The BenQ Creative Pro PD2732U has a super-strong feature set for creative pros at a great price, including good colour coverage, support for multiple digital workflows and excellent connectivity. For general computing tasks, however, there are better value and more suitable 4K options.
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If the clue is in the name, it's not hard to clock who the BenQ Creative Pro PD2732U is aimed at. This is a very well specified 27-inch 4K IPS monitor that's been carefully optimised for creative workflows while hitting an accessible price point.
For sure, there are still much cheaper 27-inch 4K monitors. But not with the suite of connectivity and colour management features offered here.
On the connectivity side, that includes Thunderbolt 4, an integrated KVM switch and display daisy chaining support. If anything, however, the features for creative workflows are even more comprehensive.
That starts with excellent colour coverage given the price point and extends to factory calibration and hardware calibration support, Pantone Validation, Calman certification, specific support for MacOS devices and more. There are also some neat extras, including a wireless control puck that makes it as quick and easy as possible to switch between colour modes and inputs.
The one obvious feature omission is true HDR capability. There is HDR10 support. But without local dimming hardware, the actual HDR performance is very limited. But then this monitor is not intended to replace an HDR reference monitor, which is a very different market with monitors costing upwards of 10 times the price.
On paper, then, the BenQ Creative Pro PD2732U looks set to take its place as the affordable display of choice for creative pros among the best photo editing monitors we've tested. But does it actually deliver?
Color coverage: 99% DCI-P3, 99% Adobe RGB
Connectivity: HDMI 2.0 x1, DisplayPort 1.4 x1, Thunderbolt 4 x2 with 90W PD and daisy chaining, USB hub with USB-C x1 and USB-A x3
The BenQ Creative Pro PD2732U looks familiar and that's no bad thing. It sports BenQ's premium design ethic of the last few years and it remains a cut above much of the competition in terms of both visual appeal and overall build quality.
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The part metal construction and gun metal colorway is certainly more appealing than the often creaky feeling and anonymous black plastic of much of the monitor market, that's for sure. OK, Apple's displays including the latest Studio Display XDR, feel quite a bit better built still. But then they're much more expensive, too.
If styling is ultimately a subjective call, what can't be objectively denied is the BenQ Creative Pro PD2732U's excellent all-round feature set that's been fully optimised for creative professionals.
First up, there's good color coverage, including 99% of both DCI-P3 and Adobe RGB. Those figures are better than you'll find on cheaper 4K IPS monitors, which tend to be around the 95% to 97% range. The PD2732U also comes factory calibrated with sub-2 DeltaE across the board and further supports hardware calibration.
