Make sure your displays are ready for macOS High Sierra

By

That sweet macOS High Sierra update will be painless for LG UltraFine Monitor owners.
That sweet macOS High Sierra update will be painless for LG UltraFine Monitor owners.
Photo: LG Electronics

This post presented by LG Electronics.

The latest version of Apple’s operating system, High Sierra, was released and is being hailed as “the biggest Mac update you’ll never see.” It’s full of tweaks to essential apps like Safari, but the remarkable stuff is under the surface: a brand-new Apple file system, as well as the groundwork for virtual-reality experiences.

What’s the catch? Glad you asked.

An update this substantive will likely require you to download even more software to ensure smooth compatibility for the rest of your system — keyboard, mouse, the works. If you lose track, things can easily get buggier than this. Some will remember when LaCie issued a much-needed update to fix an issue that actually caused a full crash when booting legacy MacBook Pros.

But if you own an LG UltraFine Monitor, you’re in luck. The company just dropped the LG Screen Manager — a new automatic software update program that will seamlessly integrate your display with High Sierra while improving key features.

Volume curve fine-tuned

The most notable upgrade comes to the display’s volume control. The speakers are already controlled from your MacBook or iMac, meaning you don’t have to mess with physical buttons on the monitor itself. But new software now fine-tunes the volume curve, making possible more uniform, specific adjustments. Crank up Bach to 11, set the Norwegian black metal to whisper-quiet, or find a middle ground that works for you.

Integrated camera boosted

Another boost comes to the integrated camera, upping an already impressive resolution, particularly in low-light environments — meaning FaceTime and Skype users can officially come out of the shadows during work calls, and you won’t have to adjust the lights in your room if you are webcam livestream gaming late into the night.

USB compatibility upgraded

The software update further improves device compatibility on the display’s three downstream USB-C (480 Mbps) ports. Get free of the annoying error message “USB device not recognized,” and have your underused USB-C devices leap from zero to hero. Nice to see that one of the biggest problems of USB Type-C can be fixed.

LG Screen Manager means ongoing support

The LG Screen Manager keeps your UltraFine Monitor up-to-date.
The LG Screen Manager keeps your UltraFine Monitor up-to-date.
Photo: LG Electronics

But the best part about the LG Screen Manager is that it’s automated; install it once, and every time there’s a new macOS update, your display will automatically get an upgraded suite of software that maximizes its performance. Pretty neat, huh?

Even if you’re not already running High Sierra, UltraFine users can download the LG Screen Manager now.

Newsletters

Daily round-ups or a weekly refresher, straight from Cult of Mac to your inbox.

  • The Weekender

    The week's best Apple news, reviews and how-tos from Cult of Mac, every Saturday morning. Our readers say: "Thank you guys for always posting cool stuff" -- Vaughn Nevins. "Very informative" -- Kenly Xavier.