem to be any. Two 27" side by side is way overkill.

The first LG Ultrafine 4K is real 4K (4096x2304 pixels) and 21.5" diagonal.

The second LG Ultrafine 4K is fake TV 4K (3840x2160), and has a 23" diagonal.

Both are pretty widely available. I snagged a used 21.5" unit earlier this year for ~$300.

polymnia said:

joefrank said:

is it just me or are displays not getting ridiculously large? There's really a lot of use for the smaller sizes we were used to. And there's not much point for sizes larger than the already humungous 31.5".

It’s not just you. Even though I much prefer a big display for my photography work that pays me, I have a Mac Mini that does nothing but host my iTunes library. I run it headless now since a nice, modestly proportioned display isn’t easily available. I’d love a small monitor with a fit & finish I’m willing to look at in the living area of my home.

It seems that USB displays may by moving into that space. I saw an article here on AI the other day for a 15” USB display that checked the boxes for compact & nice looking.

The compact displays like that are decent as long as you don't expect too much. They don't get as bright as the screens in Apple's laptops, for example. 99% sRGB, rather than P3. They're not bad monitors, just not great. Fortunately, they're also pretty cheap. A brand new 2160p (3840x2160) monitor from UPERFECT is $170.

joefrank · January 12, 2021 8:12PM

zimmie said:

joefrank said:

I d love a 23" 4k monitor to use two of them side by side, to replace my eizo ones that were 1080 but there doesn't seem to be any. Two 27" side by side is way overkill.

The first LG Ultrafine 4K is real 4K (4096x2304 pixels) and 21.5" diagonal.

The second LG Ultrafine 4K is fake TV 4K (3840x2160), and has a 23" diagonal.

Both are pretty widely available. I snagged a used 21.5" unit earlier this year for ~$300.

polymnia said:

joefrank said:

is it just me or are displays not getting ridiculously large? There's really a lot of use for the smaller sizes we were used to. And there's not much point for sizes larger than the already humungous 31.5".

It’s not just you. Even though I much prefer a big display for my photography work that pays me, I have a Mac Mini that does nothing but host my iTunes library. I run it headless now since a nice, modestly proportioned display isn’t easily available. I’d love a small monitor with a fit & finish I’m willing to look at in the living area of my home.

It seems that USB displays may by moving into that space. I saw an article here on AI the other day for a 15” USB display that checked the boxes for compact & nice looking.

The compact displays like that are decent as long as you don't expect too much. They don't get as bright as the screens in Apple's laptops, for example. 99% sRGB, rather than P3. They're not bad monitors, just not great. Fortunately, they're also pretty cheap. A brand new 2160p (3840x2160) monitor from UPERFECT is $170.

Hey thanks for the heads up, I will look them up!

EFletcherSOC · January 12, 2021 10:18PM

zimmie said:

The first LG Ultrafine 4K is real 4K (4096x2304 pixels) and 21.5" diagonal.

The second LG Ultrafine 4K is fake TV 4K (3840x2160), and has a 23" diagonal.

Both are pretty widely available. I snagged a used 21.5" unit earlier this year for ~$300.

actually "TV 4K" is the standard.

zimmie · January 13, 2021 1:27PM

EFletcherSOC said:

zimmie said:

The first LG Ultrafine 4K is real 4K (4096x2304 pixels) and 21.5" diagonal.

The second LG Ultrafine 4K is fake TV 4K (3840x2160), and has a 23" diagonal.

Both are pretty widely available. I snagged a used 21.5" unit earlier this year for ~$300.

actually "TV 4K" is the standard.

That may be what most companies mean when they say “4K”, but none of the numbers involved are 4K of anything. Thus, calling it “4K” is lying. It’s like AT&T calling HSPA “4G” or calling LTE Advanced “5G E”. This gets even worse with “8K”. 7680x4320 is over 300 away from 8000.

DCI-4K at least has the sense to have a dimension which can honestly be referred to as 4K.

LG announces first OLED 4K UltraFine 31.5-inch display

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