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Samsung Debuts New $1,599 ViewFinity S9 5K Display to Compete with Apple's Studio Display

Smart move from Samsung, to launch an overpriced monitor following that Apple gave room for such by launching its own overpriced model.
 
n-evo said:
What are you talking about? It’s $700 cheaper compared to buying Apple’s screen with the same additional options. How is that “not so much” on a $1599 price tag?
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Samsung has a nano texture process for the screen surface?
 
FrozenDarkness said:
Yt reviewers are saying you cant adjust brightness through mac. You have to adjust it with the monitor itself. Thats the kind of protectionism that youd expect from apple and breaks a purchase imo.
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I don't believe there is anything proprietary here; for instance, LG supports brightness adjustment for the Mac with some of their screens.
 
BeatCrazy said:
I use my Studio Display with Windows all the time. Brightness adjustment takes a special app, and/or it remembers the last brightness you set when connected to a Mac. The real limitation is no camera or rear hub support (that I know of).

You may be aware of all these things, but I figured some are not.
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The rear ports thing is odd. Is the monitor connecting via thunderbolt 3 or USB 3 protocols?
 
EntropyQ3 said:
I would buy this over the studio Display any day of the week since I can have several display driving devices connected simultaneously and shift between them conveniently. (Never mind the adjustable stand….) Instead I bought a Lenovo P27-U20 4k screen, also with TB + plethora of inputs wide colour gamut support, and, of course, a decent stand.

The lack of inputs on the Studio Display made it a non-starter for the few people I know who considered it.
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What do you use for the KM-switching part of that KVM-style setup?
 
JonathanX64 said:
It doesn't, because Retina scaling is garbage and never worked as it should (and yes, macOS does this noticeably worse than modern Windows).

I strongly believe that Apple should've gone with 27" 4K, 32" 5K, and maybe 36" 6K displays? The ~220 ppi number is great for a laptop, but not for a huge monitor that sits at arm length distance.

Or Apple should finally implement fractional scaling that isn't a blurry mess so it won't be a problem anymore.
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My 27" studio display works great with my 16"mbp. Scaling looks great on my end. I love how sharp everything is. I build out a lot of media for web so seeing sharpness and whatnot is important because a lot of my things will be viewed on high-density mobile displays.
 
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MrCrowbar said:
Not sure if 5K on a 27" display make a lot of sense...

Maybe for looking at Photos and X-Rays where sharpness and contrast is important.
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This is targeting Apple's desktop "retina" range of ~210 ppi. This lets you have "native" points of 2x2 pixels.
 
Mentioned here already, but +1 for old UltraFine 5K. They are CHEAP on eBay. And mostly the same panel as ASD and this new thing From Samsung.
 
dwaite said:
Then why would anyone include it in their price comparison justifying Apple's display as "$700 more"? Don't spend hundreds on a feature you don't want.
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Those questions have been asked a lot. Its like Apple can't sell a more economical glare resistant, adjustable height monitor that everyone else seems capable of doing? Pricey gimmicks with fancy wording is no longer in vogue. ;)

I hope we see price drops in the future like so many other Samsung displays. Both LG ands Samsung are very competitive. :cool:
 
FrozenDarkness said:
Yt reviewers are saying you cant adjust brightness through mac. You have to adjust it with the monitor itself. Thats the kind of protectionism that youd expect from apple and breaks a purchase imo.
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If you get the Better Display utility it gives you brightness controls for external displays.
 
Pakaku said:
Well that sounds awful. Why can’t we just have plain monitors or TVs these days.
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I agree, but... With TVs I think its one of those silly situations where a "dumb" model would end up costing more because it meant producing two models for the same market (and the "smart" one would probably sell more). Lots of customers will be buying this as a laptop dock so its probably attractive that it can still be useful when the laptop is off topping someone's lap.

A modern display pretty much needs a powerful processor and RAM anyway (see: Studio Display) and if not, something like a Fire TV stick costs, what $30, retail with a remote so any extra gubbins isn't really adding much to the price.

Of course, I bet you an Internet that TV makers get a rake-off from bundling various streaming apps and 'freemium' adware - plus every TV maker has an Underpants Gnome scheme to get rich by launching their own App store.

Still, it's getting silly on a $1000 5k 60Hz display that isn't really a good choice as a TV or games display.
 
theluggage said:
I agree, but... With TVs I think its one of those silly situations where a "dumb" model would end up costing more because it meant producing two models for the same market (and the "smart" one would probably sell more). Lots of customers will be buying this as a laptop dock so its probably attractive that it can still be useful when the laptop is off topping someone's lap.

A modern display pretty much needs a powerful processor and RAM anyway (see: Studio Display) and if not, something like a Fire TV stick costs, what $30, retail with a remote so any extra gubbins isn't really adding much to the price.

Of course, I bet you an Internet that TV makers get a rake-off from bundling various streaming apps and 'freemium' adware - plus every TV maker has an Underpants Gnome scheme to get rich by launching their own App store.

Still, it's getting silly on a $1000 5k 60Hz display that isn't really a good choice as a TV or games display.
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Yes, they definitely make money off of adware, which is even more reason why I don't want a smart TV. I doubt it's any more expensive to produce a dumb TV than to simply not install the software, it's probably even less costly to not use up that time.
 
dwaite said:
Ahh that explains it. You'll only see those ports work in TB3 Alt mode.
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There's no such thing as TB3 Alt Mode.

The (apparent) lack of rear port functionality for the Studio Display is a Windows limitation, doesn't concern TB3. Probably Windows doesn't have the necessary drivers.

For example: you can use a non-TB3 (USB-C-only, with DisplayPort Alt Mode) Mac/iPad and the Studio Display ports work, i.e. 12" retina MacBook or A12X iPad Pro and the ports work.
 
Pakaku said:
Yes, they definitely make money off of adware, which is even more reason why I don't want a smart TV. I doubt it's any more expensive to produce a dumb TV than to simply not install the software, it's probably even less costly to not use up that time.
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It's been stated before by those in the industry that ads in these TV OSes generates enough income to offset manufacturing costs. IOW, they claim it keeps the pricing on them cheaper than they would otherwise be.

I don't particularly like the ads, but as mentioned I never use the smart features anyway. However, I always buy smart TVs, because the bare bones dumb TVs out there are generally junk.
 
Lets see:

No symmetrical borders
No native brightness control with Apple Magic Keyboard
No Apple Care+
Non all aluminum body

No Thanks!!
 
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Well, this is the very best Display Upgrade for all Mac Pro 5.1 owners with Monster GPU's.

No Titan Ridge needed, this baby works with Display Port (Mini), Gentlemen.

I waited for this and I will get one, as soon as it hits European Markets. Count me in, full throttle'ing Mac Pro 5.1 Power one more time with full 5K. - My AMD 6800XT will eat that display with ease..

Question @MNJohn:

A pimped MP5.1 with THAT screen will give me what in car terms? :)
 
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Realityck said:
Well there goes the expectations that Samsung would sell more of a bargain with the Viewfinity S9 then the Studio Display. It is quite probable that Samsung might discount it more though then Apple does theirs.

Now comes the comparisons to which actually is a better buy?
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MacRumors said:



"Priced at $1,599, the ViewFinity S9 has the same price tag as the Studio Display from Apple, but Apple charges an additional $300 for Nano-texture matte glass and $400 extra for a tilt and height adjustable stand. Samsung's ViewFinity S9 has a matte display and built-in height and tilt adjustment at its base price, along with a Pivot function that allows the screen to be rotated 90 degrees to a portrait orientation. VESA mounting is also an option."


Article Link: Samsung Debuts New $1,599 ViewFinity S9 5K Display to Compete with Apple's Studio Display
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Philosophically, I look at this in the same way one might compare the purchase of a Porsche 718 versus a Corvette. After options, the 718 will cost a bit more, has less horsepower, is a bit slower and is adorned with less glitter. The Porsche has better build quality, enduring styling, is ergonomically perfect for driving and just feels right no matter what you ask it to do. Despite the shortcomings on paper, many people buy the 718 and, from experience, not many people ask you why you didn't buy a Corvette instead. "More for the money" isn't what everyone wants.
 
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