OLED monitors are getting a lot easier to find, but that doesn’t mean they’re easy to afford. With the price floor apparently set around $800 and stretching well beyond two grand, upgrading to that sweet next-gen panel tech will still cost you a pretty penny. But if you’ve been waiting for a sale on Samsung’s biggest, widest OLED offering yet, now’s your chance: the 49-inch Odyssey OLED G9 is $600 off its retail price at Amazon today.
That brings the monitor down to $1199.99 — still a big chunk of change, but a much more appealing hit to your bank account than the original $1800 price it launched at last year. The G95SC is 49 inches of vivid, perfect-contrast goodness with a resolution of 5120×1440. Essentially it’s two 1440p monitors smooshed together into one giant, 1800R curved panel.
Despite pushing over seven million pixels with every frame, it’s no slouch for gaming, with a 240hz refresh rate and a .03 millisecond grey-to-grey response time. It’s compatible with HDR10+, Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync, and it even has built-in Gaming Hub software for streaming games from Game Pass, GeForce Now and other services without a PC or console in sight. Naturally, video services (Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, etc.) are also accessible via the same Tizen software seen in Samsung TVs.
Input includes a built-in USB-C hub (three USB-A ports for accessories), HDMI 2.1 and DisplayPort 1.4, plus tons of software extras like multi-device display, wireless device mirroring, and support for Samsung’s mobile Dex desktop system. But it’s not all perfection, of course. At more than 20 pounds for the monitor alone, you’ll need a reinforced VESA display if you want to mount it, and the OLED panel’s 200-nit brightness means performance might suffer if you’re in a particularly bright office.
For a full rundown, check out PCWorld’s glowing review of the OLED G9 here.
If you’re ready to buy, the discount is live on Amazon, Best Buy, and Samsung’s online store now. I’m showing free two-day shipping to my eastern Pennsylvania address, but your mileage may vary. If you happen to be a student or school faculty member (or have, ahem, access to a .EDU email address), you might be able to save even more.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 10-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he's the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop "battlestation" in his off hours. Michael's previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he's covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he's always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.