Samsung M8, somewhere between TV and monitor

Smart Monitor M8. © Samsung.

Samsung is blurring the lines between monitor and television. The company revealed the M8 Smart Monitor, a 32-inch screen with a 4K resolution that supports a billion colors, 99% coverage of sRGB, and bears some resemblance to Apple’s brand-new Studio Display. What’s more, it’s also a TV with an integrated system (Tizen, which powers all Samsung TVs) that allows access to video streaming services via Wi-Fi such as Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Disney+ and Apple TV, without the need to be connected to a PC. And since it's also indeed a monitor, it has all the I/O you'd expect to find on a desktop display: two USB-C ports, a micro-HDMI port (an HDMI to micro-HDMI cable ships with the display). It also supports up to 65 watts of charging through USB-C.

The M8 is probably going after Apple’s customers with its color range of white, green, pink and blue. At 32 inches rather than 27 inches, it’s larger than the Studio Display, but offers only 4K (UHD) instead of 5K. As with the Studio, there’s a webcam (Full HD), speakers, and a built-in microphone. Though it’s not as technologically out there as the Studio Display, which goes for 1,600 USD anyway, its 700 USD (white model) or 730 USD (other colors) price tag might well win over Apple customers. It could perfectly well serve as a main screen for a Mac Mini or as an affordable second screen for a laptop.

⇨ Petapixel, Jaron Schneider, “Samsung’s M8 4K smart display blurs the lines between tv and monitor.”

2022-03-28