Dell’s new UltraSharp 4K monitor has a monstrous 4K webcam built in

Dell's UltraSharp monitors have a long-standing reputation for being strong picks for office professionals and creatives, and the USB-C variants have proven to be some of the most popular Mac monitors. Dell's latest 32-inch UltraSharp was announced during the Consumer Electronics Show this week, and it doubles down on that legacy.

The monitor hits the standard bullet points: it has a USB-C port and a 3840 x 2160 screen resolution. It can act as a USB hub with its five 10Gbps USB-A ports. But what really sets the monitor apart is its 4K webcam.

As noted, these monitors are made to appeal to professionals like designers, marketing folks, and so on, so a color-accurate 4K screen is important. But these days, those workers will be spending a fair amount of time on video calls, so it seems Dell is trying to make the product a more comprehensive package for remote-working pros.

The IPS monitor offers a 2,000:1 typical contrast ratio and supports the VESA DisplayHDR 400 standard with a maximum brightness of 400 nits. That unfortunately excludes the monitor from really serious video work, but the display should be good enough for most people doing most kinds of work.

As far as color support goes, we're looking at 100% of sRGB and 98% of DCI-P3. Response time in the fastest setting is 5ms, which would make this a decent 4K SDR gaming monitor, but unfortunately, it tops out at 60 Hz and does not support variable refresh rates.

Its design is a bit odd; it has a thick bezel along the top—but just the top—and a sizable camera bump at the top. The camera is huge by most monitors' standards, and it really stands out. But given that the camera is this monitor's defining feature (there are a lot of 4K USB-C monitors out there at this point), that makes sense.

Fortunately, it has the key features needed to entice its target audience of mostly Mac-using professionals: USB-C and support for chaining displays through one connection. In some ways, it's pretty specialized to certain kinds of workers, but it's worth looking at because it likely has one of the best built-in webcams of any monitor on the market, and its design is somewhat unusual to accommodate that.

Dell says the monitor, which is regrettably named "U3223QZ," will be available starting March 29. Pricing hasn't been announced yet.

Listing image by Scharon Harding