Samsung’s Odyssey Ark had a stealthy beingness astatine CES 2022, but the curved 55-inch gaming monitor-meets-TV is astir acceptable to launch. It’s coming retired successful mid-September for $3,499.99, with reservations for preorders starting today. I got to trial retired a prototype of the Odyssey Ark with a batch of PC games. Surprise: gaming with my look 3 feet distant from a 55-inch 4K show with 165Hz refresh complaint is awesome. But I was arsenic impressed with the bounty of features that the Ark tin deliver.

The Ark represents Samsung’s astir assertive play astatine distinguishing itself arsenic a shaper of gaming displays. The 55-inch 1000R curvature is, of course, 1 mode to spell astir sticking out. It tin easy beryllium rotated for usage successful representation mode with up to 3 video sources. The different large mode is with immoderate astute TV functionality, namely the Samsung Gaming Hub that allows for unreality streaming via Xbox Game Pass, Google Stadia, and Amazon Luna. Like the Samsung M8 Smart Monitor that I reviewed, it runs connected Samsung’s Tizen OS — successful lawsuit you privation to usage immoderate streaming apps similar YouTube oregon Apple TV Plus.

Given its precocious cost, there’s a bully accidental that you’ll privation to bash much than conscionable crippled connected the Ark. This surface is large capable to accommodate aggregate usage cases astatine erstwhile with ease. Building upon the modular picture-in-picture (PIP) mode offered by galore TVs and immoderate monitors, the Ark includes robust surface manipulation settings that fto you spell from basal (stack 4 windows, 2 by two) to much niche (set 1 input to beryllium 32:9, with 1 accepted 16:9 input supra it). The possibilities, portion not endlessly configurable, look ripe for immoderate absorbing usage cases if you’re the benignant who likes to tweak settings. And that’s earlier you crook the Ark sideways into cockpit mode.

Doing truthful requires you to tilt the show upward, rise it to the highest mounting that its big, minimalist, height-adjustable basal volition allow, past crook it 90 degrees counterclockwise. I was disquieted that it’d beryllium a two-person job, but I was capable to bash it myself without overmuch trouble. What’s chill is that rotating the surface volition auto-rotate your source’s picture, too. With the Ark oriented similar this, you tin presumption up to 3 screens stacked vertically oregon agelong 1 from apical to bottommost if your crippled supports it. In cockpit mode, it benignant of looks similar the Ark is simply a question that’s astir to clang connected apical of you. Samsung’s Owen Sexton told maine during the demo that the Ark is besides wall-mountable and volition see a VESA mount.

The Ark’s equine allows it to beryllium rotated 90 degrees into a “cockpit mode.”

Despite Samsung’s promotion of the Ark heavy favoring showing it successful the cockpit mode, I preferred gaming successful scenery mode with a azygous root taking up the full screen. Using multiview mode is great, though whether successful representation oregon scenery mode, the curvature of the surface tin marque each portion of the surface instrumentality connected a flimsy keystone effect, wherever immoderate corners look skewed. That whitethorn interruption the immersion for gaming, but it should beryllium good for different tasks. If I were utilizing the Ark for work, I’d apt similar utilizing it successful cockpit mode. Similar to the thought down the 16:18 facet ratio LG DualUp, it’s easier to rapidly spot aggregate windows by conscionable moving my caput up and down alternatively of broadside to broadside similar I person to with aggregate monitors oregon an ultrawide.

Samsung includes 2 remotes with the Ark, 1 being a emblematic distant to grip the basal functions and different much progressive enactment called the Ark dial. It’s a standalone bid halfway that puts the Ark’s main functions (power, volume, input select, and crippled bar) connected large buttons. There’s a rotatable dial and a directional pad wrong it to much rapidly set settings. There’s adjacent a star sheet to recharge it, truthful you don’t request to ever plug it in.

I should enactment that neither distant seemed to marque it elegant to navigate the monitor’s myriad menus and settings. There’s a definite learning curve to uncovering the settings you’re looking for, and a ample portion of my demo was conscionable trying — and sometimes failing — to spell wherever I wanted to.

The Ark’s dial distant means you ne'er person to fiddle with a joystick connected the show itself to set settings.

The Ark, similar Samsung’s different high-end gaming monitors, is simply a melding of its champion TV sheet exertion with features that gamers with heavy pockets volition apt enjoy, similar HDR, VRR, and 4 HDMI 2.1 ports (though, curiously, nary DisplayPort). It has Samsung’s quantum Mini LED backlighting that it claims is susceptible of up to 1,500 nits astatine highest brightness, and the institution claims that it’s the archetypal 55-inch 4K sheet that supports 165Hz refresh rate.

This show has a 1000R curve, and it’s some weird and chill to spot the curve travel backmost for a sheet that looks truthful overmuch similar a TV. The curve’s scoop isn’t arsenic heavy arsenic the Odyssey Neo G9’s 1800R curvature (to each their own, but I deliberation the 1000R is the saccharine spot successful presumption of easy being capable to spot everything connected the surface without peripheral item falling by the wayside).

In my little clip with the Ark, playing games similar Doom Eternal and Forza Horizon 5 seemed similar precise bully showcases for however agleam and accelerated this show tin go. No complaints there. Its 16:9 facet ratio meant that the representation didn’t grounds ocular warping astir the edges as we saw connected Samsung’s 32:9 facet ratio Odyssey G9 and Neo G9. However, I wasn’t arsenic flabbergasted by the opposition successful Microsoft’s Flight Simulator arsenic I hoped to be. With the Ark’s curve and the QLED screen, I was expecting to beryllium much oregon little sucked successful with immersion. Though, the information that I didn’t consciousness that mode could beryllium owed to immoderate factors, similar the aggravated brightness of the room, the ocular mode of the Ark not being tuned decently for gaming, oregon possibly that the tuning successful this prototype portion isn’t rather finished.

The Ark provides an immersive gaming acquisition without the warping you sometimes spot connected ultrawide monitors.

All said, the Ark acquisition feels polished, but determination were immoderate different quirks successful this prototype. When a Samsung typical was walking maine done the representation resizing features, immoderate tutorial pop-ups wouldn’t disappear. The squad said this was a known prerelease issue. Also, a sliver of the apical bezel didn’t privation to stay seated, letting a smidge of backlight peek out. When I pressed down connected the bezel, the airy leakage went away, but it came backmost soon aft I released it. Perhaps it’s an contented with glue oregon different occupation altogether. Hopefully, that’s not contiguous successful shipping units.

The Ark seems similar a known quantity connected its face, but there’s thing astir it that feels unique. It packs awesome gaming show specs into a plan that is, by each accounts speech from the stand, an old-school curved TV. Given that it packs successful immoderate astute features, similar unreality crippled streaming and astute TV apps, the Ark could beryllium a large acceptable for idiosyncratic who wants to spell all-out — some successful presumption of size and its $3,499.99 cost. I’m astir much excited with the thought that it’s a motion that immoderate of these features could travel to cheaper Samsung gaming displays successful the adjacent future.

Photography by Cameron Faulkner / The Verge