LG UltraFine 6K Monitor first to connect with Thunderbolt 5

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in General Discussion edited January 6

LG's latest UltraFine 6K Monitor could be a great display for a new M4 Pro Mac mini, but Thunderbolt 5 is not necessarily enough to get people to buy the high-spec screen.

A modern flat screen with a colorful abstract purple and orange canyon rock design, displayed from front and side views on a sleek stand.
LG UltraFine 6K Monitor - Image Credit: LG



Apple's Mac mini refresh also expanded the video capabilities for the model, with each able to display a 6K-resoution picture. One option in LG's CES 2025 launches seems to fit the bill exactly.

The LG UltraFine 6K Monitor, model 32U990A, surfaced on Monday as part of the 2025 CES Innovation Awards, as an honoree in imaging. The monitor is described as the first in the world to have a 6K resolution display that also uses Thunderbolt 5.

Thunderbolt 5 is a connection type Apple includes in its Mac models running the M4 Pro or M4 Max chips, offering up to 80Gbps of bandwidth. While the video driving the display won't use up all of the bandwidth, the support for Thunderbolt 5 at least means it will offer high levels of bandwidth to downstream connected devices.

LG's newest screen has a Nano IPS Black panel, delivering high color accuracy and contrast. Its color gamut coverage includes 99.5% of Adobe RGB and 98% of DCI-P3.

There's also calibration software support, making it highly useful for creatives in visual fields.

As for the styling, it seems LG borrows from the Pro Display XDR and the Studio Display, with a thin bezel, a rectangular slab-like body, and an Apple-like rear stand.

Pricing and availability for the LG UltraFine 6K monitor has yet to be released by LG. That, and a lot of other specifications, including key elements like the display's size and what connections it provides.

While LG's monitor could be an attractive prospect, users may find that they can get many of the benefits in a presumably cheaper package.

AppleInsider has repeatedly raised the Dell 32-inch 6K monitor as a great option for users. The U3224KB has been around since 2023, and sports a 6K resolution with an IPS Black panel. It offers a higher 99% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut.

LG has relatively few specifications available for its display, but they are likely to be comparable in terms of connectivity options to Dell's screen.

Indeed, it could be argued that Dell's monitor's use of Thunderbolt 4 in its spec list isn't that much of a detriment versus LG's display. For a start, you're not going to saturate the connection with video, as there will be ample spare bandwidth on either connection.

As for what you do with that spare bandwidth, it's unlikely that the extra given with Thunderbolt 5 will be that useful to users, unless they connect a lot of drives up to the extra connections on the display.

Add in that Dell's monitor is available now for the relatively reasonable $2,479.99, and it seems like a good buy for the moment.

That may change if LG is particularly aggressive on the pricing of its screen and its availability. Sadly we won't know that until LG releases more details for the display, as well as more specifications in general.



Read on AppleInsider

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 17
    mattinozmattinoz Posts: 2,552member
    Autocorrect doesn't seemed have liked the product name in the first line.
    Either that or Skynet will be created if you used lots of them together
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  • Reply 2 of 17
    jabohnjabohn Posts: 593member
    I kind of like the idea of "UltraDine"!
    mattinoz
     1Like 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 3 of 17
    jvm156jvm156 Posts: 66member
    are there really no bezels?
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 4 of 17
    cpsrocpsro Posts: 3,251member
    As it's not even being mentioned for sale, LG may be negotiating with Apple over its design patents.
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  • Reply 5 of 17
    thttht Posts: 5,811member
    cpsro said:
    As it's not even being mentioned for sale, LG may be negotiating with Apple over its design patents.
    Most of the time, products revealed at CES are trial balloons, and most of them don’t even make it to the market. Others are determining market interest to figure out pricing. 

    This one? Who knows? The market for 220 PPI monitors is basically Apple Mac professionals. Not gamers. Not office workers. So, the niche is pretty small. Prices will be high. 
    jSnivelyApplejacsmichelb76danox
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  • Reply 6 of 17
    9secondkox29secondkox2 Posts: 3,240member
    Dang that’s nice!

    what apple studio display should have been. 

    Edit: don’t care for thst nasty round shaped foot. 

    Looks like a direct rip of apples Pro Display XDR. 
    edited January 6
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  • Reply 7 of 17
    big kcbig kc Posts: 142member
    Shots fired!
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  • Reply 8 of 17
    Yep, not going to be inexpensive.
    williamlondon
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  • Reply 9 of 17
    dk49dk49 Posts: 287member
    Did they launch a new 5k display too?
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  • Reply 10 of 17
    I’m still waiting for this monitor:
    - 5K or up
    - 90Hz or more (all max out at 60Hz)
    - HDR so I can edit videos without relying on external screen 
    - Integrated webcam of good quality 
    - USBC hub
    - Attractive minimalist design
    - Under $3K
    edited January 7
    williamlondon
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  • Reply 11 of 17
    entropysentropys Posts: 4,349member
    It will all depend on how many local dimming zones are behind it. I have the dell 4K ultrasharp which also has IPS black technology, so I expect this nano IPS Black will look even better more than the 6K res alone. The 4K looks great most of the time, but you can pick up blooming on a dark screen. Unless this is chock full of local dimming zones the dynamic range will disappoint compared with OLED.
    edited January 7
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  • Reply 12 of 17
    A few important questions.  The ones that really matter to me: price, of course? >60Hz refresh? HDR? If so, number of dimming zones (wouldn't be hard to beat the XDR here, though matching its brightness would be much more so)?

    Not sure if I care about USB-C hub, though would definitely be surprised if it doesn't exist.  Speed would be an interesting question (the XDR is fairly limited, there), though not critical for me.  It would be especially interesting if the monitor can do >120Hz refresh.

    Presence or absence of a webcam would be an interesting indicator of target market.  
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 13 of 17
    danoxdanox Posts: 3,516member
    A few important questions.  The ones that really matter to me: price, of course? >60Hz refresh? HDR? If so, number of dimming zones (wouldn't be hard to beat the XDR here, though matching its brightness would be much more so)?

    Not sure if I care about USB-C hub, though would definitely be surprised if it doesn't exist.  Speed would be an interesting question (the XDR is fairly limited, there), though not critical for me.  It would be especially interesting if the monitor can do >120Hz refresh.

    Presence or absence of a webcam would be an interesting indicator of target market.  
    Who in the PC world is gonna pay for it, the PC world is standardized on 4K at 120 Hz refresh a 6K monitor requires a serious upgrade in bandwidth and the overall price is not cheap, which brings us back to the fact that the PC world is standardize on 4K at 120 Hz 300-700 dollar monitors.

    Referred back to to all the crying about cost that was done when Apple introduced the Apple Studio display 27 inch monitor a 5K monitor. Anything good beyond 4K will cost more.
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  • Reply 14 of 17
    It appears that LG only has a photoshop mock-up at this point. Not even a 3D file. 

    No actual hardware. Just “hey everybody, how’s a 6k TB5 monitor thst looks like Apple’s stuff sound? 

    It’s easy to have hairline bezels on a drawing. 

    That said, if this thing comes out snd looks exactly like that, I’ll be highly highly tempted. 

    I think this monitor has the potential to halt sales of all Apple deisplays if nothing new comes out of Cupertino. 
    entropysStrangeDays
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  • Reply 15 of 17
    thedbathedba Posts: 798member


    AppleInsider has repeatedly raised the Dell 32-inch 6K monitor as a great option for users. The U3224KB has been around since 2023, and sports a 6K resolution with an IPS Black panel. It offers a higher 99% coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut.

    Oh please, not that monstrosity. 
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  • Reply 16 of 17
    danoxdanox Posts: 3,516member
    I’m still waiting for this monitor:
    - 5K or up
    - 90Hz or more (all max out at 60Hz)
    - HDR so I can edit videos without relying on external screen 
    - Integrated webcam of good quality 
    - USBC hub
    - Attractive minimalist design
    - Under $3K
    Good luck….. with most of the PC market standardized on 4K.
     0Likes 0Dislikes 0Informatives
  • Reply 17 of 17
    StrangeDaysstrangedays Posts: 13,139member
    Dang that’s nice!

    what apple studio display should have been. 

    Edit: don’t care for thst nasty round shaped foot. 

    Looks like a direct rip of apples Pro Display XDR. 
    Huh? This mockup is a derivative design of Apple’s monitors so without a time machine I don’t know how Apple would have made the Studio Display more like this. I have a Studio Display and it’s hands down the best monitor I’ve ever used. (I went VESA arm mount)
    edited January 8
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