The LG 32UL950-W is a good 32" IPS monitor with great screen real estate thanks to the 4k resolution. It has wide viewing angles, which is great but doesn't look as good in a dark room, due to the limited native contrast ratio and poor black uniformity. It supports HDR and can display a wide color gamut, but the local dimming feature is bad. Gamers will appreciate the low input lag and FreeSync support, and it does work with NVIDIA's new Adaptive Sync driver.
Our Verdict
The LG 32UL950-W is a good monitor for most uses. The stand can't swivel, but it has good viewing angles, great SDR peak brightness, and good reflections handling. It has low input lag in any mode, which is great, and a fast response time. It also supports FreeSync, great for gamers.
- Image remains accurate when viewed at an angle
- Good for gaming, with FreeSync support and low input lag
- Great screen real estate
- Poor dark room performance
- PWM flicker in the backlight
The LG 32UL950-W is a good monitor for office use thanks to the large, high resolution screen with wide viewing angles that is great for multitasking. It can also daisy-chain a second monitor with the Thunderbolt 3 connection, and keep your Macbook charged with a single cable between the computer and screen.
The LG 32UL950-W is a decent monitor for gaming. The large, high resolution screen delivers a more immersive gaming experience, and it has low input lag for an immersive experience. It has excellent low input lag, and it supports FreeSync. Unfortunately, it isn't as well suited for late night gaming, due to the limited native contrast ratio and poor black uniformity.
The LG 32UL950-W is good for multimedia. The 32", 4k screen is great for watching the latest 4k UHD movies, and it supports HDR, which is nice. It has wide viewing angles, great for sharing the latest YouTube trends with your friends. Unfortunately, it isn't great for watching movies in a dark room, due to the limited native contrast and poor black uniformity.
The LG 32UL950-W is a good monitor for media creation. The high resolution screen allows you to see more of what you are working on. It has an outstanding SDR color gamut, including great coverage of the wider Adobe RGB color space, great for professional print and video editing.
The LG 32UL950-W is an okay monitor for HDR gaming. It has excellent low input lag for a more responsive gaming experience, and a fast response time that produces only a small blur trail behind fast-moving objects. Unfortunately, it has a limited native contrast ratio, and can't get bright enough in HDR to perfectly display the creator's intent in some games.
Changelog
- Updated Jan 20, 2021: For consistency, we've changed the swivel adjustment from N/A to 'No'. The score remains unchanged.
- Updated Aug 17, 2020: We've retested the SDR and HDR peak brightness, as well as the HDR color gamut and HDR color volume with local dimming enabled.
- Updated Jun 08, 2020: Converted to Test Bench 1.1.
- Updated Jan 17, 2019: Review published.
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Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the 32UL950, which is the only model available. There are similar models available from LG, some of them are listed below.
If someone comes across a different type of panel or if their LG 32UL950 doesn't correspond to our review, let us know and we will update the review. Note that some tests such as the gray uniformity may vary between individual units.
| Model | Size | Resolution | Refresh Rate | Notes |
| 32UL950 | 32" | 4k | 60 Hz | FreeSync, HDR, Local Dimming |
| 34WK95U | 34" | 5120x2160 | 60 Hz | HDR, Local Dimming |
| 32GK850G | 32" | 1440p | 144 Hz | G-Sync |
| 32UL750-W | 32" | 4k | 60 Hz | VA, HDR, FreeSync |
| 27UL650-W | 27" | 4k | 60 Hz | HDR, FreeSync |
The 32UL950 we reviewed was manufactured in September 2018.
Popular Monitor Comparisons
The LG 32UL950 is a good monitor with decent HDR performance, but there are cheaper models that outperform it. See our recommendations for the best 32-inch monitors, the best monitors for Mac Mini, the best 4k gaming monitors, and the best 4k monitors.
The Dell U3223QE and the LG 32UL950-W are both 32-inch, 4k monitors with a few differences. The Dell has many more features, as it has a much larger USB hub, making it easier to connect multiple devices. They each have USB-C ports, and the Dell supports higher power delivery, but the LG supports Thunderbolt 3, which allows for higher bandwidth than the DisplayPort Alt Mode than the Dell. Besides that, the Dell is more versatile because it has much better ergonomics, and it's also better for photo editing because it has more accurate colors.
The LG 32UL500-W is a more budget-friendly VA variant of the LG 32UL950-W. For productivity, the 32UL950-W is a better choice because it has wide viewing angles, and it allows for more ergonomic adjustments. It has more features like two USB-C ports, one of which supports Thunderbolt 3, and it has a Picture-in-Picture/Picture-by-Picture mode. It also gets brighter to combat glare, but it doesn't handle reflections as well as the 32UL500-W. The 32UL500-W is a better choice for dark rooms due to its high contrast ratio, and it has a better SDR and HDR color gamut.
The LG 32UD99-W is slightly better than the LG 32UL950. Both offer very similar performance, but the 32UD99-W has a flicker-free backlight, which is great, and it has a slightly higher native contrast ratio. The 32UD99-W has a slightly better stand that is made of metal, and better build quality.
The LG 27UK650-W and the LG 32UL950 deliver very similar performance overall. The 27UK650-W has a flicker-free backlight, which is great, and it's more accurate out of the box. The 32UL950 has a larger screen, and it can display a wide color gamut, great for HDR content. The 32UL950 has better connectivity, thanks to the additional Thunderbolt ports and USB hub.
We buy and test more than 30 monitors each year, all of which we purchase ourselves, without cherry-picked units or samples. We put a lot into each unbiased, straight-to-the-point review, and there's a whole process from purchasing to publishing, involving multiple teams and people. We do more than just use the monitor for a week; we use specialized, custom tools to measure various aspects and deliver objective, data-driven results. We also consider multiple factors before making any recommendations, including the monitor's cost, its performance compared to the competition, and whether it's easy to find.
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