LG’s new 6K monitor supports Thunderbolt 5! But it’s not an OLED

Tech companies usually fall over each other to get the latest and greatest input and output ports into their devices in time for CES, but CES 2025 hasn’t yielded many Thunderbolt 5 devices.

One company that has taken the leap, however, is LG, who showed off the LG UltraFine 6K display with Thunderbolt 5 ports in Las Vegas this week. The LG UltraFine 6K is an interesting choice to place the world’s most capable consumer I/O connectivity, capable of outputting to double 8K displays at 60Hz or a single 6K display at 120Hz.

Okay, yes, the UltraFine 6K does boast an attractive 32-inch frame with super-slim bezels plus a 6K resolution, but LG made it a Nano IPS Black panel with a 98 percent DCI-P3 color gamut, not OLED. That means its color accuracy isn’t as good, and its blacks won’t quite reach the magnificent deep blacks gamers get from OLED panels — like those in LG’s own LG UltraGear GX9 Series, for example.

That said, there could be a good reason why LG made this move. The LG UltraFine 6K is already being compared in looks to the Apple Pro Display XDR, and if it looks like a duck and sounds like a duck, then its step-down Nano IPS Black panel may well make it the more budget-friendly duck for gamers. (The Apple Pro Display XDR costs a whopping $5,000!)

It’s a long stretch to connect the dots with that theory, though. It’s more likely that as we get more details about this enigmatic monitor — a 120Hz refresh rate perhaps? — its merits will only multiply.

Regardless, its Thunderbolt 5 connectivity alone makes it a viable alternative to just about every monitor out there that doesn’t yet have it, and it’s something every gamer could put to very good use.