LG Ergo Dual Monitor review: Any-which-way displays for all

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What is a desk without a monitor? It's wasted space in our view and that's why we like to fill ours with review units, such as LG's Ergo Dual Monitor. The 'Dual' is a refreshed version of the Ergo that comes with two 27in screens and it is quite brilliant.

The use of 'Ergo' is short for ergonomic as these dual displays can be spun around and adjusted in more ways than you'll ever need them to be. And that is partly why the Ergo Dual could have wide appeal. So whether you're an office worker or someone who shares a desk at home, the Ergo Dual could be a great investment.

LG Ergo Dual Monitor review: Design

As the name suggests the Ergo Dual is a double-monitor setup that consists of two 27in displays, a bracket, and a stand with a clamp to fix your desk. Everything is black and extremely heavy; the stand-alone weighs 7.5kg and it really needs to be fitted to a solid desk, one that also has plenty of depth.

The monitors themselves are encased in plastic, with relatively small bezels, and discrete LG logos. There is a rubbery on/off button underneath both displays that also doubles as screen controls. These have multi-direction click actions to control sound, brightness and even inputs and orientation. On the back of the screens, there are square holes acting as connection points that easily clip into each end of the bracket – there is also a simple release button to un-clip them.

The bracket, which connects to the stand, can be fitted vertically or horizontally depending on your preference. Likewise, the connectors can also be taken off and refitted to suit, allowing the user to have one screen in landscape and one in portrait, for example. There is a fair bit of fiddly work when it comes to setting up the stand and fixing it to your desk – you can either clamp it on, or, if you have a cutout in the desk, use the grommet. We used the former with our review unit and found it to be very sturdy. You need around four inches of table surface for the clamp to hold onto otherwise it will lean and take a chunk of the desk off.

LG provides an Allen key that has a Phillips head screwdriver as one of its ends. We ended up using an actual screwdriver as it wasn't all that easy. Though the traditional end of the Allen key was needed to extend the brackets to push the monitors up or outwards and also loosen and tighten parts of the stand.

It is quite a workout putting the whole thing together but the upside is that you have lots of setup options. You could have both screens in portrait mode, stacked upon one another in landscape, or one in each orientation. We mainly stuck with one stacked on top of another, though the displays can be fitted back to back which is a great option for home workers that share a desk.

LG Ergo Dual Monitor review: Ports and features

Each monitor has the same set of ports and its own brick power adaptor. There is USB Type-C (with power delivery), HDMI 2, Display Port (DP) 1.4 and also a headphone jack. You can use the screens independently – again, for people that live with other remote workers – or together with the daisy chain functionality. This is where users can connect each monitor via the DP in and out ports. We did have some trouble getting our MacBook Pro to work across both monitors, though it did work with a desktop.

Now you may feel like questioning the tidiness of this multi-port setup, particularly as both screens have their own power bricks. However, the stand has a very simple compartment for cabling. It just takes a few minutes to feed all the necessary wires through and the end result is a streamlined workstation.

Our only gripe is that we like perfectly straight screens and it can be quite hard to align both of the Ergo's monitors – it can be frustrating if they're nudged out of place. It could really do with some kind of automatic control to line the screens in specific placements.

LG Ergo Dual Monitor review: Image quality

The two monitors on the Ergo Dual are 27in IPS QHD displays with a ​​2560 x 1440 resolution. As it's a two-monitor setup, rather than one wide display, there is a slight gap and conspicuous bezels, so it's not perfect when using both screens for the same content.

However, having it 27in, rather than 24in displays, makes it great for work. You can launch multiple apps across the displays with very little reason to adjust their windows. With so much screen space you can just upload whatever it is you're working across – Google Workspace, Adobe, an integrated developer environment (IDE) – and simply get on with it. There's no time lost adjusting or fitting apps in place.

When it comes to colour representation, both monitors are good if not fantastic. With a calibrator, one monitor showcased 98.4% of sRGB gamut coverage, which is similar, if slightly lower, than the Samsung Neo G8 (99.5%). The Ergo is fine for most workloads and gaming, but those that work on creative projects, such as colourists, might want to look at something that can produce a higher Adobe score (90% and above). The Ergo only managed 72.2% for Adobe sRGB, so perhaps not the greatest for artsy stuff.

However, the screens are calibrated so you get a consistent experience from both – the second screen reproduced 98.9% of the sRGB colour space – rather than one being more vivid and or brighter. Plus, it hit a peak brightness of 327.95 cd/m2, which is good, though Phillips has a range of widescreen monitors that are slightly cheaper, such as the Brilliance 328P6, which can produce brighter levels – though they're not dual displays, like the Ergo.

LG Ergo Dual Monitor review: Verdict

The LG Ergo Dual Monitor is a really great bit of kit, depending on your profession. If it's heavy on colour and graphics, then your money needs to be spent elsewhere. But if you have a job that needs large dual monitors, and you have a pretty spacious desk, then this is a brilliant setup.

What's more, it's got a very attractive price, especially considering this is two screens that can be used by two people at once. It is just £549 (exc VAT), which is considerably cheaper than most singular widescreen monitors, like the Samsung Neo G8 (£1,083).

LG Ergo Dual Monitor specifications