The first version of the model we are talking about today, the LG 27’’ UltraFine 5K, was announced with the MacBook Pro 2016 on October 27 2016. Yes, more than three years go! During the big launch event, Phil Schiller (Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Apple) described the monitor as a very special one. And the man was really excited, especially when he presented a scenario with two such monitors connected to a MacBook Pro.

Now, 3 years away from that announcement/launch we can say, after playing with the newest version, that the LG 27’’ UltraFine 5K was a model almost before its time. And we are not referring to its specifications (noteworthy though at the time), nor to the fact that the UltraFine 5K was the result of a joint Apple - LG project.

Integration with macOS

Integration in macOS means simple: "it just works". When the monitor is connected to an Apple device (MacBook Pro, MacBook Air, iMac, etc.), a symbiosis is born. First of all, the Thunderbolt 3 cable is not just a simple cable that transmits audio, video and 5K data, but also charges your Mac device, basically the monitor acts as a charger that can provide 94W. Elegant, isn't it?

But most importantly, the brightness and volume control has been integrated into the operating system, for example, directly from the Touch Bar on the MacBook Pro or on the keyboard. The new version of the UltraFine 5K monitor has the improved ambient light sensor compared to the first model, and, importantly, can be controlled directly from the Mac.

This integration has not always been perfect in these 3 years. There were many glitches in the operating system, many users complained and Apple fixed all the bugs. From what I read, from Mojave everything goes smoothly between the monitor and the Mac. That's it, beauty and simplicity come with a sacrifice.

The color profiles are chosen in the same way, from your Mac. Either we choose the one of the monitor, the most suitable, calibrated on the DCI-P3 color spectrum, or we choose another profile from OS, SRGB, AdobeRGB, etc.

5K panel (5120 x 2880), 27 ”, IPS with SRGB 100%, DCI-P3 100%, AdobeRGB 91%

The DCI-P3 color space, or as it has been lately, P3, is the standard of color space in the film industry. Our SpyderX showed us that UltraFine 5K has no problem reproducing 100% of this color space, only on the "triangle" AdobeRGB is a little weaker, that does not mean that the people working in the Foto area will scare you by seeing "only" 91% AdobeRGB.

The DCI-P3 color space, or as it has been lately, P3, is the standard of color space in the film industry. Our SpyderX showed us that UltraFine 5K has no problem reproducing 100% of this color space, only on the "triangle" AdobeRGB is a little weaker, that does not mean that the people working in the Foto area will scare you by seeing "only" 91% AdobeRGB.

As for Color Uniformity we saw one of the most successful panels, if not the most successful, the deviations Delta E being very small, at a brightness of 250cd / m2 all deviations were below 2. Impeccable.

As perfect as the color accuracy test was, on the 24 colors in the sample Delta the average E was only 1.12.

The Achilles heel of the monitor was the uniformity of brightness, where it was simply mediocre.

Contrast and brightness

The contrast and brightness of the panel were high - the manufacturer mentions a contrast of 1100:1 and a brightness of 500cd/m2, we measured a maximum brightness of 670cd/m2 and a contrast of 970:1. Personally, I am satisfied, only at this price level I would like to see a deeper black. Well, if we use the monitor at 250cd / m2, the black level is 0.26 cd / m2, which is a very good black level, in terms of parameters.

Connectivity and audio

The monitor has three more USB Type C 3.0 (5Gbps) ports. We would have expected to see a haul of cable management, but it was not the case. Simplicity, simplicity, and more simplicity.

On the audio side, there are two 5W speakers at the bottom of the panel, which sounds really good. For monitor speakers, that bass is weaker (of course), is still working at medium and high levels, and overall, probably better than over 90% of the audio solutions in this segment.

LG 27” UltraFine 5K stand and ergonomics

The stand and base are elegant, solid, metal, the system allows generous vertical adjustment.

The bezel of the display is plastic, that did not necessarily bother us, but the lack of pivoting yes. At this price tag, pivoting is almost mandatory - but let's go back to the idea that being a 100% P3 monitor, that is for the video world, pivoting was probably not the target.

Final thoughts

LG has shown us that you can have a deceptive monitor that is simplistic, minimalist, but with top features and specifications. Integration in macOS makes it ideal for apple fans and lovers, and this time, we really understand them.

We are talking about a premium product, an out of the ordinary resolution, and also a very good quality panel, which makes this monitor quite expensive for a 27’’ one.