Samsung's Smart Monitor M8 Gets Massive $300 Black Friday Discount, Now Just $399.99

[alexandr]

Hmm well I won't be calibrating it. Only use it for work. But I do wonder if I'll get annoyed with 2 different screens? But I'm guessing half decent screen but rubbish on the feature integration. Maybe I'll wait for another Mateview. Or look at LG.

I mean, I do design for a living, so it matters to me a great deal. If you don't care about the quality of the panel, this will probably work for you. It's not built super well either, at least when compared to  — it's a bit "shaky" and feels cheap.

 

[TooSixy]

FYI I'm definitely not seeing the coupon to clip on the detail page ... right now seeing $499.99 and 5 left.

1) I see no such deal on either of the two listings on Amazon for this monitor, including the link from the MacRumors article.

You need to select Amazon.com as the seller in order to see the $100 coupon.

 

[earthTOmitchel]

1) I see no such deal on either of the two listings on Amazon for this monitor, including the link from the MacRumors article.

2) terrible reviews for this monitor;

3) my own past experiences with Samsung TV’s and monitors has been pretty negative.

/threestrikes

Hey I've updated the article, for some reason our link was going to a different seller instead of Amazon direct. You need to make sure the monitor says shipped and sold by Amazon, if not head to the list of sellers on the right side of the page and find the Amazon one.

Our link SHOULD take you there now either way.

 

[CalMin]

It's a piece of garbage. I tried very hard to calibrate it in order to even remotely resemble my MacBook, and then it went back.

THIS THIS THIS!!

I'm not a graphics pro or a colorist but I need displays to look 'right' next to my Mac screen and most don't. I've returned so many monitors because of this.

 

[alexandr]

THIS THIS THIS!!

I'm not a graphics pro or a colorist but I need displays to look 'right' next to my Mac screen and most don't. I've returned so many monitors because of this.

Yup, that can be a challenge. And with this particular monitor — the impossible dream)

 

[Radin.Y]

I haven't heard anyone say anything good about this monitor. I'm guessing that's the reason for the massive discount.

Then I guess you haven't read enough on it. I've been using its predecessor with my M1 Mac since the day I got the computer and I have no issues. Color accuracy may not be the best for content creators, and yes the panel could be a bit brighter, but for most indoor cases, it's a pretty good monitor/small smart TV for most people. (I have never used its smart features though, only as a monitor. so I can't comment on the smart TV interface.)

My monitor (M7) supports up to 120 fps on HDMI, but only 60 fps on USB-C. I use it for work, and don't care about refresh rate, and the one-cable connect for data and charging is veeeery convenient.

 

[Radin.Y]

Because 4k with 2x scaling means 1920x1080 resolution. On a 32" that's wayyyy too large. And not using integer scaling results in an absolutely trash image. You'd be better off running it at native resolution without any scaling.

Mine works flawlessly when scaled, granted, I am aware it is not quite as sharp as my MacBook, but serves me well. Native resolution 4k would be waaaay too tiny to read emails on.

 

[nickbatz]

It's a piece of garbage. I tried very hard to calibrate it in order to even remotely resemble my MacBook, and then it went back.

Calibrating a desktop monitor to match a MacBook is going to be difficult, especially since there's nothing to say the MacBook is calibrated to reality (in fact it probably isn't).

The real test is whether the monitor is calibrated to a serious photo printer using the supplied profile. My Samsung monitor happens to match my Canon Pro-1000 very closely. People who are very serious about this have special calibration tools, although for my uses that isn't necessary.

 

[alexandr]

Calibrating a desktop monitor to match a MacBook is going to be difficult, especially since there's nothing to say the MacBook is calibrated to reality (in fact it probably isn't).

The real test is whether the monitor is calibrated to a serious photo printer using the supplied profile. My Samsung monitor happens to match my Canon Pro-1000 very closely. People who are very serious about this have special calibration tools, although for my uses that isn't necessary.

I hardly ever need to print anything. And yes, I agree with you on mac's calibration, but that's what we use, so we are all in-sync with out-of-the-box MacBooks. The M8 is all over the place, the display quality is just too poor to compare.

 

[Pezimak]

I mean, I do design for a living, so it matters to me a great deal. If you don't care about the quality of the panel, this will probably work for you. It's not built super well either, at least when compared to  — it's a bit "shaky" and feels cheap.

Hmm well my Mateview isn’t shaky or feels cheap, not an Apple level screen but not their prices either, but seems like this Samsung is a pass for me.

 

[entropys]

I would have assumed the 5K viewsonic s9 would have had a big black Friday sale. Ah well.

 

[YonTom]

Any holiday deals on the apple studio monitor? 🤷‍♂️
Screw the m3 Macs I want a studio Monitor spec bump 😂

How dare you call it a monitor? It's a display! Monitors are those ugly things that get Black Friday discounts.

 

[nathansz]

..

 

[svish]

Decent monitor. Great price for 32" display

 

[Jumpthesnark]

Any holiday deals on the apple studio monitor? 🤷‍♂️
Screw the m3 Macs I want a studio Monitor spec bump

Costco has them for $1350 through the 27th

 

[Akrapovic]

It's good for the price. If you want a cheap monitor that looks good, and is 4k, this ticks the box. If you want MacBook Pro / Studio Display quality, then this isn't it.

I own two.

 

[AlexisV]

Why is MacRumors constantly advertising this piece of crap?

It's got a much lower resolution than even an 8 year old Retina Mac.

 

[brofkand]

Samsung must be giving MacRumors an incredible spiff for this monitor - it's all they talk about on here.

 

[alexandr]

Hmm well my Mateview is t shaky or feels cheap, not an Apple level screen but not their prices either, but seems like this Samsung is a pass for me.

I'm obviously being subjective, but speaking truthfully

 

[Bearygoodfries1]

I actually have one of these. They’re great. Got it for under 400 bucks a while back. It;s so sleak and everything looks great on it. I use it as a monitor and TV.

I actually thought about getting another one for a different set up, but I don’t NEED another monitor.

 

[samus22]

Is this monitor any good? I have been thinking of getting a second screen for my Huawei Mateview 28” which sadly no one has in stock anywhere, it is still on Huawei’s website though but again no stock.

This Samsung may be an alternative to a second Mateview?

I bought the previous version. It went back to Samsung the very next day. It wants to be a TV more than a monitor. It all but requires a TV remote to operate. The color reproduction was horrible. It's a VA panel which means the viewing angles are terrible. It's a big enough screen that when your head is aligned with the center of the screen, the colors wash out at the edges. It's $300 off but it is almost always on sale at a steep discount. Even at this price you're better off running away from it. Buy something with an IPS panel if you want it to at all like the screen of a macbook.

 

[name99]

Is this monitor any good? I have been thinking of getting a second screen for my Huawei Mateview 28” which sadly no one has in stock anywhere, it is still on Huawei’s website though but again no stock.

This Samsung may be an alternative to a second Mateview?

Visually it's fine.
BUT
in terms of UI it's utter garbage. I mean this. DO NOT BUY.

It can't decide if it's a monitor or a TV screen, and keeps wanting to alternate between the two. You can't just plug it into your mac and have it behave like a monitor. On all manner of different occasions it will, instead of acting as a monitor, go into "would you like to use me as TV" mode, showing Samsung advertising and demanding to be controlled by a remote.
There appears to be NO way to make this thing actually behave as a monitor and nothing else. Even when you think you have set it into "PC" mode, and the only times you seem to be seeing the Samsung advertising stuff is when you switch off the PC (so it detects no signal on HDMI) it will STILL go back to Clippy "How can I help you today? Please use the Remote to choose what you want to do" mode after a month or so.

It is a freaking maddening device that is not worth buying at a 95% discount. (And has, good job Samsung, ensured that I will never buy a Samsung screen again, no matter what the purpose, because I don't trust that this same idiot DNA won't be present in other monitors or TV sets).

 

[Pezimak]

I bought the previous version. It went back to Samsung the very next day. It wants to be a TV more than a monitor. It all but requires a TV remote to operate. The color reproduction was horrible. It's a VA panel which means the viewing angles are terrible. It's a big enough screen that when your head is aligned with the center of the screen, the colors wash out at the edges. It's $300 off but it is almost always on sale at a steep discount. Even at this price you're better off running away from it. Buy something with an IPS panel if you want it to at all like the screen of a macbook.

Thanks! I didn't know it was a VA panel, no don't want that, IPS all the way. I need a new Mac as I'm changing my setup, and I was going to get a Studio but if I may get a MB Pro and if I do that I'll use it as my second screen anyway. Think I'll hold off for now. I like my Mateview and would only really want another one of those really.

 

[name99]

This thing is almost always on sale at least on Amazon. So it's not a "special occasion because sales are low". Reviews are mostly positive. You're getting a smart TV (Netflix, Disney, Prime etc) + Monitor with USB-C charging your MacBook. I've been using a 4K Display (not this one) for years now and I don't know how people are complaining about bad scaling. MacOS works perfectly fine with 4K screens (see iMac has 4K*incorrect, it has 4,5K) and there are no artifacts or whatever.

If you want an even cheaper option look up the Samsung M7 instead of M8.

The Mac problem is not with 4K, it is with how Apple Silicon negotiates HDMI 2.0 features. It's unclear whether the problem is on the Apple side or that various vendors have been sloppy in their HDMI negotiation protocol, but multiple devices (I'm aware of at least some LG TVs and this device) fail in the negotiation.
Once the negotiation fails, the display seems to work but will go black frequently (like every five seconds or so).

You can fix it by forcing the device to present as an HDMI 1.4 device (this will be hidden deep within the TV/Display menus and usually won't be called "HDMI 1.4 mode", it will be something like "compatibility mode" [you want this one on] or "HDMI Ultra HD Deep color" [you want this one off] or suchlike; you will need to look on the internet and use some common sense.

If you force the screen to HDMI 1.4 you should be OK. Of course if you really wanted those HDMI 2.0 features, then you need to find a screen that will work with your Apple silicon. But if you care about that level of screen performance, probably best to just buy an Apple Studio -- lot more expensive, yes, but also a LOT nicer.