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LG 27UD88 Review: A Well-Rounded Ultra HD Display With USB-C

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Apr 12, 2001
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A few weeks ago, we took a look at LG's new 27-inch UltraFine 5K display designed in partnership with Apple to pair with the new MacBook Pro. While it's a high-quality screen that offers a sharp, spacious, Retina desktop, the overall design has generated mixed reactions, particularly in comparison to Apple's design standards.

At a standard price of $1299 and even Apple's discounted price of $974, the UltraFine 5K isn't a cheap display. Its smaller sibling, the 21.5-inch UltraFine 4K, at its temporary price of $524 might be more appealing to users who are willing to give up some pixels and a few features, but there are several other Ultra HD and 4K options on the market, some of which we rounded up in mid-November.

Among these other options, one of the most popular Ultra HD (3840x2160) displays with USB-C connectivity has been LG's 27-inch 27UD88, which offers a clean design, a matte screen finish to reduce glare, and a broader array of connectivity options than the UltraFine lineup. The 27UD88's IPS display supports 99% coverage of the sRGB spectrum, 5 ms response time, and a 60 Hz refresh rate.

lg_27ud88.jpg

As with the UltraFine displays, one of the major advantages of USB-C connectivity on the 27UD88 is the ability to transfer data, video, and even power over a single cable, and the 27UD88 offers up to 60 watts of power over USB-C to power a notebook computer.


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Article Link: LG 27UD88 Review: A Well-Rounded Ultra HD Display With USB-C
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/review/lg-27ud88-display/
I have this display and it is great for the 13" 2016 rMBP. Originally bought it with my 12" rMB. With the 13" it is a ton better, as the 13" supports display scaling and 4k@60hz. On the MacBook I could only get 4k@30hz and no scaled modes. At 1440 scaled res this thing is perfect (The original pixel doubled 2k was pretty lame at 27".)

My only complaint is that the USB ports are only 2.0 speed when using USB-C for display output (They are 3.0 if it is just in hub mode, I believe.)
 
Seems like a good choice and something that I would get in the future. I don't get the stupidity of large monitors that don't provide additional connectivity options. Also, the ability to use a portrait orientation would be handy for working on documents
 
Pretty disappointing that the lower priced LG's like this one has a USB hub with some normal ports and additional inputs built in and the much more expensive 5k one doesn't. :-(
 
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I have this monitor (just missed it at Christmas and it took another month for the world's supply to come back into stock).

I do really like it. I have a 2016 15" and it drives it fine, and it charges it fine as well - but I am not doing video work or long compiles that threaten maxing out at 85W.

This is the first time I have used an external monitor with any MBP. I am surprised at how poor a lot of the graphics come across on the external, especially on the web. I understand that it's up to websites to display assets which are of a certain resolution - however that doesn't seem like it should be the case with menus inside OS X.

Is it common to see stair-stepping inside the text within OS X as well? (sorry, macOS, just caught myself).

Maybe I had my expectations set too high. The problem gets worse as I scale to higher resolutions (tinier text), but even at the largest text setting (emulating 1080p) it is way too blocky.
 
I ordered this last night from Overclockers UK and its arriving with me tomorrow, I was weighing up between this and the 5K model, but for my needs I was unable to justify the additional £384! I am sure this will be just perfect for me and if I decide to get a second, the saving has almost paid for that.
 
Since Sierra, several users have claimed to have gotten 2016 Macbooks to do 4k/60hz without a patch (including a system that was never previously patched). Can anyone else confirm/deny?
 
One major downside in design to this monitor vs LG's UltraFine displays is the extra power brick. I'll pass.

As someone who really dogged the design of the UltraFine displays when they were first announced at the Mac Event; after seeing them in person at the Apple Store I was actually quite impressed. While they don't look very apple-esque, they really are beautiful displays with a build quality unmatched by most others in that range. You can definitely tell Apple "worked with" LG on them.
 
fortuneteller33 said:
One major downside in design to this monitor vs LG's UltraFine displays is the extra power brick. I'll pass.
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eh... I guess..

The brick for this monitor is teeny (by power brick standards)

On another note, I also prefer that these 27" models do *not* have the webcam stuff.. (or that hideous "chin" or "brow" - not sure what to call the top bezel)
 
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MacRumors said:
As with the UltraFine displays, one of the major advantages of USB-C connectivity on the 27UD88 is the ability to transfer data, video, and even power over a single cable, and the 27UD88 offers up to 60 watts of power over USB-C to power a notebook computer.
That's enough to fully power a MacBook or 13-inch MacBook Pro with USB-C, but not enough for a 15-inch MacBook Pro, which can draw up to 85 watts depending on load. So while it might be enough to maintain or slowly charge your 15-inch MacBook Pro under light usage or while sleeping, if you're working your machine at all hard, the battery may slowly drain. As a result, you'll want to use your standard MacBook Pro power adapter connected to another USB-C port on the machine in order to power it.
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I know, they want to be conservative but unless you actually need to charge your MBP fairly fast, this display will power your 15" MBP just fine. The 85-W charger is there to cover the power needs at maximum demand (and allow fast-ish charging). If some people get a 3-hour battery life with their 15" 2016 MBP that means if your usual usage gets you 6 hours, you on average only draw half what the power adaptor provides, aka 42.5 W (or even less, my guess is that if you peg both CPU and GPU at 100% utilisation, you don't even get 3 hours and thus usage corresponding to 6 hours battery life might only consume about 30 W).

Meaning, a 60-W power supply has no problems keeping your MBP charged (even if during short burst of really stressing the machine, the battery level might drop a bit). Just that charging will take longer (instead of 85 minus 42.5 W, aka 42.5 W being available for charging, you might only have 60 minus 42.5 W, aka 17.5 W available for charging).
 
buntonn said:
I ordered this last night from Overclockers UK and its arriving with me tomorrow, I was weighing up between this and the 5K model, but for my needs I was unable to justify the additional £384! I am sure this will be just perfect for me and if I decide to get a second, the saving has almost paid for that.
Click to expand...

Ordered mine today also from Overclockers UK. Mine arrived on Monday with the free DPD delivery.

It does seem like great monitor. I am slightly worried that 1440p scaled won't look good but I've been reading a lot that it's still decent. I wouldn't mind your thoughts on this, especially once you receive it.

I'll be connecting it to my 2015 15" rMBP using the display port. Also the USB A to USB C cable to use the hub.
 
I'm using 1440p scaled on the model that's the same but has no USB hub ($500 USD model from Best Buy)

I think it looks absolutely fantastic!
 
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jclardy said:
My only complaint is that the USB ports are only 2.0 speed when using USB-C for display output (They are 3.0 if it is just in hub mode, I believe.)
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That will be the case on any 4k@60Hz display with USB-C (as opposed to Thunderbolt 3). At that resolution, all 4 high-speed lanes in the cable are needed for display just leaving the "legacy" USB 2 wires for USB use.
 
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Does no one care that the consumer Warrantee on the 27UD88 is limited to 1 year? How is it that Dell can offer three years on similar monitors, but LG gets away with just one? All those great specs aren't much use if the thing dies in month 13. To me it demonstrates a lack of confidence by the manufacturer, which is off-putting. Likewise with the price; what's the true cost of ownership if replacements are required that much more frequently?
 
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rdav said:
Does no one care that the consumer Warrantee on the 27UD88 is limited to 1 year? How is it that Dell can offer three years on similar monitors, but LG gets away with just one? All those great specs aren't much use if the thing dies in month 13. To me it demonstrates a lack of confidence by the manufacturer, which is off-putting. Likewise with the price; what's the true cost of ownership if replacements are required that much more frequently?
Click to expand...

And your comment about Apple's 90 day warranty? That must mean that Apple has absolutely no confidence in its products.
 
nt5672 said:
And your comment about Apple's 90 day warranty? That must mean that Apple has absolutely no confidence in its products.
Click to expand...

That's telephone support

His point is valid about a poor warranty from LG in comparison to their competition in the same space on similar products (other monitors).

My LG 31MU97-B just died at the 2.5 year mark and they want $300+ to fix it. Had it been a 3 year warranty (as in his Dell example) it would have been covered.
 
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