BenQ PD2706UA

Our reviews often extol the ergonomic properties of productivity monitors, usually in the context of an above-average range of height, tilt, pivot, and swivel maneuverability. But the BenQ PD2706UA ($629.99) takes ergonomic friendliness to a new level. This 27-inch display attaches to its stand via a hinged arm (BenQ calls it an "ergo-arm") that allows a wide range of fluid motion toward or away from you, or to the side. Also, the base includes a clamp that you fasten to a desk or table; it's not freestanding. The PD2706UA doesn't quite reach Editors' Choice award honors (the Philips Brilliance 279P1 is less ergonomically dazzling but barely half the price), but its mobility puts it in a class by itself.

The Design: Effortless Flexibility

The BenQ PD2706UA's screen is a 27-inch (measured diagonally) in-plane switching (IPS) panel with 4K or UHD (3,840-by-2,160-pixel) native resolution. This yields a density of 163 pixels per inch (ppi), which should be more than enough to render an image sharp enough for intricate graphics work (assuming the original image was sufficiently sharp). As an IPS display, it affords wide vertical and horizontal viewing angles (up to 178 degrees), so images should retain their color and brightness even when seen from the sides or above.

As for ergonomics, you can tilt the top of the BenQ up to 5 degrees toward or 30 degrees away from you; raise or lower it up to 5.9 inches; pivot it 90 degrees between portrait and landscape modes; and swivel the screen up to 275 degrees in either direction. Mere numbers, however, can't describe the ease of motion that the ergo-arm affords. It's a real joy to be able to almost effortlessly swing, pull, and adjust the screen to your liking.

Connectivity and Controls: A Built-In KVM, and More

Another of the monitor's strengths is its healthy selection of ports. They include one HDMI 2.0 port, one DisplayPort 1.4 connector, and a USB-C upstream port that supports DisplayPort over USB alternate mode and up to 90 watts of USB Power Delivery (PD) to run or recharge a laptop. You'll also find a downstream USB-C port, an upstream USB Type-B port, and three downstream USB 3.2 Type-A ports.

Most of the ports are downward-facing around back, residing in a bay shown in the photo below (although the ports themselves aren't shown). They can be easily revealed and accessed by pivoting the chassis into portrait mode. Another photo below shows two possible KVM (keyboard, video, and monitor/mouse) configurations, which allow two computers connected to the PD2706UA to be controlled by a single keyboard and mouse.

Also in back is a mini-joystick controller for navigating the onscreen display (OSD) menus. Mini joysticks tend to be much easier to use than button-based OSD controls such as those of the Brilliance 279P1 and the MSI Modern MD271UL. We found the MSI's control system particularly unwieldy.

Two of the downstream ports for connecting with peripherals—one USB-C and one USB-A—plus a 3.5mm headphone jack are located on the side for even easier access.

As monitor speakers go, the BenQ's two built-in 2.5-watt speakers provide reasonably loud sound with good audio quality (thanks to surprisingly decent bass response). The company backs the PD2706UA with a three-year warranty, a fairly standard length among productivity monitors (though Philips goes beyond that with a four-year warranty for its displays).

Testing the BenQ PD2706UA: Wide Color Coverage, Especially for sRGB

I tested the BenQ PD2706UA's brightness, contrast ratio, and color coverage using our standard test gear: a Klein K-10A colorimeter, a Murideo Six-G signal generator, and Portrait Displays Calman 5 calibration software.

BenQ rates the monitor's average luminance at 350 nits (candelas per square meter), but it came in a bit below that at 281 nits in our testing. That's still bright enough for most any business use including photo and video editing, especially if you can minimize the amount of ambient light in your work area. Although we didn't test the display in HDR, it is certified for DisplayHDR 400 and claims 400-nit peak HDR brightness. In our contrast-ratio testing, it peaked at 674:1, well under its rated 1,200:1.

In our color-coverage testing, the PD2606UA covered 99.9% of sRGB (see the chromaticity chart above), the color space for web-based art and many other applications. That's even better than BenQ's advertised 99%, though we measured its coverage of DCI-P3—a color space designed for digital video—at 92.5% versus the company's claimed 95%. BenQ doesn't make an Adobe RGB coverage claim for the PD2706UA; we tested it at 87.7% of that gamut, which is primarily used by photographers and designers preparing art for print. Based on our testing, the monitor is best suited to preparing images and videos for online use.

In addition to our quantitative testing, I also eyed selected photos and video clips from our test library on the PD2606UA. Colors looked true to life in both still images and videos, and the monitor rendered details well in both light and dark areas.

Verdict: An Ergonomically Superior Screen

The BenQ PD2706UA's most striking and appealing feature is the ergo-arm, which gives the monitor an exceptional fluidity of motion when you're seeking to position it just right. That alone makes it a tempting purchase, and its port selection and overall image quality (despite a lackluster tested contrast ratio) add to the appeal.

That said, you can find some excellent 27-inch 4K monitors available for considerably less money. We've already mentioned the Editors' Choice-award-winning Philips Brilliance 279P1, which offers excellent ergonomics (albeit without the ergo-arm) and adds an Ethernet port. The Philips' brightness and sRGB coverage effectively match the BenQ's, and it showed much higher contrast in our tests, though its button-based OSD controls are a weakness.

Another Editors' Choice honoree, the Dell UltraSharp 27 4K USB-C Hub Monitor, also has great if conventional ergonomics and proved brighter than the BenQ, with superior contrast thanks to its IPS Black panel technology. Its dual DisplayPort connectors let you daisy-chain a second monitor, too. Ultimately, however, the BenQ PD2706UA's comfort and convenience may override any other feature or specification in your buying decision if what you need first and foremost is all that flex.