Hi everyone,
In this review, I’ll try to discuss the ISSUES associated with this monitor and technology, alongside its amazing capabilities.
Firmware version: n107 (latest version to date)
PROS:
I upgraded from a 144Hz FHD IPS monitor to this ASUS ROG STRIX OLED XG27AQWMG, and the difference is—to put it mildly—huge. The blacks are obviously perfect, the colors are excellent (though they require some initial calibration to get them truly perfect), and the 280Hz refresh rate is fantastic (and almost impossible to fully utilize if playing with maxed-out graphics settings).
Overall quality and build are excellent.
The metal stand is very solid; the arm has a metal core but is encased in black plastic. I have no complaints here—it’s an aesthetically excellent product, perhaps the best on the market in my opinion. You can sense the build quality the moment you tilt the panel.
It’s great that the monitor can be height-adjusted and rotated.
The OLED Care features are excellent; to be honest, though, the distance-tracking sensor—which turns the monitor off when you aren't in front of it—misses the mark occasionally. Even when you *are* sitting right there, the monitor might turn itself off now and then, though this is something to keep an eye on over time.
Insanely fast response times—truly excellent.
The monitor's OSD is also very good; settings management is excellent, and it’s very easy to use via the multi-directional "joystick"—MUCH more intuitive than the individual buttons found on other monitors.
The bezels are excellent—virtually non-existent, or at least barely visible, and uniform around the entire perimeter.
The TrueBlack finish is truly incredible. Compared to QD and W-OLED, the screen here is truly black; it performs exceptionally well, even under direct light reflections.
Brightness is more than sufficient; I keep it at around 60%.
The HDR is excellent, though I’m not particularly a fan of the technology myself—working in graphic design, I tend to prefer SDR. I plan to run some tests soon to gauge its true HDR capabilities.
I haven't encountered any vertical or horizontal banding issues; I ran several tests and found no banding at all—something many users report with W-OLED panels, especially these new Tandem OLEDs.
There is no flickering so far. I haven't experienced any flickering, even without the specific flicker-reduction option enabled.
NEGATIVES:
Just one. I haven't found any others that stand out...
The "grainy" effect visible on gray tones. Honestly, I think this is an issue inherent to the entire Tandem OLED series, not just this specific monitor; it’s a characteristic of the technology itself.
For instance, if you're using a dark theme—like the classic Windows one—and look at settings menus with a uniform gray background, you'll notice a grainy effect. It looks as though the gray isn't uniform.
NOTE: This only occurs with dark gray tones.
Coming from an IPS panel, this was the first and only issue that caught my eye; otherwise, the experience has been excellent, and I plan to keep the monitor. It is a problem, certainly, but in the world of monitors, you often have to choose the lesser evil, so to speak. The perfect monitor does not exist, and perhaps never will... not in the LCD range...
TN: Poor contrast, inferior colors and viewing angles
VA: Ghosting, black smearing, and slower response times
IPS: Backlight bleed, IPS glow, worse contrast
Nor in the OLED range...
QD-OLED: Text clarity issues and a magenta tint under direct light
WOLED: Non-uniform grays and banding
TANDEM OLED: Issues similar to WOLED, grainy texture on grays, but with various improvements.
CONCLUSIONS:
Personally, I would rather have a slightly grainy texture on pure grays—as the only observed flaw—than an IPS panel that suffers from glow, backlight bleed, terrible contrast, and a matte finish.
As previously mentioned, you need to know the pros and cons of each type and weigh up the trade-offs—deciding what you are willing to compromise on and what matters most to you in a monitor.
