Review: LG MyView Smart Monitor

you might think a “smart monitor” might have some tie-in to the smart home, but it's more akin to modern-day smart TVs. LG's MyView 4K Smart Monitor has a smart TV built into it, complete with a homepage of apps, just like your Roku or Google TV.

“Can't I just use a web browser?” you might ask. Yes, you can. This led me to wonder why I'd need a smart TV interface on a device that can typically surf any corner of the web, including directly accessing streaming services. To my surprise, I liked using my desktop monitor as both a normal PC monitor and a smart (albeit imperfect) TV. I often preferred the built-in streaming apps over a browser page. It created a nice separation between my work and relaxation time, offering some peace at the end of a long day.

Screen Time

The 32-inch MyView is fairly well rounded for its $600 price, considering it's a 4K (3,840 x 2,160 resolution) monitor with a large and bright IPS screen. It has already dipped as low as $500, making it an even better value. It comes with a remote, which is how you navigate the TV interface.

There's a selection of picture modes accessible through the remote's Settings button, ranging from a dim power-saver mode to ones calibrated for watching movies and sports. They all do something different—Cinema and Sport modes both raise the brightness to 100 percent but choose different levels of contrast, while Auto Power Save cuts down on brightness but uses a high amount of local dimming to respond to your space. These modes are pretty standard fare on monitors and TVs.

The screen was bright enough that I usually chose the Power Save mode, and the local dimming usually landed on around 10 to 15 percent brightness. I also toggled on Eye Care Mode—which reduces blue light on the screen—whenever a yellow-toned screen wasn't an issue for my tasks. All of this was so much easier to access via the remote compared to the usual buttons you'd find on some corner (or the back) of a monitor. No more guessing what button does what!

Photograph: Nena Farrell

You'll see fewer options if you connect the monitor to your PC using a USB-C cord with display-out support instead of an HDMI—Vivid, Standard, Game Optimizer, and a couple of movie-related modes. There's no Auto Power Save option, and I ended up manually dimming the brightness to replicate the mode I used when I was connected via HDMI.

The 60-Hz refresh rate is a bit of a bummer but unsurprising on monitors that don't specifically cater to gamers. Whether you'll notice it depends on what you play; Baldur's Gate 3 still looked beautiful onscreen, particularly with the Game Optimizer picture mode. I also liked playing Stardew Valley on it, though I found it better to play with the Standard or Auto picture modes, since the art style isn't as dynamic. If you have a hefty gaming PC and often play fast-paced games, you'll want to look elsewhere for a monitor that can handle higher refresh rates.

Streaming is where this monitor shines. The large 32-inch screen feels immersive and cinematic when you're perched right in front of it. It's big enough that even if you're sitting slightly farther away, it works OK, but sit more than 5 feet away and it'll look too small. I spent a good amount of time watching Queen Charlotte: A Bridgerton Story, and the Cinema mode did a lovely job of improving the picture quality. (It looked good even on the Auto mode.)

The built-in speakers were loud enough to fill the room I was in, even when I stood more than 10 feet away. The sound quality is clear enough to hear dialog distinctly, but there's a muddy quality to the mid-tones when listening to music. The bass is quite weak too. I much preferred plugging in my cheap Pebble V3 desktop speakers to jam out. Much like how you should get a soundbar to improve your TV's sound, your PC monitor deserves a separate set of speakers.

Photograph: Nena Farrell

The rest of the monitor's build quality is nice. Its all-white stand and frame are aesthetically pleasing, and you can move the screen up and down a few inches or tilt it upward and downward about 15 degrees to get the right angle. The base of the stand is large but flat, so you can put something on top of it. It does not rotate on the stand, but you can VESA-mount this monitor once you remove the stand and angle or orient it however you'd like.

WebOS Smarts

Most monitors can't do anything without a computer connected to them, but the MyView acted like a smart TV at setup—it runs WebOS after all, the same operating system you'll find on LG TVs. It prompted me to connect it to Wi-Fi before anything else, then brought me to the smart TV home page. You control all of this, and just about everything else the monitor does—even switching inputs to the PC—with the included remote.

The remote is simple, and there are buttons to quickly access services like Netflix, Prime Video, and Disney+, similar to a Roku remote. The only thing it's missing are dedicated play/rewind/fast-forward buttons. You can use the directional wheel for the same effect, but I would have preferred dedicated buttons, and there's certainly room for them.

Photograph: Nena Farrell

The top right input button on the remote, which looks like a little plug and cord, gives you three options: Home Hub, LG Channels, and PC if one is connected. The Home Hub is a smart home hub and utilizes LG's ThinQ ecosystem to control smart home devices. So if you have an LG ThinQ washer-dryer, you can check on your laundry cycles without getting up from your seat or picking up your phone.

It also can connect to assistants like Amazon Alexa, and I was able to use the ThinQ app and an Alexa Skill to connect the monitor to my Alexa speaker. That meant I could use voice commands to turn this smart monitor on or off. It's a fairly rudimentary feature these days, but it did allow me to add turning this monitor on to my Alexa good morning routine.

You can set up the PC connection via HDMI using the included HDMI cable, but if you want to use USB-C, you have to use the Upstream port and a USB 3.2 Type-C Gen 2 cable, which is not included. There are three USB-C ports in total, but only the Upstream port supports 90 watts of power and offers the display-out option. If you stick with HDMI, you can use this port to recharge a high-power gadget like a MacBook, provided you use the right cable. The good news is you can connect two devices at once, and when you turn the monitor on, it takes you to the smart TV homepage and asks if you want to switch to one of the connected devices.

If you lose the remote (haven't we all), never fear: You can connect to the LG ThinQ app, and it has a built-in remote you can use to control the MyView.

Picky Camera

The weirdest thing about the MyView is the included LG Smart Cam. This webcam isn't quite as functional if you connect the monitor to your PC with the included HDMI cord. The webcam itself connects to the monitor via a magnetic pogo pin port and sits dead center at the top of the screen. You can angle it upward, but you can't angle it down or move its location.

Photograph: Nena Farrell

When I used the camera I was pretty nicely centered, but I did need the monitor at its lowest height—I'm only 5'4" with a short torso, so anyone taller can likely leave the monitor higher. The LG Smart Cam also zoomed into my face much more than my NexiGo webcam ($40) usually does, and cut off a little below the shoulders rather than somewhere in my torso.

But the webcam can't connect to software like Zoom or Google Meet unless you use a USB 3.2 Type-C cord, which the monitor doesn't come with. If you're hooked up via HDMI, the camera only works with LG's built-in apps that aren't connected to your computer or laptop. I'm not sure why LG couldn't just include the appropriate cable. The Smart Cam's built-in microphone isn't great either. It tends to cut off the beginning of my sentences. I ended up just using my own webcam.

Is It a Real TV?

The MyView is a pretty minimalist take on a TV. There are two HDMI ports rather than just one, but no coaxial or sound options (no eARC support either). The sound is especially a bummer, though the size is nice enough for small rooms.

Photograph: Nena Farrell

I liked using it to stream shows because, while I have a living room with a 40-inch TV, it's right next to my baby's room, so I prefer to watch a movie or show at my desk these days (especially since my husband's desk and mine are next to each other). That way I can play the audio a bit louder and don't have to worry about waking him up. It was also nice to lean back in my chair and switch from monitor to TV mode to signal the end of my workday, giving me some separation between activities without having to physically relocate.

Regardless, I think this monitor is a versatile choice for anyone looking for a 32-inch TV or monitor. If you have a small space and want the double functionality of connecting this screen to a PC or laptop, it's an elegant solution. Just make sure you have the right cables.