Review on LG 27UL850-W Display: Enhanced DisplayHDR 🖥️ Connectivity & 4K Resolution, Adjustable - 27UL850-W by Jason Hess

The TL;DR is a great monitor at a great price compared to other options on the market. Great sweet spot for everyday use and casual gaming. 4k is excellent and the display is the same with no backlight vignetting/hotspots. HDR is useless so don't count on it. I spent two months looking for monitors that would balance the demands for work and light play, have good color/brightness quality, and USB-C that can charge my connected MacBook Pros and iPad Pros. The main competitors were the Dell 2720Q, the HP Z27 and this LG UL850 (or essentially the equivalent UK or UN version of the 850, with -W as far as I've found meaning just the white back of the monitor). The Dell 2720Q was what I was looking for. Reviews gave it the upper hand due to some reports of below average black levels and vignetting on the LG. For me, the main benefit was that it was the only monitor I could find with 90W USB-C charging capability, which ensured my MBP stayed fully charged throughout the day. However, it retailed for more than $600 and was delayed for several months throughout the supply chain. When I saw the immediately available NIB LG UN850-W for $400, I pulled the trigger and am very glad I did. my MBP at work/play. In the month I've owned the monitor, I can say with confidence that even with the power boost on my MBP and video streaming to my iPad Pro, it's maintained 60W charging power. It doesn't charge as fast as the 90W, but what matters is the net positive charge during use. Clarity. This LG does just that. Next to my MBP, clarity is good at upscaled resolution (middle of big text and more space on Mac OSX). I don't stream 4k content or game at 4k (my MBP version doesn't has an nVidia 30-series GPU capable of it). 1080p at 60 fps is good enough for my needs and this monitor handles it very well. Black Levels / HDR - I chose IPS for the best viewing angles. and color fidelity instead of inky black. VA panels would probably be better suited to these requirements, along with OLED, which is still too expensive for me. Monitor contrast values. It's also a flat display with no backlight hotspots or vignetting. Other reviewers and monitor experts point out that LG can't hit the brightness and contrast levels needed for HDR to be used properly, and they're probably right. My experience tells me that HDR and "ink black" on anything but high-end 4k OLED is just marketing buzz for current-gen upper-mid-range hardware. If you're looking for a luxurious cinematic experience on your monitor, this LG probably isn't for you. If you're a reasonably well-informed layperson like me, if not a student of monitor performance for a living, this LG looks great. color accuracy. Out of the box, this item looks great. It's definitely a bit warmer in tone than my MBP, but I actually prefer it. The OSD settings are a bit dim, but there is an option to tweak the color profile if needed. I didn't find the need. As a web designer, I need some semblance of color accuracy for my work, but I develop web applications rather than resource preparation, branding, or photo editing, so 90-95% accuracy is fine with me. Again, without a direct comparison to the ridiculously expensive UltraFine, the UN850 delivers superb color accuracy. Gaming is an IPS panel, so you don't get a VA refresh rate. I don't play competitive FPS (COD, Fortnite, PUBG etc) so refresh rate/screen tearing is not a big issue for me. However, I haven't encountered any screen tearing or updating issues with anything I've played (e.g. Hades, Kerbal, Factorio). The thing holds up great and is definitely suitable for casual gamers. As others have noted, the single OSD controller button at the bottom center of the screen does not work. The UX is fine: it's a 4-way click button that you use to bring menu options onto the screen, click to select them, and "left" button to navigate back to the menu. It works out. I would have preferred the button to be a bit larger and easier to maneuver, but the actual menu system is intuitive enough for infrequent use. Convenient quick actions to adjust volume (left/right to decrease/increase volume and down to mute sound when volume slider is on screen). I'm not a big fan of the stand with its wide, arched base. While the design is nice in that it allows things like an iPad to be placed squarely under the screen, I just find the wide, arched base clumsy and a bit unsightly. However, given the VESA compatible mount, I got a monitor arm for my desk that works great and eliminates the need for a stand. Otherwise, the stand works and is fairly stable, although there's a slight wobble if you're fiddling with the OSD settings or pressing the keys hard and your desk doesn't give it a chance. For the most part, though, it's stable, so you won't have much stuttering. The biggest issue people have with this monitor is that USB-C supposedly powers all other USB ports, creating problems for those using a range of peripherals and connections. Can't comment on that as I only use USB-C for my MBP and haven't had any issues. However, placing all the ports on the back of the monitor is a bit awkward. A closer placement to the side would make access easier, although the current placement gives you very clean cable management that wouldn't be possible with more accessible ports. It's just a compromise between access and elegance. LG streamlines hiding inappropriate cables instead of easy access, which is great for a one-time setup but terrible for sustained use. The real winner here for me is USB-C along with HDMI. 🤷‍♀️ sound. If you want good sound, get headphones or good quality speakers. Do not use monitor speakers. If all you need is confirmation tones and beeps, then having an audio output built in is great. Overall this monitor is exceptional value for money with great picture quality and great features like 60W charging. If you're hesitating between this and other options on the market, I can't imagine you'll be disappointed with this LG.