Samsung M9 Smart Monitor (M90SF)
ZDNET Highlights
- The latest smart monitor features a 120Hz OLED display and is priced at $1,599.
- It runs on Tizen OS, but can also be connected to Mac or Windows.
- Some notable omissions include Wi-Fi 6E/7, an SD card slot, and a proper rotating mount.
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There I was: logged off of Slack, feet up, and mentally prepared for the start of another exhausting but exciting NBA season. This year’s opening double-header was broadcast on Peacock, so all it took was a few taps on the remote to turn on the streaming service and watch the Houston Rockets upset the defending champions, the Oklahoma City Thunder. He didn’t.
But this has been my life this past week with Samsung’s latest M9 (M90SF) 32-inch Smart MonitorA display that can expand any Mac, Windows or Linux system while doubling as a TV. All it takes is the press of a button, and you’re looking at a consumer product that my parents weren’t willing to put on my wish list as a child.
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To be clear, this isn’t the first monitor hybrid on the market, and it’s certainly not the first for Samsung. But it is one of, if not the most, capable.
It commands a high price – $1,600, during the rare times it’s not discounted – but for those who want a monitor that looks as good in the office for professional work as it does for after-hours content consumption, this may be your best option today.
For a more sophisticated TV, setting it up is quite simple. There’s a pleasant, tactile aluminum hand feel as soon as you snap the base mount onto the stand and back of the monitor, and the rear USB-C port (along with HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4, and two USB-A ports) is powerful enough to deliver 90W for a single-cable, pass-through experience.
That said, the M9 is one of the better-looking smart monitors I’ve tested; It has a definite industrial presence that is refreshing to see in a market full of divided decisions. Smart monitors have a toy-like look and feel, which doesn’t inspire much confidence, but not this one.
However, the design of the M9 is not perfect. The first drawback is that you can’t physically rotate the monitor with the default stand, even though the height and tilt adjustments are quite flexible. Instead, you’ll need a taller VESA mount to fully rotate the 32-inch screen 90 degrees.
Then there’s the full tank of a power brick that you’ll want to keep from hanging and that requires ample space to be stored. I have a cable compartment under my sit-stand desk Now! There’s enough room to stash the power brick away, but your setup may not be as flexible.
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The viewing experience on the M9 is quite good, thanks to an inky OLED panel that delivers great contrast levels and bright-enough colors, whether you’re in PC mode, running Tizen OS (the TV operating system), or both at the same time, thanks to split-screen viewing.
There is no noticeable change in color when viewing the monitor from different angles – doing so only highlights the effectiveness of its anti-glare properties.
When watching streaming services, including YouTube, I found that the picture quality was significantly better on Tizen OS than when I scaled or mirrored my Mac. The native apps do a more reliable and faster job of customizing video resolution, and navigating the TV with the included solar-powered remote is just as responsive as any other 2025 TV I’ve tested.
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Where things fall short for me is color accuracy, especially with the default picture settings. When editing product shots in Adobe Lightroom, the monitor portrayed raw images with more saturation and sharpness than my MacBook Pro. Fortunately, this was something I was able to calibrate, and I recommend doing so to anyone planning to use the M9 for professional work.
To my surprise, the built-in 4K ultrawide webcam and internal speakers have been above average, especially for a monitor. The video feed has a good amount of detail, though the field of view is possibly too wide for some, and the speakers didn’t inspire me to want a dedicated sound system on my first listen. Instead, it’s a fairly balanced audio profile that gets loud enough for TV watching.
ZDNET’s shopping advice
Ultimately, Samsung M9 This is the company’s best effort as a monitor for work and play. It’s well-built, the duality of operating systems is highly versatile, and some of the shortcomings are manageable, including the lack of Wi-Fi 6E (let alone Wi-Fi 7) and the inability to rotate the screen with the VESA mount.
At a retail price of $1,600, I would only recommend the monitor if it were discounted; There are plenty of competing QD-OLED and OLED monitors on the market with better specs and lower prices that prevent the Samsung M9 from becoming a surefire choice.
But if space is limited and your budget is aligned, you may be considering a smart monitor that will check all the right boxes for you.
