Samsung Electronics has finally debuted its first QD-OLED video gaming monitor. The 34-inch Samsung Odyssey G8 sports 3440x1440 resolution and a 175Hz refresh rate.
The company had promised to launch its first QD-OLED monitor some time ago, back in February to be exact, so it has been a while coming. The good news is that it is probably well worth the wait. It boasts the same panel that has already appeared in Dell Alienware’s highly regarded AW3423DW monitor that received some pretty rave reviews earlier in the year.
Because it’s also specifically designed for gaming, the Samsung Odyssey G8 QD-OLED monitor has mostly the same specifications, with a 34-inch corner-to-corner display size, a 1,800R curvature, true 0.1 ms response time, 99.3% coverage of the DCI-P3 colour gamut, the promise of superbly deep blacks and support for Variable Refresh Rates and AMD FreeSync.
Of course, HDR10 support is on board too. Samsung has not confirmed the peak brightness, but Samsung Display specifies up to 1,000 nits.
Perhaps the biggest advantage of Samsung’s Odyssey G8 over the Alienware QD-OLED monitor is its cloud gaming support. Just like with its new TVs, Samsung has built in its Gaming Hub, which means users in certain regions - Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Korea, Spain, US, UK - can access some of the top cloud gaming services directly, without any other hardware.
At present, the monitor supports Xbox, GeForce Now, Google Stadia and Utomik, with Amazon Luna also supported in the U.S. only.
Samsung has also included a height adjustable stand with the monitor that also provides tilt functionality, so users will be able to position it just right. Other features include CoreSync and Core Lighting+ technology that helps to deliver more immersive experiences. For connectivity, there are HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4 slots available. The built-in speaker is rated at 5 watts.
Samsung is showing off the Odyssey 8 at this week’s IFA 2022 show in Berlin, ahead of its global launch in the fourth quarter. Pricing will be announced later.
