Announced during CES 2023 back in January, the Samsung ViewFinity S9 will soon arrive to challenge the Apple Studio Display. And while ostensibly a rival to Apple and LG’s monitors, the ViewFinity S9 is compatible with both Macs and PCs.
According to Samsung, this 27-inch 5K (5,120 x 2,880) monitor is more than 50% bigger than other UHD monitors. The company says the display covers 99% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, which is excellent, and has 218 PPI (pixels per inch) — another impressive stat.
Samsung says the ViewFinity S9 offers saturated and vivid colors with crisper details. In terms of brightness, the screen can supposedly hit 600 nits of HDR brightness. Of course, we’d need to get the monitor into our testing lab to see if that claim holds up.
This monitor uses the Smart Calibration feature that you can control with smartphones, which Samsung says is the first in the industry. It allows you to calibrate the screen without the need for expensive calibration equipment.
With Samsung's SmartThings app, you can calibrate in Basic mode for quick and easy adjustments or calibrate in Professional mode for complete control over all features. In other words, you can get the picture to look just as you want it — which is perfect for the creatives this monitor is meant for.
Connectivity-wise, the ViewFinity S9's ports include one for Thunderbolt 4, another for miniDP, and one USB-C. That might seem like a meager selection, but those three ports should be enough for the creatives this monitor is marketed toward. The S9 also includes a built-in 4K webcam, which is a nice touch.
Like some of the recent best Samsung TVs, the ViewFinity S9 features the company’s smart TV and game hubs — both of which utilize Samsung’s Tizen platform. The former has all the major streaming apps and a bunch of free content from Samsung TV Plus. The game hub has streaming apps like Xbox Game Pass, Nvidia GeForce Now and Amazon Luna. If you don’t own a gaming console or a gaming PC, you’re still able to play games on this monitor right out of the box.
ViewFinity S9 outlook
If you’re a professional photo or video editor, the Samsung ViewFinity S9 seems like the perfect display to help bring your creative works to life. Though its $1,599 price is admittedly steep, it costs the same as the Apple Studio Display.
Stay tuned for more about the Samsung ViewFinity S9.
More from Tom's Guide
