Asus ZenScreen Smart Monitor MS27UC review: Smart TV features in a small display

Best Prices Today: Asus ZenScreen Smart Monitor MS27UC

Smart monitors (monitors that run a smart TV OS, like Google TV or Tizen) quietly became a trend in 2024 thanks to new releases from Samsung and LG, among others. Most of these monitors are larger, however, and target higher price points. The Asus ZenScreen Smart Monitor MS27UC is a smaller, more affordable alternative that will appeal to people who care more about a smart monitor’s features than its image quality.  

Asus ZenScreen Smart Monitor MS27UC specs & features

At its core, the Asus ZenScreen Smart Monitor MS27UC is a run-of-the-mill 27-inch 4K monitor. It has a 27-inch IPS display with a native resolution of 3840×2160. While the display panel supports HDR, its specifications are otherwise mundane. It has a 60Hz refresh rate, lacks VESA DisplayHDR certification, and lacks adapative sync.

• Display size: 27-inch 16:9 widescreen
• Native resolution: 3840×2160
• Panel type: In-Plane Switching
• Refresh rate: 60Hz
• Adaptive sync: None
• HDR: Yes, HDR 10
• Ports: 1x USB-C with DisplayPort and up to 90 watts of USB Power Delivery, 1x DisplayPort 1.4, 1x HDMI 2.0, 2x USB-A 2.0 downstream, 1x 3.5mm audio out
• VESA mount: 100x100mm
• Speakers: 2x 5-watt speakers
• Wireless connectivity: Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.2
• Operating system: Google TV
• Remote control: Included, with two AAA batteries
• Price: $399.99 MSRP

While the display panel is basic, Asus packs the monitor with many useful features. It ships with a remote and batteries used to control the Google TV operating system. It also has Wi-Fi (a must for the smart TV OS to work), USB-C with 90 watts of Power Delivery, and a pair of 5-watt speakers.

Asus lists an MSRP of $399.99, but it appears to frequently go on sale for $369.99.

Further reading: See our roundup of the best monitors to learn about competing products.

Asus ZenScreen Smart Monitor MS27UC design

The Asus ZenScreen Smart Monitor MS27UC is among the more affordable smart monitors available right now, but you wouldn’t know that by looking at it. On the contrary, it provides a clean, premium aesthetic that should look excellent in any office or living room.

From the front, the MS27UC has slim bezels on the top and sides, while the bottom is covered by an attractive grayish-white fabric that blends well with most rooms and lends the monitor an approachable, friendly feel. The fabric covering sweeps around the back of the monitor, where it joins silver plastics that look (but don’t feel) like metal.

The rear of the monitor also boasts a small shelf for rear storage, and Asus provides several peripherals (including the remote bundled with the TV) designed to perch there. While I rarely remembered to use it, this feature could be useful if you like a tidy setup.

The monitor has a compact but effective L-shaped stand with a flat base. It takes up very little space on a desk and its compact form factor means the monitor can perch on even smaller surfaces, like a nightstand or cabinet (important if you plan to use it like a small television). The stand’s ergonomic adjustment is limited, however. It only adjusts for tilt and height and its range of height adjustment is a tad more limited than typical at 100mm of total travel.

A typical 100x100mm VESA mount is available for attaching the monitor to a third-party stand or mount. The ports are rear-facing instead of downward-facing. While I generally prefer this, as it makes connecting devices a breeze, it could prove tricky if you want to wall-mount the monitor.

Asus ZenScreen Smart Monitor MS27UC connectivity

The Asus ZenScreen Smart Monitor MS27UC has a good range of connectivity. Video inputs include USB-C with DisplayPort Alternate Mode, DisplayPort, and HDMI, for a total of three video inputs. While I would’ve preferred to see a second HDMI, this arrangement is probably fine for most owners.

The USB-C port with DisplayPort Alternate Mode can also supply up to 90 watts of Power Delivery, which makes it useful for connecting and charging a laptop, tablet, or even a smartphone. While this is most useful in a home office, it could also be handy if you want play games on a connected laptop, smartphone, or handheld gaming device.

Two USB-A 2.0 downstream ports and a 3.5mm audio-out jack round out the options. A USB-C downstream port would’ve been nice, but the MS27UC’s overall connectivity is good value for money.

Asus ZenScreen Smart Monitor MS27UC Smart TV features

Asus ships the ZenScreen Smart Monitor MS27UC with Google TV, an Android-based operating system users might already be familiar with, as it’s commonly used by TVs from Sony, TCL, and Hisense, among others.

Because it’s a smart monitor with an operating system, the MS27UC requires a bit of setup before it’s ready to use. You’ll need to connect to Wi-Fi, log in to a Google account, and complete a few optional personalization steps. I found this process a bit slower than on competing smart monitors due to several setup load screens that took a minute or two to complete. Still, I had the monitor ready to use in under 10 minutes.

Once set up, I found the Google TV operating system familiar and easy to navigate. It really is Google TV, so apps you’d expect to work with a larger television running Google TV will work here. This includes streaming apps like YouTube (of course), Netflix, Amazon Prime, and so on.

If you’d like, you can use the MS27UC like a 27-inch smart television without a device connected to a video input. The monitor also supports wireless video connections through standards like Miracast and Chromecast, meaning it’s possible to wirelessly stream video from select phones, tablets, and computers.

Note, however, that the MS27UC lacks a TV tuner and won’t be able to connect to a coaxial cable source. This is also true of competitive smart monitors, however.

The remote control is large, comfortable, and provides good access to video connections and display options. I found the menu system easier to navigate than those on the Samsung and LG smart monitors I tested the last year. And I had no trouble connecting a PC over HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB-C. The menu system is ever-so-slightly sluggish at times, but it’s minor and I expect many users won’t notice.

However, the menu options are a bit confusing when using the display as a monitor. By default, the monitor switches to PC Mode (and this was used for most of our testing). This mode locks out some adjustments, such as color temperature. HDR also did not function in PC Mode. I also tried using Asus DisplayWidget, a Windows app that can control the settings of most Asus monitors and found it didn’t work with the MS27UC.

A pair of 5-watt speakers wrap up the monitor’s smart TV features. They’re okay, but 5 watts isn’t a ton of power, and the monitor lacks a subwoofer to deliver low-end kick. As a result, the monitor’s sound comes across as tinny and thin. The speakers are passable for casual viewing, but owners planning a Netflix binge will want a better sound system.   

The image won’t blow your socks off, but it’s bright, sharp, and easy to view in a variety of viewing conditions and with a wide range of content.

Asus ZenScreen Smart Monitor MS27UC SDR image quality

The Asus ZenScreen Smart Monitor MS27UC has many features but, when it comes to image quality, there’s not a lot to talk about. Aside from a native resolution of 3840×2160, the monitor’s display is a rather basic IPS panel with a 60Hz refresh rate. That shows through in testing.

First up, however, is a bit of good news. The MS27UC hits a maximum SDR brightness of 467 nits, which is extremely high for any monitor.

An SDR brightness this high isn’t necessary for use in a typical home office, but it makes sense in a smart monitor that might replace a television. I expect the MS27UC will be used in brightly lit rooms, including living rooms and kitchens, where it’s an alternative to a budget smart television. The display’s brightness should keep it comfortable to view in most situations.

On the flip side, however, the MS27UC achieved a modest measured contrast ratio of 850:1. That’s not great for a monitor in 2025, and it lands the MS27UC towards the low end of what’s typical.

To be fair, most similarly priced monitors with an IPS panel deliver a similar contrast ratio. But those with a VA panel, like the AOC 27G15, achieve a much better contrast ratio that leads to a richer, more immersive image.

I was a bit disappointed by the MS27UC’s color gamut, as it achieved just 99 percent of sRGB and 81 percent of DCI-P3. As the graph shows, that’s behind other monitors that are similarly priced, though it should be noted that LG’s smart monitor is listed at $600.

Color accuracy is a win for the MS27UC. Although it doesn’t beat the field, all the monitors listed here perform well for the price and ultimately deliver color accuracy capable of a realistic and convincing image. Even users with a discerning eye for color are unlikely to see flaws.

The MS27US also did well in gamma, as it achieved the ideal gamma curve value of 2.2. That indicates the image appears around as luminous as it should, which is key to preserving detail in shadows and highlights.

Color temperature, on the other hand, was unusually high with a value of 8000K. That means the image appears cool and sterile. This can be a matter of personal taste, and the monitor provides options to change the color temperature through both preset color temperature modes and color calibration features, so users can change the color temperature to a warmer look. Still, a default color temperature this high (in PC Mode, which is flipped on by default when using the monitor with a PC) is a bit odd.

Sharpness is a big perk and strength. A resolution of 3840×2160 across a 27-inch panel works out to about 163 pixels per inch and results in a tack-sharp look. The sharpness is equally excellent when viewing YouTube as when navigating an Excel spreadsheet in 8-point font.

Look, I’ll be honest: The Asus Zenscreen Smart Monitor MS27UC’s image quality is just okay. But that doesn’t mean shoppers should write it off. A display like this is often built to be functional more than it is attractive, and that is as true for the monitor’s image quality as its features. The image won’t blow your socks off, but it’s bright, sharp, and easy to view in a variety of viewing conditions and with a wide range of content.

Asus ZenScreen Smart Monitor MS27UC HDR image quality

The Asus ZenScreen Smart Monitor MS27UC supports HDR10, but I wouldn’t recommend buying it for HDR content. The monitor’s maximum brightness is excellent for SDR but insufficient to do HDR justice. It also lacks the color gamut and contrast required to help HDR content stand out from SDR.

That’s not to say HDR looks bad. On the contrary, a high-quality 4K HDR clip can look great. This, however, is mostly thanks to the monitor’s sharpness, and HDR’s advantage over high-quality 4K SDR content is rather slim.

I also found HDR didn’t work when using the monitor with a PC. Windows didn’t detect the monitor as HDR compatible, and HDR did not appear to engage automatically with compatible content. HDR only flipped on when I viewed streaming apps, like Netflix, through the Google TV interface.

While none of this is positive for the MS27UC, it’s important to remember the price. Asus sells this monitor for less than $400. It’s hard to find a good HDR monitor for less than $400, so these flaws are excusable. Shoppers should expect to pay more for good HDR.

Asus ZenScreen Smart Monitor MS27UC motion performance

The Asus ZenScreen Smart Monitor MS27UC doesn’t include features that might improve its motion performance. It has a 60Hz refresh rate and lacks adaptive sync for smooth frame pacing.

That’s not to say it’s terrible. The IPS display panel’s pixel response times are reasonable and its motion clarity is typical for a 60Hz monitor. Ghosting and blur is noticeable on the MS27UC, but tolerable outside of competitive esports games, and no worse than other mid-range monitors. Shopper who aren’t picky about motion clarity will think it looks fine.

Still, with 120Hz and 240Hz gaming monitors widely available at lower prices, it’s obvious the MS27UC is not a good choice for shoppers who care about motion performance.

Should you buy the Asus ZenScreen Smart Monitor MS27UC?

The Asus ZenScreen Smart Monitor MS27UC is a great pick for shoppers who want an affordable smart monitor that’s easy to use, can handle a wide variety of streaming apps, and looks attractive. Though it’s not a bad choice for a home office, the MS27UC is best in a studio apartment, kitchen, guest room, and any other space where a small, versatile display might be needed. The MS27UC is less appealing when used solely or mostly as a PC monitor, as its image quality and motion performance can’t match similarly priced PC gaming monitors that lack smart TV features.