Gadget Review: Get in the zone with Sony’s brand new M10S gaming monitor

It’s official. And you read it here first. Sony expanded its Inzone gaming monitor line-up by launching the new 27-inch Inzone M10S globally on Tuesday. But while gamers and PlayStation afficionados are still in exultation mode, we’ve already gone behind the scenes to procure one even before its global launch to become perhaps the first publication in the world to review the latest monitor from the house of Sony.

So, is it worth it? Should you part with your hard-earned cash to get this Dh4,699 monitor? Read on to find out.

Unboxing the pre-production test piece Inzone M10S from Sony, the first impression we got was one of a combination of sleekness yet sturdiness. Lifting the new M10S out of its box, it was instantly apparent that this new monitor from Sony was a tour de force of design and finishing.

Finished in a matte all-black, it is easily a stylish addition to any desk or gaming set up. The screen itself is wafer thin, with a thicker centre stack behind it where all the connecting ports are housed as well as the power connection. This is also where the single-stalk support stand joins up, clicking into place reassuringly and thus proving a good build quality.

Assembling the components and setting up the monitor was an absolute breeze and took barely a few minutes. In the process, we were reminded of the complications encountered in setting up some competing monitors that we have tested over the last few months, which required experts in jigsaw puzzles to figure out how to connect and join their various parts in order for the monitor to simply stand on our tabletop. Top marks to Sony here for keeping the set-up assembly so simple.

The single arm that supports the screen’s weight attaches to a small circular swivel base, which is beautifully sized to take up very little real estate on your table while still being an extremely sturdy resting foundation for the monitor on which it can turn a full 360-degrees. And best of all, the power cable does not have to be threaded through any metal tubes on the supporting arm, instead floating freely to enable you to connect it to the nearest plug point hassle free.

Coming to the screen itself, this 27-incher’s surface is sleek, silky and smooth, and the bezel all around it is wafer thin, making the screen seem borderless. This made it look bigger than its actual size when we switched it on and viewed content on it, giving us edge-to-edge visuals.

Sony’s Inzone monitors are made keeping gaming in mind, with one of the predecessors of the M10S – the M9 – a fine and popular example of the genre. But with this new monitor, Sony has outdone itself. Not only does the M10S seem to be the sleekest Sony monitor yet, it sports specs that can have any gamer salivating. With a super-high 480Hz refresh rate and an incredibly low response time of only 0.03 milliseconds, it’s also a QHD monitor – in other words, it has a native resolution of 1440p.

Best of all, though, if you’re a gamer – and its only natural that you would want to get a Sony Inzone, especially this latest one, if you are - you’ll rejoice to know that Sony actually developed the M10S in collaboration with renowned esports team Fnatic. And given that the Fnatic team know a thing or two about gaming, it’s no surprise to see features such as FPS Pro settings for first person shooter games and a specialised 24.5-inch game-playing mode.

When this mode is activated, games are displayed at a native resolution of 1332p, with the added capability of supporting even lower resolutions, such as 1080p. This is because many esports players are used to traditional 24.5-inch monitors and are more at ease with the dimensions and specifications of these – so even though this Sony is quite a few steps above, gamers still get the choice for a scaled-down experience that helps with a comfortable familiarity with this new product.

Gamers also have a choice between a centre or bottom aligned display, enhancing focus with the perfectly black border area.

The monitor also introduces two tailored picture modes specifically for FPS games. The FPS Pro+ mode, developed in consultation with Fnatic's VALORANT team, optimises image clarity and enhances performance during intense battles. Meanwhile, the FPS Pro mode simulates the visual characteristics of TN panel LCD monitors commonly used in professional tournaments, ensuring familiarity for competitive players.

According to Sony, its partnership with Fnatic began in 2023 and has evolved to create the INZONE M10S, a monitor tailored for both professional and aspiring gamers. The development process included ideation and extensive playtesting, ensuring that the monitor meets the needs of high-level competition.

So, what’s the proof of this pudding, or in other words, how is the actual visual performance of this monitor that it was actually developed for? In one word, stunning! While confessing to not being an avid gamer, yours truly was still mesmerised by the vibrancy, clarity and immersive quality of the visuals when playing not just Valorant, whose team was involved in this monitor’s development, but also Counter-Strike: Global Offensive and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare.

The colours were bright and the blacks deep and saturated, while the impressive peak brightness of 1300 nits was apparent in the way details stood out, making it possible to easily spot agents lurking in the shadows and frame edges to prevent ambushes.

Sony says it has incorporated advanced Micro Lens Array+ technology and DisplayHDR True Black 400 in the M10S. When cut through the jargon and translated these into performance, what we saw was every scene in a game coming to life with stunning detail and realism.

This perhaps owes a lot to the self-illuminated OLED pixels, that respond more rapidly than traditional LCD panels, providing a blur-free experience that enhanced the gameplay of even a novice like yours truly. Moreover, the QHD resolution offers approximately 1.8 times the pixel density of a standard Full HD, making for more realistic and saturated visuals.

If you’re the eco-warrior sort in real life along with being a Counter-Terrorist operative in the cyberworld on Counter Strike, you’ll be happy to know that Sony has also tried to reduce the environmental impact of the new M10S by avoiding the use of molded foam cushions in it and also including a low power consumption mode.

So with great gaming visuals, good build quality and a sleek design, what’s not to like on the new M10S? The lack of a supplied HDMI cable, for one. With mainly the PlayStation crowd as its target, Sony forgot that shipping the monitor with just a display cable would not cut it with the rest of us. It was frustrating to go hunting for a space HDMI cable after unboxing the monitor when it seems including one in the premium Dh4,699 price is a no-brainer, but Sony skimped out on this one.

Speaking of price, keeping that in the more attainable sub-4,000 range would have served Sony infinitely well. That sort of pricing would have put the M10S instantly at the top of our monitor wishlist. As it stands, the M109 is enticing, but pricey.

Coupled with this, the visuals are so tuned to gaming that when it came to consuming normal content on the monitor, such as YouTube videos, the default picture was a little too bright and washed out, requiring considerable fiddling with the settings to get it just right.

But nitpicking aside, this is a stunning gaming monitor from Sony, which should go to the top of your must-have list of you live and breathe gaming or own a PlayStation. With the new Sony Inzone M10S, you’re instantly in the zone.

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