Samsung focuses on display realism for gaming monitors in mid-year update
The company leans on its "world's first" reputation to bring new features to the latest round of gaming monitors.
Samsung has several options for gamers in its 2026 mid-year update. The brand has a unique focus on innovation in its new products, while many refreshes have their own interesting spins.
The theme for the season appears to be realism, with the launch of the G80HS model featuring a 6K display and HDR10+ Gaming, while the G80SH model features glare-free technology and Pantone validation.
All of the gaming monitors in the lineup have their highlight aspects, and I got a chance to go to the Samsung campus in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, ahead of their launch to check them out in person. Read on to check out my thoughts.
32-inch Odyssey G8 (G80HS)
The 32-inch Odyssey G8 is launching as the world’s first 6K gaming monitor. Following Samsung’s 2025 3D monitor, the brand said the feature on this model will be the lead innovation in its lineup.
At a 6K resolution, the IPS display has a pixel density of 224 ppi and a 178-degree wide viewing angle. It also features a dual mode, allowing you to switch between a 6K resolution at 165Hz and 3K at 330Hz via a one-button hotkey at the underside of the monitor.
The 32-inch Odyssey G8 features several gaming support technologies, including HDR10+ Gaming, which intends to display games as the creators envision, down to the detail. Samsung said there are approximately 20 HDR10+ games available on the market currently, and eight more coming this year. The feature is exclusive to Samsung monitors and can especially take advantage of displays above a 4K resolution.
Observing the feature on the Cyberpunk 2077 demo running on the 32-inch Odyssey G8, there were many nuanced scenes in the city street area. I could see the cleft of a woman’s butt cheeks as she walked by in short shorts. It is safe to say the display is extremely detailed.
The monitor also features NVIDIA G-Sync compatibility and AMD FreeSync Premium. For I/O, it includes DisplayPort 2.1, HDMI 2.1, and a USB Hub. It has a height-adjust ergonomic stand that can swivel, tilt, and pivot.
The 32-inch Odyssey G8 also sells with a 1-year warranty.
27-inch Odyssey G8 (G80HF)
The 27-inch Odyssey G8 is launching as an alternative option to the 6K monitor. It is a 5K resolution gaming monitor with slightly lower configurations in some regards, but more or less the same specs. This model features a 218 ppi pixel density and a 178-degree wide viewing angle. It also features a dual mode, allowing you to switch between a 5K resolution at 180 Hz and QHD resolution at 360 Hz. Other than that, it has identical features to the 32-inch Odyssey G8 (G80HS), including the HDR10+ Gaming, NVIDIA G-Sync compatibility, and AMD FreeSync Premium, I/O ports, ergonomic stand, and warranty.
32-inch Odyssey G8 (G80SH)
The 32-inch Odyssey G8 is a refresh of the previous year’s G81SF model with Samsung’s glare-free technology as its highlight feature. This eliminates reflections from showing up on the display due to bright areas, windows, or overhead lights, Samsung said. The monitor features a QD-OLED 4K display with a 140ppi pixel density, 240Hz refresh rate, 0.03 ms response time, and VESA Display HDR True Black 500.
Other notable technologies include OLED SafeGuard+, which helps prevent burn-in on the display, and Pantone validation, which verifies the color accuracy on the screen.
The monitor features a slim metal design, with a height-adjustable ergonomic stand that can swivel, tilt, and pivot.
Its I/O ports include DisplayPort 2.12 and USB-C with 98W power delivery. It supports gaming technologies, including NVIDIA G-Sync compatibility and AMD FreeSync Premium.
The 32-inch Odyssey G8 is expected to be $200 less compared to the prior model and will sell with a 3-year warranty.
32-inch Odyssey G7 (G73SH)
The 32-inch Odyssey G7 is an entry-level version to the more premium G80SH model. One of the biggest differences between the models is that the 32-inch Odyssey G7 features a glossy OLED screen, a first for Samsung. The brand said it was asking reviewers their preferences between this glossy OLED screen and the glare-free OLED screen on the 32-inch Odyssey G8 (G80SH), and I found an aesthetic preference for the glossy screen. Along with the all-black frame, I think it just looks cool.
The monitor features a 4K OLED display with dual mode, which can be set to 4K at 165Hz or Full HD 330Hz, 0.03 ms response time, and VESA Display HDR True Black 400.
It also supports OLED Safeguard, Pantone validation, HDR10+ Gaming, and NVIDIA G-Sync compatibility and AMD FreeSync Premium. It has a height-adjust ergonomic stand that can swivel, tilt, and pivot.
The 32-inch Odyssey G7 also sells with a 1-year warranty.