LG 34BK95U-W UltraFine 34” 5K Nano LED Monitor Review

If you’re looking for a widescreen monitor to amplify the screen estate of your Mac, the LG 34BK95U-W 34″ UltraWide 5K could be your ideal match.

This monitor boasts a range of impressive features that make it stand out in the crowded market of high-end displays.

Originally, Apple even helped LG develop the UltraFine display and under the hood, the UltraFine models contain a very similar panel to the 27 inch 5K iMacs.

In fact Apple used to sell a similar 27 inch version of this model on its website until it ditched it in favor of its own impressive Apple Studio Display.

In this LG 34BK95U-W review, we take a closer look at why it’s a great choice for Mac users.

LG 34BK95U-W vs LG 34WK95U-W

Firstly, there’s a lot of confusion between this model and the LG 34WK95U-W UltraWide 34″ which was first showcased at CES 2018 because they were marketed at the same time by LG but are almost exactly the same.

The main difference is that the LG 34WK95U-W is more commonly available in the UK and other countries outside of the USA.

However, there are some other differences which is why we focused on the BK95U instead of the WK95U.

The LG 34BK95U-W is basically exactly the same monitor as the LG 34WK95U-W but the only differences are that the LG 34BK95U-W is cheaper and comes with a 3 year warranty compared to only 1 year with the LG 34WK95U-W.

The 3 year warranty on this model is because it comes from the Business division of LG not the Consumer division.

The other reason we’ve reviewed the LG 34BK95U-W is that the LG 34WK95U-W has been discontinued by LG.

Although you can still buy the LG 34WK95U-W on Amazon, it makes far more sense to buy the cheaper LG 34BK95U-W with a 3 year warranty that’s currently in stock with LG than a discontinued model!

Monitor Overview

Apart from Apple’s premium options – the 5K Apple Studio Display ($1,599) and the 6K Apple Pro XDR Display ($4,999) – the LG 34BK95U-W offers a high-quality and far wider alternative at a more affordable price.

This monitor provides a 5K (5120 x 2160) resolution at 163 pixels per inch (PPI), ensuring sharp and clear visuals.

However, due to limitations in macOS that make everything look extremely small at 5K on a non Apple external display, it’s advisable to use a scaled resolution which we go into in more detail later on.

Specifications

The LG 34BK95U-W UltraFine 34” specifications are:

• 34″ 5K2K Ultra wide Nano IPS display
• Viewing Angle (L/R) (CR>=10) is 178°/178°; Brightness(Typ) is 400cd/m² ; Aspect Ratio is 21:9
• 5120 x 2160 resolution
• Vega displays 600, 450nits (typ. )
• 4-Side borderless screen
• 5Wx2 Stereo speaker/rich bass
• Connectivity technology: Thunderbolt 3; USB; USB Type C; HDMI
• 60 hertz

The LG UltraFine 34 inch offers incredible depth of color and the Nano IPS technology it uses covers 98% of the DCI-P3 color space, making it ideal for video editing and other graphic design work.

DCI-P3 is the industry standard for the film industry making this display a particularly great choice for video editors wanting more screen estate for timelines.

This includes support for a staggering 1.07 billion colors and the screen’s LED is designed to absorbs excess light to give you richer colors

With HDR 600 certification, it delivers a peak brightness of 600 nits, enhancing contrast and making bright and dark parts of an image pop.

The 34 inch 5K screen feels huge and gives you around 30% more screen estate than on a standard 4K monitor. This enables video editors  for example to have assets open on a 5:9 area while also editing or watching a 16:9 4K at the same time.

The monitor’s stand allows for 15 degrees of forward tilt, -5 degrees of backward tilt, and height adjustment up to 110mm. It’s also VESA mount compatible.

Though primarily made of plastic, it includes an aluminum stand foot. The plastic build can feel a bit flimsy, but it’s still robust enough for most users.

LG has also added a plastic strap to keep your cables tidy around the back.

There’s a very thin bezel around the edge which means you maximize the amount of screen estate on the monitor.

The On Screen Display is controlled via a four way joystick on the bottom of the monitor which controls everything from sound and brightness to input source and contrast.

In terms of sound, there are two 5 watt watt speakers on the bottom of the monitor but the sound quality is poor and as always with most monitors, we recommend using external speakers instead.

Connectivity

Apart from standard HDMI, it includes a Thunderbolt 3 port (with a 2-meter cable) that offers 85W of charging power and DisplayPort Alt Mode. There are also three additional USB-C ports.

The HDMI 2.0 port only supports up to 4K and although the DisplayPort supports 5K, it’s best to connect via Thunderbolt 3 for full 5K performance and higher bandwidth.

Note that although base model Apple Silicon Macs can only support one external monitor natively, there are workarounds to this that can be used.

Gaming Support

If you’re planning to game on the LG UltraFine then it’s important to be aware that it only supports up to 60Hz which isn’t ideal for fast paced games.

If you want to video chat in-game, there’s also no integrated webcam on the display.

LG 34 Inch UltraFine vs Apple Studio Display

If you’re thinking of buying the LG 34 inch UltraFine as a bigger, cheaper alternative to the Apple Studio Display there’s a few things to be aware of.

Here’s how they compare side by side:

• Brightness:
  • Apple Studio Display: 600 nits
  • LG UltraFine: 500 nits
• Build Quality:
  • Apple Studio Display: Quality aluminum casing
  • LG UltraFine: Plastic casing
• Audio System:
  • Apple Studio Display: High-quality six-speaker system
  • LG UltraFine: Two speakers
• Color Accuracy:
  • Apple Studio Display: Supports True Tone
  • LG UltraFine: Does not support True Tone
• Port Speed:
  • Apple Studio Display: USB-C ports are 3.1 Gen 2
  • LG UltraFine: USB-C ports are 3.0
• Camera Quality:
  • Apple Studio Display: 12-megapixel ultra-wide camera with Center Stage support
  • LG UltraFine: 1080p webcam
• Microphone Quality:
  • Apple Studio Display: Professional studio-quality three-microphone array
  • LG UltraFine: Single microphone

Limitations of Both Displays

• ProMotion and Mini-LED Backlighting:
  • Neither the Apple Studio Display nor the LG 5K UltraFine 34-inch support ProMotion or mini-LED backlighting.
  • It is rumored that these features will be added to the Apple Studio Display soon though.

5K Scaling Issues On Macs

There are some issues scaling 5K displays that don’t support the 218 PPI that macOS is optimized for

In full 5K at its maximum 163 PPI, its fine for video editing on long timelines but not so great for reading text as it minimizes the size of everything.

The result is tiny text which leaves you with eye strain.

You can avoid this by selecting the “Default for Display” setting in the display settings which will optimize it for macOS but may only be half of the monitors full resolution.

You can force it to use 5K though by going to System Preferences > Displays, hold down the Option key and click on Scaled.

If you change it to full 5120 x 2160 5K resolution, you’ll find that everything appears small on the screen.

We recommend using a scaled resolution such as 3200 x 1800 or 2880 x 1620 which still looks clear and sharp but make it easier to read text.

There are also apps like Display Menu ($1.99) that make it easier to customize scaling in macOS.

You can read more on external display scaling issues here.

Drawbacks

Some users have found that the display won’t wake again after your Mac has gone to sleep or does not save the presets if it does wake-up.

If you are affected by this, we recommend installing LG On Screen Control which gives you more control over sleep settings and how your Mac interacts with the display.

LG On Screen Control will also download any firmware updates that are available for the LG 34BK95U which may also fix the problem.

The other main issue is scaling which we’ve already mentioned and is common to all 5K monitors with a low PPI.

The build quality is also a bit flimsy although this is not uncommon in many big brand external displays nowadays.