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Samsung has announced the next evolution of its Odyssey gaming monitor lineup by adding glasses-free 3D technology. The Samsung ‘Odyssey 3D’ as it’s so aptly named, does just what it says by adding a layer of 3D flair to jazz up your gaming visuals and bring them to life a little more. Samsung announced the monitor this week at Gamescom. While monitors like the Odyssey G9 and Odyssey Ark enhance immersion with their ultrawide and large-screen panels, the Odyssey 3D was designed to make scenes jump out you, as 3D is meant to do.
Have you ever been to a 3D movie at the theater? If you have, then you probably remember what it was like having intense action scenes play as things come flying in your direction. It’s a surreal experience unlike any other. And Samsung wants to bring that feeling to gaming. Now, Samsung isn’t the first company to introduce a glasses-free 3D gaming monitor. Or a glasses-free 3D monitor in general. Acer announced a glasses-free 3D gaming monitor all the way back in 2022.
Then at CES this year, it announced further expansion into this segment by adding that technology to its mainline Predator gaming monitors. Aside from Acer though, not many companies have dabbled in glasses-free 3D for gaming. And if anyone were going to join Acer in this endeavor, it might as well be Samsung, considering the sheer popularity of its Odyssey gaming monitor line. Technically, Samsung had this technology at CES as well. At the time, however, it was only a concept. Now, Samsung has turned it into a full-fledged monitor it will sell.
The Samsung Odyssey 3D uses special LFD tech and eye-tracking
Glasses-free 3D is hardly new, but that doesn’t change the fact that it’s not something you see every day in displays. So you might wonder how it all works. Samsung’s Odyssey 3D monitor uses a special Light Field Display technology combined with eye-tracking and view mapping to make images pop off the screen and come to life. Sans 3D glasses. Users don’t have to stick with 3D either. The monitor can “seamlessly switch between 2D and 3D modes,” Samsung says.
And that’s likely to be a huge boon because you probably don’t want to be staring at 3D content all the time. The Odyssey 3D also has 4K resolution alongside a 165Hz refresh rate. In addition to one DisplayPort 1.4 and two HDMI 2.1 ports. Those will make the monitor ready for gaming on both beefy gaming PCs and the latest consoles like the Xbox Series X and PS5. The Odyssey 3D will also be offered in 27-inch and 37-inch sizes.
Samsung doesn’t mention a price or a release date. Furthermore, it has said nothing about regional availability either. However, if you’re at Gamescom you can check the monitor out at Samsung’s booth. It’s even pairing the Odyssey 3D up with a game called inZOI, a life sim game from KRAFTON that features “realistic graphics.”
Current Odyssey gaming monitors have been refreshed for 2024
You might not be able to get the Odyssey 3D anytime soon, but Samsung has other options available. Its crop of current monitors are getting refreshed models for 2024, all of which were also announced during Gamescom. This includes new models of the Odyssey OLED G9, specifically the G95SD and the G93SD. There’s also a new model of the Odyssey OLED G8, the G85SD.
While quite a few things on these new models are the same as the old ones, Samsung has made several adjustments. For example, the Odyssey OLED G8 (G85SD) is now an Ultrawide monitor with a 34-inch curved display. The G80SD is a flat panel with a 32-inch display. Resolution and aspect ratios are different too. The G85SD features a resolution of 3440 x 1440 while the older G80SD has a resolution of 3840 x 2160 since it’s 4K. Naturally, the G85SD’s ultrawide design also means it now has a 21:9 aspect ratio instead of the 16:9 aspect ratio on the G80SD.
That being said, Samsung is still going to sell both models. This way consumers will have the choice to go with something flat or something curved if they want that extra immersion factor. With all of these refreshed models, Samsung is aiming to deliver the perfect gaming monitor for every preference.
