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LG UltraFine 5K - Owners Thread
- Thread starter iBrooker
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May I ask for those who use either M1 MacBook Air or M1 Mac mini, do you get a flawless experience using this Ultrafine? (considering all stuffs are updated to the latest macOs/firmware...) Do you ever get a lagging once at the moment?
I decided not to get an Ultrafine and went with an LG 4K one ... but whilst happy pined for the 5K. I ended up buying a 5K imac. The screen makes the LG 4K look cheap in comparison and it is a nice screen ... until you view it next to the 5K one !!!
I should have just bought the Ultrafine 5K in the first place at £1150 ... instead I have an LG 4K screen at £400 and a new 2020 iMac at £1750 ... oops. Loving the iMac though compared to the MBP. I've had laptops for so long I'd missed a big screen.
I now want an LG Ultrafine 5K to add to the iMac one ... !!
I should have just bought the Ultrafine 5K in the first place at £1150 ... instead I have an LG 4K screen at £400 and a new 2020 iMac at £1750 ... oops. Loving the iMac though compared to the MBP. I've had laptops for so long I'd missed a big screen.
I now want an LG Ultrafine 5K to add to the iMac one ... !!
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I am testing an UltraFine on a M1 Mac mini and the apple icon doesn't show up until last second during boot (not because the Mac mini is fast) its not recognizing the display immediately, happens during restart, recovery mode, and trying to launch the Recovery options menu (long press power button).
It's not just the LG UltraFine. There is also a big delay on the M1 when using USB-C to DVI and VGA adapters. I see minimal delay with the HDMI port.
Works great with my 5K and MacBook Air base model. Waking up is a bit slow but otherwise, no issues.
Hi Little Jim
I've had an M1 Mini (16GB / 2TB) since late November 2020. Initially setup with the Apple Thunderbolt Display (works beautifully) and then took delivery of Ultrafine 5K 27MD5KL a couple of days ago (31st December 2020).
Pros
- Image quality is excellent. 5K native (my preferred resolution) works out the box and is an improvement over my much loved Apple Thunderbolt Display
- Build quality better than I expected, plastic is high quality and monitor is light enough for VESA arm
- Very pleased with bundled components (VESA plate, TB3 / USB-C cables)
- Factory colour config is excellent
- Text is razor sharp
- Edges are sharp, no dead pixels
- Webcam and audio are surprisingly better than I'd expected
Cons
- LG Screen Manager app downloaded from Apple Store does not work (needs Big Sur update)
- Accordingly unable to tell bundled monitor firmware, nor update it
- Starting my Mac this morning in a sub zero conservatory produced some jaggy lines on screen widgets. Reboot resolved. Bit worrying that it could be a known issue but I can't update firmware
- Works (as advertised) with my iPad Pro, but USB-C cable has to be plugged into monitor's TB3 port
- Wake up is a bit slow whilst the TB3 / M1 handshake (10 seconds for me), although to be fair I did get this with the Thunderbolt Display and TB3/TB2 adapter
- Black stand is a bit bland looking, I've ordered an Ergotron VESA arm to improve looks and handling
I'm a photographer and did seriously consider ponying up for the Pro XDR. But I am a little wary of the horsepower it may drag out of the M1 Mac mini to drive it. This seemed a (very) reasonable compromise in terms of price and quality whilst a) Apple develop their silicon over the next couple of years and b) the notion that LG upgraded this late 2019
I'd somewhat expected the M1 / Ultrafine 5K combo to have 'some' turbulence. The M1 chipset is brand new after all. However I'm pleasantly surprised. It's stable, will not interrupt my workflow and if enough people complain I'm sure Apple / LG will resolve the LG Screen Manager issue.
Overall its a 9 out of 10 from me thus far, however if I develop issues I'll report them here. Apple seem to be serious about continuing OS support for this display so that factored into my purchase decision. The Pro XDR is drool worthy, but I'm happy to take advantage of this whilst seeing where Apple take their silicon / micro LED development in 2021.
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Yep I have the same problem Paul with my M1 Mini.
My daughter's MacBook Air runs High Sierra and we tried hooking it up to the LG 5K. The LG Screen Manager app allows you to surf into that section but then doesn't display the firmware version. The button allowing you to load a firmware from a file IS active, however we can't locate the latest version of the firmware available as a download.
Overall though my display is working just fine against an M1 mini, Intel MB Air and 2020 iPad Pro, so no complaints other than LG 'Screen Manager' software niggles.
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Similar issues with my M1 MBP and LG 5K:
- Waking from sleep is slow. It got better in a recent update (Big Sur 11.1?), as beforehand sometimes it wouldn't wake at all. But noticeably slower than my Intel Mac.
- Sometimes, like others in this thread, I have a ~1 inch column of misaligned pixels in the middle of the display.
- Often when waking from sleep the monitor will be at a lower brightness. Toggling the brightness down then up resets it to the proper level.
The LG 5k but it seems to be an issue with the LG 5k and the M1 together. I will return the M1 if the next software update doesn’t fix it.
Hello!
I consider buying the LG 27'' 5k in addition to the new Macbook Pro M1 I have ordered, but in Germany there is no opportunity to get the display, it won't be delivered until end of February, neither in the Apple Store nor in any other stores. Do you have any information if the display is discontinued? I found some rumors that the display might be discontinued dating from August...
I consider buying the LG 27'' 5k in addition to the new Macbook Pro M1 I have ordered, but in Germany there is no opportunity to get the display, it won't be delivered until end of February, neither in the Apple Store nor in any other stores. Do you have any information if the display is discontinued? I found some rumors that the display might be discontinued dating from August...
I don’t think it is but be careful as it has issues with the M1 right now. Check for an update before purchasing.
It is available in the US. I have one being delivered today. I am planning to use it with a new M1 MacMini (also being delivered today), I will report back how that goes.
The UltraFines go out of stock a lot. Every few months someone asks if they have been discontinued.
M1 Mac Mini and LG 5K display arrived. Got it setup and running.
The display quality look fine overall (colors, resolution, etc.) but the display is off. In the middle of the screen (top to bottom, like a column) the horizontal lines go up a little bit. If I move a window left to right, it's easy to see.
BTW, the problem isn't the M1 Mini, I have another LG 5K and it doesn't do this.
I tried installing the LG Screen manager, but it doesn't do anything.
Now after switching back and forth with my other LG 5K, the problem went away. Not sure if this is good or bad.
The display quality look fine overall (colors, resolution, etc.) but the display is off. In the middle of the screen (top to bottom, like a column) the horizontal lines go up a little bit. If I move a window left to right, it's easy to see.
BTW, the problem isn't the M1 Mini, I have another LG 5K and it doesn't do this.
I tried installing the LG Screen manager, but it doesn't do anything.
Now after switching back and forth with my other LG 5K, the problem went away. Not sure if this is good or bad.
I've seen other reports of that and not just on M1 Macs. Usually a restart fixes it. I've seen it before on a 2018 13" MBP I had.
Thanks, as long as it doesn't happen again (or very often), it is good.
Having the LG 5K and MacMini (16G/1T) for a day, I am pleased to report both are working well. Very fast and great display.
If you're waiting for LG to fix firmware issues, you really should buy a different brand.