Samsung costs its 27-inch 5K monitor at $1,599 — similar to Apple’s Studio Show

The ViewFinity S9 is a 27-inch 5K show. | Picture by Chris Welch / The Verge

Seven months after saying the 27-inch ViewFinity S9 desktop monitor at CES 2023, Samsung is lastly circling again round with pricing and availability particulars. Let’s get proper to it: the 5K show, which is being positioned as a prosumer possibility meant to rival screens from LG and Apple, will price $1,599.99 and also you’ll be capable of buy it from Samsung and different retailers in August.

$1,599 is identical beginning MSRP as Apple’s Studio Show — additionally a 27-inch 5K monitor. It’s rumored (although not confirmed) that these two screens could possibly be utilizing near-identical panels if not the very same part. A 5K show is extremely sharp at 27 inches, however by the remainder of at this time’s requirements, this show feels a bit dated: there’s no native dimming, which is a key technical function for optimum distinction on LCD TVs. Samsung says the ViewFinity S9 covers 99 p.c of the DCI-P3 colour gamut, so it’s completely appropriate for picture modifying.

Panel apart, you possibly can make the case that Samsung is supplying you with somewhat extra to your cash with a number of connectivity choices and a height-adjustable stand included out of the field; selecting the height-adjustable Studio Show shoots Apple’s pricing as much as $1,999. Plus, the Samsung features a matte end by default — and that’s one other premium from Apple. (It’s good to no less than have the shiny possibility for richer distinction and colour saturation, nevertheless.)

The ViewFinity additionally has a “pivot mode,” the place it rotates 90 levels to suit extra textual content on display with much less scrolling. Relatively than constructing a webcam straight into the display’s bezel, Samsung consists of “a built-in 4K SlimFit digicam that connects by way of pogo pin with out extra cables or gear.” The Studio Show’s digicam was pretty underwhelming earlier than a firmware replace introduced it as much as simply okay, so we’ll see how Samsung’s method compares.

Picture by Chris Welch / The Verge
The ViewFinity S9’s 5K panel covers 99 p.c of the DCI-P3 colour gamut.

For I/O, the ViewFinity S9 presents Thunderbolt 4 (with as much as 90 watts of passthrough charging), USB-C, and Mini DisplayPort. And as is the case with its SmartMonitor lineup, Samsung is loading this 27-inch 5K show up with its commonplace mixture of TV streaming apps and additional options like its Gaming Hub (with entry to Xbox Sport Cross and Nvidia GeForce Now). Samsung can be speaking up the S9’s calibration course of, which makes use of your telephone’s digicam for simple changes with out requiring separate, costly instruments:

The ViewFinity S9 makes use of the Sensible Calibration function managed with smartphones, which is the primary within the trade. Customers can conveniently customise the display for exact settings with out costly, advanced calibration gear every time they need. Utilizing the SmartThings app, customers can select to calibrate in Fundamental mode for a fast and simple adjustment of white stability and gamma settings, or they’ll use Skilled mode for full management of colour temperature, luminance, colour area and gamma settings. Customers can begin this course of just by pointing their smartphone digicam on the ViewFinity S9, and after calibration, they’ll view a report detailing the changes made and the Delta E colour accuracy.

Picture by Chris Welch / The Verge
You may calibrate the ViewFinity S9 with a cellular app and your smartphone’s digicam.

And though I didn’t get to listen to them throughout my CES preview, this monitor does have built-in audio system. Samsung says they an Adaptive Sound Plus function “mechanically adjusts noise ranges.” And yep, there’s an included distant management.

You may guess that come August, we’ll be pitting the ViewFinity S9 and Apple Studio Show towards one another to gauge how related their 5K LCD panels are — and whether or not Samsung’s number of ports and that removable webcam are sufficient to beat Apple’s terrific construct high quality and system-level macOS integration.

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