Samsung Viewfinity S9 — Official Details from Samsung

[pisarn]

Samsung Thailand updated this page.

27" ViewFinity S9 C900 5K Monitor LS27C900PAEXXT | ซัมซุงประเทศไทย

Discover 27 inch ViewFinity S9 with 5K resolution, matte display, ergonomic design, Thunderbolt 4 as well as embedded smart tv apps. Expand your creative realm in 5K.

www.samsung.com

Around 1,350 USD. Shipping starts 07/07/2023

 

[FSMBP]

Nice find! At that price, might be tough to go to Samsung when the ASD is usually that price at Costco.

On the cheaper side, anyone know why the new 27" M8 Samsung display isn't on their site??? They have the updated 32" M8 but not the 27" one...

 

[tmoney468]

Might as well wait until this gets released to decide between it and the Apple Studio Display...Oddly enough the link in the other thread to Samsung (different country) redirects to a generic monitor page now...

 

[i486dx2-66]

Samsung Thailand updated this page.
...
Around 1,350 USD.

For reference, the list price for the glossy Apple Studio Display in Thailand is ฿54,900 (~$1,584 US).

ซื้อ Apple Studio Display

Apple Studio Display จอภาพ Retina 5K ขนาด 27 นิ้ว (68.29 ซม.) พร้อมกล้องที่น่าทึ่ง ไมโครโฟน และระบบเสียง 6 ลำโพง นี่แหละคู่หูที่สมบูรณ์แบบสำหรับ Mac ซื้อ

www.apple.com

 

[i486dx2-66]

At that price, might be tough to go to Samsung when the ASD is usually that price at Costco.

Isn't Samsung known to have regular sales though? The Samsung having a starting list price close to the sale price of the ASD means that the Samsung could still be noticeably less expensive in actual market pricing... And that's for a monitor that (other than the matte finish) appears to beat the ASD on specs.

Might as well wait until this gets released to decide between it and the Apple Studio Display...

I think so.

 

[chrfr]

Nice find! At that price, might be tough to go to Samsung when the ASD is usually that price at Costco.

Others have mentioned this in other threads but the reason that the ASD and the LG 5k are not options for me is that I need a display with multiple inputs. I switch between a personal and work computer on my desk, and have 2 docks both connected to the single display on the desk. So, regardless of price, the only 5k option I might have is the Samsung.

 

[FSMBP]

Others have mentioned this in other threads but the reason that the ASD and the LG 5k are not options for me is that I need a display with multiple inputs. I switch between a personal and work computer on my desk, and have 2 docks both connected to the single display on the desk. So, regardless of price, the only 5k option I might have is the Samsung.

I totally get that. It's one of my reasons (besides cost) for dismissing the ASD for now.

 

[Cousin Dirk]

Did I miss the memo that this display has AirPlay? That's actually a really tempting selling point.

 

[Sappharad]

Did I miss the memo that this display has AirPlay? That's actually a really tempting selling point.

It wasn't on the original press materials from January, if I recall correctly. But it was on the AU specs page that was live earlier this month and disappeared this week.

Please keep in mind that AirPlay is limited to 1080p, anything higher is being downscaled and sent to the display at that resolution to be scaled back up. This is true for any AirPlay receiver. It's a decent solution for watching video from an iPhone or iPad, but not as a wireless computer monitor.

 

[xraydoc]

Did I miss the memo that this display has AirPlay? That's actually a really tempting selling point.

Except the Studio Display (or any other display, actually) when connected to a modern Mac, can be used as an AirPlay target. And since AirPlay isn't really good enough to be used as a 'wireless monitor', I'm not sure it's a big point-winner for the Samsung display.

 

[mKizzo]

Nice find! At that price, might be tough to go to Samsung when the ASD is usually that price at Costco.

You aren't comparing apples to errr apples. Excuse the pun. The ASD with height adjustable stand and matte display is the price Samsung wants you to compare to.

Isn't Samsung known to have regular sales though? The Samsung having a starting list price close to the sale price of the ASD means that the Samsung could still be noticeably less expensive in actual market pricing... And that's for a monitor that (other than the matte finish) appears to beat the ASD on specs.

See above. I imagine market uptake will be slow initially and then they will react in 4-6 months with discounts.

 

[i486dx2-66]

Except the Studio Display (or any other display, actually) when connected to a modern Mac, can be used as an AirPlay target. And since AirPlay isn't really good enough to be used as a 'wireless monitor', I'm not sure it's a big point-winner for the Samsung display.

Here's the use case:

I have a MacBook. I take it with me often - to work, the coffee shops, etc. So the monitor at my desk, more often than not, doesn't have a computer hooked up to it. If the MacBook is in my bag, and I want to watch some TV at my desk, being able to do so without getting the computer out and plugging it all in just for that would be slick.

 

[Alex.ne]

looks like the first review just came :

Seems like the built quality is waaaay behind ASD, and it is not compatible with Intel Macs

 

[CWallace]

I will be buying either a Mac mini Pro or Mac Studio, so not worried about the lack of Intel compatibility under macOS as long as it does work with Windows (my PC will have TB4, as well).

I'm interested to know if that 45% lower price (in Thailand) is compared to the base ASD (so around USD 900) or an ASD with Nano-texture glass and the Tilt and-Height-Adjustable Display (so around USD 1300). If it is the latter, I would probably buy the Apple Studio Display via refurb as I will be VESA mounting it and prefer a glossy display.

 

[bittervictorian]

Thank you for the link to the video. I feared that the speakers might be bad, which seems to be the case. This raises the problem which came up for the M8 monitors: if there is no external headphone jack (which seems to be the case) how do you get better sound when using this as a stand-alone TV? Obviously when a Mac is connected you can use the headphone jack on that, but what about stand-alone? This seems a strange decision

 

[Ener Ji]

looks like the first review just came :

Seems like the built quality is waaaay behind ASD, and it is not compatible with Intel Macs

Thanks for the link to the video review. I can live with some of the downsides, especially if the price is right, but no ability to adjust brightness from the Mac is a huge oof for me. I adjust my brightness all the time as it's so easy to do so on the LG 5k. I hope this is the kind of thing that will be fixed / added by the time it goes on sale in North America.

 

[Yonkec]

I will be buying either a Mac mini Pro or Mac Studio, so not worried about the lack of Intel compatibility under macOS as long as it does work with Windows (my PC will have TB4, as well).

I'm interested to know if that 45% lower price (in Thailand) is compared to the base ASD (so around USD 900) or an ASD with Nano-texture glass and the Tilt and-Height-Adjustable Display (so around USD 1300). If it is the latter, I would probably buy the Apple Studio Display via refurb as I will be VESA mounting it and prefer a glossy display.

Yeah, unless this comes in under $1k I don't know why I'd get it over a Kuycon. That's assuming I am not buying another ASD. This offers nothing worth going after if you can just get a refurb ASD for even $200 more.

 

[Ener Ji]

Yeah, unless this comes in under $1k I don't know why I'd get it over a Kuycon. That's assuming I am not buying another ASD. This offers nothing worth going after if you can just get a refurb ASD for even $200 more.

Height and rotate adjustable, better webcam, thinner bezels, lower price. All pretty compelling advantages over the ASD as long as the screen is good and the other downsides aren't too severe.

 

[Yonkec]

Height and rotate adjustable, better webcam, thinner bezels, lower price. All pretty compelling advantages over the ASD as long as the screen is good and the other downsides aren't too severe.

The stand is more adjustable, but significantly lower quality w/ lots of wobble. I'd argue the invisible integrated webcam w/ symmetrical bezels are as good or better an option than simply thinner bezels on their own. However both positions are purely objective so to each their own.

Everything I said is operating under the assumption that the screens are nearly identical in every way and the Samsung won't be more than $200 less than the VESA Refurb ASD. An Ergotron Arm will always be a better option than anything Samsung can offer in their stand.

For the display, the specs certainly do nothing to suggest any superiority on paper. And don't forget that the speakers are a joke - as far as I'm concerned the Samsung doesn't have any.

 

[kvic]

Thank you for the link to the video. I feared that the speakers might be bad, which seems to be the case. This raises the problem which came up for the M8 monitors: if there is no external headphone jack (which seems to be the case) how do you get better sound when using this as a stand-alone TV? Obviously when a Mac is connected you can use the headphone jack on that, but what about stand-alone? This seems a strange decision

Not sure about M8 but this S9 has Bluetooth (according to the reviewer). So you can connect BT speakers, BT headphones, or a BT adaptor for linking legacy speakers/headphones.

This YouTuber being the first on S9 seems to hurt Samsung a lot more than help. Don't know why he is given a unit for review. LOL. Wait for more to come out perhaps before making a judgement.

Based on my very recent experience, these vendors (i.e. LG, Samsung) don't over engineer their designs in material use or structural sturdiness but nevertheless they're adequate and don't bother me at all in daily usage. E.g. how often are you deliberately shaking your monitor..just to see how quickly it dampens down to still steady state? Apple over engineers ASD like a brick of metal, which isn't necessarily a must-have or a yardstick for a display.

The reviewer also said the S9's base is aluminium. On this he's lots better than other reviewers of 4K monitors. The other YouTubers will claim their 4K monitors come with plastic stands. LOL. None of them are correct. This S9 seems to come with a stand made of steel internally and wrapped in aluminium sheets. The base definitely looks like steel to me. So it could be made thinner (to save material, weight & cost) but structurally strong enough for support.

Incompatibility with Intel Mac is real oversight. In the era of launching a product first and beta testing it while we ship, I'm still kinda surprised by Samsung. I think it's just a firmware fix.

Anyway, if the price is not far away from ASD, this S9 would be hardly attractive.

 

[sn]

Height and rotate adjustable, better webcam, thinner bezels, lower price. All pretty compelling advantages over the ASD as long as the screen is good and the other downsides aren't too severe.

And multiple inputs

 

[joe.peeravas]

I will be buying either a Mac mini Pro or Mac Studio, so not worried about the lack of Intel compatibility under macOS as long as it does work with Windows (my PC will have TB4, as well).

I'm interested to know if that 45% lower price (in Thailand) is compared to the base ASD (so around USD 900) or an ASD with Nano-texture glass and the Tilt and-Height-Adjustable Display (so around USD 1300). If it is the latter, I would probably buy the Apple Studio Display via refurb as I will be VESA mounting it and prefer a glossy display.

Hi,
I'm the one who did the review, so here's the detail:

The S9 comes with matte display, tilt & rotatable stand, 3 years warranty all of this with the price around $1,350

Apple Studio Display with Nano texture + Tilt & adjustable stand + AppleCare 3+ to extend it to 3-year warranty = $2,398

So, the difference is about $1,048 for these monitors.

 

[joe.peeravas]

Thanks for the link to the video review. I can live with some of the downsides, especially if the price is right, but no ability to adjust brightness from the Mac is a huge oof for me. I adjust my brightness all the time as it's so easy to do so on the LG 5k. I hope this is the kind of thing that will be fixed / added by the time it goes on sale in North America.

So difficult to adjust the brightness. The button menu is not easy to access as it's on the back of the monitor. And with the remote control. You need to go to Settings>Pictures>Expert mode>Brightness

About brightness or sound adjustment, I prefer Studio Display and Ultrafine 5k above this monitor.

 

[joe.peeravas]

Not sure about M8 but this S9 has Bluetooth (according to the reviewer). So you can connect BT speakers, BT headphones, or a BT adaptor for linking legacy speakers/headphones.

This YouTuber being the first on S9 seems to hurt Samsung a lot more than help. Don't know why he is given a unit for review. LOL. Wait for more to come out perhaps before making a judgement.

Based on my very recent experience, these vendors (i.e. LG, Samsung) don't over engineer their designs in material use or structural sturdiness but nevertheless they're adequate and don't bother me at all in daily usage. E.g. how often are you deliberately shaking your monitor..just to see how quickly it dampens down to still steady state? Apple over engineers ASD like a brick of metal, which isn't necessarily a must-have or a yardstick for a display.

The reviewer also said the S9's base is aluminium. On this he's lots better than other reviewers of 4K monitors. The other YouTubers will claim their 4K monitors come with plastic stands. LOL. None of them are correct. This S9 seems to come with a stand made of steel internally and wrapped in aluminium sheets. The base definitely looks like steel to me. So it could be made thinner (to save material, weight & cost) but structurally strong enough for support.

Incompatibility with Intel Mac is real oversight. In the era of launching a product first and beta testing it while we ship, I'm still kinda surprised by Samsung. I think it's just a firmware fix.

Anyway, if the price is not far away from ASD, this S9 would be hardly attractive.

Hi,

I bought this monitor myself. so it is a review from a user's sight. There are no other reviews from Youtubers because the actual date that this monitor is going to sell in Thailand is the 7th of next month. (There is one monitor shop in Thailand that get this monitor sooner before the official release date and I bought one.)
-----
"In the era of launching a product first and beta testing it while we ship"

I do agree with you, I found trouble connecting to Intel Macs, and I can't use the calibration app (Scanning QR code can't pair between the phone and the monitor), There is no smartthings app installed.

The thing I am truly concerned about is that if it gonna be a pink edge like iMac 5K or LG Ultrafine in the long run. (The iMac & LG are all LG panel)

 

[mKizzo]

First vids out today:

Unboxing:

Side-by-side to ASD and anti-reflective coating:

Full Review:

Release date according to Thailand website is 07/07