Sony Inzone M9 review

You are not imagining things; Sony does, in fact, produce gaming gear for personal computers. PlayStation is not affiliated in any way with the PC gaming hardware brand known as Inzone, which is owned and operated by Sony.

Inzone has been entrusted with penetrating the PC market, and the company intends to accomplish this goal by releasing a new range of gaming headsets and monitors that look to take a significant amount of design inspiration from their console relative. The Sony Inzone M9 is a breathtaking gaming monitor with a refresh rate of 144 Hz and 4K resolution, providing a fantastic first impression.

It brings a number of cool minor features that set it apart from other displays and puts it in direct rivalry with some of the top high refresh rate 4K monitors on the market. Sony’s first PC gaming display was a product of a “everything but the kitchen sink approach,” according to the company.

This 4K monitor has a refresh rate of 144Hz, is G-Sync compliant, and supports HDMI 2.1 VRR. Its screen size is 27 inches. This allows you to play games at a resolution of 4K at a frame rate of 120Hz using either an Xbox Series X or a PlayStation 5. Something that not even some of our go-to 4K gaming displays are capable of doing.

Sony Inzone M9 review: Design

The stand and back panel of the M9 are made of the same black and white plastic as the PS5 console, controllers, and other accessories. The M9 doesn’t just stand out because of how it looks, though. Its three-legged stand looks different from every other gaming screen on the market, with one leg pointing forward and two others extending backward to keep the screen stable.

Sony says that the tall, thin legs are meant to give users more space on their desks. In that way, they work well. It’s also a very sturdy screen, which is what you’d expect from a screen this price. Even better, the M9 weighs only 6.8 kg, which isn’t much for a high-end 27-inch screen. The inside is just as good as the outside.

The diagonal of Sony’s IPS is 27 inches, and it has a 4K resolution and a 163ppi density level. That’s a lot, and games will look very clear, but you’ll need to sit close to the screen to get the most out of it. The M9 is good for people who want to play games at a desk or in a bedroom, not on the sofa. You can buy this monitor from its official website.

Sony Inzone M9 review: Picture quality

All of your Inzone gear is controlled by the Inzone hub, an app that is pretty easy to use and takes care of the monitor’s more complicated settings, like turning local dimming or Adaptive Sync on and off. Setting different picture settings for each game you play is my favorite thing you can do from here. So, the monitor will know to use your FPS settings for Valorant and your RPG settings for Cyberpunk 2077. It sounds good in theory, but I found that it didn’t always change the preset automatically, depending on the game.

The M9’s price of $899 puts it in direct competition with LG’s Ultragear 27GP950, which also costs $899. At a recent Sony event, I saw how this and the Samsung Odyssey G7 ($799) compared to the Inzone M9. This was before I got my review sample. At first glance, the M9 and the UltraGear both seem to have pretty good picture quality when put next to each other. But the M9 has a slight advantage over both the Samsung and the LG because its local dimming and contrast are better.

Sony Inzone M9 review: OSD Features

The M9 has a lot of ports, including two HDMI 2.1 ports that can support 4K at 120Hz on the PS5, one DisplayPort 1.4 port, and even USB-C. You get a couple of USB ports if you connect the USB-B port to your PC. The KVM switch inside the M9 lets you switch peripherals between devices by just changing the input. All good news here.

The OSD is more interesting. I’ve said good things about the menus on monitors like the Acer Predator X28, but the M9 is even better. You get an OSD that is big, easy to read, and easy to understand. You can navigate it with the joystick on the right side of the monitor. Sony also has a separate power button, so you won’t turn off the screen by accident.

Sony Inzone M9 review: Performance

It looked great when I worked on, watched, and played with the Inzone M9. The HDR and full-array local dimming features of the Inzone make the moody lighting of FX’s What We Do in the Shadows look especially rich and deep. When I turn on the Overwatch 2 beta, I can really appreciate the bright and clear monitor.

The 120 frames per second don’t hurt my performance in the competition. It works just as well as one of the best 4K monitors on the market. When I plug in my PS5 and play a few rounds of Elden Ring’s Mohg, Lord of Blood, it’s very exciting. There’s something special about seeing a game you’ve played before on a bigger, brighter screen that’s closer to you.

It makes the game feel very different. The deep purple-black of the night sky looks great against the eerie red light shining on the crumbling ruins, and Mohg beats me up a few times just because I was looking at the dancing flames. During my time with the Inzone M9, I’ve only had one big problem: I can’t move it around. You can only raise or lower it a few inches, and it can only tilt forward or backward 20 degrees. This makes it hard to get to some of the ports partly blocked by the cool front stand.

Sony Inzone M9 review: Gaming Controls

If you have the money, yes. The Sony Inzone M9 has stunning graphics and a completely unique look. It’s a beautiful gaming monitor that works well and is priced similarly to other 4K-ready monitors in its class. The Inzone M9 is probably as close as you can get to putting one of the best gaming TVs on your desk, and it is without a doubt one of (if not the) best PS5 monitors on the market. The unique backlighting system gives it some of the darkest blacks and brightest whites I’ve ever seen. The Sony Inzone M9 also has more lighting zones than most other monitors, which makes it stand out from the crowd.

Compared to the ASUS TUF Gaming VG28UQL1A, which is also designed for use across platforms, the Sony Inzone has a higher peak HDR brightness, a better design, and a price that is only a little bit higher. The Sony Inzone M9 is the right monitor for you if you want to spend money to improve your gaming desk setup with 4K resolution and some pretty sleek design elements. And if you play PS5, this is a great way to match your monitors and take advantage of the extra features that come with it.

Sony Inzone M9 review: Price

Price is the most important thing about the M9, and Sony has chosen to keep it alive. With a list price of $900, the M9 will almost certainly become the most popular 4K gaming monitor. The 28-inch Samsung Odyssey G7 for $800 and the LG 27GP950 for $900 have been the most popular monitors in the past few years. The M9 beats them both in every way.

It’s an improvement for gaming monitors at last. There are at least six other 28-inch 4K monitors with a refresh rate of 144Hz, but they all cost about the same and have only minor differences in features. For example, the Gigabyte M28U costs less and comes with a KVM switch. The 96-zone FALD makes the M9 stand out.

Sony Inzone M9 review: Final Words

The Sony INZONE M9, or just M9 for short, is Sony’s first monitor. It’s part of their new INZONE line of gaming products, which also includes headphones like the Sony INZONE H9 Wireless. It’s a high-end gaming monitor with a native 4k resolution and a fast refresh rate.

It also has HDMI 2.1 bandwidth and works with both FreeSync and G-SYNC Compatible technologies that let the refresh rate change. It’s part of Sony’s “Perfect For PS5” line, which is made for PS5 gamers and has a few special features. It also has a full array local dimming feature, but unlike some of its competitors, like the Samsung Odyssey Neo G8 S32BG85, it doesn’t use a Mini LED backlight.