Best Monitor for Mac Mini M1

Best Monitor for Mac Mini M1 in 2022

Mac Mini M1 is a trusty, powerful, and budget-friendly little computer with a lot of potential. If you own one, it only makes sense if you pair it with an equally great and trusty monitor, you help your Mac Mini M1 fulfill its true potential. There’s a lot of variety when it comes to monitors that you can use with your M1 Mini, but to get the best use of your Mac, you should spend some time researching the different options to find the one that is best fitted to your needs. In the following list of monitors, we’ve tried to include high-quality options that range from affordable, all-around offerings, to higher-end ones that are specialized for professional use. 

Note that pretty much every monitor from our list can be used for professional photo and video editing, but some of the more expensive variants offer added perks that make them especially good for this type of work.

The entries from the list haven’t been sorted in any particular order – they are all good at what they do, but their differences will determine which ones would be a better fit for you.

ASUS ProArt Display PA279CV

Price range: $595 – $700

For

• Great colours for its price range
• A good variety of connectivity options
• Built-in ruler to help with photo-editing

Against

• It’s brightness is about average
• Not the best menu interface and controls

ASUS ProArt Display PA279CV is the new and upgraded version of the ASUS ProArt Display PA278CV model (another great monitor) and it comes with all the best features of its predecessor while also adding some important improvements. Like the older model, the new PA279CV model offers amazing graphics with accurate and vibrant colors and 4K resolution, but it also comes with twelve preset display modes, making it even better for creators and photo editors.

On the outside, this ASUS monitor has a clean and ergonomic design, with very thin bezels, leaving more space for its display. The monitor has a metallic finish, and it’s placed on a plastic, but sturdy stand. Its buttons are located at the bottom, where you will also find a built-in ruler that can help with photo editing. The display itself has a matte, anti-reflective surface that ensures that the colors on the screen would always be displayed with 100% sRGB accuracy. In addition, this monitor offers an impressively-wide viewing angle of 178 degrees. However, compared to other monitors of a similar price range, the ASUS ProArt PA279CV isn’t the brightest option out there, so using it in brightly-lit rooms may not be optimal, despite its anti-reflective display.

Another downside of this model (might seem like a nitpick to some) is its rather fiddly menu – you control the menu via five buttons at the bottom of the monitor, which can make navigating through the menu a rather slow and tedious process. We would have liked it better if the menu had joystick-type controls, but it’s not a huge issue.

In terms of connectivity, the Asus ProArt Display PA279CV comes with four USB 3.1 ports, one DP port, two HDMI v2 ports, and a single USB-C port, offering all the variety you may need. Its USB-C port supports Power Delivery with 65W of power, meaning that you can share the monitor between your Mac Mini and a MacBook Pro.

LG 32UN800-B Ultrafine Ergo

Price: $810

For

• Great ergonomics.
• USB-C connectivity.
• High color accuracy.

Against

• Not the best brightness and HDR.

The LG 32UN800-B Ultrafine Ergo is a jack-of-all-trades-type of monitor – it does everything it’s supposed to reasonably well, has one or two excellent qualities, and it comes at a reasonable price making it perfect, which perfectly pairs it with the powerful, yet budget-conscious Mac Mini M1.

The LG 32UN800-B Ultrafine Ergo offers a 4K resolution with great color accuracy and HDR10 support. However, its brightness isn’t particularly impressive at 350 nits, which takes away from its HDR support – true HDR requires a screen that can deliver a lot of brightness and 350 nits just isn’t enough. That is not to say that the LG 32UN800-B Ultrafine Ergo has a dim display, but it’s certainly not all that impressive in terms of brightness, and it’s a missed opportunity considering its HDR support. That said, the monitor’s display covers 95% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, which is something you’d expect to find in much more expensive monitors. This makes the LG 32UN800-B Ultrafine Ergo a good photo-editing option for creators who don’t want to spend a ton of money on a high-end professional monitor.

One of the highlights of this model is its highly-ergonomic stand that allows you to adjust the angle and height of the monitor, which is perfect for long hours of work, where one’s neck is prone to getting fatigued if it’s even slightly bent in an uncomfortable position.

In terms of connectivity, the LG 32UN800-B Ultrafine Ergo gives you a DisplayPort, two HDMI ports, one USB-C, and two USB-A ports. It’s a good amount of variety, and the presence of a USB-C port means that you can also connect your MacBook to the monitor.

Overall, this is a great all-around monitor, that’s perfect for working long hours on photo or video-editing projects.

MSI Prestige PS341WU

Price: $2,014

For

• Great brightness and color support.
• 5K2K resolution on an ultra-wide display.

Against

• May take a bit too much space.
• Not the cheapest option.

MSI products are often associated with gaming, but the MSI Prestige PS341WU, though still fit for gaming, is also a great option for creators who need a lot of screen space for their projects as well as an accurate display of colors and enough brightness, so that even the finest of details within an image doesn’t get obscured.

The MSI Prestige PS341WU is a very large screen (34 inches) with HDR support and 450 nits of brightness to complement it. In addition, its display covers 98% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, which ensures that the colors in an image/video you are editing will always be on point.

Despite its somewhat bulky size, there’s also a surprising amount of ergonomics implemented into the MSI Prestige PS341WU. Its stand allows you to adjust the monitor’s angle so that it perfectly lines up with your line of sight. However, if you don’t have too much space in your room, this monitor may be a bit too big, which is one of its potential downsides, depending on how you look at it.

As for its connectivity support, the MSI Prestige PS341WU has a DP, two HDMI ports, a USB-C  (with charging), two USB-A ports, and a single USB-B port. 

Of course, this impressive package comes at a higher price, compared to other entries on this list, so if you are looking for a budget-conscious option, it may be better to look at the other entries on this list.

LG 34GP83A-B 34in Curved Ultra-Wide

Price: $794

 For

• Huge screen space.
• Good brightness and colors.

Against

• Mediocre contrast, making it not great in dark rooms.
• No speakers.

The LG 34GP83A-B 34in Curved Ultra-Wide is often seen as a gaming screen, but it can also be a very good productivity screen that would pair well with your Mac Mini M1. While this monitor undoubtedly emits gamer vibes and has some optimization for gaming, a lot of its features also make it great for work. Its ultrawide format offers a lot of horizontal workspace so that you can have all your apps visible on the screen without the need to minimize anything. Its display also has a matte coating that blocks out glare, so that working in a brightly-lit room won’t put too much strain on your eyes. Additionally, this monitor has a flicker-free backlight and blue-light reduction, making it even more forgiving to one’s eyes, especially during long hours of uninterrupted work. The monitor’s display can deliver 400 nits of brightness, which is higher than the standard 350 that we see with most other monitors of a similar price range. This monitor also has 98% DCI-P3 color gamut coverage, which is also above the 95% average for similarly-priced monitors, and ensures near-perfect color accuracy. 

Though the LG 34GP83A-B 34in Curved Ultra-Wide can be a good productivity option, some adjustment to it would be required. For starters, the default setting of the monitor is for gaming, so you’d need to switch to a different mode in the monitor’s menu to get the optimal productivity settings. Also, note that macOS, in general, isn’t optimized to work with ultrawide screens, so you’d need to go to your Mac’s display settings, hold down Option, and click the Scaled setting to see a list of custom resolutions. There, you must choose the UWQHD (3440×1440) resolution and use that for the best experience with the LG 34GP83A-B 34in Curved Ultra-Wide.

We should also mention that this monitor has no built-in speakers, so if this is something you want to have in a monitor, this model is probably not for you.

Lastly, a couple of words about the connectivity of this monitor – it has two HDMI 2.0 ports, a 1.4 DisplayPort, and two USB-A ports. However, there’s no USB-C or Thunderbolt port.

Dell UP2720Q

Price range: from $1,151

For

• Automatic color calibration.
• Thunderbolt 3 hub.
• Top-tier color quality.

Against

• Brightness doesn’t match its price.

The Dell UP2720Q is one of the best, but also one of the priciest options on this list. This monitor offers professional picture quality with its 98% DCI-P3 support and 100% Adobe RGB. Furthermore, it automatically checks its color calibration and makes any necessary adjustments, so that color accuracy is always on point. Additionally, the Dell UP2720Q sports two Thunderbolt 3 ports, which is great for Mac users, who can make full use of this form of connectivity. It also has all the other types of connectivity you’d expect from a high-end monitor, including four USB 3 ports, two HDMI 2.0 ports, and a DisplayPort 1.4.

One of the surprising downsides of this professional monitor is its rather low brightness, which maxes out at 350 nits. This is by no means a dim monitor, but considering that its other perimeters are tailored towards professional creators and also that its price is quite high, we would have liked to see a bit more brightness.

Overall, this monitor is for serious creators who need near-perfect color accuracy. Since it is a rather pricey offering, some of the cheaper variants on this list may be a better option if you don’t absolutely need this level of picture quality. Still, for what it’s supposed to do, this is a very good monitor.

BenQ SW321C PhotoVue

Price: $1,999

For

• Good color accuracy and factory color calibration.
• USB-C port.
• Supports hardware calibration.

Against

• Its ports can be difficult/awkward to reach.
• Could have been brighter.
• Quite pricey.

BenQ SW321C PhotoVue, as its model would suggest, is designed as a monitor that’s tailored towards the needs of professional photographers. You get the monitor with factory calibration, 100% sRGB, and 99% Adobe RGB. Its P3 support 95%, which is a bit lower compared to some other offerings on this list, but only the most demanding of creators and photographers are likely to notice that. For further utility and customization, the monitor supports hardware calibration, allowing you to adjust the color settings of its internal image processor without touching the color profiles in your Mac’s software.

To make this monitor even more suitable for professional photographers, BenQ has added a special PaperSync software that’s integrated with the monitor and gives you the option to chose to pick between different types of paper and see how a given image would look on them. Of course, do not expect to get a perfectly accurate representation of what something would look if it were on paper, but it’s still an interesting tool that has some potential.

One of the two main downsides of the BenQ SW321C PhotoVue is that it’s not all that bright. It delivers 250 nits of brightness, which makes it one of the dimmer monitors on this list. It’s still a workable brightness value, but we would have liked it to be higher.

The other issue, which is a bit more nitpicky, is the rather awkward positioning of its ports. They can be somewhat difficult to reach and use at times, but unless you have to connect and disconnect different cables to/from the monitor, multiple times a day, it shouldn’t be a big problem.

Speaking of ports, the BenQ SW321C PhotoVue has two HDMI 2.0 ports, a USB-C port, a USB-B port, and a DisplayPort. It’s not a lot, but we like the inclusion of USB-C connectivity.

All in all, this is indeed a great monitor for photographers that won’t burn a hole in your pocket. However, there are superior, albeit more expensive, options on this list when it comes to photo-editing.

Asus ProArt PA32UC-K

Price: $3,103

For

• Very high peak brightness.
• 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports.

Against

• Might be overly souped-up if you aren’t into professional video/photo editing.
• Expensive.

All of the entries on this list offer top-tier picture quality, in most of them, there’s a recurring theme of insufficient display brightness. While none of the aforementioned monitors can be defined as dim, there’s something to be desired in the brightness department for most of them. The same cannot be said about Asus ProArt PA32UC-K, which delivers a whopping 1,000 nits of brightness. As photo-editing geeks would already know, higher brightness means you could see more clearly how an image or a video would appear on a mid or high-range TV, which helps edit images and videos with greater accuracy. If you are looking to edit HDR videos, this monitor would be a good choice.

Other characteristics related to its picture quality are its 95% DCI-P3 support, its 99.5% Adobe RGB rating, and its 100% sRGB rating. Overall, it’s a top-tier picture quality that is great for artists, photographers, and professional video editors.

What we also like is the Thunderbolt 3 connectivity. In addition to its 2 Thunderbolt 3 ports, Asus ProArt PA32UC-K also offers 4 HDMI ports and a single DisplayPort.

In conclusion, Asus ProArt PA32UC-K is a great choice for demanding professional artists and creators but may be a bit overkill for most users. It’s a rather expensive monitor, yet most of what it has to offer is already available on much more budget-friendly options, save for its impressive brightness potential.