Samsung M8 Smart Monitor review: A 4K HDR display with a smart TV built-in

Price When Reviewed

$729.99

Best Prices Today: Samsung M8 Smart Monitor

Samsung’s M8 Smart Monitor is a 32-inch 4K HDR tv disguised as a monitor. It ships with the identical Tizen working system discovered within the firm’s sensible TVs. You don’t even want to attach a PC to look at Netflix, Hulu, or Apple TV. It’s a very good match for many who need sensible TV options however plan to attach a PC.

Samsung M8 Smart Monitor: The specs

The Samsung M8 Smart Monitor is a 4K, 32-inch show. It lacks an enhanced refresh price and doesn’t assist any type of adaptive sync, however it does assist HDR10+. It additionally has an uncommon array of connectivity that features USB-C and Micro-HDMI.

• Display measurement: 32-inch
• Native decision: 3840×2160
• Panel kind: VA
• Refresh price: 60Hz
• HDR: HDR10+
• Adaptive sync: None
• Ports: 1x Micro-HDMI, 1x USB-C with DisplayPort Alternate Mode, 1x USB-C
• Stand adjustment: Height, tilt
• VESA mount: None
• Speakers: Included
• Price: $729.99 MSRP

What actually units the M8 Smart Monitor aside, nonetheless, is the working system. Samsung’s Tizen OS gives a variety of functions that allow homeowners stream video with no bodily related machine.

Samsung M8 Smart Monitor: Design

The Samsung Smart Monitor M8 has an approachable, playful look due to its a number of colour choices. My check pattern got here in a pastel inexperienced, however you can too purchase the monitor in blue, pink, or a standard white.

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Unlike Apple’s 24-inch iMac, which gives the same colour palette, the M8 Smart Monitor has slim bezels and a small backside chin. The colour applies solely to the stand and entrance chin. This lessens the affect of the colour choices, however it stays a pretty monitor general. 

Durability is much less spectacular. The monitor’s plastics enable noticeable flex when dealt with and panels don’t appear as firmly connected as they might be. This is just not a purposeful problem however a disappointment given the monitor’s premium look and pricing. 

There’s points with the stand, too. It solely adjusts for peak and tilt. There’s no swivel or pivot possibility right here. A VESA mount is lacking, so including a third-party monitor stand or arm is out of the query. 

On the plus facet, the stand is compact and slim for the monitor’s measurement. This frees up house in your desk and makes the monitor simple to place in small areas.

Samsung M8 Smart Monitor: Features and menu

The “Smart” in Samsung’s M8 Smart Monitor is not only hype. This monitor has Samsung’s Tizen OS, the identical one present in its televisions. It solely lacks a TV tuner for over-the-air TV or conventional cable service. Tizen helps all the foremost streaming platforms and Samsung-specific options like DeX and Bixby.

Matt Smith

Why? Some individuals use a 32-inch show as each a tv and a monitor. This is just not unusual in small residing areas and mixed-used areas. The M8 Smart Monitor is smart in a 400 square-foot condo, a pupil’s dorm room, or a mixed-use workplace and bed room. 

The dwelling display screen is managed with a bodily distant included within the package deal. It’s fundamental, with only a few buttons, however did the job nicely sufficient. Owners can even management the monitor with a telephone or pill utilizing the Samsung SmartIssues app. I discovered this tough to make use of, nonetheless, as a result of the contact controls for choosing gadgets had been finicky. There’s additionally a bodily joystick on the rear of the monitor. 

These options change the consumer expertise. Most displays are the very definition of plug and play. The M8 has a setup course of, which takes about 5 minutes and requires each a cell machine and web connection. And whereas the M8 after all shows exterior sources, homeowners can navigate the house display screen and watch streaming providers like Netflix with none exterior machine related. 

The M8 Smart Monitor takes a bit longer to activate and discover a sign, and a few settings can really feel complicated to these used to conventional monitor menus. Switching between sources is harder than on a normal monitor. The menus are outsized, which is sweet for viewing at a distance, however annoying from a desk. 

Those who simply want a PC monitor is not going to like these trade-offs. Still, I believe Samsung does an admirable job of strolling the road between monitor and TV. It delivers the perform of each at the price of a number of user-interface quirks.

Samsung M8 Smart Monitor: Connectivity, audio system, and digicam

Unfortunately, Samsung stumbles with connectivity. The monitor contains two USB-C inputs. Both have as much as 65 watts of Power Delivery however just one helps DisplayPort Alternate Mode. The monitor has HDMI, however makes use of Micro-HDMI as an alternative of full-sized HDMI (an adapter cable is included). Conventional DisplayPort isn’t obtainable. 

This is unusual. The M8 is positioned as a mixed-use TV substitute, but it has only one HDMI port, and it’s not the usual measurement. Its USB-C connectivity could be suited to knowledgeable workstation monitor, however the monitor’s different options don’t align with this. Adapters can be obligatory for a lot of units.

Speakers are bundled and higher go well with the M8’s give attention to combined use. They’re loud and supply high quality audio at low to medium quantity. High quantity begins to overwhelm the audio system, resulting in a muddy presentation that obscures element. Still, it’s significantly better than most displays and suited to having fun with video games or televisions in a small room. 

Samsung chalks up one more miss on connectivity, nonetheless, as a result of the monitor lacks a bodily audio-out port. Owners can’t simply add a soundbar or speakers to enhance audio high quality. The monitor does embody audio-out over Bluetooth.

The oddities proceed with the bundled 1080p webcam. It attaches magnetically to the again of the monitor and offers acceptable picture high quality. It solely works when USB-C is related, although, as there’s no different connection possibility for units that lack a USB-C port. The digicam does work with apps put in in Tizen OS, making it potential to take a video name on the monitor itself.

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Samsung M8 Smart Monitor: SDR picture high quality

The M8’s similarities to a tv lengthen to picture high quality, offering a number of benefits over a typical 4K 32-inch monitor.

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Brightness is excessive, if not spectacular, at a most of 405 nits. This compares nicely to most 32-inch displays, with only some gaming displays reaching the next SDR brightness. It’s simple to view the M8 Smart Monitor in a brightly lit room.

Matt Smith

Contrast ratio is way, a lot larger than a typical 4K 32-inch monitor due to the VA panel, which differs from the IPS panel utilized in many laptop displays. It can obtain a deeper shade of black with out decreasing brightness and offers extra element in shadows. 

This gives a extra reasonable picture with a very good sense of depth and dimensionality. It additionally helps when watching TV reveals or films, which are usually darker than a PC desktop or most video games. The M8 can deliver out particulars in darkish scenes that different displays will miss.

Matt Smith

The M8’s colour gamut is a bit slim for its value, coming in at simply 93 % of the DCI-P3 colour gamut. Many 32-inch 4K displays ship at the very least 95 % of DCI-P3. The M8 can show fewer colours than the competitors.

It’s not an issue in most content material, however the slim colour gamut will disappoint these trying to make use of the monitor for skilled picture or video modifying. It additionally offers a much less vivid and saturated expertise that might not be to the liking of some homeowners.

Matt Smith

While the colour gamut is simply okay, colour accuracy is stable. Content seems to be near what’s meant. This is most noticeable when viewing “real” content material like sports activities or documentary movies. Colors seem plausible and lifelike. 

My checks confirmed a default gamma curve of two.3, a bit off the goal of two.2. This means content material is barely darker than most popular. Color temperature can be a bit off at 7100Okay, which is cooler and extra blue than the goal of 6500Okay. The monitor offers changes for each, so you’ll be able to tune the picture to match your desire.

Sharpness is great due to the monitor’s 4K decision. Text seems to be crisp and video games look detailed with minimal shimmer and aliasing artifacts. 4K streaming seems to be excellent. Perceived sharpness is restricted by the standard of a streaming platform’s compression, not the show. 

While picture high quality is nice, it’s finest when seen straight-on. The picture rapidly loses distinction and vibrance when seen from the facet or the highest and backside. It’s essential that homeowners correctly place the monitor in a viewing space. 

The M8 Smart Monitor has wonderful SDR picture high quality general. It suffers setbacks in colour gamut and viewing angles however makes up for that with robust distinction and nice efficiency in darkish scenes. These traits enhance the standard of TV reveals and flicks in comparison with many various 32-inch 4K displays. PC video games and apps additionally look engaging.

Samsung M8 Smart Monitor: HDR picture high quality

The Samsung M8 Smart Monitor helps HDR10+ and mechanically detects an HDR sign with the function on in Windows 11 or a related recreation console. The monitor gives each normal and recreation mode HDR, although I wasn’t in a position to decide an goal distinction between these modes in testing. 

Maximum sustained HDR brightness didn’t seem larger than the SDR mode. That’s a bit disappointing, however places the M8’s luminance solely barely behind aggressive displays. 

The monitor’s superior distinction works to its benefit, offering a wider vary of luminance for the monitor to work with. Darker scenes present a greater sense of distinction with HDR on. Large brilliant areas, like a sundown or snowy mountain, look extra outlined.

These traits put the M8 forward of most laptop displays that lack Mini-LED or OLED technology, however it has limits. Highlights don’t shine with the brilliance present in actually nice HDR displays just like the Asus ROG PG32UQX.

Samsung M8 Smart Monitor: Motion readability

The Samsung M8 Smart Monitor is a 60Hz show. It additionally lacks assist for adaptive refresh-rate know-how, so it may well’t sync the refresh price to the output of a related PC or recreation console.

Unsurprisingly, this results in points with movement in video games. Screen tearing can happen if a recreation’s body price is just not nicely aligned with the monitor’s refresh price.

Motion readability is just not good. Fast objects look blurry and darker objects present trails behind them. Panning the digicam throughout a scene reduces readability, making it onerous to select wonderful particulars. The monitor’s Game Mode appears to marginally enhance this however nonetheless isn’t nice.

Games look nice, however those that like fast-paced motion will discover the expertise much less responsive and should discover it onerous to select particulars essential to carry out nicely in aggressive titles. The M8 Smart Monitor is a greater match for Microsoft Flight Simulator than Halo Infinite.

A observe about picture processing

Most displays show a picture with the naked minimal of picture processing, however the Samsung M8 Smart Monitor is a little more concerned. It has some de-judder choices for bettering movement smoothness, for instance.

Fortunately, this didn’t hurt picture high quality, and I didn’t discover a rise in enter lag in comparison with a extra typical monitor. The de-judder function brought on flickering in some checks with very low body charges (under 20fps), however this received’t be a difficulty in regular use, as content material with such a body price is uncommon. It’s additionally potential to show the function off.

Final ideas

Samsung’s M8 Smart Monitor is an alluring possibility for many who desire a show for combined use in a small house. It’s successfully a tv and laptop monitor in a single package deal. Image high quality can be top-notch.

It’s a candy deal, however soured by a number of errors. The monitor’s enter choices are usually not suited to its meant use. Samsung’s Tizen provides sensible TV options however proves complicated to make use of. There’s no assist for adaptive sync or an enhanced refresh price.

These points are a barrier however don’t destroy the M8 Smart Monitor. It’s a good selection for many who want the options of a tv and PC monitor in a single compact show.