LG DualUp 28-inch 16:18: what 19 Hacker News owners think

Likes itOwned 1 year

I agree, but we got LG's 16:18 DualUp monitors a year ago. Having a 43'' monitor in the middle and these two on the sides creates a better setup than it was than what was previously possible.

Likes it

For me, it’s perfect with my MacBook on a laptop stand next to it.

Doesn’t like it

Maybe, but there's a tall raised bezel around the port area so even those cables might not work if the port is close enough to the edge of the port cutout, since it'll intersect the chassis plastic. The lower DP port on this monitor looks way too close to the bezel for a 90 degree cable for example. I guess it's not hitting the wall anymore, but I still can't use it. All in all it's a baffling design decision and I wish they would just put the ports downward firing at the bottom of the monitor with straight clearance like everyone else. You could even still stack them vertically with no gap this way because the actual screen support curves away from where the ports would exit.

Doesn’t like it

I was disappointed too. In the end the vastly improved aspect ratio and ergonomics could not overcome the unpleasant screen quality. While Mac OS has never had an issue with other monitors and scaling replies in my experience, it does for the DualUp. I’m not knowledgeable enough about the various protocols to know if this is Apple or LG’s responsibility, but the end result is not pleasant.

Likes it

I bought one, and I'm also upset with how Mac OS handles the scaling. I've tried absolutely every utility that allegedly makes higher DPI monitors work: BetterDisplay, SwitchResX, EasyRes, and a few other little ones. BetterDisplay makes it sound like they support full resolution with any arbitrary scaling factor. But all of them, at least the ones that did ANYTHING, they only offered the exact same behavior that Mac's built-in display settings offered. They only let me run at a lower resolution. I'm on a 2020 Intel MBP. Running it at 1920x2160 (just via Mac's built-in settings) is annoying, but it displays things at the correct size and lets me move on with my life. It's still slightly crisper than my old 96 DPI monitor, and the screen real estate + aspect ratio is absolutely amazing for coding. It's a real shame that neither Mac nor LG has a solution similar to what Windows offers. Hooking the Dualup to my Windows 10 PC, it immediately just worked. Full resolution, 150% scaling, it was the perfect size. Text looks so much crisper on Windows than Mac with this monitor. I've been considering installing some Linux distro for my daily work just to enjoy proper scaling (I figure Ubuntu would offer something similar to Windows).

Likes it

I got them recently as the side monitors for a 16:9 43'' 4k in the middle. The height matches almost perfectly. I love this layout so far, so much desktop space and such high resolution! And it's nice to have a big 16:9 screen in the middle for videos. Finally a worthy replacement for my three 10-year-old 30'' 16:10 Dells. For people who work in Windows: you will want to use https://github.com/mgth/LittleBigMouse and you'll need to modify the registry to work around this issue https://github.com/mgth/LittleBigMouse/issues/80 if you don't want your mouse cursor to jump vertically during screen transitions.

Likes it

I'm using the included monitor stand. The monitor definitely can move relative to my desk if I shake my desk, but it's noticeably sturdier than a cheap (but highly rated) monitor arm from Amazon. I'm personally pleased using the monitor stand.

Likes it

I used to run a 16:9 vertically for writing so I got one of these and love it. The only issue is that I needed to install BetterDisplay (former BetterDummy) to get retina scaling from my macbook pro M1 . Dunno why macOS doesn't support it natively since it has the same PPI as a 32" 4k screen.

Likes it

I just got one a few weeks back but haven't gotten to spend a ton of time with it yet. It's taking some adjustment but I'm liking it so far. - had 1440p + 1080p monitors on stands side by side before. Now just this one on an arm (which is excellent), that I can adjust to keep my position from being static. - not having to hold my neck angled while reading my side monitor is helpful. - realistically there are a few "modes" of working on here. While coding it's pulled a bit closer, while in CAD or similar creative I might push it back a bit and get more of the monitor in view. - I recline slightly so the monitor is tilted a bit which gives me a solid view of the bottom 60-70% of the monitor. The top is a bit out of range at close distance. - For coding so far I have the middle-ish of the monitor as a 1440p code-only view. Below that are a few windows for manpages/reference/interactive debugging/repl/etc. On the top end which is normally slightly out of view I have compilation and long running test output which I glance at by moving my eyes. I like not having to page between desktops while coding when possible. The bottom view is also large enough to hold a browser window or simulator window. Need to also try pushing it back a bit with slightly larger text and see if that's any better. I don't intend to game on it, maybe windowed mode in the middle or something. edit: well, also it has this mode where you can split it into two 1440p monitors on different inputs (which you can ho…

Likes it

I have one- I can confirm, no bezel. It's just a single contiguous panel as far as I can tell. I does have software support for feeding 2 inputs into the top/bottom, but by default it just hooked up as a single monitor. Looks great!

Neutral

My solution has been to use it as a second monitor, run it at native resolution, and only use it for apps where I can reliablably increase the font size (terminals, web apps/pages with good zoom support). I keep VSCode on my high DPI main monitor.

Likes it

It's as close as it needs to be for the size fonts and resolution I want to run it at, and still be able to read comfortably with my 50 year-old eyes. Yes, it's a bit on the close side so I do have to pan my head a bit. As I mentioned, I do push it back and bring it forward throughout the day, but I just measured where I'd left it at after coding yesterday and it was at 24" away. I don't really have any issues with eye strain though. I did need to get dedicated glasses that I use when using the monitor or when I'm on my laptop. I'm a bit near-sighted, even after Lasik a decade ago, and now I'm also dealing with presbyopia the last few years. I've worn glasses all my life, but they never bothered me at all till I started dealing with the presbyopia and needing task-specific glasses. :-( I tried progressive glasses (modern versions of bifocals) but found them extremely annoying with their fishbowl effect and only providing enough magnification at the bottom and gave up on them after two weeks. So I now have my regular glasses that are adjusted for normal activities and I just take them off or read below them for near work. My near-sightedness here is providing me some temporary respite from the presbyopia. But at arm's length distances, it's uncomfortable to read text through them because my eyes can't focus that close with them on, yet if I take them off it's just a bit too blurry. So I basically have my work glasses that make things from ~ 18" - 36" comfortable for viewing. P…

Likes it

I just switched to this setup and it’s great. Windows unfortunately doesn’t natively support “snap to left/right” on a horizontal monitor and “snap to bottom/top” on a vertical monitor at the same time.

Likes it

Not sure what you mean by bleeding - can you be more specific? I find it an absolute joy to use. When I am at my desk I spend a lot of time in front of the screen and compared to the Samsung 4k I was using previously I find far less eye strain, much crisper image, and just generally more pleasant. I feel the investment was very worthwhile. It’s also very beautifully designed which was definitely a consideration for me, as my office has a very cheaper defined aesthetic. Happy to answer specific questions but understand that I’m not a monitor expert :)

Neutral

i have that and the one thing i don't like about it is the max rate is 60hz. even 75 would be fine; i don't need amazing, just a bit more than 60. this new lg monitor has really neat features: the picture by picture and the built-in kvm are clever and useful, but it has the same 60hz.

Likes it

100% not for everyone, and I have to run it along side of traditional monitors (gaming etc). That being said, it's the #1 thing I value out of my setup just by personal preference. When I'm traveling + using a traditional setup I really miss it.

Likes it

Yes! The stand is really great; I have mine on an adjustable height desk and it takes up so little space. Which is perfect as I have so little space to work with. I got it recently and for me it's spot on as my main monitor. The built-in two device kvm saves me so much time. I can't speak to the resolution woes as I was using two very, very old monitors at home so I've just been basking in the glow of using something made recently. I've been enjoying the vertical space for tasks like going through logs/giant spreadsheets and then switching to the dual monitor mode for the usual multi-tasking. I've used dual 32in curved fancy monitors at the office before and found that I would just use a fourth of the real estate available. My brain prefers the vertical space over the horizontal.

Recommends it

I have one as well and definitely can recommend it. The only thing is that if you are running macOS you really need to have SwitchResX for it to not look terrible. I have it next to my studio display and it honestly does not even compare in terms of clarity. I’m sure it’ll run better on windows.

Likes it

I'm also using a 21:9 and a 16:9 sideways. I mainly use the portrait monitor for API docs and the iOS simulator. The tall format is perfect for viewing documentation, especially browsing through long lists of classes or methods.

Likes it

I’ve been using a vertical monitor recently and I have to say I haven’t noticed any pain. I don’t tend to look up and down with my head, I simply move my eyes up and down

Likes it

I love it, perhaps we are entering a golden age of 1:1 screens. I had a blackberry passport and the second greatest thing about it was that it had a square screen and took square pictures.

Likes it

I received one last week. Works great on my M1 MBP. I have a 16:9 monitor above the MBP and the LG to the right of it, but now I want to get a keyboard, trackpad and webcam so I can swap the positions of the monitors and have the LG as my main monitor. My only complaint is it’s not as wide as a 27” monitor despite having the same resolution as Thunderbolt Displays / 27” iMacs. So the pixels are smaller. The width is closer to a 24” 16:9. But I love the stand, and everything else about it.