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Monitors · LG UltraFine

LG UltraFine 5K

17owners with an opinion
62%of verdicts positive
6/6positive/negative since 2024
0happy after 3+ years

Praised for display and reliability; criticized for value.

What owners wrote

Neutral
Also really happy with Omarchy on Macbook. I installed the nightly kernel that has usb-c and it works really well. Connects fine to both LG Ultrafine 5k, and Studio Display. https://x.com/AGTPinsights/status/2106564829532328331 Still some tiny issues with waking from sleep lid closed, but I'm expecting to get that fixed myself with some prompting this week. The people working on Linux on Mac are really impressive (and have access to unlimited tokens), so I expect all issues to be fixed very soon. Being able combine agents, linux software and Apple hardware is so much fun.
Doesn’t like it
I kinda agree with you but this is for people who don't want to think about it. That 24" monitor is incredible compared to anything sub 500. A 32" gaming monitor is garbage once you're used to 216 ppi for creative work. Realistically there is like 1 display from BenQ that even comes close spec wise. Their target user will pay 1700 and have an incredible machine that does literally everything they want and probably won't need to upgrade for what, 5-10 years in a single purchase. Compared to having to buy a mouse, keyboard, speakers, webcam, and monitor. Also having good speakers and a webcam is underrated. I use my wife's Studio Display sometimes and it's a real, real nice piece of hardware. I have a 5k LG ultrafine at work that's spec for spec similar but it feels like a toy in comparison (it's also like half the price though so).
Doesn’t like it
I bought one for coding. I no longer can read text for an extended period with lower DPI monitors. There’s a few reasons why. 1. Non integer scaling sucks on Linux. It sucks on all OSs, but it’s just unusable on Linux IMO. 2. Text antialiasing sucks for most OSs except Microsoft ClearType, but I hate Windows. I currently use an old LG UltraFine 5k. It’s physically cracking / falling apart and has atrocious burn in. I tried replacing it with a Dell 32” 6k monitor. The stupid matte coating on it and seemingly all other high DPI screens is so, so bad. I just want glossy 5k at 120Hz with decent build quality and color accuracy. I don’t even like the fact it’s mini LED. Blooming is pretty awful on those things. I hope there’s a way to turn it off. So yes, I bought a $3,500 monitor to read text because no one else can seem to do it even remotely acceptably.
Likes it
I use two LG 5K Ultrafine models. The quality is fantastic. Only two things to watch out for. The first is burn-in. I now move windows about when I can, and also tend to use Dark mode for everything. I also set up BetterTouchTool to give me 10%, 20%, 30% etc brightness mapped to Cmd plus the numeric keypad. I use a comfortable level of brightness, and only bump it up for a short while when I need to examine something. I also have some anti burn-in videos downloaded with yt-dlp to clear burn-in when I find a ghost of it on the screen. The other problem is screen activation. There is no power button on the LG displays. I like to keep the Macbook Pro in sleep mode when not in use, so I can resume with my app windows in the same state from the previous session. My whole desk setup is behind a smart switch. Often, when resuming from sleep, one of the displays would not wake and the only workaround was to unplug and replug the thunderbolt cable at the Macbook side. I work around this by having the Macbook continuously powered by my Orico dock when in use or sleeping, and this seems to address the problem. There is also an occasional issue of a single display switching off when I am using it, and this just means a thunderbolt unplug and replug at the Macbook side. But fortunately this has been fairly rare. So, visually great hardware that I’m thankful for, but Apple’s “it just works” doesn’t really apply here. Just mentioning these in case someone is experiencing similar issues.
Doesn’t like it
The LG UltraFine's were garbage, but got better over time as either the firmware improved or macOS added drivers that worked around the nonsense. For a while I ran with two of them on an iMac Pro with a 5K itself, but switched to a single Pro Display XDR with a laptop eventually. I'm very sad to see the 6K/32" form disappear, it's by far the best screen I've ever used.
Doesn’t like it
Basically what he just said, last week I put in a ton of time researching and came to the same exact conclusion. But of course, you read that. So, I’ll take a hack at guessing what’s on your mind past that. I bet it won’t be much more expensive than the LG list price, $2000. LG seems hellbent on making margins on this panel in their 1st party monitor. Ex. You can get the same panel but better quality in Asus Proart for $1300. The key thing to watch here is, is Apple’s also 6K? If so, are they getting better panels than LG gives itself or Asus? (likely) Regardless, it’s a shitshow with this panel, I’d rather get a used UltraFine 5K than get one of LGs. I’d try Asus if it was easy for me to return. Only new option that’s better than a 10 year old UltraFine 5K with my fellow HiDPI nerds is…the $6K XDR display :/ (n.b. I’m not being precious either, this an extremely painful conclusion I have every incentive to avoid, tl;dr I abandoned an UltraFine 5K to the trash heap because I didn’t have time to figure out how to move it 3,000 miles and assumed _surely_ there was a good option between 24-32” in hidpi…)
Likes it
I am still using an LG UltraFine 5k since launch. I experienced flickering in the first month and had the monitor replaced by supplier - and it's been amazing ever since! Also, this DPI is perfect for having both crisp text and correct sized elements on screen (in MacOS). 32" 6K is very tempting!
Likes it
Thanks for this, just bought one. Been tempted to cave for the Apple XDR for a long time but just couldn't justify it and my 32" 4K just isn't quite cutting it. I see a few complaints here, so my fingers are crossed! I absolutely loved the LG Ultrafine 5K though but 27" was starting to feel limited as my eyes get older.
Likes it
I've got one of the LG Ultrafine 5K monitors paired with a modern M1 Max macbook and it's a nice combination. Expensive, but I adore the pixel density considering I spend all day staring at text :) I'd be seriously tempted by an iMac if it had M4 Pro + a 27" 5K display. I just don't feel it's likely as they'll probably see it as cannibalising Mac Studio + Studio Display sales.
Likes it
Agreed. In my case with a 15" MBP M1 Max and two LG UltraFine 5K's, which I always plug in the same ports, 99% of the time it remembers which display is which correctly. On my 2018 Intel, this was hit and miss. It's obviously not a trivial problem to solve...
Doesn’t like it
I don't have an ASD, but back in 2020 I bought the LG UltraFine 5K from Apple's website together with a laptop and the LG monitor's colors all had a yellowish hue to them. Some Internet searches and possibly their support forums claimed that this is normal, it's just how the monitor works, or something like that (yes I did try various color temperature and config settings - all yellow). Luckily this "wasn't my first monitor", so I quickly returned it and went back to Dell that's always been OK enough so I don't ever have to pay attention to which monitor or display setting I'm using.
Likes it
Sorry you are having issues, but I have found the support for multiple monitors to be great all the way back to a Mac IIci I got in 1989. At the moment I am running a 16" M1 MB Pro with an LG 5K over Thunderbolt. It finds the monitor and puts my spaces back to the right monitors every time I plug it in. It sleeps and wakes from sleep with no issues. I have had Macs for over 30 years and never experienced these kinds of issues and have used laptops with external monitors (except for some random issues while running beta system software). I have to believe there is something about your software environment that is different. I hope you find the issue, but I can tell you from a large office full of Macs and my own personal experience that your situation is not typical. Good luck.
Likes it
> why? Really interested. Generally speaking, I’ve never found that to be genuine, but assume best intent and all as the site rules say, so here goes... For me, I often am doing multiple things at once and juggling between unrelated tasks which actually need my attention sporadically. The LG 5K with it’s beautiful display gets my primary attention and is what I want to be focused on. Apps there are what I should ideally be working on. The two Apple TB displays then flank either side, and they get the “distractions”, but stuff important enough to allow distracting me when needed. What that is is variable from day (sometimes Slack makes the list, sometimes it doesn’t, as one example), but it’s intentionally in my peripheral vision so I only “look” for motion/changes in certain areas, not actually try to read. If I need to read, I context shift by rotating my chair slightly to the left or right (better for you than rotating head). End of the day, do whatever works for you. Yes, there are folks who can legitimately take advantage of lots of screens like me. Some folks who have tried multiple don’t, and are happier when they switch back, but I’m not one of them and it’s something I routinely experiment with to ensure I’m still using the best “for me” setup. I’ve gone as high as nine screens attached (with eGPU) to my laptop (eGPU seems to keep laptop fans on elevated, but not full power btw, back to original thread purpose), but I found I was too easily distracted and hence am bac
Likes it
It's 163. I think the 218 you got from a Cmd-F and picked up the SEO blurb for the 5k ultra fine in the footer). I cannot tell the difference between the LG and my MacBook's retina screen at my normal viewing range, but this may just be my eyes. I also use a non integer scaling factor on both screens as I find it has the right combo of resolution and real estate for me, and I don't notice artefacts.
Doesn’t like itHasn’t owned it
It amazes me it’s so hard to find monitors around 210+ PPI. Glad this is one. That said I would be scared to buy this. I’ve heard so many horror stories about the LG UltraFine 5k and the ports breaking and then having to send it in for repair for a long time. At this point I don’t trust their build quality for monitors. In general though, I am so glad to see big high DPI monitors have more than one or two options finally.
Doesn’t like itHasn’t owned it
Apple cannot guarantee the pixel density will actually be high enough. They make computers and tablets that can attach to any external monitor. macOS looks *awful* on anything that isn't precisely 218ppi. Other than Apple's overpriced profit-machine displays, there are two displays that reach this: LG's Ultrafine 5K, and Dell's 6K (with its ugly, extraneous webcam attached to the top). Other 6K monitors were shown at CES this year but so far, I haven't actually found any for sale. EDIT: Correction, LG apparently doesn't sell the 5K Ultrafine anymore, at least on their website. That means, the odds are incredibly high that unless you buy the LG, or drop a wad on an overpriced Studio Display or the even worse valued Pro Display, your experience with macOS on an external monitor will be awful. That's even before we get into the terrible control we have in the OS over connection settings. I shouldn't have to buy BetterDisplay to pick a refresh rate I know my display is capable of on the port it's plugged into.
Doesn’t like itHasn’t owned it
I commend them for making a developer-focused monitor, but anything less than 200 PPI makes me sad. If I'm staring at text all day, it'd better be crisp. The number of good Retina displays is so small. Back when I had to buy a new display I relented, I just got the Apple Studio Display, even though it is effectively the old 27" 5K iMac minus the Mac. At least it doesn't have many reported build quality issues (LG UltraFine 5K) or insane backlight bleed/uniformity issues (some Dell 6k 32" display, I forgot the model number).
Doesn’t like itHasn’t owned it
Obviously something wrong with the driver for that camera. The same camera produces very good video in the iPad Pro. As for the rest of the Studio monitor, it is a huge relief to finally have a true 5K display from Apple. The only other maker, LG produced a half-hearted effort that suffered from ghosting, backlight bleed, wobbly stand, and loose ports. Those quality control issues are usually things that Apple gets right an has done so in the similar 27" iMac for several years. No one else makes an equivalent monitor. Yes, there are lots of cheaper 4K displays out there. Some smaller, some larger. 4K is never quite right for a Mac OS display larger than about 24 inches. I see a lot of recommendations for wide-screen monitors instead. I've tried a few of those and they almost always have limited vertical resolution and the text rendering is soft enough that I have to enlarge the text to read it clearly. I do this on the Samsung widescreen that our office supplies. I know that the trend is toward higher refresh screens, and I have a couple of screens with 120hz refresh. Both of those are much smaller screens. It might be nice to have higher refresh but I don't actually miss it. 60Hz works well and if the alternative is a higher price, then, no thank you. Similar on the HDR for the screen. This IPS screen has a really great image and reasonable dynamic range for this kind of tech. It might be nice to have more, but everything suggests that mini-LED would be more expensive at thi