27-Inch 5K Hyper Mini LED at $1,199

LG announced the UltraGear evo GM9, model 27GM950B, the company’s first 27-inch 5K gaming monitor with Hyper Mini LED backlighting. LG first unveiled the panel at CES 2026 and confirmed full specifications, US pricing, and a pre-order window in its April 30 global newsroom announcement. Hyper Mini LED is LG’s name for its denser local-dimming backlight architecture, and the GM9 marks the first time LG has paired this backlight with a 5K resolution panel in a gaming monitor, a step beyond LG’s previous 4K Mini LED gaming model.

Price: $1,199.99
Where to Buy: LG

The GM9 sits in LG’s UltraGear evo lineup alongside the 39-inch GX9 OLED ultrawide and the 52-inch G930B, and it’s the only model in the family using Hyper Mini LED. The GX9 is LG’s 39-inch 5K2K curved OLED, and the 52G930B is the company’s 52-inch 5K2K curved gaming monitor. With the GM9, LG positions Hyper Mini LED as the third panel technology in the 2026 UltraGear evo refresh, joining OLED on the GX9 and the larger LCD-based 52G930B. At 27 inches and 5120 by 2880 resolution, the panel works out to roughly 218 pixels per inch.

A Mini LED Backlight With 2,304 Zones

LG‘s Hyper Mini LED architecture spreads 2,304 local dimming zones across the 27-inch panel, which the company says is 1.5 times more than its previous Mini LED gaming monitor, the 27GR95UM. The denser zone count is intended to deliver finer light control across HDR content. LG cites peak brightness up to 1,250 nits and VESA DisplayHDR 1000 certification, a high-end tier in VESA’s DisplayHDR specification for LCD-based displays.

LG also reduced the gap between the LED backlight and the panel using what it calls Zero Optical Distance technology, which the company describes as a tighter optical stack between the backlight layer and the LCD panel above it. The GM9 carries TUV Rheinland’s Anti-Blooming certification for the resulting halo control. The certification specifically targets halo artifacts in Mini LED displays during HDR playback, and it doesn’t appear on LG’s earlier Mini LED gaming monitors.

Dual Mode for Resolution or Refresh Rate

The GM9 includes LG’s Dual Mode feature, which also appears on the OLED side of the UltraGear evo lineup. The panel runs at 5K and 165Hz or QHD and 330Hz, switching between higher resolution and higher refresh rate without requiring a system restart.

Dual Mode is aimed at users who alternate between productivity or detailed-content workloads and high-frame-rate gaming on the same display, and the same feature also appears on the GX9 OLED in the 2026 UltraGear evo refresh. Response time is rated at 1ms gray-to-gray in both modes, and the monitor supports NVIDIA G-SYNC compatibility and AMD FreeSync Premium Pro for adaptive sync across both NVIDIA and AMD GPUs.

5K AI Upscaling

The GM9 includes LG’s 5K AI Upscaling, which renders non-native content up to the panel’s full resolution without requiring a GPU upgrade. LG describes the feature as a first in the gaming monitor category as of December 2025, and the upscaler requires a source input of at least Full HD resolution.

The monitor also features AI Scene Optimization and AI Sound, which adjust picture and audio settings based on what’s on screen. Combined, the AI features are intended to extend the panel’s high-resolution and HDR capabilities to source material that doesn’t natively reach 5K.

Connectivity

The GM9 ships with DisplayPort 2.1 at UHBR20, two HDMI 2.1 ports, and USB-C with 90 watts of Power Delivery. The USB-C connection supports display, data, and device charging through a single cable, suitable for laptop docking and single-cable office setups.

LG also lists built-in stereo speakers and DCI-P3 color coverage of up to 99 percent. The stand offers tilt, height, swivel, and pivot adjustments, and the monitor includes a 100 by 100 millimeter VESA wall-mount pattern for third-party arms or wall mounts. LG packages the GM9 with USB-C, DisplayPort, and HDMI cables in the box.

Pricing and Availability for the 27GM950B

LG opened pre-orders for the UltraGear evo GM9 in the US on April 6, 2026, at $1,199.99, with shipments starting the week of May 4. Pre-orders placed through May 3 include a two-year LG Premium Care extension for $1, on top of the standard one-year limited parts and labor warranty. The GM9 ships alongside its OLED sibling, the 39-inch UltraGear evo GX9 at $1,799.99, and global availability follows in additional regions over the coming months.

Price: $1,199.99
Where to Buy: LG

At $1,199.99, the GM9 lands $600 below the $1,799.99 GX9 OLED, making the Mini LED option the lower-priced entry into LG’s new 5K UltraGear evo family. The 52-inch G930B sits above both at $1,999.99, completing LG’s 2026 UltraGear evo refresh with three distinct panel technologies, three screen sizes, and three different price points across the high-end gaming monitor segment.