Samsung U28R55 Review: Design, Features, Performance & More: Whether it’s their flagship foldable smartphones, televisions, or monitors, Samsung excels at refining its state-of-the-art display technologies every year. If you are looking for a new mid-range monitor for daily use, Samsung has plenty of options for you.
The Samsung U28R55 is a particularly attractive choice due to its crystal-clear 4K resolution and affordable price tag. It succeeds some of Samsung’s best-selling UHD monitors like the U28E590 and U28H750. However, Samsung has replaced the TN panels with a robust IPS one this time around, offering noticeably better color performance and viewing angles.
Those who are finally ready to make the jump to a high-res computer monitor will find the Samsung U28R55 (also known as UR55 in some markets) compelling. But whether it’s worth the asking price remains a question to some.
This in-depth Samsung UR55 review will tell you everything you need to know about this monitor, including its design, features, connectivity, and overall performance.
Samsung UR55: Design, Features, and & Build
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- Dimensions w/ Stand (W x H x D):1” x 14.7” x 9.9”
- Dimensions w/o Stand (W x H x D):1” x 6.9” x 2.5”
- Weight:8 lbs
The Samsung U28R55 is advertised mainly for office use, boasting a minimal yet elegant design. The entire chassis comes in a matte black finish, with the thick silver bezel below the screen being the only exception. The screen bezels on three other sides are exceptionally thin. However, the panel borders are still noticeable.
The Samsung U28R55 is a 28-inch flat-panel monitor, which is larger than the most conventional displays seen in offices and schools. The base of the included stand extends almost 10 inches forward, so some users may need to make some room on their desks. Fortunately, the unit doesn’t weigh much and is easy to transport, but it can’t be defined as “portable” by any means.
Like LG, Samsung has also added an OSD control nub to make on-screen display navigation convenient. It sits right under the bottom bezel, making it easily accessible as well. Samsung has been doing it for all its new models released this year, so it would be great to see other manufacturers do the same.
Unfortunately, the stand supplied with the Samsung UR55 is pretty limited in terms of adjustability. It’s quite bulky for a stand that only offers tilt action and no height adjustment. However, the stand is solid and doesn’t wobble too much. Note that you can also replace the included stand with an aftermarket VESA mount (75 x 75) for more flexibility.
Build quality-wise, the Samsung UR55 doesn’t disappoint despite its heavy use of plastic. The monitor chassis is thick and sturdy, with no noticeable flex or cracks on our review unit. Overall, we didn’t spot any obvious issues with this monitor.
Samsung U28R55: Connectivity
- Input: 2 x HDMI 2.0, 1 x DisplayPort 1.2
- Output: 1 x 3.5mm Analog Audio Out
- USB: N/A
The Samsung U28R55 features two HDMI 2.0 ports and a single DisplayPort 1.2 slot. Both HDMI ports are rated for an 18 Gb/s throughput and support a full 2160p@60 Hz output. This monitor gives you the option to connect up to three devices, including your PC, current-gen game console, and a media box.
In terms of output, you only get a single 3.5mm jack for connecting headphones or speakers. It’s worth mentioning that the UR55 doesn’t have built-in speakers, but it isn’t that big of a dealbreaker anyway.
Samsung UR55: Performance
- Panel Type: IPS
- Resolution: 3840 x 2160
- Refresh Rate: 60 Hz
- Brightness (Typical): 300 cd/m²
- Contrast Ratio (Typical): 1000:1
- Response Time (GtG): 4 ms
- Additional Features: AMD FreeSync, Eye Saver Mode, PiP, MagicBright
Overview
The Samsung U28R55 has a 28-inch 10-bit IPS panel with a resolution of 3840 x 2160 (4K), 60 Hz refresh rate, and a gray-to-gray response time of 4 milliseconds. The advertised brightness goes up to 300 nits, with the 1000:1 contrast ratio on par with most IPS panels.
This particular monitor doesn’t come with VESA’s DisplayHDR certification. However, Samsung throws in HDR10 support anyway for that extra marketing gimmick.
4K on a 28” screen is overkill, especially for productivity applications. That said, gaming and media consumption is a visual treat thanks to the significant gain in sharpness and level of detail compared to a Full HD monitor. You can always change the display scaling option in your OS to make the font and UI elements a bit larger.
Brightness and Contrast Ratio
The Samsung U28R55 has good SDR peak brightness, with our measurement coming in around 360 nits. It’s more than what Samsung advertises. The monitor gets bright enough to combat glaring in a decently-lit room, though the brightness doesn’t stay consistent with varied content.
When receiving HDR signals from a compatible source, our U28R55 unit maxed out to 385 nits of brightness, which is just okay for watching HDR content. Although small highlights get bright enough to stand out, larger and brighter scenes just don’t get very bright. In simple words, the HDR experience is fairly average.
We recorded a contrast ratio of 1030:1 on default settings. It’s usually what we expect from a decent IPS panel. Unfortunately, it also means you don’t get the deeper black levels as seen on a VA panel. However, we achieved slightly better results when playing with the Black Equalizer settings in the OSD, though your mileage may vary.
Color Accuracy
The Samsung U28R55 has good out-of-the-box color accuracy, covering 100% of the sRGB and 90% of the DCI-P3 color gamut. Some colors and shades of gray are produced inaccurately, but most people probably wouldn’t notice it.
Using our colorimeter, we measured a dE average of 2.4, which isn’t that bad for regular use but also isn’t great for creative work. Furthermore, the color temperature is a bit on the warmer side, giving the overall image a yellowish tint.
Post-calibration results gave us a much better dE average of 1.32 and a more natural color temperature. It isn’t even close to matching the accuracy of a high-end professional display, but it’s above average for casual content creation.
That said, unless you are into photo/video editing or graphic designing, there’s no need to purchase an expensive colorimeter separately for calibrating the monitor. The stock color accuracy is more than sufficient for gaming and media consumption.
Panel Uniformity
The gray uniformity on the Samsung UR55 is excellent. The edges are slightly darker, but the screen is visibly uniform throughout. Backlight bleed is noticeable in near-dark scenes, which is a pretty common issue on IPS panels.
Sadly, black uniformity isn’t that good on the Samsung UR55. There’s noticeable clouding around bright objects in dark scenes, which can be distracting at times. However, uniformity can vary between units of the same model, so it can be a better or worse experience for you.
Response Time
The Samsung U28R55 offers an okay response time at its maximum 60 Hz refresh rate. We noticed some motion blur behind fast-moving objects, and this is with the Overdrive setting set to “Faster.” Still, there’s noticeable overshoot in the darker transitions, but it nearly isn’t as bad as the “Fastest” setting.
Unless you are into competitive gaming, the weaker response time of this monitor shouldn’t be that big of an issue. Otherwise, you are better off buying a 1440p, high-refresh-rate monitor like the Gigabyte M27Q.
Refresh Rate
The Samsung U28R55 maxes out at a 60 Hz refresh rate. It natively supports FreeSync to reduce screen tearing when playing games. It also works over both HDMI and DisplayPort connections.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t get the monitor working with G-Sync, which is something NVIDIA graphics card owners should be aware of. Now to be fair, Samsung doesn’t advertise the U28R55 to be “G-Sync Compatible,” but most FreeSync-certified monitors work just fine with NVIDIA’s variable refresh rate technology.
The input lag measures around 11 ms at 60 Hz. It remains the same with HDR or FreeSync enabled. It’s slightly higher than average but isn’t noticeable at all.
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Samsung U28R55 Review: Final thoughts
The Samsung UR55 is an affordable 4K monitor perfectly suitable for a variety of uses; be it office work, gaming, or media consumption. The 28” screen offers plenty of real estate for multitasking. The IPS panel is crisp, vibrant, and fairly bright for watching videos, and the addition of FreeSync makes it great for a tear-free gaming experience.
Our only complaints regarding the UR55 are its slower response time, mediocre contrast ratio, subpar HDR performance, and bad stand ergonomics. Everything else seems quite reasonable considering its budget price tag.
If you find this Samsung U28R55 review helpful, be sure to share it with others as well. We have also discussed the pros and cons in detail below just in case you need further clarification.
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| Samsung UR55 (U28R55) | |
| Pros | Cons |
| Large high-resolution screen | Poor contrast ratio as expected from an IPS panel |
| Excellent text clarity, full sRGB coverage | It doesn’t deliver a good HDR experience |
| Support for AMD FreeSync | Refuses to work with G-Sync |
| Decent selection of inputs | Stand doesn’t offer height, pivot, or swivel adjustments |
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