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Innocn 27C1U 4K LCD Monitor Review Ratings
generalize
The Innocn 27C1U is an excellent monitor that offers great value for money. It’s especially appealing to anyone who works on a laptop and wants to use a desktop environment when they’re not on the move.
advantage
- USB-C display input with 65W power output
- Wide range of other ports
- Affordable monitors
The Innocn 27C1U is a 60Hz 4K 27-inch monitor with extensive connectivity. Since this is a relatively young Chinese brand, I had relatively low expectations for this monitor, thinking it would be the standard budget-quality hardware you see on Amazon.
I left with a pleasant surprise, and it’s ideal for anyone who wants a second monitor to use with their laptop.
Specification
- Screen size: 27 inches
- Resolution: 3840 x 2160 4K Ultra HD
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Panel Technology: In-Plane Switching (IPS)
- Refresh rate: 60Hz
- Response time: 4ms
- Contrast: 1300:1 (static)
- Brightness: 400 cd/m²
- Speakers: Yes (2 x 5 watts)
- Stand: Height – Yes
- Stand: Tilt – yes
- Stand: Swivel – yes
- Stance: Pivot – yes
- VESA Compatibility: Yes (75 x 75)
- Connectivity: DisplayPort 1.4 x 1, HDMI 2.0 x 2, USB-C PD65W x 1, USB 3.0 x 3, 3.5mm jack x1
- Dimensions with stand (WxHxD):
- Weight: 5.77kg
design
I don’t have a lot of experience with monitoring reviews. My main work monitor is a premium Samsung C49RG90, the other monitors I use are budget/mid-range 4K monitors.
From my limited experience, I’m impressed with the overall design and build quality of the Innocn 27C1U.
Assembly is very simple; you have three main parts, the monitor, the base, and the stand. These all fit together easily and are held in place with built-in thumbscrews. No tools are required.
The stand plugs into a recessed square, which is where you’ll find a 75 x 75 VESA mount point if you don’t want to use the included stand.
There’s a very slim bezel around the three edges of the display, and a fairly thin bezel on the bottom edge.
Then at the bottom left of the display, you have the control buttons. These work really well, but it does take some getting used to them. I prefer the joystick-like controls Samsung uses because it’s more intuitive.
With the stand, you can make a wide range of adjustments. This includes:
- Rotation (45 degrees in either direction)
- tilt
- Height (6-18 cm from desk)
- Rotate 90 degrees in either direction for a vertical position. With this, you’ll need to tilt the monitor forward a bit before you can fully rotate the monitor.
This uses an external 150W power supply, which helps reduce the overall size of the display.
connectivity
On the lower back of the monitor, you’ll find all the ports. This includes two HDMIs, a DisplayPort, and a USB-C port for display and 65W of power output.
Then you have one USB-B port back to your computer, and then two USB-A ports for hub connections.
Inside the package, you get DisplayPort, USB-C and USB AB cables.
is using
The highlight of this monitor for me is the USB-C display input, which also offers 65W of power output. This allows me to plug my Huawei Matebook 14 into it via USB-C, output the signal and charge the laptop at the same time.
It’s a £300 4K monitor, so you don’t get any of the super gimmicky features that have been trending lately.
This only works at 60Hz, and doesn’t seem to be FreeSync compatible, so it’s not really suitable for gaming, but it’s fine for general use and office work. It supports HDR, but it only has HDR400, which is the lowest HDR standard and basically means it can reach a peak brightness of 400 cd/m2.
I don’t have a colorimeter on hand, but Innocn claims 100% sRGB and 98% DCI-P3 coverage and includes calibration results in the package. While I can’t vouch for these claims personally, I’m impressed with the overall quality of the color.
When I get some work done in the office, I work at the kitchen table for a few weeks. I am very satisfied with the performance. Subjectively, the panel quality seems to be very good, with good backlight uniformity and bright and punchy colors.
Windows automatically sets the scaling to 150%, and I’ve found it can do this on monitors up to 30″. Even at 30 inches, trying to set 100% can cause serious stress to your eyes. So while I think I’d prefer larger 30-inch monitors, they don’t seem to do much good.
It has a matte finish to reduce glare, which is something I prefer as I find reflections and glare have a tendency to trigger migraines or headaches.
You can also choose to use picture-in-picture mode. I don’t use it extensively, but I do use it when setting up a new mini PC I’m reviewing. I was able to do all the basic setup using the small PIP display while continuing to work fine on the laptop.
The monitor does have 2x5W speakers, but I would avoid them unless absolutely necessary.
Price and Alternatives
The Innocn 27C1U is available from Amazon UK for around £330 or Amazon US costs about $400.
At the time of writing (November 6), Amazon UK has a £30 coupon that brings it to £300. In the US, a $40 voucher is available.
The LG 27UN83A-W is very similar, with the same resolution, refresh rate, and USB-C connection (though only 60W PD). It also has the benefits of FreeSync. However, it’s priced at £380, 26% more than the Innocn, and is currently out of stock.
Then there’s the £400 BenQ EW2780U, which has USB-C but only 320nits of peak brightness and lacks the USB hub feature.
Other than that, I can’t find a similar price point for a USB-C connection.
There are plenty of affordable frameless 27-inch 4K monitors without USB-C.
If you just want a regular 27-inch 4K monitor, the Dell S2721QS is hard to ignore at around £320 on Amazon.
comprehensive
Overall, I think the Innocn 27C1U is an excellent monitor and a great value for money. It’s especially appealing to anyone who works on a laptop and wants to use a desktop environment when they’re not on the move.
At this price point, I can hardly find anything else with USB-C connectivity, and even without it, there are few better options (if any).
Last updated on June 12, 2022 / Affiliate Links / Image from Amazon Product Advertising API
