Samsung ViewFinity S9 5K vs Apple Studio Display

Agree with you,thanks from China mainland

I think the main dealbreaker of the studio display is the refusal to work seamlessly with anything but Apple devices. Even if someone uses only Apple devices at home, the truth is most work places use windows and working from home is becoming more of a thing, people don’t want to have to setup multiple monitors for different purposes. I should be able to use my display with my mac and be able to plug in pc/laptop to do some wfh without jumping through hoops (only supports thunderbolt devices, can’t change brightness, no on/off button)

Click on this because I wasn't aware people were unhappy with the Studio Display, so I'm mostly curious to hear the critiques (I have an iMac 5K display... not sure how different). Turns out the studio display seems better than the S9 in most of the points covered here.

No one can compete with apple the display is far superior .

5000$ for 27 inches IPS monitors? Apple and Samsung are greedy jokers.

As a mix user of Windows and Mac I thought the S9 would be a much better option for me. But I actually hated it at all and decided to send it back. I also had a production fault in the top right corner of the screen, so the glass / plastic was slightly shattered. A no-go for a device at that price point. But the the two most annoying aspects:

1. It is so unbelievably wobbly, I was almost scared it would fall off my desk.
And 2. all these smart TV / remote control features are just annoying and irritating.

I really felt ripped off by Samsung once again.

After a bit of research I ordered the Alogic Clarity monitor and even though it’s „only“ a 4K monitor, I absolutely love it. It works perfectly with Windows and Mac and I love that it even charges my Macbook Pro when connected via USB-C (charges at 90 watts). It has a glossy glass Screen (which is super rare) and overall feels really sturdy.

The S9 is sooooo not worth its asking price. It’s almost ridiculous.

Ps. Thanks for great video!

How often do you adjust the screen height when you buy it? Once! And you pay 300 dollars additionally to adjust it once? 😅

Have had the Studio display for half a year now. It expensive certainly, but you get what you pay for. It's pure quality.

I was hoping this would either be good or cheap. Instead we got a bunch of crappy useless bloat and a price tag that is absurd.

Unfortunately I am still in the market because the one thing this has is a display port input — something that apple stubbornly refuses to put on their displays. (I’m using an eGPU on an intel apple iMac, which is why I need display port rather than the usb c ports). Sigh.

They shoulda made it a glossy screen and priced it at $1199 but for the same price, I might as well just get the apple display. Or even just increase the Hz so it’s a little better for gaming to compete

easy choice. If I would intend to buy an overpriced display, I would go for the studio display. But i think in 6 month the samsung will be half the price. then it is a different game

Putting “not even close” in the thumbnail was a bit misleading

You’d have to be a mentalist to buy a Samsung display priced exactly the same as an Apple product. Material, design and brand kudos all add up. Having bought and sent back a Samsung display, I know straight off it’ll feel cheap. 😊

I think you're mad if you pay $1600 for either of these displays. Personally I don't care if my display is made of vibranium and swings better than a hulu dancer. I have 2 x 27" LG4K displays plus my Macbook Pro - plenty of screen real estate and I don't need to touch them on my desk. Plus what self respecting video editor uses their monitor's speakers? And it cost me a lot less than $US1600.

Just buy a OLED moniter

But if you already have say a HomePod then you can send s9 audio to the HomePod right? Also, as predicted, the s9 has dropped $500 in some countries/shops. So -$500 and - $cost of ASD arm is now pretty compelling. But yeah that power brick is just awful.

If you use an MacBook or Mac Studio , I don’t see why you would use anything other than the Studio Display. Especially for the same cost. S9 seems like would be the choice if it was moderately cheaper.

The Samsung display only really makes sense if you have a PC that's not a Mac. And paying an extra $300 for a matte display is pure insanity. You can get a matte screen protector that fits perfectly for a fraction of the price. If Samsung really wanted to target Mac users with this display, they should've priced it considerably cheaper than the Studio. If you're on a Mac, getting the Samsung display for the same price as a monitor purpose built for your system by it's manufacturer that is also better, is never worth it. Samsung only gets away with that price because connecting and using the Apple Studio to a Windows PC is a pain, so if Windows users want a monitor like it, it makes sense to get the Samsung instead.

Fair & balanced review, Jerry. The Samsung unit should be priced at no more than $995.

Thanks!

We're so used to see Apple Products as overpriced it's weird to see the closest the competitors could get for the same price is this inferior built quality. LG 4K/5K monitors from previous generation seemed like a better deal tbh

Samsung always copies Apple design but never has the same quality.

Samsung G7 - come at me ;-)

If the S9 was $500 cheaper it would be the better option. But all plastic and large power brick and flimsy connections for the same price? No thank you!

U pay 1900 but try try to pretend its 1600 what a bias..

The only reason I need to reject the S9 is that it is a Smart TV and for all I know Samsung collects data from you while you use the display. From what I can see in the local computer store, nearly all displays are "Smart TVs" which can steal my usage data. This means the only display I can even consider is the Apple Studio Display. Until a respectable third party does an analysis of the data that Samsung may be taking from me, I won't consider Samsung. And I'm surprised that no a single product reviewer on the Internet seems to be concerned at all about data privacy violations from Smart TVs.

I would consider the Samsung for 1k. But. The build quality, the integration with the system. And this crap sound on the Samsung. The Samsung it’s good on paper. 4K camera yes. A bad one.

After looking around I went for the Apple display. Solid build quality. Beats the rest hands down

When I touched the plastic backboard on Samsung , i feel sick. There is no comparison in texture

$1,600 for that display is a total rip. It's ugly with those uneven bezel widths and the ugly wide base. The back is gross and it looks cheap and nasty wobbling all over the place while you're adjusting it. Samsung are having a laugh.

Samsung blatantly copies the design? What else is new.

It feels like your review is bias towards Apple. Your studio display is much more expensive with the mat finish at $300 and the adjusting support, another $200. You like the quality of both displays, but you care a lot about the audio, the packaging and the power block? The price difference, the calibration feature of the S9, the camera 4K, the fact that you can use it as a gaming display are big plus for the S9, but you discount it. So, I won’t subscribe to your channel for reviews.

looks like Samsung overpriced it by about $400. I'm sure street price will be discounted soon once they find out no one is buying it.

Just to be clear, the tilt&height-adjustable stand shown with the Apple 5k studio display in this review is not $1600, it's $2000. The $1600 version is just the tilt-adjustable stand. That said, given the price points of both displays, Samsung's choice of speakers and the crappy stand makes it very hard to seriously consider as an alternative to the Apple Studio display! The weird thing about the Apple display is the basic tilt-adjustable stand and the VESA option are both the same price ($1600). Hard to believe a piece of metal with a few holes tapped into it (the VESA) stand, rates the same price as the tilt-stand option. But then again, Apple has always been a bit "out there" w.r.t. it display pricing.

mate finish - no, not interested

can't wait for fire sale of this Samsung monitor for around 700$ in few months. Then it will be a good deal. Right now its not comparable to studio display given its inferior overall quality.

The funny part is that i think Samsung is the one making the display for Apple 😂😂😂

This thing makes the Studio Display look like a great value honestly. I have loved my Studio Display. Great review Jerry.

Great comparison! Thanks for sharing!

In other words, Samsung is Samsung but now with Apple price without Apple quality!

The Apple height-adjustable stand option is $500 dollars more, while that feature is already included in the Samsung monitor. So, it is not true Samsung is selling it for the same price. Same for the matt option, you pay about $400 more to get it in the Apple display, but it is already included in the Samsung. Go and compare yourself.

Huge disappointment. I was hoping for a $999 option to the Studio.

Samsung... who are you fooling????

Wow.. totally disappointed with the ViewFinity s9. Was excited when it was announced thinking it would be in the 799-899 range. But 1599 ? WTF Samsung.. is not even close to the studio display in construction quality, color accuracy, speakers, etc.

this reminds me of the newspaper subscription story. You could get web only for $79, paper and web for $149, or paper only for $149
Having the 'paper only' option priced the same as paper and web seems silly, but it makes you think "Paper and web is a great deal, Im getting web access for free!"
That's what I'm getting with these monitors, the studio display has more features that come out on top; I can see this driving more people to it!

I recently bought the Studio Display and it's a work of art. It's truly beautiful and the best-looking monitor I've ever seen. And of course the compatibility with the Macbook is astonishing. The downsides, no HDR and the camera. For those reasons I think it's an overpriced monitor. The height adjustment is also overpriced but I don't mind using a monitor desk shelf on top of my desk. I actually like it. Image is amazing, speakers are VERY impressive. On my main PC I have studio monitors and studio headsets. The studio display does not come close to those, obviously. But it's so good if you don't want to be to meticulous about analyzing the sound, that I don't feel the need to get extra speakers at all when I'm using the display.

I'd suggest you review the Dell U32224KB 6K. It's a whole different deal. Not for everyone. But pretty awesome if one is willing to fiddle a little.

Got the Studio Display almost 3 months ago. Didn't wait for this as I prefer the sharpness of the glossy screens. Don't regret it one bit.