Factoring in the stand, the 24MD4KL-B measures 16.4 by 21.8 by 9 inches (HWD), with the height increasing to 21.4 inches when fully extended, and it weighs 15 pounds. The cabinet and stand are both matte black, and look elegant enough, but to my eyes they are not particularly complementary to Apple's mostly silver hardware. The 24MD4KL-B's design is simple and understated, though not unattractive. Still, the 24MDKL-B's 186ppi is nothing to sneeze at-it can produce a sharper image than most any monitor we have tested at its size. Now, granted, you'll be viewing content at close quarters on your iPad (or for that matter, your laptop), so a very high pixel density there makes sense.
The latest 15-inch MacBook Pro, meanwhile, comes in at 220ppi, and the iPad Pro (the 12.9-inch 2018 version) has a 264ppi measure. Take, for one, the screen in the 2019 Apple iMac 27-Inch with 5K Retina Display. (Generally, the higher the pixel density, the sharper the image.)
While this is impressive for a monitor in its general size class (for example, two 27-inch 4K models we've tested, the Acer Predator X27 and the ViewSonic VP2785-4K, have 163ppi pixel densities), it is low for the Mac world. This translates to a pixel density of 186 pixels per inch (ppi). The 24MD4KL-B has a 24-inch (measured diagonally) IPS panel with a native resolution of 3,840 by 2,160 pixels, for a 16:9 aspect ratio.
(The only setting I was able to control through my Dell XPS 13 was the audio volume for the panel's built-in speakers.) And as I discuss below, although you may be able to mod the 24MD4KL-B to work better with Windows, unless you live to tinker, it's more trouble than it's worth. Mac users can change some display settings in macOS itself, but Windows users don't have that option. Indeed, the monitor turns on automatically when you connect a laptop to it via a Thunderbolt 3 port, and the monitor has no dedicated onscreen display (OSD) from which to control settings. We were able to use it with several Dell XPS and Razer laptops using DisplayPort over their compliant Thunderbolt 3/USB-C ports, but, by a long shot, not every laptop will have this kind of connectivity. Note that the 24MD4KL-B is so Mac-centric that this is not a model to consider if you're looking for a Windows (or even a dual-use Windows/Mac) monitor. Also, it covers more than 97 percent of the DCI-P3 color space, a version of which Apple uses as its standard wide-gamut color space. (You'll want to hook it up via a Thunderbolt 3 port in the case of the Macs, or via the USB Type-C port found on the latest iPad Pros.) The monitor integrates well with macOS, and you can change its settings directly from your Mac's Display dialog. I'll discuss how the 24MD4KL-B stacks up against these criteria throughout the review, but let's first discuss some of its Mac-specific virtues.Īs mentioned, this panel can be used with recent MacBook Pros and iPad Pros, or as a second display for an iMac Pro or a recent iMac. What makes for a good Mac monitor is largely the same set of things that makes any monitor good: a sturdy, adjustable frame, a native resolution and screen size that complement each other, accurate rendering of colors, and a useful selection of ports. Apple itself has announced it will release its own ultra-luxe new-generation monitor in the fall, but for five grand-and if you want a stand for it, that's a thousand bucks more. In addition to the 24MD4KL-BL, LG has a 27-inch 5K monitor, the 27MD5KA-B, but that's about all you'll find. And even fewer monitors have been introduced that are specifically geared to the Mac. Those that are available tend to retail for less than $400. You won't find all that many 24-inch 4K (3,840-by-2,160-pixel) monitors-that native resolution is found almost exclusively on displays with larger screens.
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