Samsung's first QD-OLED monitor arrives many months after Dell's Alienware monitor and is more expensive than expected. On the other hand you get built-in game streaming apps.

First unveiled at IFA in September 2022, the 34-inch curved G8 (G85SB) is Samsung's first monitor based on the novel QD-OLED display technology. It will be joined by a larger 49-inch G9 version "later this year". Both are designed for gaming with 175Hz and 240Hz refresh rate, respectively.

Some may have expected Samsung to undercut the competition but that will not be the case. The company has announced that the 34-inch G8 is officially available now in the US for $1500, which is $300 more than Dell's Alienware QD-OLED monitor that is selling for around $1200.

It features 3440x1440 resolution (21:9), 0.03ms response time, AMD FreeSync, DisplayPort, HDMI 2.0 and USB-C charging up to 65 watts.



PC gaming in HDR
Because QD-OLED has millions of self-emissive pixels rather than an LED backlight as in conventional LCD monitors (including miniLED models), it can finally deliver PC games in HDR picture quality with deep blacks and high brightness at the same time for a very high contrast ratio – with no compromises to speed.

An extra bonus in Samsung's monitors versus QD-OLED monitors from Dell, MSI and other brands is that Samsung's Smart TV platform, Tizen, is built in including the Gaming Hub with game streaming apps such as Xbox and Nvidia GeForce Now. With these apps you can stream games from the cloud just by connecting a game controller to the monitor – no gaming PC required.

Be aware that the first and second generations of QD-OLED monitors are not optimal for desktop use and professional tasks such as photo editing due to a special triangular pixel structure. That's why they are positioned as gaming monitors.

The 34-inch Samsung G8 is available now in North America for $1500. It was already available in the UK for £1300 and Europe for around €1400.