Dell UltraSharp U2725QE is a great display for macOS

In 2025 I was 100% sure that the new Apple Studio monitor would have a 120 Hz refresh rate, and that I would buy it.

Sadly, my LG UltraFine started to work unreliably half a year before the expected release, so I ended up buying the Dell UltraSharp U2725QE as a temporary solution.

I enjoyed this display a lot, and since, to my surprise, the 2026 refresh of the Apple Studio Display was another $1500 60 Hz monitor, I cancelled my plans to swap it with no regrets.

Here’s a short review of the Dell UltraSharp U2725QE:

Pros

• Image quality is great, and unlike the LG, it has no stupid features that ruin the image enabled by default

• 120 Hz refresh rate — same as on the MacBook Pro

• 140W Power Delivery

• Has a fully featured KVM inside. I suffered without a KVM on the LG UltraFine, and buying one is a research intensive and expensive process. Having one included inside the monitor is a bliss.

  You can check all available ports on the spec sheet, but I would like to highlight the Ethernet. Having cable internet on a clamshell MacBook is a cool experience.

  Waking from sleep is way more reliable than on the LG.

• Apart from the KVM, it has a stupid-looking but very useful retractable front-facing USB hub with 2 USB-C and one USB-A 3.0.

  I didn’t know about it when I bought the display, and got a bit of a jumpscare when this spring-loaded thing jumped out :)

  This ended up being one of my most used features of the monitor. I connect cameras, phones, MIDI controllers, and iPad Sidecar.

• $800 — cheap for the specs

Cons

• It has no speakers. Monitor speakers are bad, but I prefer having them.
• It is hard to attach devices to the top of the monitor. As it has a steep curve on the back, and quite a thin and weak screen border, many devices that clip on top of the monitor will either not sit well or will overpressure the display, which can cause damage. I’m using a Xiaomi display light bar, and I needed to put around 5mm of densely folded paper under the clip to reduce the pressure. It worked, but looks ugly.
• The monitor feels way brighter and diffuses light differently than the LG UltraFine. Sometimes it feels too bright in the dark room. Auto-brightness on the monitor is buggy and unreliable. I use the display light bar to offset this.

Why you still might consider Studio Display?

The only reason you might consider buying the $1500 Studio Display is that it has speakers, a webcam, and a microphone.

Apple does all of these better than most standalone offerings on the market. Getting these separately will result in a clunkier setup for comparable money, and worse results.

On the other side, you will end up with a 60 Hz monitor and a limited set of ports.