Review: Samsung UJ59 4K monitor – a surprising win at a budget price!

Most of us could use an extra monitor. Whether it’s for gaming, work from home, or video or photography work, having some additional real estate for all your tabs, documents, and windows helps you stay organized and productive while you’re at your desk. I’ve been on a hunt for the perfect external monitor to use alongside my Apple MacBook Pro. I’ve tried quite a few monitors and the latest to land in my office is the Samsung U32J590 monitor, also known as the UJ59-Series 32-Inch 4K UHD Monitor. This ultra high definition 4K monitor seems to have a lot of the features I’m looking for, including a flicker-free display with a 60Hz refresh rate, 270-nit peak brightness, high contrast, low 10ms input lag, and 10-bit color support. One of the biggest factors that drew me to this option is the relatively modest price of about $300 considering this is an ultra high definition or 4K monitor, and many options at this resolution cost upwards of $500-$1000. This version is priced at $300 if you pick the standard flat panel (and $350 for a curved panel, though find out why I don’t recommend a curved monitor for work from home here**). In this review I’ll show you the special features of this monitor, talk about how I like working with photos, videos, documents and web work and I’ll let you know if I think I can recommend it to you.

Set up

Getting this monitor set up and ready to use takes really only a few minutes. You’ll assemble the two piece Y-shaped stand and then mount the display panel. A quick connection to AC power and linking up via HDMI connection to my laptop and I was ready to work.

Design and build: stand adjustment is limited

Right away I noticed that the stand is incredibly wide and deep. This is kind of mandatory given the wide screen size of this monitor and I certainly don’t want it tipping over. But the stand does take up a large foot print on my desk and because the monitor doesn’t have any type of height adjustment, in order to get it to sit above my laptop I had to put it on a riser… In this case all I could find in the house was a cardboard box that was big enough to support it, so my hacked together set up is a bit ugly but it works. I would actually prefer to get this up on a monitor arm using the VESA mount in the back and may get to that eventually. But just so you’re aware of the limitations of this monitor when using the included stand.

The Samsung UJ59 monitor has a wider than average bezel for a 4K monitor, but at this screen size it doesn’t distract too much from the image.

Generally speaking, it’s a visually appealing and functional choice for any workspace. It has a -2° to 15° degrees tilt adjustment, and that’s all;  there is no swivel, or rotate functionality, and as I said, zero height adjustment.

Who is this monitor for?

While 1080 HD monitors are generally good enough for things like schoolwork or occasional at home use, a 4K monitor is the ideal option in my opinion for those who work from home. Particularly if you do any kind of visual work or document editing, the sharpness that comes with a 4K resolution monitor can’t be beat.

Display & screen

Let’s dig deeper on the important bit here; the screen.

The Samsung UJ59 monitor features a 32-inch 4K Ultra HD display with a 3840×2160 resolution, with a 270cd/m2 WLED backlight. The 32-inch screen has a high pixel density that ensures images remain sharp and clear, with no degradation of edges or details, making it ideal for tasks that require fine details, such as graphic design, video editing, or even just surfing the web. The monitor supports a billion hues, a 10-bit color interface, and a 3000:1 contrast ratio, producing a wide range of colors and deep, dark blacks. The display provides accurate and true-to-life colors, making it an excellent choice for professional and personal use.

From straight-on, the text on the Samsung UJ59 32-inch 4K monitor appears sharp and clear, and the larger screen size extends the ability to have multiple applications or documents open and displayed simultaneously, eliminating the need for constant tabbing between them. Viewing angles are decent and sitting off to the side is still good though the quality does diminish the further off to the edge you get.

I found the monitor was quite bright, even though I often work right next to a window. The brightness is adjustable using the small control panel button on the back.

I will also give points to Samsung here for a relatively easy to navigate settings menu which makes it easy enough to access and make adjustment.

Using the monitor for editing, videos, and photos was a dream. Everything was crisp and easy to see, and the colours seemed true to life.

Features

• AMD FreeSync: This helps eliminate screen tearing and stuttering during gaming sessions, by synchronizing the refresh rate of the display with the graphics card. It can seamlessly work with an AMD graphics card that also supports FreeSync, providing an even smoother and more responsive gaming experience compared to a traditional monitor without FreeSync.
• VESA Compatibility: It has VESA compatibility with a 100 x 100 pattern, which is a standard size for monitors and can be mounted to a VESA-compliant wall mount or arm. This allows for easy and convenient mounting options for users who want to save desk space or have a more ergonomic setup.
• Flicker-Free: Samsung’s Flicker-Free technology exactly does what it says, it reduces screen flickering to a minimum and makes for a comfortable viewing experience, especially during extended usage sessions. This works by maintaining a consistent backlight level, which eliminates the fluctuation of brightness that can cause eye strain and headaches. As a result, you can enjoy a cozy, smooth and stable display.

Overall thoughts: Samsung U32-J590 monitor

This versatile, large display offers quite a remarkable extension to your workspace at an affordable price, making it a great choice for most users on the hunt for a 4K display. Though it’s marketed as an economical all-purpose / mixed-use monitor, it still exudes a sense of quality. The screen delivers decent imaging quality straight out of the box, but with a few tweaks, it can rival the performance of higher-tiered models.

Those are the pros… what about the cons? The biggest part of this monitor that I’m not a fan of is that the stand is not height adjustable. While perhaps this might not be an issue for a lot of users, if you’re planning on using it with a laptop in a stacked configuration you’ll need to know that. But that’s a pretty minor downside that can easily be remedied with a monitor arm or stand.

At just $300 for the flat panel and $350 for the curved panel, this monitor is undoubtedly a steal for budget-conscious consumers and makes it easy to overlook any minor flaws.  For that reason I can definitely recommend the Samsung U32-J590 4K monitor to you.

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