Skip to main content

Samsung’s new Smart Monitors bring the TV to your desk without the PC

 

Capitalizing on the work-from-home era that’s been accelerated by the global pandemic, Samsung’s new Smart Monitors are designed to help you stay entertained and productive — all without requiring the power of a PC or desktop. These monitors can be used as a stand-alone panel for video streaming  — similar to a living room television — or serve as companions to smartphones and tablets for wireless casting.

Recommended Videos

While Samsung’s new M5 and M7 Smart Monitors function like any other desktop monitor by allowing you to connect a compatible PC or laptop via a USB-C or HDMI cable, these panels also come with built-in Wi-Fi, which enables several new tricks to help them stand out. The M5 and M7 come with smart TV apps borrowed from Samsung’s lineup of living room televisions, integrated smart assistant features, and the ability to wirelessly cast to the screen via AirPlay 2 or Samsung DeX.

Watch and stream without a box

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Perfect for small spaces — like dorm rooms and kitchens — the M5 and M7 Samsung Smart Monitors run the company’s Tizen operating system and support popular streaming apps that are available on much larger living room televisions. The M5 and M7 can run the Netflix, Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video, Hulu, and YouTube apps natively on the display without any external devices. This means you don’t need to plug in an Apple TV box or a PC to stream some of your favorite online content, making these monitors the perfect small streaming TV set.

“The Samsung Smart Monitor is the first UHD display to double as a smart TV and offers a full suite of apps and content to take users’ minds off the needs of the day,” the company said in a statement.

Other apps available for the platform include Disney+, HBO Max, and more, which will help the Smart Monitor to “further blur the line between a monitor and a smart TV, making it the perfect way to watch whatever the user wants, where they want it.”

A companion for your smartphone and tablet

Image used with permission by copyright holder

With Wi-Fi built-in, the Samsung Smart Monitors support wireless casting, including Apple AirPlay 2 and Samsung’s own wireless DeX standard. This allows you to cast content from a laptop, desktop, or compatible smartphone or tablet to the monitor without wires or cables to easily share content on demand.

For those within Samsung’s ecosystem, you can use Samsung’s wireless DeX to connect your Samsung smartphone or tablet to the screen wirelessly. With wireless DeX, not only can you cast pictures and videos, but you’ll also get a desktop-like UI — complete with multiple, resizable windows — when your device is connected. This will allow you to be even more productive, with an experience that mimics what you can get on a Chrome OS, MacOS, or Windows 10 device, all from your smartphone. If you want a more simple experience, wireless DeX also allows screen mirroring.

A built-in assistant

With the integrated stereo 5W speakers, the monitors can serve as a hub for your smart assistant. These panels come with access to Samsung’s Bixby 2.0, Amazon’s Alexa, and Google Assistant. Samsung also promises SmartThings integration to help access and control your smart home.

The M5 and M7 monitors also come with a full-featured remote that allows users to control the display and access hot keys that will link directly to streaming apps.

Available in two screen sizes with HDR10 support

Image used with permission by copyright holder

Samsung’s Smart Monitors are available in several configurations. The M5 series is available in 27- or 32-inch FHD screens, while the M7 is available in a 27-inch UHD 4K configuration. All configurations reach up to 250 nits of brightness, support HDR10, and can be placed on a stand or mounted to a wall to save space. The 27-inch M5 is available for $229, while the 32-inch version starts at $279. The M7 is available for $399.

Chuong Nguyen
Silicon Valley-based technology reporter and Giants baseball fan who splits his time between Northern California and Southern…
Asus’ new monitors don’t just display pixels, but they clean the air too
A woman sitting in front of the the Asus VU34WCIP-W monitor with built-in air purifier

Asus has introduced a new lineup of monitors featuring built-in air purification, combining display technology with environmental health benefits. The VU Air Ionizer series includes three models: the 23.8-inch VU249HFI-W, the 27-inch VU279HFI-W, and the 34-inch VU34WCIP-W.

These displays come with an integrated "VU Air Ionizer" that, according to Asus, removes up to 90% of airborne dust and pollutants within a cubic meter over three hours. This feature aims to improve air quality, particularly for users in dusty environments, though air ionization technology remains a subject of debate in terms of its effectiveness.

Read more
The Samsung 9100 Pro just made your current SSD obsolete
The Samsung 9100 Pro PCIe Gen 5 SSD with box packaging

Samsung has announced its fastest consumer SSD to date, the 9100 Pro. The drive comes with some of the fastest PCIe Gen 5.0 transfer speeds, essentially making it useful for power users, gamers, and professionals who need high-speed storage for demanding workloads.

According to the company, the 9100 Pro offers sequential read speeds of up to 14,800MB/s sequential read speeds and 13,400MB sequential write speeds making it almost twice as fast as its predecessor, the 990 Pro. This makes it the fastest PCIe Gen 5 consumer SSD on the market. The only other drive that comes close is the Crucial T705 which offers read and write speeds of up to 14,500MB/s and 12,700MB/s respectively.

Read more
Samsung’s XR headset and smart glasses: here’s what we know after Galaxy Unpacked 2025
The Project Moohan headset.

At Galaxy Unpacked 2025, Samsung teased its upcoming XR headset, Project Moohan. This Vision Pro competitor is expected to launch later this year at a significantly lower cost than Apple's spatial computer. Samsung's mention was quite brief but we do have plenty of information about this exciting new device that's expected to arrive later this year.

Samsung isn't new to XR and with the backing of two other tech giants, Project Moohan could become a serious threat to Apple's Vision Pro and VR market leader Meta and its Quest 3 headset.
Samsung's XR history
While it might seem like Samsung is rushing to build a headset to answer Apple's Vision Pro, Samsung has a long history of VR development, starting with the GearVR system in 2015. Fast forward eight years to the Galaxy Unpacked 2023 event to see the first mention of work on Samsung's XR headset in partnership with Google and Qualcomm.

Read more