SONY 27” INZONE M10S OLED QHD 480Hz Gaming Monitor

TL;DR: Save your money and get the ASUS PG27AQDP. This monitor has broken HDR, lower brightness in SDR and HDR, weak color saturation in HDR, no BFI, a less desirable coating, and burn-in protection that can’t be turned off. It is also $100 more than the ASUS and only comes with a 1-year manufacturer warranty that may not cover burn-in.
After getting the PG27AQDP first, this model was released a week later, and I decided to get it because I am a total tech member (2-year warranty). The plan was to return the ASUS, which I originally purchased on Newegg, and keep the Sony for the warranty from BestBuy until I found out the Sony is a downgrade in nearly all aspects.
The ASUS is slightly brighter in SDR, but when you turn off the burn-in protection on the ASUS, it is easily 15-20% brighter and more colorful in SDR. You cannot turn off the burn-in protection on the Sony at all; it is hard-locked on, and there are no options for it in the OSD or the Inzone Software. In a side-by-side comparison, the difference is quite noticeable. While features like static taskbar detection should be kept on for monitor usage, options like “Outer Dimming Control,” which dims the edges of your screen and creates a distracting vignetting effect, cannot be turned off. Bright elements in SDR and HDR will only be bright in the center of the screen; at the edges, they noticeably dim, which can be very distracting. “Adjust Logo Brightness” also dims the brightness and color saturation in SDR and HDR, affecting everything—even highlights—which doesn’t make sense. These features can be easily turned off on the ASUS, but not on the Sony. On Sony OLED TVs, you can adjust settings like Adjust Logo Brightness, but not on their monitors?
Regarding HDR, one would expect a company like SONY, a leader in displays and cameras, to excel in this area! Unfortunately, this monitor’s HDR performance is well very bad; in a side-by-side comparison with the ASUS, it appears almost like SDR. The advertised “1300 nits” brightness is not achieved. With the latest firmware (M003, currently M004), the Windows 11 HDR Calibration app hard clips at “2550 nits” in all modes, including the “HDR 400 mode,” which shouldn’t exceed 400 nits. No matter the calibration, HDR looks washed out in all modes, losing detail in highlights. The monitor does not even achieve 2550 nits; not even their flagship A95L OLED TV can reach that brightness. It’s puzzling how this monitor was launched with such HDR issues. Working HDR on an OLED is crucial, as it is arguably the main selling point for consumers!
The EOTF also does not track correctly, and it’s evident to the naked eye that something is off—side by side with the ASUS, the Sony appears over-brightened. The HDR implementation is lacking, and colors do not match the ASUS in saturation. The reds appear orange, and golds look yellow on the Sony, which is surprising given they use the same panel. In side-by-side comparisons, this difference is striking. I posted a picture with two red cars from a YouTube video with RTX HDR, and while the camera slightly picks it up, the car on the ASUS is significantly brighter and more colorful than on the Sony. Both are set to “Game HDR,” which should output 1300 nits, with brightness, contrast, and saturation set correctly.
There is noticeable black level raise and posterization on dark scenes in HDR, which is not present on the ASUS. Watching YouTube videos with RTX or native HDR reveals pronounced posterization that is hard to ignore. In dark atmospheric games like Tarkov, using RTX HDR is almost unusable because of these issues.
I also noticed that the coating is worse on the Sony despite it using the same panel as the ASUS. The ASUS appears sharper, less grainy, and has deeper blacks. The black level issue is subtle—around 5-10%—but still puzzling considering both use the same panel, especially with the Sony priced $100 higher. The coating on the Sony is noticeably grainier, similar to cheaper IPS and TN panels. While it’s not a dealbreaker, it is frustrating given the price difference, especially when the ASUS outperforms in nearly all aspects except for the stand and OSD.
Others on Reddit have reported similar HDR issues, so this is not just a problem with my unit. I contacted Sony support about the HDR issue, and they only offered to send me a replacement, despite the fact that the issue isn’t unique to my unit. Interestingly, the agent I spoke with didn’t seem familiar with HDR. Lol.
Can this be fixed with a firmware update? Maybe. But in its current state, I personally cannot recommend this monitor. Considering Sony doesn’t offer a true HGIG mode on their flagship OLED TVs (A95L) and often has to implement weird tone mapping, I’m skeptical this will be resolved, though I hope I’m wrong.
Additionally, this monitor lacks BFI, which the ASUS does have. This feature is beneficial for games that can’t reach 480Hz, and using BFI on the ASUS is really nice to have on games like Tarkov for example, which cannot achieve anywhere near 480FPS despite your hardware. While not a dealbreaker, the ASUS being $100 cheaper and having BFI doesn’t help Sony asking 100 extra dollars for their monitor.
The Sony also has unfortunately more dirty screen effect than the ASUS; in dark scenes, the banding is much more apparent. Now this may be unique to my unit only, but I thought I should add it.
The only positive aspect I can mention is that the stand is excellent—perhaps the best I’ve ever used on a monitor (like seriously)—and the OSD/knob is significantly better than that of the ASUS. The “FPS Pro +” feature seems to wash out the image to resemble a TN panel, which can be emulated on the ASUS by playing around with the OSD settings. I also prefer the 24.5 cropped mode on the Sony, as it can be centered at the bottom, making it feel more natural compared to the ASUS.
Finally, the warranty. The SONY warranty is only 1 year, and it does not state that it covers burn-in. In contrast, the ASUS offers a 3-year warranty that clearly covers burn-in. A 1-year warranty for an $1100 OLED monitor is a joke, especially given the price difference. Marketing this to an eSports audience who will likely use the monitor for hours a day at max brightness and color saturation in SDR, particularly with the 1-year warranty potentially not covering burn-in is a little predatory. If you choose to go for this monitor for whatever reason and plan to use it for several years, I heavily recommend getting the Geek Squad warranty.

display outstanding monitor.. 24.7 screens option only works 1080p 120hzs besides that great pricy monitor

I would not normally order any products from Sony as I believe their pricing is shady but that’s a whole other story.

I paired this screen with a 4070ti Super which handled processing with ease. Set up of the screen requires no tools. I actually like the stand; it rotates, moves up/down, and can be angled.

The screen comes pre calibrated but damn was it bright. Too bright IMO. But it’s easy to turn down the brightness. Colors are vivid and blacks are black as expected from an OLED. However, I’m not $1000 impressed with the picture. This may be due to my gaming is mostly done on a 4K LG OLED screen running 120hz. It’s beautiful but not competition grade (the LG monitor).

I played both FPS and non-FPS to get a good sample of the screens ability and this thing is defined while being buttery smooth. Games that emphasize their graphics are still best played on a good 4K monitor in my opinion, but still looked extremely good on a 2K OLED.

Overall, this screen is crazy fast at a whopping 480hz and has enough nits to burn your retinas, but you’ll have to justify spending $1000 on one monitor with your bank account, loan officer, and/or spouse.

P.S. ignore the poor cable management. Lots going on at my pad.

Right now im playing with my ps5, yes a 1k monitor for a console is definitely overkill but im planning to upgrade to a pc eventually, the game im playing is phasmapobia and as u can see the oled it amazing if you’re willing to spend the money go for it wont regret it, will warn you once you go oled you cant go back, other monitors blacks just dont look at good anymore.

This monitor is fantastic! Extremely clear picture with no visual pixel pitch. Incredible contrast and saturation that you expect from an OLED display. Super easy to set up, and the monitor stand is wonderful.

I hooked this up to my PC running Windows 11 and an RTX 3080 using Display Port. The 3080 only supports DP 1.4, but with DSC, I was able to run 2.5k resolution, HDR10 enabled, and 480hz on the panel. I was surprised at first that the 3080 was capable of driving this sort of resolution, 10-bit color, and refresh rate, but Display Stream Compression (DSC) allows for this to happen, which is lossless compression of the signal. I don’t have a DP 2.1 capable GPU, but apparently that isn’t needed due to DSC. There’s only a few games I’ve tested so far that were able to actually hit 480fps on the 3080 (such as Portal 2), but even if you aren’t hitting make frame rate, G-Sync and the fast response time make those frames so smooth.

HDR looks fantastic. After using the Windows HDR calibration tool, I loaded up some 4K HDR YouTube videos and the colors are incredibly vivid. Blacks are completely black and highlights really shine and pop. The display is HDR400 certified. Combine with Windows Auto-HDR and NVidia RTX video enhancement for HDR upsampling for an even better HDR experience. Peak HDR brightness maxes around 1,200-nits.

There was a firmware update available, mine shipped with firmware M003. Updating is quite simple, just load the firmware file to a flash drive, plug into the monitor, and use either the built-in monitor menu, or Sony’s Inzone Hub software to complete the firmware update.

Speaking on the Inzone Hub, a lot of features don’t seem to work via software but can manually be set in the monitors menu. Some software improvements could be done, but it in no way affects the monitor’s performance.

Color calibration out of the box is pretty good, but I found the picture to be a bit too warm for my liking. My calibration tool doesn’t support HDR, so I’ll have to wait to get a new calibration tool before I can properly calibrate the display.

Having two HDMI and Display ports is nice. It makes it easy to have both a computer and a console hooked up at the same time. Switching is easily done in the menu, or it will auto switch if one of the ports doesn’t have a signal running to it. While the display has three USB ports, I was only able to use two of them, I assume the third is just for doing firmware updates. The monitor doesn’t ship a USB cable, so I had to dig one out of my miscellaneous cables drawer. It also only ships with a DP cable. Including a HDMI 2.1 and USB cable would have been nice to have, but I have a hard time docking a star for that.

The only real gripe I have with this monitor is the 1-year warranty. For this price, I would have expected at least a two-year warranty. Fortunately, most monitors present themselves within a year of use. OLED is a bit more susceptive to panel issues that take at least a year, such as burn-in, but it does come with a lot of OLED-specific protections to keep the panel healthy, and OLED technology has improved dramatically over the last several years. I also don’t like how long it takes to wake from sleep. About 15 seconds. My Dell TN display takes about 2-3 seconds.

If you need a high-res, very high refresh rate OLED panel, this is pretty much one of the best on the market. Just make sure your GPU can handle it! This is high-end GPU territory, and best used with a GPU like the RTX 4070 and greater, or the RX 7900XTX.

A monitor is probably the last equipment that will eventually need refresh in a computer gaming system. Most gamers would replace their monitor every few years, not because their monitor does not work well anymore, but because gamers are being gamers and probably because there’s the impulse to update to the latest technology. It will then be ‘sensible’ to purchase a monitor that has the latest and greatest technology at the time of purchase, especially when one has already spent thousands of dollars building up very powerful PC with the GPU alone costing thousand of dollars. Within that perspective, a monitor like the Sony Inzone M10S makes a lot of sense.

The monitor proudly boasts great specs: OLED panel with 0.03ms response time, 480Hz refresh rate, HDMI and DP 2.1 connection, and 24.5 inch mode for FPS gaming. The monitor was in fact developed with Fnatic esports team, so yes this is the monitor to get for those who like competitive FPS gaming. Honestly, though, the 480Hz refresh rate is ahead of its time as most gamers would not need that many FPS. But if being competitive and getting the greatest and latest gear out there is important, then there’s that.

With that kind of specs and hype, you bet that I was excited when I got my hands on the monitor. Getting the monitor out of the box and setting it up only takes minutes. There’s absolutely no tool needed to assembly the monitor stand. It takes more time to dispose the carton box outside than getting the monitor all prepped up for the PC. The monitor stand’s design is absolutely clever so hats off to Sony. Such a functional design in a very little footprint. Sony only provided a DP cable and there’s no USB cable provided to connect to the PC.

There’s a firmware update available to install from Sony’s website and I installed it as per instructions through the USB update port. There’s also Sony’s Inzone software that’s worth to install.

I’ve been playing games with the monitor and did some light video editing and the monitor truly shines in terms of color reproduction, black level and smoothness. Helldivers 2 looked amazing and it ran smoothly. There’s several picture modes that cater to the different game genre, which of course include FPS and RTS. There’s the gaming assist feature for those who’s interested in getting every tactical advantage there is in an FPS game. Not only for playing games, watching movies are very much enjoyable.

The monitor is not cheap, but I can definitely see why gamers want this monitor.

The Sony INZONE M10S 27” OLED Gaming Monitor is a masterpiece of performance and visual excellence. Featuring a QHD (2560×1440) resolution and a stunning 480Hz refresh rate with an ultra-fast 0.03ms GTG response time, it’s tailor-made for FPS pros seeking the edge in competitive gaming. The NVIDIA G-SYNC compatibility and VRR support ensure buttery-smooth gameplay, while the DisplayHDR 400 provides vibrant colors and deep contrasts for immersive visuals.

The anti-glare screen is ideal for long sessions, and the DisplayPort 2.1 (UHBR10) and HDMI 2.1 connections make it a future-proof option for the latest GPUs. Paired with my RTX 4070, the picture quality is simply perfect—crystal-clear, vibrant, and with zero ghosting. The adjustable tilt, swivel, and height stand adds ergonomic convenience, making it great for work, media, or gaming.

While it excels in all use cases, its precision, speed, and flawless display make it a dream come true for FPS gamers. Whether you’re fragging opponents or watching 4K content, this monitor delivers an unbeatable experience. A must-have for serious gamers and visual enthusiasts alike!

So far i went from a ROG Strix XG27AQMR its a 1440p ips 27inch that does 300hz. I got it when it came out. Love it but ive been holding out after for a oled monitor or better. I have two lg oled tvs so ik the experience when i see it. I was confused about the matt and glossy but i wouldnt know till i see it with my eyes. So far its been a few days since i had this monitor and ill try to give the details i have on it

Pros, truly colors are nice but my ips wasnt FAR of either but again i havent played on it toooo much. The matte finish isnt a problem to me i think it looks great! I didnt see any color bleed really like another post i saw. The feel of the monitor and its stand is amazing! It feels like i got a lot better at valorant and im happy.

Cons, it has a flicker (oh no its not good!) BUT it mainly flickered in the fps mode but the GOOD thing is it already has a software update which fixes it. Vrr/adaptive sync was the problem. I also hate when you go through the different modes like gaming,cinema and stuff itll switch the screen to the one you hover over before clicking the one you want. Butnif you dont click on them itll go back to what you had. I dont like it cause thats changing the screens color over and over imo i dont like.

Software. Simple easy i recommend using it when changing screen modes!! It does not need to be open all the time but i use it.

Im not to heavy on the whole specific colors stuff i see default options are fine to me so far. I played mainly with light on cause with my ips the light was getting to my eyes/head. With oled you dont have that problem as much. Ill try dark room when i can.

For the alt tab thing it aint that bad but i prefer borderless so i dont have that black screen thing.

So gaming part. I played a lil bit of bf2042 for the color and stuff since bf2042 was downloaded and i dont really play single player games on my pc mainly on my oled tv. It did look a lot better imo but i wanted to test the fps so valorant i went to. Idk how to tell you this but it felt like i can hit my shots. Ive been doing really good idk why i thought it be my internet but man the colors and stuff help so much for me. I dont wear glasses btw. So far im gold but i think i can get out of it. Minecraft ofc looks good and with max settings still good. Im on a i7 13gen and 4090 build. If anyone got game recommendations i can try for sure!

Another somewhat con i have is the screen saver. So far i notice it dim the screen nothing else. I would of preferred the lg c models screen saver where its black and lil fire works pop. Also the blacks are true aswell.

Ask any questions or give me some tips ill keep messing with it. RizzyReign discord or twitch