Priced at $679.99, the Dell UltraSharp 27 USB-C Hub Monitor (U2722DE) is the latest in a small but growing group of what are variously called "USB hub monitors" or "docking-station displays." These productivity monitors are bristling with ports and connectors, letting them perform the functions of a PC docking station as well as a display. The U2722DE comes on the heels of the smaller and lower-resolution Dell UltraSharp 24 USB-C Hub Monitor (U2421E) and largely matches its feature set, but you pay a substantial premium for the larger screen. The UltraSharp 27 also costs more than the Editors' Choice-winning Philips Brilliance 279P1, a docking-station monitor with higher UHD or 4K resolution. Still, this panel really knows how to pack in the ports, and its color coverage is top-notch for its class.
Taking the Wider View
The U2722DE measures 15.2 by 24.1 by 7.3 inches (HWD) and weighs 10.5 pounds. Its 27-inch in-plane switching (IPS) panel offers QHD (2,560-by-1,440-pixel) resolution. The display's pixel density of 109 pixels per inch (ppi) makes it suitable for most any task, even working with small type or intricate art or diagrams. The stand and back of the cabinet are silver-colored, while the panel itself is what Dell calls an InfinityEdge screen, framed by thin black bezels on all four sides.
As an IPS panel, the screen supports very wide viewing angles. It's rated at angles up to 178 degrees for both vertical and horizontal viewing, meaning that you can look at it from well to the side or above without color distortion or posterization.
The base has a small, roughly rectangular footprint but is very sturdy and stable. The shaft that supports the cabinet has a hole just above the base through which you can route cables. As with other docking-station monitors we've reviewed, the Dell's stand supports a full range of ergonomic features. You can adjust the height by up to 5.9 inches (raising the top edge to 20.1 inches); swivel the display 45 degrees in either direction; tilt the screen 5 degrees toward you or 21 degrees away; and pivot from landscape to portrait mode and back in either direction. Should you want to mount the monitor on a wall or a movable arm, a square of four holes placed 100mm apart accommodates a VESA mounting bracket.
Similar Products
Philips Brilliance 279P1
HP E24d G4 FHD Advanced Docking Monitor
Philips Brilliance 272P7VUBNB
Dell UltraSharp 24 USB-C Hub Monitor (U2421E)
That's One Port-Happy Panel
The U2722DE has a massive complement of ports and connectors. It includes an HDMI port and two DisplayPort connectors, one a DisplayPort-out for daisy-chaining an additional monitor via DisplayPort's Multi-Stream Transport (MST). There are two upstream USB-C ports: one for data only, the other supporting the DisplayPort over USB alternate mode as well as supplying up to 90 watts of power delivery, letting the monitor charge a laptop connected to it. In addition, there are four downstream USB 3.2 Type-A ports, a downstream USB-C port with 15 watts of power delivery, and a 3.5mm audio-out jack. The monitor lacks built-in speakers, but it is compatible with Dell's $54.99 Slim Soundbar (SB521A).
Except for one USB Type-C and one USB-A port found on the monitor's bottom edge, the ports are downward-facing in a bay in back. They are easily accessible by pivoting the panel upward into portrait mode.
Finally, there's an RJ-45 Ethernet jack that can provide connectivity if your laptop lacks a physical Ethernet connection and Wi-Fi reception is sketchy. The monitor supports the same set of network-management features as the Dell U2421E, including Preboot eXecution Environment (PXE), Wake on LAN (WoL), and MAC address pass-through. PXE lets a computer boot directly from the network. WoL enables a PC to be woken remotely from a low-power state. MAC address pass-through lets the laptop bypass the monitor/dock's MAC address so it can be uniquely identified on the network with its own MAC address. The HP E24d G4 offers a similar set of management features, while the Philips 279P1 and Philips 272P7VUBNB support WoL.
The panel's onscreen display (OSD) is controlled by a mini joystick on the back of the cabinet. This is preferable to the array of small buttons that serve as the OSD controls for many monitors.
Dell backs the UltraSharp 27 USB-C Hub Monitor with a three-year warranty, which is typical of productivity monitors. The Dell U2421E and HP E24d G4 also have three-year warranties, while Philips covers the 279P1 and 272P7VUBNB for four years.
Testing the U2722DE: Underwhelming Brightness, Great Color Coverage
I tested the U2722DE’s brightness, contrast ratio, and color coverage using our standard test equipment: a Klein K-10A colorimeter, a Murideo SIX-G signal generator, and Portrait Displays' CalMAN 5 calibration software.
Dell rates the U2722DE’s luminance at 350 nits (candelas per square meter), but it fell well short of that—238 nits—in my testing. This is similar to the Dell U2421E, which has the same rated brightness and tested at 248 nits. But while it fell far short of the brightness of the Philips 272P7VUBNB, which lived up to its Brilliance label at 396.6 nits, and the Philips 271P1, which managed 311 nits, it bested the 209 nits of the HP E24d G4. The U2722DE did perform better than its rated 1,000:1 contrast ratio, turning in a 1,138:1 score. (See more about how we test monitors.)
Like the Philips 279P1, the 27-inch Dell supports 10-bit color (8 bits plus dithering), and is capable of displaying up to 1.07 billion different colors and a wide color gamut. According to the company, the display covers 100% of the sRGB color space, the color palette used for web-based photos and art, among other applications. In my testing, it covered sRGB with plenty of room to spare (140.2% of the gamut, according to the chromaticity chart replicated below).
Dell also rates the monitor as covering 95% of DCI-P3, a color space developed for digital video. In our testing, it covered 95.7% (see below), as well as 87.7% of the Adobe RGB space.
I also did our usual ad-hoc testing using a selected set of video clips, as well as photos from our test suite. Colors looked realistic in the videos, and the U2722DE handled contrast well. Photos looked sharp, with well-saturated colors and good retention of detail in both bright and dark areas.
A Feature-Heavy Productivity Monitor
Chock-full of convenience and productivity features and with good color coverage, the Dell UltraSharp 27 USB-C Hub Monitor (U2722DE) is a formidable addition to the realm of docking-station monitors. It's a connectivity-rich machine, including Ethernet, a port-plush USB-C/USB-A hub, and dual DisplayPort connectors. And its stand twists, bends, and swivels just about any way you could possibly want.
A downside is that its measured brightness is considerably lower than rated, and well below that of our Editors' Choice selection, the Philips Brilliance 271P1. Then there's the matter of price. While Dell offers the U2722DE for $679.99, Amazon currently lists the Philips 271P1 for $499, though that's well above its list price of $379 and the e-tailer says it'll be out of stock until late May 2021. Both monitors' prices are likely to fluctuate quite a bit until they're more widely available, but the Dell will almost certainly continue to cost more, even though the Philips has a higher native resolution.
Even at a premium, however, the U2722DE has among the richest selections of ports of any productivity monitor we've seen here at PC Labs, and the color coverage is first-rate. If those factors are your foremost concerns, it will not disappoint.
Dell's UltraSharp 27 USB-C Hub Monitor offers a wide color gamut, a wealth of convenience and ergonomic features, and as many connectors as we've seen on a monitor of its size class. Only its pricing, and a slight shortfall in brightness testing, keep it from true greatness.
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