Samsung TVs And 2021 Curved Odyssey Monitor Get Big Gaming Upgrades
Samsung made a number of announcements during its Unbox & Discover event today, and a few of those announcements were related to gaming. Specifically, Samsung says that it will update some of its TVs to offer gaming features that are traditionally only available in PC monitors. Speaking of PC monitors, Samsung has also updated its curved Odyssey G9 gaming monitor for 2021.
Kicking things off, Samsung announced that it has once again renewed a multi-year partnership with Microsoft, making it the "Official TV Partner" of the Xbox Series X. While that mostly means that the two will feature in a lot of cross-promotion together, Samsung does say that it outfit its Neo QLED and QLED TVs with features that benefit Xbox Series X users, namely 4K resolution, support for up to 120 frames per second gameplay, and response times that go as low as 5.8ms – not as great as some PC monitors out there, but still fairly low by TV standards.
The company also announced that it's partnering with AMD to bring Freesync Premium Pro to its TVs. Freesync Premium Pro helps alleviate screen tearing as regular Freesync does, though it also ensures a minimum of 120Hz refresh rate for FHD displays. In addition, Freesync Premium Pro supports low framerate compensation, low latency in SDR and HDR, and boasts HDR support with "meticulous color and luminance certification."
In other words, Freesync Premium Pro is a step up from both standard Freesync and Freesync Premium. Samsung says that a number of its 2021 TVs will support Freesync Premium Pro, including the Q70A 4K (pictured above) and up and The Frame, so perhaps consider one of those if you're looking for a TV that can double as a PC gaming display.
Finally, Samsung has updated the Odyssey G9 for 2021, though this isn't really a holistic refresh. It seems that most things about the Odyssey G9 are staying the same, particularly the 1000R curve, though we'll also be getting Quantum MiniLED display tech and "premium gaming features" that weren't revealed today. With support for Quantum MiniLED, we can probably expect the already hefty cost of the Odyssey G9 to rise even higher, so get ready to bust out some cash for this refreshed model. We'll let you know when Samsung reveals additional details about these displays, so stay tuned for more.