Samsung S27A800UJU review: a good 27-inch Ultra HD monitor with a 60 W USB-C port

The Samsung S27A800UJU has a 27-inch (69 cm) IPS panel displaying an Ultra HD definition of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels at 60 Hz. This monitor offers a response time of 5 ms, a maximum brightness of 300 cd/m², a contrast of 1000:1, and viewing angles of 178°. The ergonomics are excellent, with many settings, fairly extensive connectivity and, above all, a USB-C port delivering 60 W.

Billed for less than €470, the Samsung S27A800UJU has few direct competitors. With its Quad HD panel, flawless ergonomics, USB-C port, all sold for around €500, the Iiyama ProLite XUB2792QSN is however a good alternative.

All Samsung monitors benefit from a neat finish and a worked design. The charcoal gray plastic exudes quality.

The ridged black plastic on the back of the monitor gives a premium side to the device. The set is perfectly finished and remains very sober. The connectors are oriented downwards, with the exception of the three USB ports and the headphone output. At the rear of the foot, a rubber strap is used to bundle the cables.

The foot is adjustable in height over 12 cm and in inclination from -2° to +25°. It also offers ±30° rotation and portrait mode.

The connection consists of an HDMI input, a DisplayPort 1.2 and a USB-C port delivering 60 W. The USB-C port is advertised as being able to supply 90 W, yet charging is limited to 60 W. This monitor also benefits from a headphone output and three USB 3.0 ports.

You navigate through the OSD (On-Screen Display) menus using five buttons placed at the base of the screen. Not very practical, they are less pleasant to use than the joystick present on other models of the manufacturer (Samsung Odyssey G7 27 inch). Fortunately, the menus are quite clear.

With its 27-inch panel, the Samsung S27A800UJU is comfortable on our standard 140 x 60 cm desk. The stand, only 19.6 cm deep, leaves plenty of space for the keyboard. The latest versions of the Windows and macOS operating systems correctly manage the Ultra HD definition and allow upscaling to 150 or even 200% (Full HD equivalent). Text elements are large enough to be readable and the image is crisp. On the other hand, the native definition of 3,840 x 2,160 pixels on a 27-inch panel, or 163 pixels per inch (ppi), is almost unusable without scaling. Note that photo editing software like Photoshop handles this scaling perfectly in the interface, but displays the images using the panel’s native definition; photo editing enthusiasts benefit from a very high level of detail.

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By default, the rendering is not exceptional. The gray levels represented by the gamma are stable, but the average measured at 2.4 is a bit far from the reference value (2.2), which results in very slightly clogged grays. The color temperature, meanwhile, is perfect with a stable curve over the entire spectrum and an average of 6,570 K very close to the reference 6,500 K. With an average delta E of 3.3, the colors cannot be considered faithful to those sent by the source. For more accuracy (average delta of 2.6), you have to switch to RGB mode and lower the brightness to 38. The temperature remains excellent, while the gamma remains too high at 2.4. The passage to the calibration probe makes it possible to find a gamma of 2.2 in accordance with the video standard and, above all, to obtain colors close to perfection. You can download the color profile by following this link.

The native contrast of 1170:1 is somewhat behind that measured on theAsus TUF Gaming VG27AQ and the Iiyama ProLite XUB2792QSN, greater than 1200:1. It is average for an IPS panel, without being bad. In any case, this remains far from the contrast raised on the best VA monitors on the market, such as the Philips Momentum 436M6 where the MSI Optix MAG271CR, which benefit from a ratio greater than 4000:1. The darkest scenes and flat black areas appear greyish, especially in a dark room. However, this is not a problem when used in broad daylight.

The average difference in white homogeneity is 9% on this 27-inch panel. There is no variation in brightness perceptible to the eye. We didn’t notice any light leaks around the corners, or clouding (cloud effect) on our test model. IPS technology also offers very good viewing angles, and there is very little variation in brightness or colorimetry when moving away from the viewing axis.

The Samsung S27A800UJU does not use Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) to adjust brightness; it is therefore devoid of flicker and does not cause headaches for those who are sensitive to this phenomenon. It also offers a blue light filter via the OSD.

Note, however, that it does not support FreeSync or G-Sync.

We measured the afterglow time at 13 ms with the overdrive set to “fast”. This value limits the ghosting (ghosting effect) while avoiding the reverse ghosting present with the “accelerated” setting. This is a very average afterglow time for an IPS monitor. In comparison, theAsus TUF VG27AQ with its Quad HD 144 Hz panel is content with 8 ms. We find even more reactive on the side of the VA models for gamers Samsung Odyssey G7 27 and 49G9, with a value of 4.5 ms. In practice, this afterglow time of 13 ms results in a blurring effect behind moving objects, an effect that the overdriver fails to fully compensate for. Finally, we measured the display delay (input lag) at 9.9 ms (at 60 Hz). There is therefore no lag between the action with the mouse and its repercussion on the screen.

A docking station for USB-C compatible laptops

Thanks to its USB-C port delivering 60 W, the Samsung S27A800UJU monitor can act as a docking station. We tested this feature with a 16-inch MacBook Pro, a 13-inch MacBook Pro, and a 2016 HP Specter x360. The USB-C to USB-C cable that came with the device provides the ability to charge the laptop, use the three USB 3.0 ports present and send the video signal to the screen. The monitor is capable of displaying a clone of the computer screen or an extension of the desktop. We connected a Logitech Unifying wireless receiver to use a wireless keyboard and plugged in the receiver of our Roccat mouse. Everything works surprisingly well without requiring the installation of a driver.

Be careful however, the screen can only provide 60 W to a laptop, unlike the 90 W announced on the technical sheet. If this is more than enough for the computers we tested, it is still a bit tight for a 16-inch MacBook Pro whose original power supply delivers 87 W. Recharging the battery will therefore be slower and, above all, this the latter will be requested in addition to powering the screen when the computer is fully loaded. In summary, it works, but it is not optimal.

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