I tried out Sony Inzone’s brand new 460Hz gaming monitor – it’s crazy

Going back to 2022, SonyInzone, the youngest division of , has just released its first gaming monitor, the M9, and we were lucky enough to test it out. Sony Inzone M9 reviewWe absolutely loved the monitor’s 4K display and performance features, and willingly gave it the praise it deserved. best gaming monitors Inzone’s entry into the monitor market is off to a strong start, unsurprisingly given Sony’s history in display manufacturing.

Two years later, Inzone is back, this time with two new monitors. There’s the successor to the M9, the M9II, aimed at enthusiast gamers, especially FPS and RPG players. But now there’s a new, even more high-end model, the M10S, aimed squarely at current or aspiring esports professionals.

We’ll be putting both monitors through their paces for full reviews as soon as possible, but ahead of their launch, Sony invited Tom’s Guide to an exclusive preview of both monitors, and I had the honor.

I will cover the M9II in a separate article, and I am sharing my first impressions of the Sony Inzone M10S with you.

First look: Sony Inzone M10S

The Sony Inzone M10S was designed in close consultation with the Fnatic esports team and is aimed at aspiring or current professional esports gamers, particularly FPS and MOBA players. It boasts a range of mega-headline features designed to give these gamers what they need.

Sony Inzone M10S first look: Key features

(Image credit: Future)

The M10S is due to launch in October 2024 for $1,099/£1,199. It features a 27-inch 1440p OLED panel with 10-bit colour (meaning it can display over a billion unique colours) and a 98.5% DCI-P3 score according to Sony, providing a wide colour gamut – the latter of which we’ll be able to confirm once we get our hands on a test unit. Sitting on top of the OLED pixels is an MLA (micro-lens array) that delivers a peak brightness of 1,300 nits (HDR) for super-bright whites and high contrast levels to help gamers with subject perception.

The highlight feature is undoubtedly the M10S’ 460Hz refresh rate, thanks to DisplayPort 2.1. While this is certainly overkill for most gamers, such a high refresh rate allows the monitor to deliver as much information to players as quickly as possible, giving esports players an extra (albeit very small) competitive advantage. Likewise, to minimise blurring in fast-paced games, the OLED panel is capable of 0.03ms GtG (grey-to-grey — the time it takes for a pixel to fully transition from one colour to another). The monitor also features GPU synchronisation (Adaptive Sync/G-Sync/FreeSync) to minimise tearing.

Sone Inzone M10S first look: Extra features

The M10S’s 27-inch screen can be cropped to 24.5 inches if desired. This obviously affects the displayed resolution, but it has the advantage of shortening the distance the monitor travels from one end to the other, facilitating quicker observation and reactions. The cropped screen is also not static. It can be positioned wherever the user sees fit to best align with the inclination or height.

Carrying over from the M9 to both the M9II and M10S is Inzone’s range of SDR signal modes. Of particular note are the M10S’ FPS Pro+ and FPS Pro modes, which I saw demonstrated in Valorant. These adjust colour and gamma levels, and can allow players to spot opponents significantly faster when given the correct colour and contrast levels on screen. There are also SDR modes for MOBA games and RPGs, as well as an sRGB mode for colour accuracy during production runs. These come on top of HDR signal modes for Cinema, Gaming or RPG games.

There’s also the optional on-screen crosshair and FPS counter from the M9, as well as a black equalizer to brighten shadows without affecting brighter areas of the frame. Sony has also equipped the M10S with a range of OLED burn-in prevention features, including pixel shift, pixel/panel refresh, and static image detection.

Sony Inzone M10S first look: Design

(Image credit: Future)

The M10S’ relatively basic-looking case doesn’t scream $1,300+ gaming monitor. It has a pleasingly thin profile for the most part, with a bulky section in the center rear of the chassis that hides the electronics, cable management, and mounting brackets.

But despite its modest appearance, the M10S continues the legacy of the original M9’s innovative stand design, even without its M9II sibling. At first glance, the stand doesn’t look like much — a simple arm resting on a small circular base that looks too small to support the large monitor on top. It’s certainly not as striking as the M9’s tripod stand design. But looks can be deceiving, and they are.

One of the key design considerations for the M10S was to provide flexibility in station installation, and it really shows.

The center of gravity of the entire assembly is always at the point where the monitor meets the arm, providing excellent stability at any tilt angle and height. Sony engineers allowed me to tilt, swivel, lift, and swing the monitor to my heart’s content, and I can confirm that it is as stable as any other monitor I’ve used. There’s also a standard VESA mount for securing the monitor to an arm if desired.

This natural balance allowed Sony engineers to reduce the base’s profile and make it easy to fit into compact or minimalist setups. Its height of 4mm is also the average height for a gaming mat, allowing you to easily move peripherals around on it. The base also swivels 360 degrees, so you can customize your viewing angle without shifting the entire base. There’s also a nifty cable storage tray on the back of the monitor to keep everything tidy. One of the key design considerations for the M10S was flexibility in docking station setup, and it really shows.

Sony Inzone M10S first look: First impressions

(Image credit: Future)

We’ll have to wait and see how the Inzone M10S performs in anger when we get our hands on it for testing, but I have to say that from my first experience with the monitor, it looks pretty impressive. During my brief hands-on session, I endured the embarrassment of having to play Valorant (which I suck at) in front of a room full of people, including a Valorant streamer and a member of the Fnatic team. I didn’t kill anyone and I died a lot, but even though I sucked, the monitor was terrible: Valorant’s bright palette was bold and vibrant, rendered in beautifully sharp QHD, and the experience was effortlessly smooth thanks to that insanely high refresh rate. Make no mistake, this is a performance monitor that I suspect will disappoint the professionals involved in its development.

I was also incredibly impressed by the attention to detail on display. The stand in particular doesn’t look like much, but it shows how much thought Inzone has put into how the monitor will feel in everyday use. What’s more, despite being an expensive panel, it’s still ultra-wide Samsung Odyssey OLED G9 ($1,799) go for a lot more, without having such powerful performance — as strange as it may sound, this could make the M10S a bang for your buck!