The Dell UltraSharp 32 6K Monitor is in between the Apple Studio Display and the Apple Pro Display XDR price-wise, and is a superior choice to both in a multi-platform environment.
The Apple Pro Display XDR is fantastic. And extremely expensive.
As a 32-inch screen with a 6K resolution, it is high-spec, and a decidedly premium option for those with very deep pockets.
I don't have deep pockets. So, I looked elsewhere.
The Pro Display XDR has some impressive bells and whistles. The Dell UltraSharp 32 6K Monitor, model U3224KB, has others, and costs less than half the price at retail.
Some may just want to have a very large screen and a resolution to match. And there's only one real choice if you want to hook up anything else than Apple hardware to the display.
The Dell Ultrasharp 32 6K, released in 2023, retains the size and pixel count of its Apple 6K counterpart, but practically everything else about it is different.
While the Pro Display XDR is more a specialist tool for creatives, Dell's display is the everyman option. At least for that everyman that needs that "true Retina" resolution in a 32-inch size.
I've been using the Dell Ultrasharp 32 6K for about a year, and I'm impressed by most of it.
Dell UltraSharp 32 6K review: Physical design
The Dell UltraSharp 32 6K Monitor has a somewhat different approach to normal when it comes to its general design. It is a display on a stand, as you would expect, but instead of adopting a chin, it has a forehead.
And it's a pretty massive forehead. Honestly, I found it a little off-putting.
What's more, there's also a round hump in the middle of it, housing the webcam.
Dell UltraSharp 32 6K review: Power and controls
This is a pretty obvious design... flaw? Statement? I'm not sure. It takes some adjustment, for sure. More on the camera itself in a bit.
It measures 28.2 inches wide, 9.3 inches deep, and 20.6 inches high, with the stand at its lowest position. That stand consists of a flat plate and a pole, which connects to the back of the monitor in a square in the back where VESA mounts are fitted.
You can ditch the mount if you want, as it can use a 100x100mm VESA mount. I like the stand, though.
That stand allows it to rise by 6.3 inches, has 90-degree rotation, a 30-degree swivel angle each way, and between -5 and 21 degrees of tilt angle. That's a pretty good range for a stand, and probably meets most people's needs without resorting to using specialist arms on a desk.
At 29.32 pounds, which is mostly stand, it's not exactly lightweight. It's also not a display that you're going to be carrying around.
Dell UltraSharp 32 6K review: Display
The screen itself is an LED-backlit TFT panel, which is IPS Black, resulting in lower black levels than your typical IPS display. It has a native resolution of 6,144 by 3,456, with a refresh rate of 60Hz, and an overall pixel density of 223 pixels per inch.
For reference, a 32-inch 4K display is about 138 pixels per inch. How much this matters is left as an exercise for the reader.
Dell UltraSharp 32 6K review: Powered on and in use
Contrast is 2,000:1, which is good but not on the level of the Pro Display XDR. At 450 nits, it's also not massively bright, but it's good enough for most people, once again, and so is its 5ms gray-to-gray response time.
When it comes to color representation, it can support 1.07 billion colors. That includes 99% of the DCI-P3 color gamut and 100% of sRGB and Rec 709, so it handles color very well.
There's even HDR600 support for watching high dynamic range content. Unfortunately, macOS support for HDR is still a little sketchy in November 2025, so your mileage may vary here.
Dell UltraSharp 32 6K review: Webcam and audio
That webcam. It's just an eyesore.
It's an 8-megapixel camera with a 4K resolution and a Sony Starvis CMOS sensor, which captures at 30 frames per second. It's also Windows Hello compatible if that matters to you, has a 5x digital zoom which is nice, and can focus on items up to 16.4 feet away.
Dell UltraSharp 32 6K review: Decent webcam, but with a massive hump.
The size of the camera also hints at its capabilities, which include a few Apple-style tricks. Its processing, including "Digital Overlap HDR" and 3D and 2D video noise reduction help produce a clearer picture for others to see of you.
There's also AI Auto Framing 2.0, which is Dell's take on Apple's Center Stage system. It reframes the image to keep you in the middle, which is handy if you keep moving around the room.
It's okay. Turn it off in software is my recommendation, though.
For added privacy, there's a Safe Shutter that automatically turns the camera on and off with a button press. At the very least, a physical barrier will help provide some peace of mind, if macOS protections don't already.
On the audio side, there are 14W stereo speakers, as well as a two-microphone array for input. These mics also have built-in noise and echo cancellation, which is a handy addition that works regardless of whether you use it with a Mac or a Windows device.
The sound was fuller than most of the monitor speakers I've used. It won't replace a true sound system or reference speakers, but it's fine for gaming, casual media consumption, and so forth.
And, of course, the Pro Display XDR has neither, which is fine. Those tend to end up in production studios, where neither are needed.
Dell UltraSharp 32 6K review: Ports and connectivity
When it comes to hooking up the display to your Mac, you have quite a few choices in front of you. There are the standard HDMI with HDCP 2.2 as well as DisplayPort 2.1, again with HDCP 2.2 as the main options.
However, Mac users should use Thunderbolt as the upstream connection. This handles data for the USB hub, as well as DisplayPort 1.4 for the video signal.
There's a second Thunderbolt 4 connection available as well, which can also be used for daisy-chaining with other Thunderbolt devices. Both of the Thunderbolt connections provide power, at up to 140W for the upstream one, 15W for the downstream.
Dell UltraSharp 32 6K review: The rear ports selection
There are other USB-C 3.2 Gen 2 downstream ports on the display, each with 15W power, a quartet of USB 3.2 Gen 2 connections, and one more USB 3.2 Gen 2 with Battery Charging 1.2.
Most of these are on the back, but there's also a pop-out segment accessible from the front that houses some of the ports. Rounding out the connectivity list is a 2.5Gbps Ethernet connection, which can certainly help a connected MacBook Pro go online if it's the host.
Dell has evidently gone for the route of turning the monitor into effectively a dock or hub in its own right. This saves the user about $200 or so for an equivalent dock if that's your jam.
Dell UltraSharp 32 6K Monitor review: That pop-out door with front-facing ports
Since you can connect a few video sources to the monitor, there's also a handy built-in KVM function, so you can use the same keyboard and mouse across multiple hosts. For power users who are the intended audience for this display, this is a very useful feature to have.
It worked pretty well in my experience with wired keyboards. Fun fact — you can use Lightning or USB-C cables to Apple's keyboard to turn them wired, and use them with any KVM, if you're so inclined.
Dell UltraSharp 32 6K review: Productive without the Pro Display XDR price
There are folks with just Mac environments, and there are people that live in a Mac and PC world. I am the latter.
The Dell UltraSharp 32 6K monitor has the same resolution, obviously, as Apple's Pro Display XDR. It's about the same size.
But after that, it becomes a very different animal.
It's a screen that doesn't care much about aesthetics in design, and screams productivity. Sure, it can show a good picture at a high resolution to you, but its heart is in getting things done, not image perfection.
The massive webcam hump isn't for everyone, it's not for me. But I can't deny its usability.
The same is true of the the speakers and mic, as not everyone wants to use separate audio.
The vast and varied port selection with KVM and neatly hidden front ports, also plays into the productivity. Add in the Ethernet port and connecting to multiple hosts, and it is a no-brainer for those who value work.
The Pro Display XDR is the better choice for those who absolutely need the best image possible for a creative project. For everyone else who wants a ton of pixels to work with, a decent webcam, and to save some money, the Dell UltraSharp 32 6K Monitor is a pretty good option.
Oh, and be sure your workspace is well ventilated. This monitor throws a lot of heat into your workspace.
Dell UltraSharp 32 6K pros
- 6K resolution
- Port selection with Thunderbolt 4 daisychaining
- KVM and Ethernet
- Shutter-covered auto-reframing webcam
Dell UltraSharp 32 6K cons
- High (retail) price tag, so watch for refurbs and sales
- Distracting camera forehead
Rating: 4 out of 5
My first desktop LCD display on my 1,1 Mac Pro was a 20-inch Dell display that I got for about $350 about two decades ago. I thought I had all the working room in the world, on a thin panel that took up far less space on my desk than my ColorSync 20 inch display did.
As a bonus, there wasn't a platform for my cats to bat the screen from above when they were offended the cursor was moving.
It was where I first coined my office as a "bunker." Between it, and a Dr. Bott KVM, I had my PC, xBox, and Mac, all on one desk.
The Pro Display XDR and the Studio Display can't do that, but the Dell U3224KB can, cheaper than a Pro Display XDR. When comparing retail prices, this is more expensive at full retail price than a Studio Display, but less when the Dell display is on sale. I can forgive a lot of design sins for that price difference.
How much that cross-platform compatibility matters, is up to you.
Where to buy the Dell UltraSharp 32 6K
The Dell UltraSharp 32 6K is available from Dell directly for $2,814.99. It's also available on Amazon for $2,399.
Watch for sales on Dell's refurbished stores. Over the last two years, I've seen it for as low as $1500 with coupons.
