Samsung Smart Monitor M9 M90SF Review – The Love-Hate OLED Experience
Hello everyone. Strap in, because today we’re talking about a product that can’t seem to decide if it’s a premium media powerhouse or a confused Frankenstein creature cobbled together from discarded TV parts and monitor scraps. Yes, that’s right – the Samsung Smart Monitor M9 M90SF. Samsung’s latest attempt to close the gap between your work monitor and your Netflix addiction. And on paper, it’s looking good. In reality? Well… let’s open this patient up on my imaginary MD’s operating table and see where the arteries are clogged.
Part Monitor, Part TV – Identity Crisis Edition
This thing is gorgeous, I’ll give it that. A proper 4K OLED panel with a 120-Hz refresh rate? That’s triple-A title-level specs, the kind of stats you’d expect for competitive eSports or cinematic visuals – not your average lounging-on-the-sofa binge sessions. The stand is robust, adjustable for height and tilt (with full vertical rotation like some showoff PC tower turned portrait mode), but no swivel. Because, you know, moving the thing horizontally is apparently too 2020.
It won’t pretend to be a TV physically – you’re getting a straight-up monitor design here – but fire up the Tizen OS, grab the included Samsung Universal Remote, log into your mandatory Samsung account (because of course you have to hand over your credentials before you’re allowed to open Disney+), and you might start to believe you’re watching an actual television. You even get free local TV, news, sports, and kids channels thanks to Samsung TV Plus. Lovely. It’s like Samsung generously giving you candy – but you had to bend over backwards to open the wrapper.
Now, the monitor controls themselves – if you’re unlucky enough to touch them – are straight from the ninth circle of UI hell. A four-way joystick and a power button give you access to some, not all, of the important settings. Finding something as simple as brightness feels like trying to locate a legendary weapon in an open-world RPG – entirely possible, but exhausting and slightly humiliating.
Ports – Minimalist or Just Lazy?
HDMI 2.1, DisplayPort 1.4, two USB-A 2.0 ports, and a USB-C port with 90 watts power delivery. That’s your lot. No SD card slot, no Ethernet port, and don’t even whisper Thunderbolt if you value your sanity. Also, wireless connectivity? Wi-Fi 5. Because nothing says “premium” like wireless standards from yesteryear. I’d expect this from an off-brand Amazon budget knockoff, not a device positioned as your dream all-in-one screen.
Made for Movies – And Maybe Games, If You’re Lucky
The big selling point? OLED. You get deep blacks, vibrant colours, and an image so sharp you could probably cut yourself if you stared long enough. Samsung claims 1,000 nits peak brightness, and I clocked 980 in a 1% window – not bad, though in SDR it’s dimmer than an underfunded indie horror game corridor at just 233 nits. Keep your blinds closed if you want to enjoy this thing in daylight.
Colour coverage is vast, accuracy… less so. Out of the box, it’s warm and fudgy in “Warm1” mode, only hitting respectable colour accuracy once you switch to “Standard.” But here’s where it gets maddening: HDR on macOS? Like Bigfoot sightings – lots of talk, zero confirmed reality. And bugs? Oh yes. On a Mac, videos fast-forward through themselves like they’re speedrunning Netflix content. On Windows? Flawless, which almost feels like a conspiracy to keep Mac users weeping into their expensive keyboards.
The Price – Wallet Damage Report
Original price? $1,600. For that you could buy a high-end OLED TV and a gaming monitor. Even with discounts, it’s still hundreds more than competing 4K OLED monitors, including ones with a screaming-fast 240-Hz refresh rate. So, unless you absolutely must have the integrated Tizen OS, the fancy remote, free TV channels, onboard speakers, and the decent but not life-changing 12MP webcam… you might want to save your money for hardware that isn’t trying to be both Bard and Barbarian at the same time in your tech DnD campaign.
Final Diagnosis
The Samsung Smart Monitor M9 M90SF is the kind of device that, in a medical analogy, looks fantastic in the waiting room but makes you question your choices halfway through surgery. It’s a killer screen for movies and streaming, passable for games, and serviceable for work, but hampered by absurd pricing, middling port selection, outdated wireless, and certain OS-specific bugs. At a much lower price, I’d say it’s an easy recommend. At or near full retail? You’d better be obsessed with the idea of a TV-monitor hybrid, or you’re just burning cash for the sake of it.
Verdict: Good hardware marred by questionable costs and some facepalm design choices.
And that, ladies and gentlemen, is entirely my opinion.
Article source: Samsung Smart Monitor M9 M90SF Review: The 4K OLED Hybrid, https://www.wired.com/review/samsung-smart-monitor-m9-m90sf/
