Review on Dell S2722QC 27 4K USB-C Monitor with Integrated Speakers and Adjustable Stand by Larry Fulcher

I have external monitors at home and at work so I can just plug in my M1 Macbook Air and have enough screen real estate. I bought this monitor 6 weeks ago to replace an outdated 24" Dell monitor which has served me very well. But 4K monitors just kept getting better and cheaper, so it's time for an upgrade. Last fall I bought a more expensive Dell U2720QM monitor for my office at work, it cost around $550 (and often can't be found under $650). This monitor, the Dell S2722QC, costs around $380. I'll compare them in this review and - spoiler alert - this monitor, the QC, is almost as good as the more expensive QM. The 27-inch 4K models have good bright screens and accurate vivid colors out of the box. Both models have perfectly adjustable stands: there's the usual tilt and swivel functionality, and you can slide the screen to a higher position (useful when the screen is connected to a laptop and the laptop is directly in front of the screen on your desktop) or to a very low position when the bottom of the monitor is 1 inch from your desk surface. But what's really cool is that the stand (for BOTH monitors) lets you rotate the screen 90 degrees so it's in portrait orientation. It's really helpful for some of my use cases. It's also helpful to be able to see the ports at the bottom of the display when connecting cables - otherwise they're hard to see when you're trying to connect something. Both monitors can replace the USB port. -C hub. This means you can connect multiple peripherals to the monitor and connect the monitor to your computer with just one USB-C cable. Your computer is powered by the monitor using the same USB-C cable that your computer uses to send data to the monitor. And your computer sees all peripherals connected to the monitor as if they were connected directly to your computer. These USB-C hubs are a godsend for people with laptops that only have 1, 2, or 3 USB-C ports. That's why I've used USB-C hubs for my offices at home and at work; They're not cheap, but for me they're worth it. But USB-C hubs take up desk space and tangle cables. With Dell monitors, I no longer need USB-C hubs. I donated one to my college and another to the local church. Both Dell monitors have enough ports for me to connect my printer, external Hi-Fi speakers, an external webcam for Zoom and FaceTime calls, and an external SSD hard drive. So why does the Dell U2720QM cost so much more than this Dell S2722QC? Well, the QM has a port or two more (for USB-C hub functionality) than this QC model. And on paper, according to the specs, the QM has a slightly better display. But I have both and can't tell any difference in video quality. Probably people who do a lot of photo and video editing could do this, but my eyesight is good and I can't see the difference, and I don't think most people will see enough difference to justify paying $200 spend more on a QM model. Oh, here's another difference: the cheaper QC model has built-in speakers, the more expensive QM model doesn't. I have to say I really don't like the sound coming out of the QC monitor's speakers; it's a very, very thin and tinny sound, almost piercing and annoying. My laptop speakers (which aren't very good) sound much better. And that's a shame, because if you're feeding video to a QC monitor via HDMI (like connecting a Blu-ray player to the HDMI port), the audio goes over the same cable, so really the monitor has to have their own speakers, otherwise it is difficult to hear the sound. Verdict: For most people, this $380 QC model is just as good as the $550 or $650+ QM model, despite both having a gorgeous 27-inch 4K display and both very useful USB-C hubs -have functions. And the flexibility of the stand really helps. Highly recommended!