BenQ MA270U review: Good looks, great image quality

Macworld

At a glanceExpert's Rating

Pros

Great image quality

Nano Matte Panel cuts down glare and reflections

Height-adjustable stand

Cons

60Hz refresh rate may discourage gamers

No webcam

Our Verdict
The BenQ MA270U offers image quality that could satisfy users in a production environment–that’s one way of saying that its quality is better than what general users usually get. You might find a 27-inch 4K display that’s a little cheaper, but you’ll have a hard time finding one that looks this good.

Price When Reviewed
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Best Pricing Today

If you’re looking for a Mac display at a good price, take a look at the BenQ MA270U. Made with the Mac in mind, this 27-inch, 4K display is a nice combination of price, features, and image quality. It’s a lot cheaper than the Apple Studio Display, but you won’t feel like you’re making a sacrifice with the MA270U.

See how this monitor compares to others in our round-up of the best displays and monitors for Mac users.

Specifications

Size27 inchesGlass frontNano Matte PanelAspect ratio16:9Native resolution3840 by 2160Panel type/BacklightIPS/LED backlightResponse time5 msContrast ratio1200:1Frequency24Hz to 60HzColor depth10-bitBrightness400 nitsDimensions with stand (horizontal)Highest height: 22.1 by 24.2 by 8.7 inches (560.1 by 613.8 by 220.2mm) Lowest height: 17.5 by 24.2 by 8.7 inches (445.1 by 613.8 by 220.2mm)Weight with stand18.08 lbs (8.2 kg)

BenQ MA270U: Design and build

The MA270U has a nice design that complements the Mac aesthetic—it doesn’t completely match, but the display doesn’t obviously look like a PC display connected to a Mac either. While there’s a lot of plastic on the MA270U, it doesn’t look cheap and feels solid and sturdy.

The MA270U has a Nano Matte Panel front but it’s not a piece of glass. As the name suggests, it’s not glossy, so glare and reflections are practically non-existent, even more so than with the pricey Nano texture glass on the Apple Studio Display.




The Nano Matte Panel does an excellent job of cutting down glare and reflections.Foundry

The bezels around the sides and top are less than 1 mm wide, about the same as the Apple Studio Display. The bottom bezel is thicker, but it doesn’t look out of proportion. The display’s bezels remind me a little of the bezels of the MacBook Air but without the top camera notch.

BenQ MA270U: Display stand

A stand is included with the MA270U. Some displays sell the stand separately so there’s an additional cost consideration, but that’s not the case here.

The silver stand is plastic, but it feels strong. The base has a slightly raised gray padded platform for placing your AirPods cases and other items, a nice touch.

The stand offers a great range of adjustment: -5 to 20 degrees of tilt, swivels 15 degrees left or right, and 115 mm of height. The display can also pivot 90 degrees, a far greater range of motion than the Studio Display.




The MA270U can work with VESA wall mounts, but a stand is included.Foundry

BenQ MA270U: Ports

The MA70U includes the following ports:

Two HDMI 2.0 ports

Two USB-A (USB 3.2 Gen 1, 5Gbps, 7.5W)

One USB-C (90W Power Delivery)

One USB-C (USB 3.2 Gen 1, 5Gbps, 15W)

3.5mm headphone jack

The MA270U can connect to a Mac through HDMI or USB-C. The USB-C connection offers 90 watts of power so it can charge your MacBook at the same time. If you want to use the display as a connection hub, you need to connect to the Mac via USB-C.

One of the USB-A ports is on the rear of the display, while the other is underneath the display, along with the 3.5mm headphone jack. Having the USB-A port under the display is convenient, though you probably will find someone who wishes that was a USB-C port instead.

BenQ MA270U: Image quality

The one thing that’s immediately noticeable with the MA270U is its impressive image quality. Colors are full of life and the detail is excellent. One standout aspect of the image quality is how sharp text appears–it looks so noticeably crisp and clean that I’d stop every once in a while as I wrote this review to just admire how nice my words looked. This is great for production and design work, but it can even make it more enjoyable to read and write.

Because the MA270U is a matte display, the black reproduction isn’t as deep as on a glossy display like the standard configuration of the Apple Studio Display. But it’s certainly deep enough to display as black, not as, say, a noticeable super dark gray.

The display has a standard 60Hz refresh rate that is the same as the Studio Display and fast enough for most users. Gamers, however, might not be satisfied and want faster rates.

BenQ MA270U: Built-in controls and Display Pilot 2 software

Underneath the display is a mini joystick for access to the built-in controls, which only offers a brightness adjustment, audio volume for the built-in speakers, and changing the input port between the two HDMI ports and USB-C. There’s also a summary that indicates whether HDR is turned on/off, the screen resolution, and the refresh rate.

What BenQ really wants you to do is download and install its Display Pilot 2 software for a broader set of display controls. The software is more about adding functionality than it is about tweaking image quality; for example, it has a Desktop Partition feature that is a lot like windows tiling in macOS Sequoia. One cool feature is Application Color Mode, where you can assign color profiles to specific apps. For example, you can assign a Cinema color profile to Final Cut Pro, and when you launch the app, the display automatically switches to that profile.

BenQ MA270U: Price

The MA270U is $460/£450 and it includes a stand, a USB-C cable, and a power cable. You’ll need to buy a HDMI cable separately if you need one. In the U.S., BenQ offers a three-year limited warranty; in the U.K., it’s two years.

Should you buy the BenQ MA270U?

The BenQ MA270U offers image quality that could satisfy users in a production environment–that’s one way of saying that its quality is better than what general users usually get. You might be able to find a 27-inch 4K display that’s a little cheaper, but it won’t look this good. It also makes for an attractive alternative to the 5K Apple Studio Display, which is a whopping $2,299 when you configure it with a tilt- and height-adjustable stand and Nano-texture glass. At its price, the MA270U looks especially great with a new Mac mini–or any Mac, for that matter.