Samsung Smart Monitor M8
A great choice if you’re after a work monitor during the day and for watching TV and films after hours
“Even though the M8 costs £140 more than the M7, this is a far better offering. The main reason: improved image quality”
SCORE ★★★★
PRICE £441 (£529 inc VAT) from samsung.com
Remember those innocent days before AI when “smart” was the hottest buzzword in tech? Samsung was one of its keenest advocates, applying it to the Smart Monitor M7 ( see issue 326, p93) back in 2021, and for good reason. That was a 31.5in 4K monitor with Wi-Fi 5 that included Tizen OS, so you could use it for streaming TV or smart home duties without the need for a PC.
Now we have the M8, which is a 31.5in 4K monitor with Wi-Fi 5 that includes Tizen OS. But even though the M8 costs £140 more than the M7, this is a far better offering.
The main reason: improved image quality. The M8’s VA panel shares the same technology as its predecessor, but peak brightness has almost doubled to 461cd/m2 and it now has a much wider and more vibrant gamut: 84% of the DCI-P3 space is enough to make films and TV shows look great, and a huge jump up from the 69% I saw previously.
Another major positive is that the new panel’s whites are far better suited to working, and with so much desktop area to use the M8 is a capable work monitor. Gamers should steer clear, however, as the 60Hz refresh rate is an immediate handbrake. That’s a shame, as the hefty pair of 5W speakers add atmosphere to games.
You have a choice of inputs, with one HDMI and one USB-C. The latter charges at up to 65W, which is fine for regular laptops but won’t be enough to feed high-performance models. It can’t go higher because Samsung’s external power brick is rated at 140W and the M8’s power demands peaked at 61W when I pushed it to full brightness; that leaves little wiggle room. At 200cd/m 2 its power draw settled at 37W.
That’s a high figure even for a 4K panel, but bear in mind that Tizen OS is always running in the background. Click the Home button on the remote control and you’ll drop into an interface that will be familiar to Samsung TV owners, giving you access to its TV Plus platform for viewing live channels. Or hit the Netflix, Disney+ or Prime Video buttons to jump straight to those apps.
There are extra services, too. For example, thanks to the supplied 1440p webcam – which attaches magnetically via Pogo-style buttons at the top rear – you can fire up the free fitness programs and the M8 will track your movement as you go through the exercises. Or you may prefer to use the M8 as a SmartThings hub.
Connect a mouse and keyboard – the M8 supports Bluetooth 5.2 but there are also two USB-A ports – and this can even turn into a remote monitor. You can use Easy Connection, which requires you to install Samsung’s software on your target PC, screen mirroring, Samsung’s DeX desktop environment (if you own a recent Samsung phone or tablet), plus Office 365. But only if you’re a masochist who likes eternal delays before docs load. This variety of tasks can make the M8 confusing to use. Tap the remote control by mistake and you’re dropped into Tyzen OS, and you must then fight through the menu system to find your PC.
It’s harder to control settings on the M8 than normal monitors, too. Although Samsung provides an OSD, which you control via the mini joystick on the rear, you have to wade through submenus simply to adjust brightness. Nor do you have the same level of control over gamuts or settings as you would find on a similarly priced non-smart 4K monitor.
Although it can pivot into portrait mode, this isn’t the most flexible of stands. It tilts 2° forward and 15° backwards, with no swivel option. At least this time – unlike the M7 – you get 120mm of height adjustment.
Whether the Smart Monitor M8 is right for you boils down to your intended usage. If it’s a roughly even split between streaming TV services and working, then it’s a strong choice at a competitive price. But if you’ll be spending any more than 80% of your time working, then I’d stick to a regular monitor and bolt a TV stick into its HDMI port instead.
SPECIFICATIONS
31.5in 3,840 x 2,160 VA panel up to 60Hz refresh rate 8-bit + FRC panel (1.07 billion colours) 4ms response time 2,560 x 1,440 webcam Wi-Fi 5 Bluetooth 5.2 HDMI 2 USB-C (65W power delivery) 2 x USB-A 2 2 x 5W speakers Tizen 8 OS remote control pivot 120mm height adjustment -2° to 15° tilt 713 x 200 x 496-616mm (WDH) 7.2kg 1yr RTB warranty part code, LS32DM801UUXXU