Hey,
It’s Pete Matheson with a new issue of Experiments in Progress.
Monitors got confusing in 2026. So I've done the hard part for you.
Tell me who you are — Mac creative, gamer, one-monitor-for-everything type — and by the end of this you'll know the exact screen to buy (and what it'll cost).
Plus a quick foldable roundup to finish.
The 2026 Monitor Buying Guide
Here's my honest breakdown. Find the row that sounds like you, and get the one next to it.
🧭 Overwhelmed by the specs? Start here
Before you spend a penny, this is the one to watch. No products, no hype — just every spec that actually matters (size, curve, panel tech, PPI, refresh rate, colour accuracy, connectivity) explained in plain English.
🛒 About to click "buy" on an LG UltraGear?
Don't. Not yet. LG's 2026 UltraGear evo range is genuinely brilliant, but it's actually three different monitors wearing the same name, and buying the wrong one is an expensive mistake.
27" GM9 — 5K Hyper Mini LED, the sharp all-rounder
39" GX9 — 5K2K Tandem OLED, the immersive sweet spot
52" G9 — 5K2K, 240Hz, the absolute unit
🏆 Want the best all-rounder? The 39" is the sweet spot
If you want one monitor that does everything (work, play, films) the LG 39" UltraGear OLED is the one I keep coming back to.
Big enough to feel immersive. Sharp enough to actually work on.
Best for: the "I want one monitor to rule them all" crowd.
Not cheap. But if you're only buying one screen for the next five years, this is where I'd put the money.
🍎 Mac user chasing a Studio Display alternative?
The Meirro Pro is the purest Studio Display killer — a 32" 6K panel at that magic 224 PPI, so macOS text renders exactly the way Apple intended. Full CNC aluminium body, single-cable USB-C with 96W passthrough, and it's less than half the price of a comparable Apple setup.
If you sit in Final Cut, Lightroom or Xcode all day and want retina-class sharpness without Apple tax — this is it.
…but if you want that Studio-Display look and the ability to actually game on it, the LG UltraGear GM9 is the smarter buy.
Same money as the Meirro, different priorities. Pick based on whether you play games on the same screen you work on.
🎮 Gamer or sim-racer who wants to be swallowed whole?
The 52" LG UltraGear evo G9 is the biggest 5K2K gaming monitor in the world. 240Hz, a 12:9 aspect ratio (same height as a 42" 16:9 TV but a third wider), wrapped around you in a 1000R curve.
Best for: racing sims, flight sims, and anyone whose desk can physically take it
💷 Want premium OLED without going full 52"?
The Alienware AW3426DW is a 34" QD-OLED ultrawide that, honestly, has no business being this good at the price.
Samsung's five-layer tandem QD-OLED, 3440×1440, 280Hz, 1,300-nit HDR peak and crucially a new RGB-stripe subpixel layout that finally fixes the fuzzy-text problem that kept OLED off a lot of work desks.
🖥️ Just want the whole endgame vibe?
And if you're less "which monitor" and more "show me the dream desk" — here's my full 2026 setup built around a 52" 6K Dell display, the M4 MacBook Air, KEF speakers and the rest of the gear I actually use every day.
📊 TL;DR: which one's actually for you
If you're… | Get this |
|---|---|
Confused by the specs | |
Buying one monitor for everything | |
A Mac creative who wants max sharpness | |
A Mac user who also games | |
A gamer / sim-racer who wants huge | |
After premium OLED on a budget | |
Just here for the dream setup |
📱 Enjoying this newsletter? Share it with a friend who’s as obsessed with tech as you are:
📱 If you're buying a phone this year, start here
For years, new phones were just… the same slab, slightly faster. That's genuinely changed in 2026. So if you're eyeing an upgrade, here are three videos depending on where you're at:
I've been living with the Samsung Z Fold 8 for a week — proper daily use, camera tested at a gig and everything. This is the honest "does a foldable actually fit real life?" take, not the launch-day hype.
Brand-new Fold 8 or Fold 8 Ultra? Loads of the best features are hidden or switched off by default. This is the full setup walkthrough — settings, Galaxy AI, battery protection, security, the fold-specific tricks most people miss.
Six months in, and I still can't switch back. Here's why the iPhone Air stayed in my pocket over the 17 Pro and the honest case for whether you'd actually be happy trading "Pro" features for how good this thing feels to live with.
Disclaimer: Some of the links in this newsletter are affiliate links. This means that if you click on a link and make a purchase, I may receive a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend products or services I believe will add value to you.