Samsung's Apple Studio Display competitor is now available in the US

AppleInsider

Samsung has released its ViewFinity S9 5K monitor in the United States, giving Mac users a serious contender to the Apple Studio Display.

Samsung ViewFinity S9

The ViewFinity S9 has been out in South Korea since early July, but after a bit of a wait, customers in the United States are finally able to buy the display.

The 27-inch 5K-resolution ViewFinity S9 has a pixel density of 218 pixels per inch. It also covers 99% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, making it a highly color-accurate display for creatives.

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A unique feature is the Samsung Smart Calibration app for iOS, which allows anyone with an iPhone 11 or later to further calibrate the display. The matte display reduces light reflections, while Intelligent Eye Care optimizes the brightness and eliminates screen flickering.

Connectivity-wise, it hooks up using DisplayPort, with it also able to connect to a host Mac using Thunderbolt 4. A trio of USB-C connections are also provided for connecting other devices.

A 4K SlimFit Camera is also included for video conferencing, one that is also higher-specification than the one used in the Studio Display.

Samsung includes embedded smart TV apps, providing access to streaming content when the monitor isn't actively being used with a Mac. There is also AirPlay support, for sharing the screen from an iPhone or another Apple device.

The Samsung ViewFinity S9 is available from Amazon for $1,599.

While this is practically the same cost as the Apple Studio Display, Samsung includes a height-adjustable stand as standard with its monitor. To get the same functionality for the Studio Display, you have to pay extra, bringing the total price to $1,999.

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neilm

That looked interesting right until I got to the $1599 price, at which it’s a hard pass. 

We have lots of Samsung monitors at the office, and their design and manufacturing quality are nowhere near those of Apple. The same applies to the 32" Samsung M8 monitor/TV in front of me right now, which uses a similar chassis to the S9.

This 27" ViewFinity (really?) S9 needs to be under a grand or forget it.

tht

A 4K SlimFit Camera is also included for video conferencing, one that is also higher-specification than the one used in the Studio Display.

What is meant by this?

mknelson

tht said:

A 4K SlimFit Camera is also included for video conferencing, one that is also higher-specification than the one used in the Studio Display.

What is meant by this?

It's a 4K/UHD resolution camera, 3840 x 2160. That's 8.3MP. The Studio Display camera is listed as 12MP.

Perhaps it has better brightness, contrast, or colour fidelity.

blastdoor

Price is definitely disappointing. If it’s not discounted by a few hundred dollars, I doubt it will sell well.

danox

The new Samsung and Dell monitors where false hope, turns out there are no shortcuts to 5K or 6K monitors, significantly better specs, and materials really do cost more money. 

rundhvid

In case anyone considers this monitor—or any Samsung display—for video content, beware that Dolby Vision is NOT supported!

fastasleep

AppleInsider said:

"serious contender to the Apple Studio Display."

At that price point, I don't think so. I'll take the Apple over this one any day.

kdupuis77

fastasleep said:

AppleInsider said:

"serious contender to the Apple Studio Display."

At that price point, I don't think so. I'll take the Apple over this one any day.

Absolutely! I've had mine a month now and absolutely love it for the most part! Display quality, brightness, speaker/bass quality, Thunderbolt charging/display output one-cable connection to my MacBook Air, being able to control brightness/speaker volume from my Magic Keyboard and the convenience of the built-in webcam/mic too. Not to mention it is a sexy looking display with stupid solid build quality - no creaking or wobbling here. However, I must qualify this all by admitting the base model with the tilt only stand works fine for me (but is a disgusting +$400 upgrade if you need height adjustment, and you still don't get rotation unless you go with the VESA mount option that is not user-changeable after purchase). So that's not a big deal for me fortunately, but the webcam on this thing really is shamefully bad! I mean its absolutely fine for my usage at the desk, so not a deal breaker for me... But I do still find it surprising Apple released this thing with the webcam being so lousy for a $1600 display lol.

Also, I am sure the Samsung webcam looks better even though it is 8mp vs. the Studio Display's 12mp rating (Studio display webcam is a higher mp rating /resolution because it is an ultra wide camera that is cropped down for normal usage, and used in full wide angle mode to support Center Stage).. But still no way is that worth spending the same amount of money on the lower build quality Samsung display for the true Apple Diehards either I think. Maybe if it was safely under $1000 it might be worth trying to save the bucks, but for same price no thank you haha.

Overall quite happy with my Studio display and how clean of a desk setup I have with my MacBook and also that I was able to snag it at $1349 on sale at Amazon using their store card (for another 5% off, so $1281.55 total!). I ended up getting the $49.99/year AppleCare+ from Apple and plan to leave that going for the foreseeable future as I love this display and hope to use it with multiple new Macs in the future (decade hopefully) and also as nothing is user repairable and the power supply is glued underneath the front glass panel lol. I want to keep this guy going for a loooooong time!