Samsung Odyssey Ark price: $500 discount on this gaming monitor

The new Samsung Odyssey Ark started at $3,500, but the 55-inch curved gaming monitor is now $2,999.

The Samsung Odyssey Ark price is $2,999 today, though this 55-inch curved gaming monitor used to cost $3,500 MSRP when it first launched last September. That’s a $500 discount compared to what its price was when we first ran our Samsung Odyssey Ark video review. To be fair, the price has been lower during Samsung Discover week sales events, dropping to as low as $1,999. Why? Probably because Odyssey Ark isn’t selling, and that means you’ll save a bunch of money at any price.

➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: Samsung Odyssey Ark

• 📺 What? Samsung’s ultimate gaming monitor and sequel to the popular G9

• 💰 Price? $3,499, but now it’s $2,999 or $500 off at the Samsung Store

• 😅 Wait, how much? Yes, still $2,999, but with leading specs & performance

• 📆 First release: September 2022

• 🎮 Who’s it for? Gamers who want a bigger & better Odyssey G9

• 📐 Size: 55” with a 1000R curvature and multi-window support

• ⚙️ Full Samsung Odyssey Ark specs below: 165Hz fresh rate, 1ms response time, Mini LED, HDR, VRR, AMD Freesync Premium Pro, cockpit mode

Samsung Odyssey Ark price today

The Samsung Odyssey Ark price has gotten more reasonable in 2023, but you’re still going to have to splurge on this high-end display if you want the sequel to the best gaming monitor from Samsung, the Odyssey Neo G9. The Odyssey Ark has some “world’s first” specs and a unique “cockpit mode” that turns the monitor 90 degrees. We’ve tested the Samsung Odyssey Ark and it’s cool, albeit expensive.

On sale now, the Odyssey Ark price is $2,999, as Samsung has knocked $500 off of its original price (affiliate link). The list price changed to $2,999.99 (it’s not even listed at a discount anymore), so clearly, Samsung came in too high at $3,500 when the Odyssey Ark first launched.

That helps… a bit.

It’s the world’s first 55-inch 4K curved gaming monitor with a 165Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time, so the target audience is gamers who have seen the popular 49-inch Samsung Odyssey G9 and asked “what’s bigger and better than this?” Of course, now that the new Samsung Odyssey Neo G9 2023 was announced at CES, it may have some competition when it launches.

I got to test the Odyssey Ark monitor twice – the latest demo time with it was final hardware – just ahead of its early September 2022 release date. Take this as a mini Samsung Odyssey Ark review on The Shortcut. Let’s start our deep dive into the monitor with the full specs and what I thought of this supremely cool gaming monitor.

Samsung Odyssey Ark specs

• 📺 Screen size: 55 inches

• 🖥️ Resolution: 4K UHD, 3,840 x 2,160

• ⏩ Refresh rate: 165Hz (maximum)

• ↩️ Curved: Yes, 1000R curvature

• 🙃 Rotates: Yes, 90 degrees to ‘cockpit mode’

• 🔌 Ports: 4x HDMI 2.1 through the One Connect Box

• 💡 Brightness: 1,000 nits (peak), 600 nits (typical), 420 nits (minimum)

• 🌗Contrast ratio: 1,000,000:1

• ✂️ Anti-screen-tearing tech: AMD FreeSync Premium Pro

• ⚙️ Screen specs: HDR 10+, VRR

• 👀 Viewing angle: 178°

• 🕶️ Local dimming zones: 1,056 zones (Mini LED)

• 🔈 Sound system: 4 speakers, 2 woofers, Dolby Atmos

• 📏 Dimensions: 46.3 x 27.7 x 9.9 in

• ⚖️ Weight: 46.5 lbs

You’re getting a lot of performance for that $2,999 price tag – nowhere else will you find a 165Hz refresh rate and 1ms response time on a 55-inch 4K gaming monitor in this class. It’s here to satisfy gamers who want something more than the 49-inch Odyssey G9 monitor, which has the same 1000R curvature. That monitor cost $2,299 at launch, and this new version outshines it in some key areas.

Samsung Odyssey Ark really flexes

The Samsung Odyssey Ark is designed with gaming in mind, sure, but during my demo, at the same time I was burning through a buttery smooth Doom Eternal at 165Hz, I got to browse The Shortcut through a split-screen mode called Multi View. So I feel as if it’s meant for gamers who want to multi-task (the same audience that might be fans of Samsung’s new phone – see my Samsung Galaxy Fold 4 review; final review and score coming this week).

In fact, I was able to have four different windows on this 55-inch screen when in landscape mode and three while in “cockpit mode.” Turning the Odyssey Ark by 90 degrees was simple to pull off (I feared it would be hard because it’s such a big gaming monitor).

For me, cockpit mode offered a new perspective on gaming and multi-tasking while gaming. It also made me want to dual monitor the Odyssey Ark, but at its $3,499 launch price, it was a tough sell for one of these things, never mind two of them. Even at the new price of $2,999, it’s pricey to splurge for two of these monitors.

Want more flexing? The Samsung Odyssey Ark specs include everything you can think of: a 1,000,000 static contrast ratio, HDR, VRR, and AMD Freesync Premium Pro, which is designed to eliminate choppiness, screen lag and image tears. It also has a matte display, so you shouldn’t have a problem with glare or reflections like some less-than-stellar monitors out there.

Odyssey Ark comes with the ‘Ark Dial’

Navigating all of the various monitor settings is done via the Ark Dial controller, a pad with a control wheel, navigation arrows and a return button plus another four buttons above the dial. It took some time to get used to how it operated (I can confirm that flying an airplane in Microsoft Flight Simulator with an Xbox controller while cycling through Air Dial menu is a bad idea. My virtual pilot agrees… well, agreed 😬).

The Ark Dial offered a unique way to access Samsung’s Game Bar and other monitor settings. On the fly, I could flex the game screen from a maximum of 55 inches, down to 27 inches and move its position all around the monitor. I could also cycle through three different aspect ratios: 16:9, 21:9 and 32:9.

There’s even a cool Active Ambient Mode that fills the void of a sub-55-inch window with a color palette that matched my video source. It’s a small touch, but says “don’t worry, we thought of everything to try to justify that $1,999 price.”

Well, maybe not everything. The Ark Dial, as cool as it is, doesn’t work with other programs like Photoshop. I would have loved to see it pull double duty. The wheel and button-filled pad are tied to the monitor via the One Connect Box (where the four HDMI 2.1 ports are also located). You’ll still need something like the Surface Dial or one of its many clones on your desk to interact with your creative programs.

Samsung Odyssey Ark sound

Samsung’s “Sound Dome Technology” was the final thing that impressed me during my demo time with the Odyssey Ark. There are four speakers and two woofers hidden beneath this 55-inch mini-LED gaming monitor. It’s a 60W sound system in a 2.2.2 configuration with a trio of standards and software: Dolby Atmos, AI Sound Booster and Quad Object Tracking Sound.

It was plenty loud, but the coolest thing here was that I could play audio from two different sources with a split audio feature – it automatically balanced out the volume because you can’t have both video sources with volume at 100 (as much as you may want to defy the math). Sound Dome is the correct description for the Ark’s audio, which basically wraps your head around in curved multimedia nirvana. I dug it.

For gamers who want more, more, more

Do you need the Odyssey Ark? That really depends on your gaming budget. Samsung designed this curved monitor to be the ultimate experience at 55 inches. It’s not for everyone at this price – even those with cash to spare.

My time with the Samsung Odyssey Ark taught me that it was built to outshine the successful G9 monitor series, and it does some things better. Other aspects, like the sometimes complicated nature of cycling through the various split screens, show that this gaming monitor is indeed a first-gen product.

But, if you’re the Oliver Twist of gamers who saw the 49-inch Samsung Odyssey G9 and said “Please, sir, may I have some more?” then the 55-inch Odyssey Ark is the answer to “What’s next? What’s better than this?” It’s shaping up to be one of the best gaming monitors – if your gaming desires are as big as your budget.

Updated: March 27, 2023