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 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 two 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 a dark room. Auto-brightness on the monitor is buggy and unreliable. I use the display light bar to offset this.
• It has a 4K screen, not 5K. I see no problem with it, but there are people who believe that macOS displays must have 5K resolution.

Why you still might consider the Studio Display

Apart from the 5K preference, 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 hand, you will end up with a 60 Hz monitor and a limited set of ports.