LG 27UL850-W 27 Inch UltraFine (3840 x 2160) IPS Display with VESA DisplayHDR 400 and USB Type-C Connectivity, White

TL;DR - Great monitor at an excellent value compared to other options in the market. Great middle ground for everyday use along with casual gaming. 4k is excellent and display is consistent throughout without vignetting/backlight hot spots. HDR is useless, so don't bank on it.I spent two months researching monitors that balanced needs for work and light gaming, had good color/brightness, and USB-C that could charge my connected MacBook Pro and iPad Pro. The main contenders were the Dell 2720Q, HP Z27, and this LG UL850 (or the essentially equivalent UK or UN version of the 850 with the -W just signifying the white back of the monitor from what I've found).The Dell 2720Q was what I was after. Reviews gave it the edge due to some reports of off-color blacks and vignetting on the LG. For me the main draw was it was the only monitor I could find with 90W USB-C charging capability that would guarantee my MBP would remain at full charge throughout the day. It was retailing at >$600 US though and supply chain had it backordered everywhere for months. When I saw the LG UN850-W for $400 NIB available immediately, I pulled the trigger and am super glad I did.👍 60W Charging - This was my biggest fear when I bought the monitor: it wouldn't be enough to maintain charge on my MBP while working/gaming. In the month that I've owned the monitor now, I can safely say that even while pushing performance on my MBP and video streaming with passthrough to my iPad Pro, the 60W charging keeps up. While it may not charge as quickly as 90W would, the main thing is net positive charge while in use.👍 4k - I went 4k at 27" because I wanted as close to an experience I get with my MBP retina screen, primarily for text clarity. This LG does just that. Side-by-side with my MBP, the crispness is good at a scaled resolution (middle of the Larger Text and More Space options in Mac OSX). I'm not streaming 4k content or gaming at 4k (my MBP def doesn't have an nVidia 30 series GPU capable of powering that). 1080p@60fps is plenty for my needs and this monitor handles that very well.👍 Black levels / HDR - I went IPS based on better viewing angles and color accuracy, not for inky blacks. VA panels would probably be better suited for those needs along with OLED, which is still too pricey for me. Without side-by-side comparison, I can say that I'm happy enough with blacks and contrast levels in the monitor. It's also an even display without any backlit hotspots or vignetting. Other reviewers and monitor geeks have noted this LG can't achieve brightness and contrast levels required to make use of HDR properly and they're probably right. My experience leads me to believe HDR and "inky blacks" on anything besides high-end 4k OLED is just marketing noise for current generation upper mid-end hardware. If you're looking for a luxe theater experience on your monitor, this LG probably isn't for you. If you're a fairly well informed layman like me though that doesn't study monitor performance for a living, this LG looks great.👍 Color accuracy - Out of the box this thing looks excellent. It definitely has a slightly warmer tone than my MBP, but I actually prefer it. OSD settings are a bit lackluster, but there are options to tweak color profile if necessary. I haven't found the need. As a web designer, I do need some semblance of color accuracy for work, but I'm designing web applications, not doing asset prep, brand work or photo manipulation so 90-95% accurate is suitable for me. Again, without side-by-side comparison to the ludicrously expensive UltraFine, the UN850 produces beautiful color accuracy.👍 Gaming - This is an IPS panel so you won't get refresh rates of a VA. I don't play competitive FPSs though (COD, Fortnite, PUBG etc.) so refresh rates / screen tearing aren't a primary concern for me. That said, I haven't experienced any screen tearing or refresh issues for anything I've played (e.g. Hades, Kerbal, Factorio). This thing keeps up just fine and is definitely suitable for the casual gamer.🤷‍♀️ UX / Ergonomics - This is where the LG falls a bit short. As others have noted, the single OSD controller button at the center bottom of the screen is meh. The UX of it is fine: it's a 4-way directional button with a click that you use to bring up menu options on screen, click to select, and move the button "left" to navigate backwards in the menu. It works. I'd prefer it if the button were a bit bigger and easier to maneuver, but the actual menu system is intuitive enough for the infrequent use I have for it. Quick actions for volume control are handy (left/right to lower/raise volume and down to mute once the volume control is on screen). I'm not a huge fan of the stand with its wide arcing base. While the design is nice to allow for things like an iPad to be placed directly centered below the screen, I just find the wide arcing base inelegant and a bit unsightly. Given the VESA compatible mount though, I got a monitor arm for my desk, which works great and removes the need for the stand. The stand works otherwise and is fairly stable, though there is some slight wobble if you're fiddling with the OSD settings or you're punching keys hard and your desk has any give to it. For the most part though, it's stable so you won't have a ton of jitter.🤷‍♀️ Connectivity / Port Access - Another area that's acceptable but could use improvement. The biggest issues people have with this monitor is the USB-C supposedly controls all the other USB ports, which creates challenges for those using a number of peripherals and connections. I can't comment there as I only use the USB-C for my MBP and haven't had issues. That said, the placement of all the connections on the back of the monitor are slightly cumbersome. Placement closer to the side would have made access easier, though you can get some very clean cable management with the current placement that wouldn't be possible with more accessible ports. It's just a trade-off between access and elegance. LG optimizes for hiding unseemly cords over easy access, which is great for one time set-up, but awful for consistent use. The real winner here is USB-C for me along with HDMI.🤷‍♀️ Sound - If you want good sound, get headphones or high end speakers. Don't use monitor speakers. If you just need confirmation beeps and boops, built-in audio output is great to have.Overall this monitor is an exceptional value with excellent picture quality and great features like the 60W charging. If you're debating between this and other options in the market, I can't imagine you'd be disappointed with this LG.

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.

Pros:- Great resolution for the price. At $450, this monitor's resolution and clarity is far better than anything else I have found. And I have searched. My employer provides us with ASUS 27 inch monitors which are lousy by comparison.- Each monitor has a single USB-C port which allows me to run 2 monitors from my Macbook. This is something that is not possible without video over USB-C.- There is an audio output jack. This is a nice-to-have, and allows you to run the HDMI audio out to an amplifier and external speakers. I did that at one point, but the desk is cluttered enough, so I removed them.- 2 HDMI and 1 Display Port input. I don't use these, but would be good for many others.- Monitor mounting is VESA compliant (the stand is not).- The stand is light weight, attractive, and adequately durable (but not VESA compliant).Cons: These are annoyances, mostly mild.- The USB-C port will fail to charge my Macbook. Not always, but sometimes. Kind of a WTF.- There is only 1 USB-C port. The rest are legacy USB 2.0. Kind of crummy.- The video has a menu selection option SUPER RESOLUTION+. It does nothing and you cannot find any information on it?- The stand works with this monitor. It is not VESA compliant, so it can only be used with this monitor.- The stand has limited vertical range, but functional.- Gimmicky Sharpness settings are a waste of time. Purchasers of this product are not 13 year old boys with anime fetish. Grow up.- On OSX, setting the "High Dynamic Range" settings merely gives the monitor a light blue haze. Awful. Another WTF feature that is terrible. Just turn it off.