I am going to save you a lot of time and effort....hopefully. I spent days researching 27" monitors to use side-by-side with my 2019 13" MBP. I looked over countless reviews and YouTube videos. When the dust settled, it looked like LG was the clear winner with their 27UK850. However, this isn't that model. This is actually a recently updated version with a very small spec bump.
Both monitors arrived well-packaged. Without even looking at the instructions, I had this put together in under two minutes. There are no screws -- except for a self-tightening hand screw in the monitor base. The base clicks into the monitor. From there, you just place it on your desk.
I would advise being very careful lifting the monitor, keeping your hands off the screen and against the bezels. The side bezels on this monitor are minuscule, so again...be careful. Thought the packaging recommends a "2 Man Lift, " this monitor is rather light and can easily be assembled and lifted up by one person.
The LG27UL850 comes with all the cables you need. This is not clearly specified in the product description. You get a display port cable, HDMI cable, and USB-C cable. The lengths of these cables are a bit on the short side so if you need something longer, you will need to order that on your own. The power cable has a huge brick attached to it, which to this day, I still don't understand why computer display companies still use. There is also a cord management clip that easily attaches to the stand.
I originally wanted to buy the LG 49" ultra-widescreen monitor. My concern was my Macbook Pro. Not all the Macbook Pros can properly run those screens. It seems like only those with the Radeon graphics cards can do it. My 2019 13" MBP does not have a Radeon card. I do plan to buy the upcoming 16" MBP and that will have the needed graphic card. So, in order to use my 13" MBP I had to dash my dream of having a single ultra-widescreen monitor on my desk.
Putting two 27" monitors side-by-side was my second choice, which is why I bought two of these monitors.
Originally, I connected both monitors to a Caldigit TS3+ dock. One monitor connected via display port, the other USB-C. The Caldigit dock would not drive both monitors from a single USB-C MBP connection. Only one of the monitors registered. When I connected them directly from both my MBP USB-C ports, both monitors came to life. I am hoping the upcoming 16" MBP will be able to run both monitors from a single connection.
For you MBP users, you will need to go into system preferences -> displays -> and then press down on the option key while in the display box to reveal the DETECT DISPLAYS option. Once your MBP detects the second monitor, you will find your desktop stretched across two screens.
Finding the right resolution was done through display settings on my MBP. I used scaled mode (found in DISPLAYS) and used the option right above DEFAULT (second in line). It's not the smallest resolution to get the most screen real estate, but it's the perfect balance between real-estate and being able to actually read what is on the screen. The resolution is set at 2560 x 1440 @ 60 Hz and it looks really good.
I didn't really play around with changing any of the monitor settings. I think it looks perfect out of the box. If you stick your finger beneath the middle of the monitor, you'll feel the joystick. Pressing that joystick turns on the monitor. From there, you can access a wealth of settings from the onscreen control. LG makes its onscreen control app available to Mac users via the App Store, however, after seeing the negative reviews I decided against downloading it. After all, seeing how pleasing the monitor looks I don't think I am going to need to make any additional tweaks.
Be aware that this is a matte screen. I didn't find that out until after I ordered it and I was very fearful -- as someone who loves glossy screens -- that I would hate it. Now having spent some time working with both these monitors, I am very pleased by the quality of the imagery with no dead pixels or IPS bleed.
I think it's remarkable just how almost non-existent the side bezels are. While I was not able to get an exact seamless experience putting both of these monitors next to each other, I think it's probably the best I'll be able to do with any monitor currently available. I love the range of height adjustability I have, including the capability of rotating these monitors into portrait mode (which I doubt I will ever use).
Honestly, I would rather have bought the single ultra-widescreen 49" display from LG. However, it's just not rated well for MBP use across the board. Using both of these 27" displays side-by-side is just about as good. I am very happy with the outstanding picture quality that I am getting with these monitors. As I mentioned at the top of my review, these are rated among the best displays in 2019.
| Standing screen display size | 27 Inches |
|---|---|
| Screen Resolution | 3840 x 2160 |
| Max Screen Resolution | 3840 x 2160 Pixels |
