LG’s smart monitor swing was the lifesaver I didn’t know I needed

• Price, availability, and specs
• What I like about the LG 4K Smart Monitor Swing
• What I didn’t like about the LG 4K Smart Monitor Swing
• Should you buy the LG 4K Smart Monitor Swing?

Creating an efficient and versatile smart home setup is a worthwhile endeavor, especially for those who work, workout, stream, game, and play at home. With so many services, gadgets, and smart devices, it can be tricky to make sure everything fits together seamlessly and easily.

I was taken aback when I first set up the LG Smart Monitor Swing, a device that looks to have a lot of functionality and versatility, in part because it’s not static. The monitor swing is built on wheels and designed, it seems, for those who do a lot of different things online at home. Someone like me. I tested out this exciting gadget for a few weeks, and here’s what I discovered.

Price, availability, and specs

This compelling product comprises a 4K touchscreen monitor and an adjustable rolling stand. The 31.5-inch monitor features UHD resolution, HDR10, and a 60Hz refresh rate. The monitor includes three HDMI ports and two USB ports; one of each cable is included with the unit.

The stand features wheels so that you can roll around the unit, and the arm allows for adjustments to height. You can also tilt and swivel the monitor, and rotate it from landscape to portrait orientation.

Some assembly is required; the pieces are a bit heavy and cumbersome, but a single person can put them together on their own in a relatively short amount of time.

The monitor swing stand is available from LG, Amazon, and Best Buy. It retails for $1,300, but has been found on sale for up to $500 off.

What I like about the LG 4K Smart Monitor Swing

Highly versatile for work, play, and everything in between

There’s a lot that this clever device does fairly well, and overall it makes for a helpful tool for someone who does a lot of different things with a screen at home. Notably, this monitor features LG’s webOS, which grants you easy access to entertainment, gaming, lifestyle, and productivity apps.

Due to its size, it works well as a screen for streaming titles for an audience or one or maybe two, while also making it more than suitable as a large space for work. The HDMI and USB ports are quite handy; I used the monitor as an extension of my laptop, adding efficiency to my work day. While it can do a lot, the creation of a bigger workspace is probably the biggest draw for me as someone who works at home and does a lot of writing and connects remotely with others.

One of the main appeals of the stand is its ability to move and adjust with ease based on your needs. The wheels move fairly easily, jsut make sure you don’t have anything blocking the path, because the unit in all is quite heavy. The height can be adjusted within reason, while the monitor can tilt and swivel as well. Perhaps the most fun is that the screen can be rotated from a landscape orientation to a portrait one, which can be useful in a lot of circumstances, including when casting from your phone.

A remote is included, and it resembles current smart TV models; it’s durable, small, and laid out with efficiency. It includes buttons to jump to apps as well as different inputs. I found I wasn’t using the touchscreen element as much as I initially thought; it’s helpful in certain cases when working or sharing media, and I’m certainly happy it exists, I just didn’t use it a ton.

The design is fairly clever too; the white aesthetic is neutral and accommodating, while the base features a removable lid that cleverly houses and consoles the power adapter.

What I didn’t like about the LG 4K Smart Monitor Swing

Screen quality and features don’t serve faithful entertainment

While the Smart Monitor Swing can do a lot of different things for you throughout your day quite well, it’s not really superb at most of those things. It casts a wide net of uses but is more a generalist than a specialist. Its 60Hz refresh rate and HDR10 compatibility, for example, mean it’s not going to give you the action blockbuster or cinematic movie experience you’ll get with a high-end TV. The monitor is not a TV screen either; the image is worthy, with quality color, but sharpness, brightness, and contrast are not going to be up to the standards of even a mid-range smart TV.

There is no battery for the monitor swing. You must keep the power adapter plugged in at all times while using, so be mindful when moving and setting up the stand.

You can connect your gaming console or enjoy cloud gaming within webOS. However, it’s not ideal for serious online gamers. The refresh rate, along with a 5ms response rate, mean you’re not set up with ideal circumstances for competitive online play. Ports offer HDMI 2.0 connections, but not HDMI 2.1, so you won’t be getting the most out of either top gen console.

Lastly, glare is common on the screen, so you’ll need to be mindful of ambient lighting and what you’re watching. The glare was definitely noticeable during the daytime, and can be seen easily in several pictures I took. Lastly, it’s worth noting the device has speakers, but they are not worth using, which isn’t particularly surprising. With Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, and HDMI connection options, there are plenty of alternatives to the built-in speakers.

Should you buy the LG 4K Smart Monitor Swing?

There’s certainly a lot of value to be had here provided you both appreciate the many possibilities of the monitor swing and accept its limitations. It will likely serve you best as a unique companion for work and creative endeavors, with appeal coming from its size, adjustment ability, and connectivity options. It can also supplement more casual entertainment consumption, playing games and watching titles where fidelity and visual components aren’t as important.

I found a lot of uses. I enjoyed a much bigger monitor for my work space, a secondary screen that has sports on in the background, and a sizable space to share photos and videos from my phone. I rolled it into the kitchen to watch holiday movies while baking, and used it as a large personal tablet to do some shopping. After all of that, it’s a product I realize I don’t want to be without.