BenQ has been making great Mac-compatible monitors for years, and the new MA270S is the top of the line. This is a 27-inch 5K monitor, but it comes with a feature that most monitors don’t have: a glossy finish.
All of Apple’s displays ship with a glossy finish by default, but for some reason, matte finishes have dominated the external monitor market, and BenQ is bucking that trend. This makes the MA270S even more Mac-friendly.
I checked out the MA270U last year, which is a more budget-friendly offering for Macs. It’s 4K instead of 5K, but it’s still a 27-inch panel. By default it comes with a matte finish, but we also create a glossy finish variant for those who prefer that. BenQ offers great colors, so you don’t have to feel like it looks inferior compared to your MacBook’s screen.
overview
The new MA270S follows many of the same design philosophies as the MA270U I tried. It has the same slim bezels, the same minimalist silver stand (with a silicone pad on the base to help you rest your MacBook without scratching it), and plenty of ports.
The MA270S works with a single USB-C cable, allowing you to power your MacBook and carry all the accessories you’ve connected to your monitor. This display features four USB-C ports, two USB-A ports, and two additional HDMI ports for other devices.
BenQ also offers an app called Display Pilot 2. It lets you manage your monitor’s display and brightness from your Mac’s keyboard without having to fiddle with your monitor’s controls. It also offers KVM, so you can seamlessly use the same keyboard and mouse on your Mac and Windows PC.
Built-in stand can be rotated, tilted, rotated and height adjusted. The display panel, on the other hand, offers 99% P3 color coverage, supports HDR400, goes up to 70Hz (which is nothing to write home about), and has built-in speakers.
summary
To be honest, there are only two real compromises compared to Studio Display:
That said, the MA270S can be purchased for just $999, compared to $1599 for Apple’s Studio Display, and offers a similar 27-inch 5K panel with a glossy finish. The savings are significant, and after all, the MA270S is one of the few 5K options on the market with a glossy finish, so if that’s what you’re looking for, it’s kind of a no-brainer. It’s been my daily driver for a few weeks now and I’m definitely very happy with it.
The MA270S can be purchased from BenQ’s website or Amazon (out of stock at the time of writing). Or, if you want an inexpensive glossy monitor (albeit 4K), check out the MA270UP or MA320UP, which come in 27-inch and 32-inch display sizes, respectively. Both are available on Amazon.
My favorite Apple accessory recommendations:
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