The 5 Best Monitors For MacBook Pro - Summer 2021 Reviews

The best monitor for MacBook Pro we've tested is the Gigabyte M27Q. Although it's marketed towards gamers, it has many features that make it great for productivity. Its 27 inch, 1440p screen gives you plenty of space to work with and delivers sharp images and text. It has wide viewing angles, gets very bright, and handles reflections decently well. The stand only allows for height and tilt adjustments, but you can VESA mount it should you need more adjustability.

It's great for content creators working in the sRGB and Adobe RGB color spaces, with 100% and 97% coverage, respectively. Its DCI P3 coverage is excellent but not full, which might be disappointing for people working in HDR. Gradient handling is superb, and there's no color bleed. As it's a gaming monitor, it has a 170Hz refresh rate and an exceptional response time to provide a very responsive desktop experience. It also has VRR support to reduce screen tearing if you want to play some games on the side.

One thing you should know is that it uses a BGR subpixel layout. It has no effect on picture quality, but it may cause blurry text in some applications. Also, its USB-C input only supports DisplayPort Alt Mode, not Thunderbolt 3, and the power delivery is limited to 10W, which isn't enough to charge a MacBook Pro. On the upside, you get plenty of features, like a Picture-in-Picture mode, a blue light filter, and an integrated KVM switch that lets you control two devices with one set of peripherals. Last but not least, it has a budget-friendly price.

The LG 38WN95C-W is the best display for MacBook Pro with an ultrawide screen that we've tested. It's a versatile 38 inch monitor with a 21:9 aspect ratio, which gives you tons of screen real estate for multitasking. It has a slight 2300R curvature and a sleek design that should fit into most office settings. The viewing angles are good, which means that the image remains accurate when viewed from the side, and it gets more than bright enough to combat glare in a well-lit room.

It has full sRGB coverage, and it supports a wide color gamut for HDR. The out-of-the-box color accuracy is good, but content creators might still want to calibrate it as greens and reds appear over-saturated. Despite its professional look, it has a 144Hz refresh rate and exceptional response time to make the desktop experience feel incredibly responsive, and it supports VRR to reduce screen tearing, which means it can also double as your gaming monitor.

There are two USB 3.0 inputs as well as a USB-C with Thunderbolt 3 support. You also get built-in speakers and a Picture-by-Picture mode that lets you display two input signals at once, great for those working on two computers. It gets impressively bright in HDR to make highlights pop, but unfortunately, it has a low contrast ratio that makes blacks appear gray in the dark, and its edge-lit local dimming is terrible. Nonetheless, it's a great ultrawide monitor that MacBook Pro users should be happy with.

The ASUS ProArt Display PA278QV is the best monitor for MacBook Pro in the budget category that we've tested. It's an older version of our top pick, the ASUS ProArt Display PA278CV, but it's a bit more wallet-friendly. It also has a 27 inch screen with a 1440p resolution and a 75Hz refresh rate. It comes with a sturdy stand with superb ergonomics, including a 180-degree swivel range. It has wide viewing angles, good reflection handling, and gets bright enough to overcome glare, even in well-lit, sunny rooms.

While it's designed for content creation, it's actually better suited for general productivity because it doesn't quite have full sRGB coverage, and its Adobe RGB coverage is only decent. Also, it doesn't support HDR and is limited to an 8-bit color depth. The response times are good enough for some casual gaming on the side, and there's VRR support to reduce screen tearing.

The most notable difference with its successor is the lack of USB-C input, so it might be worth spending a bit more to get the PA278CV if you need it. Otherwise, you still get four USB 3.0 ports, built-in speakers, and ASUS's Virtual QuickFit Virtual Scale feature. All in all, go with this monitor if you're on a very tight budget or you already have a dock with DisplayPort or HDMI output, but if you want USB-C connectivity, then it's probably better to go with the newer version.