Samsung has just confirmed that it has shifted over one million units of its Smart Monitor series. And this is probably because the Samsung Smart Monitor M8 features are utterly OUTSTANDING…
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Samsung makes a ton of products, ranging from phones to fridges and televisions. But it also makes monitors for PC and Macs too, and the company’s Smart Monitor series is extremely popular. Samsung has now sold over 1 million units from this series – and for a monitor, that is damn impressive.
As for options inside the Samsung Smart Monitor series, you have plenty, and they all come in at different price points, owing to different sized screens and resolutions. Here are the current most popular models in Samsung’s Smart Monitor lineup:
- 32in M80B UHD, USB-C White Smart Monitor with Speakers & Remote
- 32in M50A Full HD Smart Monitor with Speakers & Remote
- 32in M50A Full HD White Smart Monitor with Speakers & Remote
- 43in M70A UHD, USB-C Smart Monitor with Speakers & Remote
But what makes Samsung’s Smart Monitor range so popular? Its M80B – AKA the M8 – model does have a rather familiar design, looking very similar to an iMac – although, I’d argue Samsung’s design is much more refined. It lacks the massive chin found on Apple’s new iMacs which makes it feel like you have more screen to play with.
At 32in, the M80B model – which just so happens to be the most popular – is also larger than Apple’s iMac. In fact, I’d go as far as saying, if you’re running a Mac mini or a Mac Studio, the M80B model could well be the monitor you’ve been looking for.
Why? Because it is WAY more than just a bog-standard computer monitor.
Samsung Smart Monitor M8 Features
Display Resolution, Refresh Rate & Size
With respect to features, the Samsung Smart Monitor M8 is packed to the gills with useful stuff. Firstly, it has a massive 32in screen with a 3,840 x 2,160 resolution and a response time of 4ms.
Not to savvy with resolutions? Check out this guide – it covers all the basics.
The screen uses a 16:9 aspect ratio, so it’s great for both working and watching media – stuff like Netflix and YouTube. And it comes with a refresh rate of 60Hz which, while not immensely impressive, is perfectly adequate at this price point.
It’s Also A Smart TV
Gross screen specs aside, the Smart Monitor M8’s real magic is located inside its brilliant features set. Most of the time, you will use it as a monitor, either for your PC or Mac. But the Smart Monitor M8 is also a Smart TV too, and it runs on Samsung’s Tizen OS, so it is a proper smart TV just like Samsung’s actual Smart TVs. You get the same services, the same app support – everything. This in itself is a huge USP for the Smart Monitor M8.
It Has Samsung Hub
If you’re interested in making your home smarter or plan on getting some IoT devices in the future, you will be able to control all of them via the Smart Monitor M8 as it runs Samsung Hub – Samsung’s smart home application. With Samsung Hub, you can control things like your phone, your lights, and even your fridge and washing machine from the M8 Smart Monitor.
And best of all, you don’t even need to connect the Smart Monitor M8 to a computer to do any of this stuff. Because it runs Tizen OS and Samsung Hub, you can use the display to do things without ever having to connect it to a PC and/or Mac. It runs its own software, so in this respect, it is a standalone monitor that’ll work fine by itself. You could have one in your bedroom, for instance, and use it simply as a Smart TV.
Samsung TV Plus
I said that the Smart Monitor M8 is a full-fat Smart TV. But if you aren’t familiar with Samsung’s latest smart TVs, you might not have heard of or come across Samsung TV Plus. Samsung TV Plus brings free live and on-demand TV to the Smart Monitor M8 (and other Samsung TVs). It doesn’t cost a thing and there is no sign-up required, it is just an added bonus of running a Samsung TV – or the Smart Monitor M8.
This means you can record live TV shows on your work monitor. Access streaming platforms like Disney+, Apple TV+, Netflix, and Amazon Prime Video, as well as the thousands of additional apps available inside Samsung’s Tizen ecosystem. Smart TVs have come on leaps and bounds in the last few years, and Samsung is way out on the cutting edge. But with the Smart Monitor M8, you get ALL of its latest offerings and software inside a computer monitor.
Wireless & Remote Access To PC
If you plan on running the Smart Monitor M8 with a PC, there’s a built-in feature called Workmode that lets you remotely access your Windows machine, accessing its files and applications. It also comes bundled with its owner browser and Office 365, so you don’t even need to connect it to a PC or Mac.
The Smart Monitor M8 also works with DeX too, so if you like that kind of thing, you’re covered in this regard too. Again, no other monitor that I know of can do this – or even attempts to do anything like this.
And it is stuff like this, along with the insane amount of features Samsung has crammed inside this thing, which has made the Smart Monitor M8 one of the most popular monitors on the market right now.
Bixby And Alexa Built-In
Most people aren’t too sweet on Bixby. Samsung clearly knows this, so it has – begrudgingly, I assume – added both Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant into the Smart Monitor M8 as well, giving you three potential options for your digital voice assistant.
In order to access either Bixby, Google Assistant, or Alexa, all you have to do is issue a command and the Smart Monitor M8 will listen and comply with your demands. You can use its built-in voice assistants to do all kinds of things from setting reminders to opening certain documents and files, as well as apps like Netflix and the like.
And It Even Has AirPlay Support
Most products, at least most outside of Apple’s ecosystem, do not support AirPlay as a standard. But Samsung knows that with the price of Apple’s monitors as they are, and the company’s focus on selling desktop computers without displays, demand for AirPlay-compatible monitors is going to go through the roof, as Mac mini and Mac Studio users look for cheaper options outside of Apple’s ecosystem.
With AirPlay integration, you can wirelessly connect Apple devices to the Smart Monitor and view on a bigger screen. You can also mirror documents, apps, and websites, and, of course, stream media from your iPhone or iPad to the Smart Monitor M8. And if you’re using a Mac mini or an Apple Mac Studio, again, the Smart Monitor M8 is starting to look like one of the best options on the market right now at this price point.
It Costs 60% Less Than Apple’s Studio Display
The Smart Monitor M8 has a 4K resolution display too; this is lower than Apple’s 5K Studio Display, of course, but what you have to keep in mind is that the Smart Monitor M8 retails for better than half the price of Apple’s Studio Display at just $699/£699.
And for me, that in and of itself, as well as all of its additional features, make it a far more compelling option than Apple’s impressive but incredibly expensive 5K monitor.
Also, 4K is more than enough for 99.9% of users. I’d argue it is enough for ALL users, but you’ll always get some people that claim they cannot live without 5K resolution. For “most” people, which is a nice way of saying, pretty much everybody you know and will ever know, a 4K resolution that is HDR10+ compliant and covers 99% of the sRGB color spectrum is obviously going to be great, whatever you plan on doing with it.
Is The Smart Monitor M8 Worth It?
Monitors are usually pretty dull and dreary affairs. You have a screen, some I/O, and that’s about it. But the Smart Monitor M8 is different. It is both an all-in-one computer, a monitor for PC and Mac, and a Smart TV that runs the same operating system as Samsung’s latest flagship TVs. And it costs 60% less than Apple’s Studio Display. Given all that, I’d say it is 100% worth it in 2022 and beyond.
I have been researching this monitor extensively ever since it launched. I will soon be retiring my aging iMac, replacing it with an Apple Mac Studio. But the is NO WAY I’ll be buying a Studio Display. I need an alternative, and I think in the form of the Smart Monitor M8, I have found one. Hell, for the same price as Apple’s Studio Display, I could get two of Samsung’s Smart Monitor M8.
Personally, I think this is the best monitor on the market right now for Mac and PC users. But I think the vast majority of Samsung’s Smart Monitor M8 sales in the next few years will be from Mac mini and Mac Studio users. Apple basically priced itself out of the game with the Studio Display. You’d be mad to pay $1699 for one of those when you can get Samsung’s incredible alternative for $1000 less.
