Who said ultra wides were just for gaming? I’ve yet to find a better use for them than productivity
For a long time now, I’ve used a dual (or even triple) monitor setup with my MacBook Pro. I’ve always found the extra screen real estate helpful for having multiple windows open, ready to grab at a glance without having to point my mouse toward the dock or use a clumsy window-switching key combo. There are just two big problems with having loads of different monitors on your desk.
The first is the gaps between the displays, which, unless you’ve got two identical monitors (I do not), can be extremely distracting while you’re panning from screen to screen. The second is the sheer amount of space and ports the two displays take up, thanks to them having their own bezels, plugs, and display ports. That means you need at least two power outlets, two display inputs, and space for two large stands — and it can get out of hand from there. It’s cool and useful, but it can get a bit messy if you’re not careful.
Since then, however, I’ve found the perfect kind of monitor for me. One that gives me just as much display space, takes up way less space, and only uses one power plug and display output. It’s this — a massive, 45-inch Ultrawide monitor that now dominates my desktop, replacing the need for multiple monitors and freeing up some ports on my dock. Let me tell you all about it.
That seems like overkill
When I first heard about massive ultrawide monitors (and saw their price tags) I wondered what on earth the point was. A massive, unwieldy display that would dominate your entire viewing area, and Cost a whole bunch to do it? Who’s got the space? The ever-burgeoning monitor size of computer display technology felt incredibly pointless, even though I’d already bought into the delights of a massive TV for my movie-watching and gaming hours.
Don’t get me wrong, I’d always viewed these massive displays as something I wanted — a kind of super desirable piece of kit, akin to a Ferrari or a Ducati — but never something I would ever actually use. Turns out, however, that a monitor like this is far more than just bragging rights. Yes, it might seem like overkill, but in the long run, a display like this more than makes its own case for not just existing, but being a really useful piece of equipment for people who have to get work done.
What does it actually do?
Remember those problems with a dual monitor setup? Let me tell you how this monitor completely eliminates them. For one, the gap that I’d usually find between displays is now completely gone, giving me one, seamless experience as I pan from window to window. See, I have three windows open at one time (four, if you count my music streaming on my MacBook), and I need to be able to switch between them super quickly. Now, my two Chrome windows can sit comfortably side by side, without me having to pan from another screen over. Then, in the other third of the screen, my Slack window stays open so that I can instantly annoy Stephen with another daft Star Wars meme, or remind him how terrible his team is doing in the F1. (Addendum — the latter is becoming an ever-rarer occurrence now that the Papaya car maker has managed to be less rubbish. Stuff you, Zak Brown. Work is now less fun.)
Instead of haphazardly panning between screens and trying to remember where they’ve been set to match in display settings, I can just whip my mouse to one side and find my desired window with relative ease. Perfection — and, even better, no more bezels making the gap even worse. Double perfection.
I can just whip my mouse to one side and find my desired window with relative ease.
If you remember all the way back, around 529 words ago, there was another problem — the space and ports that a dual monitor setup takes to get running. The first bit there, the space thing, is, in part sorted, and I only say in part because of the limitations of my setup. In order to make things sleeker when I first got started with my dual monitor setup, I mounted my two screens on independent monitor arms. That saved space thanks to a lack of stands sitting on my desk and made adjusting the monitors to be just right a whole bunch easier. That’s also where the restriction comes in. The monitor arm in question holds a maximum of 11KG, whereas the monitor in question here, the AOC AGON AG456UCZD (try even saying that, let alone three times over) weighs a nice, heavy 13.5KG. In this case, I had to ditch my monitor arms and opt for the included stand that came in the box. It’s a good stand — and while it will undoubtedly take up much less space than a pair of stands would, it now takes up more desk space than the no stands that I was working with before. An unfortunate drawback, and one that will cost me around $300 to fix should the time come when I want to mount it on a stand. (News flash: It will come.)
As for ports, however, the massive ultrawide has been a game-changer. Now, instead of two different ports taken up by the monitor, it’s a single HDMI cable into the back of my dock. Power is similar — one cable straight into my extension cable, and a built-in power supply means no chunky dock. Nice.
Are there any drawbacks?
I can’t dance around the proverbial bottle stopper, it’s not the perfect solution — more an extremely lovely compromise. There are a couple of different issues that come from using one big monitor, and the general restrictions that come with an ultrawide. The first is resolution. Unless you pay loads of money, most of the ultra wides you can find are going to be 3440x1440p, or what most people call ‘WQHD’. Much like a 4K monitor, that’s not going to scale perfectly with macOS, making it look slightly funky when compared to the screen on your MacBook. Even then, if you pay more money for a high-resolution ultra wide display, you’re only going to increase the horizontal resolution, rather than the vertical, which will stay at 1440. Macs scale best with 5K displays, and given there aren’t 5K equivalent ultra-wide displays, they’re always going to look a little funky.
Second is that you can only use your single display in one orientation, so if you like to have a horizontal screen for Discord or another messaging app of choice, you’re out of luck. For most, it’s not going to be a massive issue, but if you like to be able to see the last week’s worth of messages in a group chat, you’re out of luck. Unless you buy two…
Where next then?
Just because I’ve found what I think is the ultimate solution doesn’t mean that I’m finished. Oh no no no, for once I have found something excellent, I only want more of it! That extra space that’s been freed up by my new monitor could easily house another one that would be 90-0inches of screen space! Six windows open at once…
What about the stand? It’s a bit wobbly, but that could easily be fixed with a monitor arm. And it would free up even more space, for that second monitor I’m looking at. Oh, but that would also need a new monitor arm…
The latter half of 2024 is looking very expensive for me. Thankfully, I know where I put my lottery numbers, and I know that this next draw is definitely the one.
