Samsung’s massive 55-inch curved Odyssey Ark is open for preorders

theverge.com:

Samsung announced that you can now preorder its massive 55-inch 4K curved gaming display, the Odyssey Ark, for $3,499.99. For those who see the need for such a large, pricey display, buying it before Monday, September 12th, can loop you into some relatively small but welcome savings. For instance, preordering will earn you a $200 gift card from Samsung. Best Buy and Newegg are offering a similar promotion, giving out $200 in gift card value for those who preorder to be used on a separate purchase.

Samsung hasn’t officially shared a release date, though Newegg confirmed that shipments from its website will begin shipping on Monday, September 12th.

If you were someone who placed a no-cost reservation for the Odyssey Ark last week when hands-on impressions first went live (you can read my thoughts here), Samsung is knocking $100 off the cost with an instant rebate when purchasing through the company’s online storefront. For future reference, in case you missed out on this deal, Samsung typically offers extra savings on its high-end products to those who reserve a preorder, and there’s no financial pressure to commit to the preorder. So, it’s a win-win situation for some people.

As for whether the Odyssey Ark is worth its $3,500 price tag, I cannot say definitively. I had a fun yet brief time checking it out earlier in the month, and it’s a sight to behold. It’s a TV-sized gaming monitor that has a minimalist stand, which lets it rotate into what Samsung calls “Cockpit mode” with relative ease. It likely won’t be a good fit for everyone, but its $3,500 price makes that kind of obvious.