January 4th, 2023 at 7:21 p.m. by Manuel Christa – The Apple Studio Display is hopelessly overpriced. The fact that a good, color-accurate and high-resolution monitor does not have to be expensive is proven not only by LG but also by Samsung at CES 2023 with the Viewfinnity S9 with 5K resolution on 27 inches. Of course, the noble display is not cheap.
Samsung’s monitor plans from CES 2023 don’t just include the Odyssey gaming screens and a new version of the smart monitor: the company is going with the Viewfinity S9, a 27-inch 5K monitor (5120 x 2880 pixels) with high color accuracy straight to Apple and LG. According to Samsung, the IPS display with a resolution of 5120 x 2880 pixels has a matte surface to reduce glare and covers 99 percent of the DCI-P3 color gamut.
The Viewfinity S9 will support a wide range of ports including HDMI, Thunderbolt 4, USB-C and Displayport. It can charge laptops up to 96 watts. The sleek design and metal body of the S9 matches that of Apple’s Studio Display and LG’s higher-end OLED monitors. It is not known whether local dimming is used here, so the black levels and the overall contrast may not quite match the mini-LED and OLED screens. However, Samsung claims its HDR 600 further improves image shadows and highlights.
Viewfinity S9: Calibration via smartphone and TV OS
Although the monitor is aimed at professional users, Samsung has integrated its Tizen TV OS into the Viewfinity S9, allowing you to access all the usual streaming apps even when the screen is not connected to an external device. A slim 4K webcam is included, which you can connect for video calls if required. According to Samsung, the software automatically zooms and tracks the subject intelligently.
Samsung is trying to simplify the calibration process of its monitor line by doing it all through an app on your smartphone. “The integrated color calibration engine ensures precise screen color and brightness and allows users to adjust white balance, gamma and RGB color balance for perfect accuracy with their smartphones via the Samsung Smart Calibration application,” the company writes in its press release . How well this works in practice remains to be seen.
As usual with CES product announcements, Samsung isn’t giving any pricing details for the Viewfinity S9 just yet, but says it will ship in the middle of this year. Apple’s Studio Display, which is also 27 inches, starts at $1,599 when configured with the standard glossy screen. The Samsung monitor, on the other hand, has a matte coating.
