Samsung’s new Odyssey OLEDs look stunning from every angle

The most important part of any gaming monitor is the panel you’ll be spending all your time staring at – but it never hurts to be easy on the eye everywhere else. Samsung’s design team have put just as much effort into the new Odyssey G6 and Odyssey G8 as its OLED display division, which will be music to the ears of players who put good looks on equal footing with refresh rates and resolution.

Based on an early demo ahead of their official reveal, I’m already planning an upgrade to my home office/gaming space.

Odyssey G8 OLED

Both screens have metal frames that are mere millimetres thick at certain points, and bolt onto slim stands that are height-, tilt- and rotate-adjustable, with cable channels to keep wire tangles at bay. RGB light effects are of course present and correct, with a circular LED array at the rear that can be customised through software.

The 32in Odyssey G8 is more of a head-turner, and not just because of its size. Samsung has equipped it with a Tizen-powered smart OS that can handle streaming video, cloud gaming and PC-free productivity, without needing to plug in a laptop or desktop rig first. A pared-back remote control is included in the box, which could make this a superb single-screen option for students in tiny dorm rooms.

Naturally it gets the gaming part right, with a 4K resolution, 240Hz refresh rate and 0.03ms response times. AMD FreeSync Premium Pro adaptive refresh then stops any sort of stuttering, and a brightness/HDR optimiser accentuates highlights while keeping shadows inky black.

Samsung has also applied a glare-free coating to the panel, which did a fantastic job in the brightly-lit demo area; even right next to a floor-to-ceiling window, I could see the onscreen action perfectly, with no noticeable reflections. The panel itself is a beauty, looking wonderfully vibrant and colourful when playing a quick game of Fortnite.

Importantly, Samsung reckons its new dynamic cooling system is five times better at protecting against burn-in than its previous OLED efforts. It detects static screen elements and rotates pixels, too.

The Odyssey OLED G8 is going on sale imminently for £1099.

Odyssey G6 OLED

It’s effectively Samsung’s new ‘entry-level’ OLED monitor, but I couldn’t spot anything particularly entry-level about the Odyssey OLED G6 during my short taster session. It hits the current PC gaming sweet spot, with a 27in flat panel, 1440p resolution and rapid 360Hz refresh rate. That’s high enough to persuade esports pros to abandon their TN displays.

Rocket League felt unbelievably smooth, with a beefy GPU providing a consistent frame rate and FreeSync ensuring no torn or dropped frames. The 0.03ms response time made all the difference, too; once you’ve played on a high refresh rate OLED, it’ll be very hard to go back to anything else.

The Odyssey G6 doesn’t have the G8’s Tizen smarts, so you’ll be relying on a PC or console for your downtime entertainment – but it doesn’t skimp on ports, with two HDMIs, a DisplayPort, 3.5mm headphone port and even a two-port USB-A hub. It’ll launch at £799 in the coming weeks, which is a seriously appealing price point for an OLED. Previously you needed to spend silly money on the curved Odyssey OLED G9 – which still remains king of the hill, alongside the epitome of excess that is the Odyssey Ark.

Viewfinity S90PC

It’s not all about gaming, though. Samsung is also catering to creative types with the Viewfinity S90PC – a 5K resolution stunner that promises high colour accuracy and easy calibration using your smartphone. All those extra pixels mean you can edit native resolution 4K video footage and still have plenty left over for your software’s UI elements – not to mention perfect pixel scaling when hooked up to a modern MacBook.

Samsung makes no bones about going after Apple owners here; a Studio Display with height and tilt adjust will set you back £1899, even before applying Apple’s nano-texture glass treatment, making the S90PC a relative bargain at £1400.

It’s packing Thunderbolt 4 connectivity, a LAN port and built-in KVM switch, as well as a clip-on webcam and Tizen-powered smartOS for video streaming outside of work hours. The slim bezel and minimalist stand complete the look.

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