It looks like Samsung’s next generation of Odyssey gaming monitors will feature mini-LED backlights. The updated version of Odyssey 9 could arrive around June this year, if Samsung announces the screen at roughly the same time it did last year.
The rumor comes from leaks site LetsGoDigital, which has spotted a number of trademark applications from Samsung in both the EU and Korea. The European and Korean applications were both made on March 23rd and cover the use of the name Odyssey Neo. Anyone watching Samsung’s TV range will be aware that the name Neo is given to the company’s mini-LED TV range.
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This suggests that an all-new gaming range with quantum dots and mini-LED could arrive this year. That would be a major boost for monitor tech, giving both the color advantages of QLED with the deep black and reduced halo effect of a mini-LED backlight. These arrays of tiny light-emitting diodes vastly improve on edge illumination and even full array LED backlights because of their reduced size.
Mini-LED screens use light emitting diodes that are 0.2mm across and that means you could fit 1,000 or more of them behind a screen. This gives more control over where light is produced, which means you won’t see blooming or halo effects around a bright object on a black background.
The downside is that these monitors are likely to be even more costly than this year’s screens. Samsung’s 49-inch G9 was already very premium, with a retail price of around $2,000. It’s highly unlikely that a mini-LED screen would be cheaper. So brace yourself for what might be an enormously expensive new screen.
Smaller models may offer a more affordable option, but this feels like it could be first generation tech and well worth waiting for scaling efficiencies to drive the price down. Once Samsung TVs and monitors using mini-LED become more popular it’s likely the price will plummet.
