What’s the best monitor that Apple doesn’t make?

Five years ago Apple stopped selling their own branded monitors. And it's left a hole on the desks of many Apple users. There are lots of other monitor options available. But which one is a worthy companion for our desks? We found a few to choose from.

Buy Dell S2719DC Monitor

Buy MSI Modern MD241PW Monitor

Buy Razer Raptor 27" Gaming Monitor

Buy Samsung CJ791 Ultrawide Gaming Monitor

Buy LG UltraFine 5K Monitor

Buy Apple Magic Keyboard

Buy Apple Magic Mouse

Buy Apple Pro Display XDR

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Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
0:38 Apple's Monitor History
1:17 LG UltraFine Display
2:10 Let's leave the Apple Store
2:35 Thanks dbrand!
3:04 Razer Raptor
4:15 MSI Modern 24
5:32 Samsung Thunderbolt Ultrawide
5:54 Dell Ultrathin 27
7:11 Conclusion

[thelegend-e]

There’s something deeply funny to me about Jonathan liking the Dell so much, that he bestowed it the great honour of replacing their logo with Apple’s.
I also never appreciated just how boring the vast majority of monitor designs are today until I saw the old Apple ones shown in this video. Top stuff!

[maybedonn]

Hah, oh god. Nobody show Jonathan the "cable management" behind my monitor.

[lougan]

Honestly, I was expecting a Dell. Not that one though. I’ve been thinking super hard about the Dell UltraSharp U2720Q. It’s got 95% DCI-P3, HDR400, 4K, is height & orientation adjustable and outputs 90W of power with more ports than the one you showed. It’s currently listed for $539 on the Dell website.

It’s pretty obvious that Dell is really trying to grab Mac folks with that screen.

[PopStrikers]

Seriously, thanks for taking this approach to monitors. Most of the coverage is purely gaming focused, so it’s nice to see some other options that focus on other creature comforts besides frame rate

[noco]

I feel like you completely skipped over the LG 27UP850-W... I have two and they're fantastic. 27" 4K IPS Panel with 96w USB-C, and I use one of the USB-A ports for Ethernet - The design and adjustable stand would meet your needs too.

[kristiansims]

I’m very late to say this but if you ever do another one of these I think the top priority is 220 ppi (or 110 in some cases) so you don’t have mismatched UI sizes and don’t have to rely on fuzzy scaling. Apple has kept to the same ppi ratios for nearly a decade now. If you want to pick a real apple monitor substitute (to go with an iMac or laptop at least) you have to match the resolution.

[ceasarc]

For the last 10 years Dell has been hitting hard on the lcd market and has quite a few impressive monitors out there with decent prices to boot.

[QuadroNVS]

None of these damn monitors appear to have VESA mounting holes which really grinds my gears.

[asdf]

BTW Hardware Unboxed recently did a scathing review of the Razer Raptor 27, calling it “overpriced trash”. That said, I agree that most monitors really do look pretty damned ugly and I would love it if Apple re-entered the consumer/prosumer space here with something both really attractive and of high quality.

[CalumRaasay]

Really wish apple did an updated thunderbolt display, I really loved it.

[WackyblocksD]

How about the 3:2 Huawei 28, 2" MateView 28
Probably one of the cleanest looking monitors there is

[JGRGilbert]

I want Apple to produce another monitor so much! What gets me is how wobbly so many monitors are. I use a sit / stand desk, which moves a fair amount at standing height, and a steady monitor really helps.

[jebbra]

I’m disappointed that you didn’t talk about the image quality aspect (a more in-depth color coverage that closest to MacBook’s) of the external monitors. One of the biggest feature of MacBook for me is the beautiful screen and it is very hard to replicate when using an external monitor. Hope you can talk about it in the future!

[tvandbeermakehomergo]

I bought a lower end LG 4k Display based on a recomendation from my local apple store (UHD 27UL850 ). It has 2 USB A ports so I can add any device I want, and is a perfect companion for my Macbook Air M1.

[stills]

I would love an updated version of this for 2023/2024, especially after Apple removed sub pixel anti-aliasing on MacOS.

[KKiguchi]

NICE! Any time you will go on WAN Show? I really enjoyed your take on the event.

[NeilVitale]

The problem with 1440p and Macs is that you can only get (HiDPI) mode at 720p. It is pretty sweet that variable refresh rate works so if you have a monitor and Mac that supports it you can get some pretty nice Freesync. Myself I purchased a ViewSonic OMNI XG2705-2K 27. While it doesn't have a USB-C input, it cost me less than $300 and also works in landscape or portrait.

[RavageEject]

I’m still rocking the 27inch Cinema Display with my M1 Mac mini

[NineEyeRon]

I’m so glad I’m a Mac user who isn’t design obsessed. Function over form every time!

[georgemichael]

You just know the Razer monitor will break down the moment its two year warranty is up. No idea how that company stays in business or even manages to keep customers.