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.
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.
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
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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
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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.
I couldn’t live without this underrated monitor feature
It's easy to get fixated on image quality when looking for a new monitor, but one feature has flown under the radar for far too long. Over the past several years, we've seen an increasing number of monitors include a KVM switch, and it's a game changer for using your display with multiple devices.
It's one of those features that's easy to look past, as it gets jumbled in the middle of a list of obligatory features that you'll find on numerous displays. Don't discount a KVM, though. Next time you pick up a new monitor, make sure it includes a KVM switch.
What exactly is a KVM?
A new wave of cheap mini-LED gaming monitors has arrived
HDR-capable gaming monitors are all the rage these days. Whether they're OLED or mini-LED, it's finally possible to get a really killer HDR experience from your monitor. Until very recently, however, you'd be spending lots of money to do it.
Enter a new wave of mini-LED gaming monitors, with prices as low as $280, that call into question similar-priced monitors that are edge-lit or have no local dimming at all. You'd be right to be skeptical, and even though these new monitors can't compare against some of the best gaming monitors, they're a big leap forward for putting proper HDR monitors in front of a lot more gamers.
MSI and Asus just flipped the script for their OLED gaming monitors
MSI and Asus are stepping up their monitor game. Both companies are now offering burn-in protection as part of the warranties on their OLED displays, which is a welcome layer of security considering how many displays both brands have launching this year.
Although we've had OLED gaming monitors for close to two years, most brands have paid very little attention to the risk of burn-in. In January, we took a look at the burn-in protection that the largest brands offered on their OLED monitors and found only three of the eight we looked at explicitly mentioned burn-in protection. MSI and Asus jumping on board brings that number to five, joining the ranks of Alienware, Corsair, and LG.
