BestUSB-C Monitors for MacbooksiMore2019

If your daily-use Mac is a MacBook and you need a bigger display than the 13 or 15-inch laptop screen, your best bet is LG's 27-inch 4K display for its versatility and price. It's perfect for most people, though there are other monitors better suited to different needs.

Best Overall: LG 27UK850-W

Learn about the LG UltraFine 4K Display and how to use it with your Mac. About the LG UltraFine 4K Display The 21.5-inch LG UltraFine 4K Display features a 4096 x 2304 resolution, a P3 color gamut, 500 cd/m2 of brightness and built-in stereo speakers. The best monitor 2018: Top 4K, Full HD and Quad HD options for creatives and gamers. Apple MacBook Air (2018) review: Return of the Mac Forget dark mode! Windows 10 bucks this trend with all.

LG's latest 4K display is perfectly sized for most people at 27-inches. It supports a wide range of peripherals, including USB-C, USB-A, DisplayPort, HDMI, and standard headphones.

The best part of this monitor is its ability to power your MacBook while acting as a display so that your battery does not limit you. It can even power the 13-inch MacBook Pro with ease (though it struggles to keep the 15-inch MacBook Pro juiced up more than a trickle during use).

Pros:

  • Built-in USB hub for all your peripherals
  • Easy setup
  • 4K display
  • 60Hz refresh rate and 5ms response time
  • IPS 3-side borderless display

Best Overall

LG 27UK850-W

The best USB-C monitor for most people.

This 4K monitor is perfectly situated between price and features with a variety of ports, high-speed data transfer, and 60W charging for your MacBook.

Best 4k Pc Monitor 2018

The 27-inch Envy has a great display that looks as good as its hardware. It's ultra-thin with a 'micro-edge' bezel, meaning it has a 3-sided nearly bezel-less edge, so you see more on the screen than, say an iMac's 27-inch screen. The USB-C connector powers up to the 13-inch MacBook Pro (it'll trickle charge the 15-inch MacBook Pro, too) so you won't have to worry about battery drain.

It's got a small base for minimal desktop footprint and can be mounted on a wall. With two HDMI ports, a DisplayPort, and support for AMD FreeSync, it's the perfect gaming display, movie-watching screen, and everyday monitor.

Pros:

  • 4K display
  • Fast 60Hz refresh rate
  • Zero lag for gaming
Mac

Best Value

HP Envy 27

An affordable option that looks as great as it performs.

The HP Envy 27 is a quality model monitor for this price. With a 27-inch 4K display and USB-C connection, you're getting the biggest bang for your buck.

The price tag on the LG UltraFine 4K is very appealing. You can have a quality 4K monitor that works seamlessly with your Mac. Though it doesn't have the Apple design aesthetic, the good stuff is all on the inside. Just like an Apple brand monitor, all of the monitor's controls are available in the settings section of your Mac.

This 24-inch display fits right into the pocket of reasonably priced and excellent quality if you don't mind the boxy black look. As for the price, you can get two of them for almost the price of one LG UltraFine 5K Display.

Pros:

  • Two Thunderbolt 3 ports
  • Dual-screen full 4K display support
  • Supports 85W charging
  • Easy to set up

Best for daisy-chain

LG UltraFine 4K

Dual-screen full 4K support.

Hook up two for a beautiful, bright, and convenient workflow for your Mac laptop.

Though LG's UltraFine 5K was designed specifically with Apple's MacBook Pro in mind; it's the 34WK95U-W that wins our hearts. This 5K monitor has a 5120 x 2160 resolution, 34-inch display, a Thunderbolt 3 port, an HDMI port, a DisplayPort port, and a couple of USB-A ports. It's more versatile than the UltraFine, and that's ultra-fine with us.

Pros:

  • Pro-quality technology
  • Nano ISP color 5K display
  • USB hub
  • Versatile input options

Cons:

  • No built-in camera or microphone
  • Poor built-in speaker quality

Premium option

LG 34WK95U-W Nano-ISP UltraWide

From MacBook to iMac with LG and Thunderbolt 3.

Use LG's UltraWide monitor with your Mac laptop and daisy chain it with a second 4K monitor and have data transfer up to 40Gbsp and 85W charging.

With LG's latest update to its UltraFine 5K monitor, you can use it along with your 2018 (or later) iPad Pro with USB-C. That's because the monitor now supports USB-C and Thunderbolt. The Thunderbolt 3 charges the MacBook Pro and the three USB-C ports offer 5Gbps downstream. Its 27 inches big, which is about the size of Apple's larger iMac, and has a similar P3 wide color gamut with 500 nits brightness. For full 5K resolution on a larger display, the UltraFine 5K is your perfect choice.

Its biggest downfall is that it doesn't quite have that Apple aesthetic. LG has designed an attractive Edge-Arcline base for some of its monitors, which looks better with Apple products. The UltraFine 5K, unfortunately, still has that big, boxy black base.

Pros:

  • Up to 5K resolution
  • Designed for Apple
  • Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C
  • Built-in speakers, camera, and mic

Best for iPad Pro

LG UltraFine 5K

Full 5K display plus support for USB-C.

If your workflow includes both a MacBook Pro and an iPad Pro, this is the monitor you want for performance, reliability, and productivity.

The future is curved, and LG is the pioneer of bending the display rules. This 38-inch UltraWide monitor has a 21:9 ratio with split-screen support and is perfect for graphic designers and professional photo and video editors. The display has a USB-C data transfer port, two USB- A ports, plus a couple of HDMI ports, and a DisplayPort port.

Pros:

  • Well-designed
  • Easy setup
  • Versatile ports
  • Good built-in audio

Best Curved

LG 38WK95C-W Curved UltraWide

Ahead of the curve.

If you need to charge your Mac laptop and transfer data at the same time, you're in luck because this curvy beauty has what you want.

The ZenScreen is a favorite around the iMore office for its incredible portability. It's a 15.6-inch screen with a USB-C connector. You can rotate between landscape and portrait mode, and it's compatible with Thunderbolt 3. If you need a second screen when you're headed for the coffee shop, this takes up just the right amount of space without being a burden on your portability.

Pros:

  • Weighs less than 2 pounds
  • Ultra-slim at only 8mm thick
  • Comes with its own cover
  • 60Hz refresh rate

Best on a budget

ASUS ZenScreen

As portable as it gets.

The ZenScreen is ASUS's very portable monitor with its own USB-C port, a great-looking IPS panel, and Eye Car technology to prevents eye fatigue.

Bottom line

Picking the right second screen for your MacBook, MacBook Air, or MacBook Pro is a difficult one. It's important to consider how much room you have on your desk, what you plan to use your Mac laptop for, and how much you can afford. That's why the LG 27UK850-W is the perfect fit for most people. At 27-inches, it's big, but not too big. It's got an incredible 4K screen resolution and a variety of versatile ports for connecting all manner of peripherals.

If the LG 27Uk850 is just a bit out of your range, the HP Envy 27 truly is the next best thing. With 4K resolution and USB-C support, it doesn't have all the bells and whistles that the LG model does, but it's got everything you need to make your second screen work for you. Your most significant compromise is that there are fewer ports than the more expensive model, and the base isn't as sturdy.

Credits — The team that worked on this guide

Lory Gil is iMore's managing editor and spends more time in front of her monitors than she does anywhere else. She's constantly switching between desktop and mobile for work and knows how important an easy setup is.

Luke Filipowicz is iMore's gaming guru and knows how important a great monitor with zero lag is. If he had the room on his desk, he'd surround himself with 360-degrees of 4k displays.

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The Best 4k Monitor 2018

Best HomeKit Accessories in 2019

The absolute best HomeKit-enabled accessories for your home!

For decades Apple has been in the monitors business. While they were in it, they had some excellent products, including the old line of Apple Cinema Displays and, when those were discontinued, the Apple Thunderbolt Display.

But last year Apple decided to get out of the display business altogether–ostensibly to concentrate more on its core product lines (read: iPhone, Apple Watch and AR).

For the first time in years that meant users of MacBooks, iMacs, and Mac Pros who wanted to use Apple-only hardware had to go elsewhere for external displays.

Most will be able to get buy with a single 27in iMac display, it’s a decent size and, because of the high resolution, you can have A LOT of applications open on there at once.

But if you’re a power user, or run more applications than the average person, someone like me, basically, then you’ll need another monitor to support your main one.

I find running two monitors increases my productivity dramatically, as it allows me to better manage tasks and, therefore, my output. I can run Photoshop on one display and a Premier on the other, for instance, and never the twain shall meet.

I like having a lot of windows and applications open at once and having an additional display just makes things a bit tidier.

Best Value 4K Monitor For Your iMac?

It is expensive, but if you have a home office – or you work from home – productivity is the name of the game; get more stuff done, then you’re free to do the things you really like doing.

You can pick up 4K monitors for fairly cheap now.

Just a quick glance in Amazon pulled up these awesome monitors, and most are well under £200 – not too shabby.

The external display market, for obvious reasons, is a huge place with dozens of vendors. There’s a lot of good displays out there, but also a lot of crap. How do you tell the difference? We’ve put together this list so you don’t have to. Here are the five best non-Apple 27in or larger displays for your Macs.

Best

Best 4k Monitors

Samsung U28E590D 28in 4K Display

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If you don’t mind going over to Apple’s arch-nemesis, the Samsung U28E590D is an excellent 28in 4K display. With a resolution of 3840×2160 and with over one billion colors and 8 million pixels, this UHD display is ideal for people in the graphics industry or gamers and those who don’t want to fork out for a 5K display. A really nice feature is the picture-in-picture function that lets you view two different connected input devices at one time. The display connects via DisplayPort 1.2 and also offers two different HDMI ports.

And if you’re in the US:

BenQ GW2765HT 27in Display

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If you don’t quite need 4K, the BenQ GW2765HT is a great choice. The 16:9 display features a native resolution of 2560×1440, giving it over 77% more work space and a higher ppi than most conventional 1920×1080 FHD monitors. This display features DVI, HDMI, and DisplayPort connections along with built-in speakers and a height-adjustable stand. Another really cool feature: the display offers BenQ’s Low Blue Light technology, meaning it reduces the amount of blue light it emits, which can normally interfere with sleep patterns.

Best 27 4k Monitors 2018

And if you’re in the US:

Samsung C27F591 27in Curved Display

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And now for something completely different: Samsung’s 27in curved display. Curved displays are said to offer a more immersive viewing experience since their curvature matches that of the human eye. This display’s 1.8m radius ark creates a wider field of view and enhances depth perception. True, it’s only a 1080p display with its 1920×1080, but for those who like curved displays, that’s an acceptable hit to take. The C27F591 connects via HDMI (so you’ll need an adaptor if you aren’t using an older MacBook Pro) and also includes built-in speakers. Another plus: it looks like it was designed by Jony Ive.

And if you’re in the US:

Dell P2715Q Ultra HD 4K 27in Display

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Last but not least is Dell’s P2715Q Ultra HD 4K 27in Display. This beast offers a resolution of 3840×2160, which means it can serve up billions of colors on its over 8 million pixels. It’s also factory-tuned for accurate color representation, meaning you won’t need to adjust it when you take it out of the box. Connect it to your Mac with the built-in DisplayPort 1.2 and also use it as a hub to connect and power multiple USB 3.0 devices thanks to the built-in USB hub on the bottom of the display.

And if you’re in the US:

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