macOS scaling and Huawei Mateview 4k+ vs LG 32UN880 4k

death_looms · 3 Feb 2022 at 10:55

Hi guys,

Current: Iiyama GB3466WQSU-B1 (34" ultrawide), VA Panel, no HiDPI options. 108.79 PPI

I need to change this monitor. Since I got it I have moved to a fully remote job (I'm a programmer), working with text on it all day. This monitor is... not good at text and honestly the colours aren't great either - I need something better and I'm even willing to sacrifice 144Hz for it (the shame).

Considered the LG 5k ultrafine (218PPI), but seeing as Apple and LG have stopped selling them (I think they were just over £1k as well?), they look ugly AF and I don't need the Mac integration/webcam, it doesn't seem like a smart choice right now.

I've narrowed it down to:

LG 32UN880 32" 4k 16:9 (137.68PPI) ~£600
Huawei Mateview 28.2" 3:2 (163 PPI) ~£600

I was all set to get the LG, but out of stock where I usually get monitors from (I live in NI) so cast the net wider and found the Huawei. I actually love the idea of extra vertical resolution, it's almost a winner in itself, but I don't like that it's not vesa compatible (I think I can overlook that). I can also get one in person at the weekend, which is handy.

What matters to me most is honestly how text will appear and MacOS scaling will work with these. I'm sure the 16:9 panel will be the easier option given it's a standard. For reference mac users, On a 16" mbp I use a scaled resolution 'one larger than default' in display preferences.

I'd appreciate if anyone who has any 32"4k panel or the Huawei could share your experience on how it works with macOS. What about the 'matte finish', does it blur things too much? Thanks!

LiE · 4 Feb 2022 at 09:27

I'll be honest, next to your 16" MPB the majority of monitors will look poor. A 27" 4K monitor scaled to look like 2560x1440, text will be better than your current monitor but it will fall short of proper retina. Text will look slightly off due to non-integer scaling. 5K for example is the correct resolution to get retina scaled 2560x1440.

Personally I'd wait. There is rumour of new monitors coming this year from LG or Apple. Not sure if you need the portability of the MPB, because if not I'd swap it for the new 27" iMac when that comes out. I'm using the 24" iMac and it's really good.

death_looms · 4 Feb 2022 at 10:33

Appreciate the input. Honestly, I'd love to be in a position to use an iMac, I've always loved them, but the 16" is a company machine. Hot Tip: Get a 14" if you're ever travelling, even once :cry:

. I agree it looks like there might be something released later this year given the absence of the current 5K ultrafine from sale. Gosh it looks awful, probably to push pro XDR models (sure it's onlt £3.5K more...)

I've accepted that basically nothing will be quite as good :'( but I just can't continue with what I have at the moment, it's awful. Heck maybe it's a combination of the VA panel type and subpixel arrangement, but it's dire. I guess what I really want to know is if non integer scaling is really that bad on a monitor with those PPI values? I'm driving to a store that I believe has a MateView on display tomorrow morning to try in person which would be fantastic - it's the kind of thing you could make a decision in about 2 seconds if you could see the thing in front of you, but spend a week watching shill youtube videos trying to guess when you can't!

LiE · 4 Feb 2022 at 10:38

Good idea to view it in person, in my experience it's the best way to know.

You're already using non-integer scaling on your MPB it seems, so you'll not be getting the full sharpness of default retina scaling.

death_looms · 4 Feb 2022 at 11:02

Technically I'm having to go to a different country to be able to try it :cry:

I wish monitor shopping was easier - fingers crossed I'll be coming back tomorrow with a panel I'm happy with!

I thought I was at perfect integer scaling at the moment? My 16" is an intel one and is 3072x1920, and the 'slightly larger than default' setting is 1536x960. The default looks ok to me, but it's too small to be comfortable all day hence bumping it up - the PPI could be making that look ok... Ugh Not that I use it, because there's just not enough room on the darn thing!

death_looms · 5 Feb 2022 at 16:47

Well, I bought the MateView, and boy is the adjustment from a curved panel back to a flat hitting hard, that's going to take a while! Had to drive for a bit, but picked it up for a small discount at €599 (~£507 on the CC).

It's not as good as an iMac panel (and I wasn't expecting it to be), but I'm happy with it. Time will tell about the aspect ratio/physical size preferences, but in terms of reading text it's *such* a relief compared to the Iiyama. Retina 2x scaling (1920x1280) looks great but I do like a little more space, so stepping into non integer scaling (2560x1707) is fine to me. It's maybe a little soft looking but honestly 2x is as well so it's hard to say if that's my adjusting back to a decent IPS from VA or the scaling. Either way, I don't see it as a problem - it's clear and looks well. If you were younger and hated yourself, you _could_ go smaller, 3008x2005 is about as small as I could comfortably go, and text is still very clear and readable there too. I prefer it larger.

Other points:
Full res and charging using the provided usb-c cable to both an intel 16" and M1 pro 14" mpb without any hassle. I've heard there are some issues with the battery staying at 100% on this rather than letting intelligent charging work, so will be keeping an eye on that. First monitor I've used that had a setup menu and eula to agree to about firmware updates etc. too but unless there's something it needs updated for, I'm not connecting it to my network and it's going on the untrusted VLAN if it needs something :cry:

I'd prefer the screen finish to be less matte too, but again that's a personal preference thing. Can't say anything about HDR, never really used it and I was all about the text (in light mode too - yes I'm over 30 lol). I'd also love the panel to be thicker and hold the electronics so I could vesa mount it, but it sits well on the desk without taking up a huge amount of space so it's not the end of the world.

If anyone is interested I have some very unscientific photos of old vs new vs scaled. The more I look at them myself the more obvious the difference is, and the more satisfied I am this this isn't my brain trying to justify the spend.

AnkitG · 6 Apr 2022 at 18:57

Hello @death_looms,

after doing side gigs for a while I have saved up enough to get myself a monitor, having narrowed my choice between LG 32UN880 and 28-inch MateView(just like you) I stumbled upon this thread.
Here in Canada, they both are priced almost the same, and your comment cleared up a lot of my questions, thank you for that.

I am a Programmer by profession, and my main concern was with how the text would look on either of these monitors compared to my (now old) MacBook pro 2017.

Now that is out of the way, I still have a couple of questions. I'd appreciate it if you or anyone else help clarify those.

1) Does it support full resolution @ 60fps via USB-C?

2) I've read mixed reviews about HDR400, and LG 32UN880 is not certified for HDRXXX but is HDR10 compatible, so does HDR400 favors Huawei MateView?

3) Since I will be having a single monitor for foreseeable future, does the difference of 4 inches (28 inches compared to 32) make a huge difference? My Distance from the monitor will be roughly a bit more than arm's length(60-70)mm.

4) Are you satisfied with the build quality of Huawei MateView? I've read enough reviews on LG 32UN880 and its mount and they are well built.

Thanks in advance.

death_looms · 7 Apr 2022 at 09:48

Hey, glad to help! I've been using this a while now, so I'll try and sum up my experiences with it. For the RRP I think it's an excellent paring to a usb-c macbook. I've a power hungry 16" i9, and while it only charges at 60W, that's generally enough, I'm not running it at 100% all the time (and that is with 28 containers running all day).

* Yes, full resolution. Because it's 4k plus, you get access to the "scaled" resultions - I run mine one step down from the largest (2x), so it's not perfect pixel multiplication but it looks good to me. I don't run my mac at perfect scaling either so...
* I have no idea about HDR, so I'm afraid I can't help you there.
* I personally would not want a larger panel without a curve (I used a 34" ultrawide curved before, and my wifes 34" flat is just NOPE). The extra height is helpful in goland/idea/vscode for the terminal tool windows. It's about as useful as a regular 1440p 27 at native resultion in terms of how much width you have with the resolution scaled to something readable.
* Very satisfied actually. I do not regret my choice.

There are a few things I should draw your attention to.

* I like the touchbar control - it's so much nicer than buttons/nipple.
* The text is never going to be as crisp as the native macbook screens, the PPI just isn't there - that's an Apple Studio Display if you need that. But compared to a 'regular' ppi monitor, absolutely night and day!
* The screen is slightly matted, it's not apple glossy. Personally I find this more distracting than a glossy screen. It's also just wide enough that I wish there was a curve, the corners feel very far away!
* If you put a webcam at the top (I use a logitech c920), It's going to be looking down on you - I find myself adjusting the monitor lower for meetings so it's more level. BUT my webcam sits on top of a BenQ lightbar, so there's an extra 2" of height from that too, so it's probably not as bad normally.
* I have a (powered) USB hub running from the monitor with mouse receiver/webcam/focusrite 2i2/ring light plugged it to. This is *super* handy for me, because I can just swop the cable to a USB extender from the desktop/docker server and everything moves over (It's plugged in via the secondary hdmi input).
* I thought I would be annoyed at not being able to vesa mount it. It's not as bad as I thought it would be. Vesa would be better yes, but not a deal breaker.
* If you're gaming, there's no freesync (though I've only done maybe 30 mins in months). If you send it 4k, it will display it properly, with letterboxing which is kind of nice.

TLDR: I would make the same choice again - it's an excellent productivity monitor.

AnkitG · 9 Apr 2022 at 21:12

@death_looms I ended up buying MateView and so far I am quite pleased with how it looks. The scaling I used in the mac display works exactly with MateView and texts are really crisp.

Thank you for all your help.

One note for anyone lurking on this thread from Canada, the MateView models in Canada do not have wireless projection.

death_looms · 13 Apr 2022 at 09:59

@AnkitG I'm glad you like it, would have felt terrible if you didn't after singing its praises!

If the apple studio monitor was 120Hz I think I would have been happier waiting as I love higher refresh rates, but seeing as I already have a 'proper' setup for mic/speaker/camera, I don't think it's worth the £1k difference (+£400 for the same adjustability :rolleyes:

).