Sony Inzone M10S review: This gaming monitor is a big step in the right direction

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Sony’s first gaming monitor, the Inzone M9, was released in 2022 to a fair amount of hype, but reviews were mixed. The monitor’s design was polarizing and its image quality, though good, didn’t live up to its high price tag. Now, Sony is back with a second generation of gaming monitors, which includes the M10S. The Sony Inzone M10S is an OLED display that learns several valuable lessons from its predecessor. 

Sony Inzone M10S specs and features 

Sony is not pulling any punches with the M10S. The monitor has an LG OLED panel with a display resolution of 2560×1440 and a refresh rate of up to 480Hz. While it’s not the first monitor to use this OLED panel, it sits at the extreme upper end of refresh rates available from OLED. When it comes to motion clarity, at least, it doesn’t get much better than this. 

• Display size: 27-inch 16:9 widescreen 
• Native resolution: 2560×1440 
• Panel type: LG WOLED 
• Refresh rate: Up to 480Hz 
• Adaptive Sync: VESA Adaptive Sync, VRR, Nvidia G-Sync 
• HDR: Yes, VESA DisplayHDR True Black 400 Certified 
• Ports: 1x DisplayPort 2.1, 2x HDMI 2.1, 1x USB-B upstream, 2x USB-A downstream, 1x 3.5mm headphone out, 1x USB Type-A for software update 
• VESA mount: 100x100mm 
• Speakers: None 
• Price: $1,099.99 MSRP 

Aside from the impressive display panel, the monitor’s feature set is typical for a high-end OLED gaming monitor. It includes one DisplayPort 2.1 (in fact, this is the first DP2.1 monitor I’ve tested) alongside two HDMI 2.1 ports.  

Further reading: The best gaming monitors

Unfortunately, USB-C is not included, but the monitor does have a USB upstream port that connects to two USB ports. It also supports VESA Adaptive Sync and VRR, which means it will work broadly with Nvidia G-Sync and AMD FreeSync (though only the former is officially listed). 

Sony Inzone M10S design  

There’s a lot to discuss regarding the Sony Inzone M10S’s design. 

Sony’s first gaming monitor, the Inzone M9, had a controversial design clearly intended to complement the look and feel of the PlayStation 5 console and other Sony PlayStation products. While it made sense from a branding or marketing perspective, it also meant the monitor had an unusually wide stand that was awkward to set up and use. 

Fortunately, Sony has rethought its approach with the M10S, though it hasn’t simply followed the lead of its competitors.  

The M10S instead has a unique, disk-shaped stand designed to minimize its footprint on a desk. It also swivels up to 180 degrees, far exceeding the typical 25 to 35 degrees offered by most gaming monitor stands. I like the stand, as it highlights the practicality that’s often missing from the large, tripod-style stands used by brands like Asus ROG and, occasionally, Alienware.  

Matthew Smith / Foundry

In addition to 180 degrees of swivel, the stand also offers height and tilt adjustments. It doesn’t support rotation into portrait orientation, however, which makes the M10S slightly less suitable as a second monitor. The monitor is also compatible with a 100x100mm VESA mount, allowing it to be used with third-party monitor arms or stands. 

But while I like the functionality of Sony’s design, I’m still not sure it quite understands the PC market.  

Though undoubtedly a step in the right direction, the M10S now feels bit too plain (especially for a monitor with a premium price tag). The plastics used are fine, but unremarkable, and lack the interesting textures found on monitors from Alienware and Asus. Samsung offers a more luxurious feel, as its recent Samsung Odyssey OLED monitors feature an all-metal back panel. Sony also opts out of RGB-LED lighting.  

I suspect Sony would argue the M10S (which was made with feedback from esports team Fnatic) has a minimalist vibe that gets out of the player’s way. That’s understandable, but the M10S is priced at the top of the market, so it needs to feel worth the premium. However, if you’re more concerned about function than aesthetics, the M10S design has perks. 

Sony Inzone M10S connectivity and menus  

The Sony Inzone M10S has a single DisplayPort 2.1 port and two HDMI 2.1 ports for a total of three video inputs, all of which support the monitor’s full feature set including refresh rates up to 480Hz. That’s good. At this price, however, I’d prefer to also see USB-C input with DisplayPort and Power Delivery.  

About the DisplayPort 2.1 port: This is the first monitor I’ve reviewed with DisplayPort 2.1 and one of the first displays of any type to support it. However, it uses the lowest tier of DisplayPort 2.1 (called UHBR10). Because of that, the monitor still uses Display Stream Compression (DSC)—as do most high-refresh monitors available today. DSC is virtually impossible to notice in games, so it’s not a big deal either way, but worth mention as Sony calls out DisplayPort 2.1 in its marketing.  

USB connectivity is less impressive. It lacks USB-C, as mentioned, so it instead has a single USB-B upstream port connected to two USB-A downstream ports. The ports are all USB 3.0, though Sony otherwise doesn’t mention the details. While it’s good to see the monitor can at least handle a wired USB-A keyboard and mouse, most monitors sold in 2024 do more with USB. 

Matthew Smith / Foundry

The M10S’ monitor options are controlled with a joystick on its right rear flank. The joystick is a bit too responsive and often accelerated past my intended selection, but I think most users will get used to that quirk over time. The menus are logically arranged and look attractive, which adds to the monitor’s premium feel. Some menu options can also be accessed through Sony’s Inzone Hub software utility, which is available for Windows PCs. Inzone Hub can also be used with other Inzone peripherals like the Sony Inzone Buds (which, I’ll add, are quite good). 

Sony also provides some useful extra features. It has a brightness stabilizer, which can be used to reduce brightness fluctuations when switching between brighter and darker content (a common quirk of OLED panels).  

It also has a dedicated 24.5-inch monitor mode that restricts the viewable area of the display. While this mode might seem odd, it’s useful for competitive gamers who want to keep the entire display space in their field of vision. In addition to that, the monitor has the usual gaming features like on-screen crosshairs, an FPS counter, and a timer.  

While the M10S provides a good range of connectivity and options, it’s only average for the class. The Asus ROG Swift PG27AQDP has a nearly identical feature set, and the Gigabyte Aorus FO27Q3 has USB-C.  

Speakers are absent, too: There’s no audio built in. That, however, is typical for the category. Only a handful of high-end monitors, like the LG Ultragear 32GS95UE-B, offer a good audio experience.  

Sony Inzone M10S SDR image quality 

The Sony Inzone M10S has an LG W-OLED panel. I’ve tried several monitors with this type of panel over the past year, so I have a good idea what to expect—and the M10S didn’t surprise me. Though it can’t quite match Samsung QD-OLED monitors, it still delivers excellent overall image quality in SDR 

Matthew Smith / Foundry

I measured a maximum SDR brightness of about 267 nits from the M10S. That, as the graph shows, is an expected result for an OLED monitor but well behind the brightness of an LCD display.  

For most people, the M10S will still be bright enough, and I used the monitor at 35 to 50 percent of maximum brightness. However, the monitor’s maximum brightness can begin to feel dim if placed next to a bright, sunlit window. I doubt most shoppers looking at the M10S are planning to use it that way, given how heavily its marketing leans towards gaming and esports, but it’s worth knowing.  

I’ve decided to ditch the contrast graph because the M10S, like other OLED monitors, can achieve an effectively infinite contrast ratio. The result is a rich, immersive image that draws your eye into the display and makes LCD displays look terrible by comparison. However, the M10S has no advantage over its direct competitors. All modern OLED monitors achieve the same amazing contrast.