LG has announced two new monitors that it says are optimized for professional creatives in the new normal of work from home. One of these new displays is a weird, double-height monitor that it says is for a “totally unique user experience.”
LG is announcing two new IPS-style monitors, one of which is the more traditional UltraFine variety and will feature a 31.5-inch size and color accurate specifications, and the other is an unusual new display that features a double-height widescreen aspect ratio called the DualUp. Let’s start there.
The LG DualUp Monitor (28MQ780)
The LG DualUp is exactly what it looks like: the equivalent of two widescreen displays stacked on top of each other into one large, nearly square monitor. LG is billing the DualUp as a “multitasking powerhouse” that is ideal for everything from coding to content creation. It has a unique 16:18 aspect ratio which the company says is completely new to the monitor market. The company says it offers the same display space as two 21.5-inch displays.
While it can be used as one giant uninterrupted display, it comes with a vertical split view feature as well. It features two HDMI ports, a display port, 3 USB ports (one upstream and two downstream), as well as a USB-C port that can be used for display or power delivery (the specifics on the latter were not stated).
LG adds that the double-height screen size of the DualUp helps reduce side-to-side head movements, which it says is the main cause of neck pain.
While LG says the display is going to be good for content creation, its specifications are likely a bit lacking for most creative professionals. While it does offer a lot of additional desktop real estate, it isn’t being offered at a particularly high resolution, however. The DualUp has a relatively lacking pixel density of just QHD 2,560 by 2,880.
While LG claims it covers 98% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, it doesn’t offer much contrast and will max out at just 300 nits of brightness. 300 nits is particularly low and isn’t even high enough for the lowest tier of HDR certification, HDR400 (PetaPixel still contends that HDR isn’t really HDR until at least 600 nits of peak brightness can be achieved). Still, the 27.6-inch display looks particularly well-tailored for work from home, which is likely to make it popular if its price isn’t too high.
The LG UltraFine Display (32UQ85R)
The LG UltraFine 31.5-inch display is less exciting than the odd aspect ratio of the DualUp, but it’s very likely to be far more useful for photographers. For starters, it features a much more robust 4K UHD 3,840 by 2,160 resolution Nano IPS Black panel with a 2,000:1 contrast ratio and 98 percent coverage of the DCI-P3 color gamut. It’s LG’s first Nano IPS Black panel (but not its first Nano IPS panel) which the company says delivers realistic and nuanced black tones that add more depth to images.
The monitor ships with a detachable self-calibration sensor that can be scheduled via LG software. It also features two HDMI ports, a display port, 3 USB ports (one upstream and two downstream), as well as a USB-C port that can be used for display or power delivery (the specifics on the latter, just as was the case with the DualUp, were not stated).
LG plans to reveal more details on both monitors, likely including pricing and availability, during its CES 2021 presentation on January 4 at 8 AM PST.
