Hi Friends,
With the hybrid work and office setup, one item that is desired, required or needed by everyone is the Desktop Monitors and a desk. My Work from Home setup always had a second monitor which I bought for around ZAR 1000 rands long back using one of the gift vouchers sent by Acer when they launched their local online shop. That one remained my second screen throughout 2016-17 to till date to connect for all my blogging and Youtube editing.
Earlier in December 2021, I requested the Samsung Team for Odyssey G9 Gaming Monitor and that one is the best you and money can ever buy. The review is here on this link. Then after it went away, I wanted to check on their Smart Monitor M7 which I also received for some time and it really changed my life for sure before it went away. The pain of missing watching entertainment on Samsung's UHD/AMOLED displays is definitely felt by the eyes and heart.
Coming back to the Smart Monitor which comes in two models - M5 and M7 and both come in 32inch display sizes whereas M5 comes in a 27inch version as well. I got the M7 32inch version for review and totally loved using the same. Before we look at the smart features imbibed in the Samsung Monitors, let's look at the display quality on the same. M7 Smart Monitor has a flat panel design in the black colour body which has a refresh rate of 60Hz. UHD display means the panel has a resolution of 3840x2160 with HDR10 and a contrast ratio of 3000:1. Please don't compare the display and audio quality of this monitor to the Samsung Televisions you may have seen in the shops with QLED, Neo QLED as those are much expensive technology and the displays on the shops play some super hi-quality 8k or 4k videos in loop.
There are some built-in modes which change the contrasts, brightness and sharpness to make the display suitable for your needs like Game mode, Eye-saver mode, ultrawide game view, flicker-free, adaptive picture etc. The adaptive picture is just like smartphone displays which change the display brightness based on the current surrounding and light levels. It's really helpful if you are working in changing lighting conditions to reduce stress on your eyes.
On the Samsung M7 32inch display with an aspect ratio of 16:9, I loved watching the 1080p and 2160p videos on Youtube for sure. There is an inbuilt audio speaker in case you are thinking about the smart systems but as I told you earlier it's made for common zoom or Teams meetings, to do some little background music or even watching some Youtube videos or Netflix and other streaming platforms. It didn't give the punch we all want in our music or movies though but for day-to-day listening in the background, it worked fine. I watched the new Lion King on the same but the feel of the thunder was not there if I used the built-in speakers during the scene where a lot of bulls are running in the trench.
There is a USB type C port to charge your devices (65W) and connect your smartphone to the smart monitor at the bottom of the screen. It not only helps you charge your smartphone but can also connect your device data to be displayed on the screen via mirroring and other features that are unique to the Samsung ecosystem like Dex. I didn't use this feature as I only came to know about it as I was writing this blog post. This one is compatible with Apple Airplay 2 as well which is good for Apple users too and gives them an alternative to Apple monitors.
The best part of this device which I loved is the remote control which has a voice assistant to control your display via Bixby as well if you are using your Samsung smartphone to switch between various apps. But in general, also, the power on/off is great as you don't need to press any physical buttons on the monitor, volume up and down, move to apps in no time, change the source if there are any office tasks to be completed. Also, there are games which can be played using the remote which can be installed on the monitor itself but I didn't want my kids to know off so I didn't switch them On.
Tizen is the operating system Samsung is using for its TVs and this is there in this M7 Smart Monitor as well. There are a wide variety of apps already available in the Samsung Ecosystem from games to streaming platforms to make it enjoyable. You can also use Office 365 and other things to directly make the changes in your presentations and excels and email using an external keyboard and mouse. It's a really nice alternative to switching on your laptop etc as you get the full-screen experience making using excel sheets so comfortable and helps your productivity as well. I have always used multiple screens to cover my different tasks on the go.
Overall, it has a lot of features which make it smarter and better than regular monitors. If you are looking for a gaming monitor, then this is not the right one but if you are looking for a productive desktop monitor which has some entertainment edge the same, Samsung's M7 or even M5 is the right choice. I also heard that Samsung M8 is also in the market now but have not seen it still in South Africa which looks like the Apple Monitors with its colourful setup. I am definitely sure that I will have M8 as my daily driver for the next few years once it reaches South African markets. Samsung M7 Smart Monitor is available for around ZAR 8999 at various online stores whereas the Samsung Online store is selling the same for ZAR 6999. Evetech has the same cheapest going in their clearance sale for ZAR 5999. Thanks once again Samsung South Africa for making my eyes look at some beautiful screen moments and increasing my productivity too. The unboxing video is right here on my Youtube Channel -
Cheers!!!
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