Apple's Studio Display vs. LG's UltraFine 5K Monitor? Which is better

With the launch of Apple's new 27-inch 5K Studio Display earlier this month, it immediately drew comparisons to LG's similar UltraFine 5K display that has been on the market for years.

The LG monitor is $300 cheaper than the Studio Display, and while availability has been spotty, LG says it will continue to be available, so we decided to compare the two monitors to determine which is a better value.

Both monitors are 27 inches and have the same 5K resolution, so the overall viewing experience on both monitors is similar, although the Studio Display can hit 600 nits of brightness, while the UltraFine's The maximum brightness is 500 nits, which means a significant difference.

The Studio Display also wins in color and contrast, as it looks more vibrant than the UltraFine while delivering deeper blacks and crisper bright areas without ruining highlights. UltraFine has also received a lot of complaints over the years about image retention or "screen burn", which is an issue we've certainly experienced on our own devices, and we haven't seen any issues with the Studio Display.

In addition to the monitor itself, both models include several additional features, one of the main ones being a webcam. Both displays feature 1080p webcams, but the Studio Display's 12-megapixel ultrawide camera and center stage, powered by the onboard A13 chip, are designed to help you stay centered in the frame and draw more people in as they move in and out of view.

Unfortunately with Studio Display, we've seen the same poor image quality issues that many early users complained about, so until the problem is solved with an update, we have to say UltraFine and Studio Display has very similar webcam quality, which is to say not much.

In terms of audio, the Studio Display's speakers win easily, delivering a decent amount of low-end and full sound that should be enough for most users. The microphones on both monitors performed well in our testing, and we don't have much reason to prefer one over the other, although audio captured by the Studio Display may sound a little fuller.

In terms of connectivity, both monitors offer a Thunderbolt port and three USB-C ports on the back, but the Studio Display's USB-C port supports faster 10 Gbps transfers , so you'll see better performance for more demanding accessories like external drives.

From the overall design point of view, Studio Display wins. The Studio Display is mostly made of aluminum and has a premium look and feel, while the UltraFine is encased in thick black plastic.

The Studio Display has been criticized for coming with only tilt adjustment by default, with the upgraded tilt and height-adjustable stand a $400 upgrade. The LG UltraFine includes the ability to adjust tilt and height, and the stand can be easily removed if you want to convert to a VESA mount, but the monitor does have quite a bit of wobble.

Overall, the Studio Display feels like the better choice, even considering it costs over $300 more than the LG UltraFine. With better design and build quality, a superior display panel, and LG's history of issues like image retention and reported compatibility issues, the Studio Display has fewer compromises and should last for years to come. The webcam is still a key issue that needs to be addressed, but Apple should be able to fix it with a firmware update.

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