So, you need a monitor for your Mac?

If you’re in the market for a Mac Mini or Mac Pro, you will need a display to go with it and even those with an iMac or MacBook Pro might need a second screen for a multitude of different reasons. What was once a niche product reserved only for content creators and professionals is now ideal for anyone requiring additional screen space.

Intended as a companion for the new Mac Pro, Apple’s Pro Display is a dazzling piece of hardware, with a 32in screen that supports 6K video. However, you will need some deep pockets as it’s also seriously expensive, starting at £4,599 which doesn’t even include a stand! Fortunately, there are plenty of manufacturers that make very attractive, and attractively priced displays that you can use with your Mac, without having to take out a second mortgage or sell a kidney.

There’s no single monitor that will work best for everyone obviously, but our monitor ideas cover all kinds of different sizes, uses, and prices, from basic 24 inch budget models to big 4K screens. Here are some of the best ones we can find, and what kinds of things they’re good for.

Dell P2720DC (Cheapest found online £241)

This monitor offers the best balance of resolution, design, features, and price. First off, it measures 27 inches diagonally, which is seen as the ideal size for a standard office desk. It’s also 1440p (QHD), which is the perfect happy medium between affordable 1080p and super-sharp 4K. It’s not as sleek as Dell’s UltraThin monitors, but the P-series still look fairly modern. The P2720DC isn’t necessarily for enthusiastic photo editors, as the colour calibration isn’t quite up to it (although you could buy a separate calibration device if you want here). However, it’ll work great for hobbyists and most other kinds of computing tasks, sporting solid image quality and convenient adjustability. Our favourite feature, though, is the USB-C connection which will work perfectly with Mac.

LG UltraFine 4K (Cheapest found online £629)

This screen was developed by Apple and LG together, so when it comes to the best monitors for MacBook Pro overall, this is it. You can connect it over a single cable that delivers up to 85W of power to your MacBook, plus sends video out from your MacBook to its 4K display, and can carry data to accessories too. The UltraFine 4K is more than a monitor, it’s also a Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C hub. The giant bandwidth of Thunderbolt means you can daisy chain this to a second 4K display still running off that single cable to your MacBook Pro, or plug in loads of external storage, connection hubs, cabled internet, whatever you need really. It’s only a 24 inch screen however but has a resolution of 3840×2160, so it’s highly detailed. If you need more space, there’s a 27 inch 5K version available (if you can find one in stock anywhere, and if around £1,200 is palatable enough for you).

ViewSonic VP2458 (Cheapest found online £183)

If you can’t spare the capital for higher end monitors, this gives you a great screen to work on without busting the budget. This aims to be professional grade, delivering 100% sRGB colour gamut coverage and Delta E of less than 2 (so its colour accuracy should be indistinguishable from perfect to the human eye). Being a smaller 24 inch model with 1920×1080 resolution, it’s made for photographers or designers to focus on getting the looks perfect. You could see more detail from a 4K monitor, but something had to go for this price, and 1080p is still more than enough for a lot of people. It also has ergonomic features to adjust height, tilt, pivot and swivel; it’s a great package for the price however.

BenQ EX3501R (Cheapest found online £599)

Ultrawide monitors are great for productivity because they can basically be dual monitor setups but take up less space. This screen is 35 inches diagonally but is a pretty standard monitor height, it’s just wider. The resolution of 3440×1400 gives you much more space for keeping more tool palettes visible (or reference material, or email, or video conferencing, or anything else you need) right alongside your canvas. 100% sRGB coverage means you can see colours just how you need them, and there’s even HDR support (though, again, the brightness is too low for meaningful use of it for video work). It also supports up to 100Hz refresh rates, so digital artists looking for minimal lag will find a friend here (or it doubles nicely as a gaming display).

Apple Thunderbolt Display (Check our online store for latest pricing)

For some people, there’s nothing quite like the beauty of Apple’s 27 inch thunderbolt display which was discontinued in 2016. It still has the looks that we all love with most Apple products and is more than capable for a lot of peoples day to day needs. With a beautiful 16:9 edge-to-edge glass design, the Thunderbolt Display uses IPS technology to provide a brilliant image across an ultra wide 178 degree viewing angle. It sports three USB 2.0 ports, one FireWire 800 port, one Gigabit Ethernet port and a Thunderbolt port for daisy chaining up to five additional Thunderbolt devices. 

*Prices correct at time of publishing 24/11/2020