Mini-LED Monitors for your MacBook Pro 14 and 16 to replace the iMac Retina 5K 27-inch
For the first time, MacBook Pro 14 and 16 feature the Liquid Retina XDR displays, Apple’s language for Mini-LED display. The same technology already powers the Apple Pro Display XDR with 576 LEDs as backlight and iPad Pro M1 12.9 with over 10,000 mini-LEDs. Here we look at new Mini-LED displays to pair with your MacBook’s display as a desktop replacement.
Mini-LED displays are capable of brightness up to 1600 nits when ordinary displays can only sustain 350 nits. This gives the displays a huge contrast ratio of 1 million to 1, even greater viewing angel and High Dynamic Range. Plus, they overcome many of the OLEDs limitations and then some. Backlight for the win.
Extend Your MacBook 14 or 16 with a Mini LED Display and Turn It Into an iMac Retina 5K Replacement
With the iMac Retina 5K 27-inch retired, the combined Mac Studio and Studio Display starting from $3598, and the MacBook Pro 14 and 16 being such a powerhouse, it’s time to look at Mini LED monitors to extend the MacBook, using them as workstations. The M1 Pro and M1 Max found in MacBook Pro 14 and 16 already come with more power than any iMacs Retina 5K 27-inch from 2020, see Intel Core i7 10700K vs Apple M1 Pro benchmark. And, they are more power efficient. It is time to turn your desktop replacement MacBook into good use and what better way to do that than to add an external mini LED monitor.
We take a look at Mini-LED monitors that are great to have when you are back at base be it in the office or at work. Simply plug in your MacBook and continue working on a big screen. These next generation monitors are brighter than just edge lit LCD and self emitting OLED panels and will certainly go nicely with the MacBook’s display if you intend to use it together in extended desktop mode.
1. Apple Pro Display XDR – 576 LEDs (dimming zones)
Undoubtedly the best option for Apple users if money is no object would be Apple’s own Pro Display XDR. The 32-inch display packs 6K resolution, a first for mini-LED displays. No other manufacturers come close with their offerings. It is truly a pro-level display with over a billion colour, peak brightness of 1600 nits, extreme dynamic range and P3 wide colour gamut. Thanks to the mini LED backlight, it can achieve 1,000,000:1 contrast ratio and super wide viewing angles. There is one limitation in that, the display’s refresh rate is only up to 60Hz. Also, if you are thinking of getting it, just remember to factor in the cost of the Pro Stand or VESA Mount Adapter as these are sold separately.
2. Lenovo ThinkVision Creator Extreme 27-inch Mini-LED Monitor – 1152 dimming zones
If 32-inch is a little too big for you, then this 27-inch Mini LED with 1152 dimming zones thanks to its 10,368 mini LEDs hits that sweet spot as an iMac 27-inch replacement. It has a peak brightness of 1200 cd/m² and with that, a high contrast ration of 1 million to 1 with HDR content and a dynamic contrast ratio of 3 million to 1. While we are on the subject of HDR, the panel supports Dolby Vision, DisplayHDR 1000, HDR10 and HLG perfect for streaming media.
As for its resolution, it is no where near 6K, but at 4K, it is a good enough for a display this size. The housing is so compact that you get three near zero bezels wrapping the top, left and right edges. For colour coverage, it can achieve 99.5% DCI-P3 and will support 1.07 Billion colours but the refresh rate is still only 60Hz. At these specifications it is one of the more afforable buy comes comes with tilt and swivel adjustable stand in the price. To hook it up to your MacBook, use the USB-C port with support for DisplayPort 1.4 Alt Mode. That same port will also deliver up to 100W of power to you MacBook to keep it charged.
3. ASUS ROG Swift PG32UQX 32-inch Mini-LED Gaming Monitor – 1152 dimming zones
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Breaking the refresh rate ceiling is this ASUS gaming monitor. The ROG Swift has a high refresh rate of up to 144Hz. It also has 1152 local dimming zones like the ThinkVision above, but with one caveat. It is a much bigger 32-inch monitor. Naturally, with a bigger display, you will need more dimming zones. Nevertheless, it is a brighter display with up to 1400 nits peak brightness giving it a DisplayHDR 1400 certification. Another feature that gamers will look forward to from this 4K mini-LED panel is the support for G-SYNC Ultimate. This means it comes with the latest NVIDIA G-SYNC processors for the best HDR gaming experience.
As for creators, the quantum-dot technology pushes up to 98% DCI-P3 colour gamut for more realistic and smoother colours. This last feature is more of a gimmick but gamers may think differently. There is a small OLED display that ASUS calls the LIVE DASH. It is located under the monitor right where manufacturers typically put their logo. The 256 x 64 pixel display can be used to show an image, animation or real time hardware stats such as temperature, voltage, fan speed and system frequency. The only disadvantage is the lack of USB-C connection. In its place are three HDMI v2.0 ports and USB 3.0 hub (1 upstream and 2 downstream). For USB-C connectivity, check out the next option from ASUS.
4. ASUS ProArt PA32UCG-K 4K IPS Mini-LED Monitor – 1152 dimming zones
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For the serious creators and professionals, there is the ASUS ProArt PA32UCG-K. The hardware calibrated 32-inch mini LED 4K panel is even brighter than its gaming counterpart above with a peak brightness of 1600 nits and 1152 dimming zones. But before we continue any further, lets just say that the ProArt comes with not only HDMI 2.1, two HDMI 2.0 and a built-in USB hub but the all important Thunderbolt 3 ports. Yes, there are two of those as well as a DisplayPort 1.4 so all connectivity options are covered.
Back to the pro-goodness, the panel has a high 1 million to 1 contrast ratio, supports multiple HDR formats including Dolby Vision, HDR10, and Hybrid Log-Gamma (HLG) as well as FreeSync Premium Pro for game developers. The last feature lets you dynamically change the refresh rate from 48 to 120Hz with Variable Refresh Rate (VRR). As for designers and creators, the true 10-bit colour depth pushes 98% DCI-P3, 100% Rec. 2020, 99.5% Adobe RGB and 100% sRGB colour space as well as Delta E < 1 for colour accuracy. Also included in the box is a monitor hood to block off all glare. Now, you can’t get more professional than that.
5. Acer Predator X32 FP Mini-LED 4K gaming monitor – 576 dimming zones
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The Acer Predator X32 FP Mini LED is a gaming monitor with support for overclocking up to 165Hz refresh rate with AMD FreeSync Premium Pro and fast response time of 1ms. The 32-inch mini LED 4K panel has a lower 576 local dimming zones and a peak brightness of 1200 nits. This allows it to achieve a VESA DisplayHDR 1000 certification. Again, for a big 32-inch display, the display fall short on number of dimming zones but so is the Apple Pro Display XDR. Hooking up the monitor is not going to be a problem as it comes with four HDMI 2.1 ports, one DisplayPort 1.4 and one USB Type-C port with 90W PowerDelivery. You can have all your consoles, gaming PC and MacBook connected and you might still have spare video input ports. There is even a USB 3.0 hub built-in with 4 x USB 3.0 down stream and 2 upstream.
6. ViewSonic ELITE XG272G-2K, ELITE XG321UG and ELITE XG341C-2K – up to 1152 dimming zones
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Fresh off the press early 2022 are ViewSonic’s mini LED offerings in the form of their ELITE range. Three sizes are available, 27, 32 and 34, offering up to 1152 dimming zones and targeting mainly gamers. The 27 and 32-inch models support NVIDIA Reflex Analyzer that calculates the delay between mouse click and expected action. This can be useful to gamers wanting to know that their system is operating optimally. As for the details, the 27-inch models supports NVIDIA G-SYNC Ultimate with up to 300Hz refresh rate and is VESA DisplayHDR 1000 certified. It is able to achieve such high rate thanks to there being fewer pixels to redraw at 2K resolution. It is also capable of 95% DCI-P3 colour gamut so it’s not just all play.
- 27-inch QHD IPS panel with IGZO display technology
- Mini-LED technology with 576 zones
- VESA DisplayHDR™ 1000
- 95% DCI P3 color gamut
- 300Hz refresh rate
- NVIDIA G-SYNC ULTIMATE Certification and NVIDIA Reflex Analyzer
The 32-inch also supports NVIDIA G-SYNC Ultimate but has a lower refresh rate of up to 144Hz given its 4K resolution. Even at 144Hz, it is still quite high and will suit all games currently out there for a smoother and lag free gaming experience. The 4K panel is very bright using quantum dot technology and is VESA DisplayHDR 1400 certified. For colours, it can cover 99% Adobe RGB color gamut and true 10-bit color depth, gamers will enjoy rich cinema-grade colours. For precision, the monitor is even factory calibrated to Delta E<2.
- Ultra-wide 32-inch 4K UHD IPS panel
- Mini-LED technology with 1,152 zones
- VESA DisplayHDR™ 1400
- 99% Adobe RGB color gamut and factory pre-calibrated to Delta E< 2
- 144Hz refresh rate and 3ms (OD) response time
- NVIDIA G-SYNC ULITMATE Certification and NVIDIA Reflex Analyzer
Finally, the curved 34-inch but 2K mini-LED monitor. Here, you can super bright peak 1400 nits brightness, high refresh rate of up to 200 Hz thanks to AMD FreeSync Premium Pro, fast response time of 1ms and 97% DCI-P3 colour gamut. All that on a curved WQHD monitor with 1500R curvature for an immersive gaming experience that puts the player in the middle of the action. Plus it comes with USB-C with PD and HDMI 2.1 connectivity for console, PC or laptop.
- Ultra-wide 34-inch WQHD Curved panel
- Mini-LED technology with 1,152 zones
- VESA DisplayHDR™ 1400
- 97% DCI-P3 color gamut
- 165Hz refresh rate (overclockable to 200Hz) and 1ms (MPRT) response time
- AMD FreeSync Premium Pro
- Ultimate connectivity from USB Type-C with 90W power delivery
7. AOC AGON AG274QGM – 576 dimming zones
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Also announced at the start of 2022 is this 27-inch mini LED monitor with IPS technology from AOC. The gaming monitor tick all the boxes to deliver the ultimate 2K or QHD (2560 x 1440 pixels) gaming experience. For start, it supports NVIDIA G-SYNC Ultimate with NVIDIA Reflex Analyzer and up to 300Hz refresh rate. Like ViewSonic’s 27-inch 2K offering, the AGON is backed by mini LED that offers 576 local dimming zones allowing it to achieve VESA DisplayHDR 1000 certification. Other features are pretty much the same as the 27-inch ViewSonic above.
- 27-inch QHD IPS panel
- Mini-LED technology with 576 zones
- VESA DisplayHDR™ 1000
- 300Hz refresh rate
- NVIDIA G-SYNC ULTIMATE Certification and NVIDIA Reflex Analyzer
8. Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 S49AG95NC Mini LED – 2048 dimming zones
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Switching up the mini LED and immersive gaming experience to a whole other level is the Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 mini LED monitor. This huge wraparound 49-inch curved display has a whooping 2048 local dimming zones, almost twice that of the highest on our list. Samsung calls it the Quantum Mini-LED display and even at a high 5120 x 1440 resolution it is capable of a stutter free and smooth 240Hz refresh rate with a quick 1ms response time supporting both NVIDIA G-SYNC and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro so gamers are covered either way.
At 49-inch wide and a curvature of 1000R, the monitor has a screen aspect ratio of 32:9 and with Quantum mini-LED it goes beyond even Pro Display XDR’s peak brightness of 1600 nits to achieve 2000 nits, giving it a leading Quantum HDR 2000 and a high contrast ratio of a million to one. In case you are wondering, the smaller the curvature R rating, the curvier the display. For example 1000R is curvier than 1500R on the ViewSonic unit above.
Also, the 5120 x 1440 resolution is like putting two QHD (2K) screens side by side. Samsung calls this Dual QHD (or DQHD for short) and guess what, it also supports Picture by Picture to display two video sources side by side both at QHD. You can also have Picture in Picture with the second video source up to 25% of the screen area.
And, if that is not enough, there is a cluster of colour changing LED lights embedded into the rear of the monitor, programmed to automatically match the on screen content for a soft ambient light around the back of the monitor, just what your gaming setup is crying out for. Last but not least, the sleek stand and two pronged base is not only sturdy enough to carry the entire display but is flexible enough to offer height, swivel and tilt adjustments too.
BONUS: Monoprice 27-inch mini-LED – 576 dimming zones
Here is a budget option from Monoprice, a gaming monitor under their Dark Matter range. The Monoprice 27-inch mini LED monitor packs 4K resolution with a high refresh rate of 144Hz. It has all the bells and whistle to rival even the high end monitors here with 576 local dimming zones and USB-C connectivity that supports Power Deliver up to 90W.
