ASUS ZenScreen MS32UC 31.5" 4K USB-C Smart Monitor

Beautiful but flawed product

I bought this as the 'ultimate' 32 inch 4K monitor for my Mac mini. I think I am suffering from early adopter problems as a result. The product is beautiful and could be a great experience, were it not for a couple glaring issues.The first issue is that this is a Google TV, which on the surface I thought would be great. I thought that this new product, with a current spec processor, could finally make Google TV the responsive experience it should be. I've had the Google Chromecast 4K dongle for years, and it's slow and buggy. The Asus MS32UC doesn't really improve on this. I can't really blame Asus (I think). The net effect of this being a Google TV is that the ENTIRE OS running the device is Android, Android doesn't seem to be up to the task of providing regular monitor controls, in an intuitive and responsive manner. As an example, when navigating the menu with the built-in joystick (4-way direction, plus push-to-Enter, and an Input button) I often found a setting that I wanted to change. The issue is that sometimes (not always) the "OK" or "Enter" function wasn't the joystick, it was the included Google Chromecast remote control! Who thought this mixing of inputs was a good idea? Google's OS is a big letdown on this product. The laggy input and response continues to simply waking the display up from sleep. My Mac mini (USB-C) input isn't sufficient to get the monitor to wake up, nor is pressing the joystick in any direction, or pressing the input button. I have managed to wake the screen with the remote (again, not a great option), and only by pressing the Power button. Input switching buttons, etc. will not wake the display. It's so bad that at first I had a defective unit, as I could only get the display to wake up by unplugging power. The second issue is either Asus or Apple. I had been using the Asus PA279CRV Pro Art monitor, which is also 4K native resolution. I was thrilled when I first connected the Mac mini to that display, as the screen resolution and MacOS (Tahoe) display settings, front sizes, etc. were all 'perfect' without me doing anything. For this MS32UC it's not the case: the display parameters aren't being detected correctly. The monitor started out in 1920X1080 resolution. I am using the USB-C cable supplied with the monitor and one of the ports on the back of the Mac mini. I spent about an hour trying to cajole MacOS into providing acceptable scaling for the UI, with limited success, If I do nothing the fonts are tiny. This is unexpected as I'm on a 32 inch monitor. I have had to set font sizes in any app that has such settings, and for others, like Safari, it's a mixed bag, with some pages loading with larger fonts (which doesn't allow the page content to fit, text wraps onto itself, some dialog boxes are off the window edge, etc. Maybe the monitor hasn't been looked at by Apple, or it's the USB cable Asus provided, or it's something else. Note as well about some of the monitor settings. DO NOT use the HDR option in the menu system. Your color will be fluorescent red and blue, as this seems to override any ICC profile or calibration. I calibrated with a Spyder Checker and couldn't believe how bad the color was, until I turned off HDR in the monitor settings. As this point I'm afraid to touch anything else in the menu. The hope I have is that Apple and Asus will continue to update their software and that this monitor will perform like the PA279CRV does. There's no doubt the monitor design looks great. Also, the built-in speakers are pretty good. But, usability is poor at this time. I wish it were otherwise.