Samsung is launching a screen that incorporates AI with its new Smart Monitor M9. Although the fine print reveals that the monitor may not be so smart after all.
It’s 2025, but we are far from being rid of the urge for manufacturers and developers to integrate AI into their products with great fanfare. Samsung unpacks the Smart Monitor M9 (model M90SF), which gets an AI upgrade, so to speak. That all looks very impressive, until you discover the nuance in the fine print.
(Not really) on-device
For example, Samsung claims the screen has on-device AI on board. That should mean that a processor inside the screen has AI capabilities. Samsung claims that the M9 can, for example, analyze input signals to determine the type of content, and adjust screen settings itself based on that.
The hidden nuance with this function: the AI Picture Optimizer is only available when the monitor is connected to a PC. So this AI function is not that independent.
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The next capability is the ability to upscale low-resolution images with 4K AI Upscaling Pro. That feature uses advanced AI processing and neural networks, it sounds, to upscale lower resolutions. The feature delivers “crystal clear images with enhanced detail regardless of the original resolution.”
Only with apps
That sounds almost too good to be true, and it is. AI Upscaling Pro does not work at all via built-in AI that can upscale any input signal to 4K, but is linked to the built-in Smart TV and Gaming Hub apps. These respectively stream TV and games to the screen. The upscaling is thus linked to content supplied via the cloud, which again undermines the on-device claim.
Finally, the Samsung Smart Monitor M9 can recognize games and fine-tune image settings. Exactly what that means is not clear, although Samsung immediately let it be known that this feature doesn’t just work. The capabilities depend on what game you are playing.
In other words, the monitor’s three “AI”-driven capabilities are extremely limited, and each time linked to external capabilities. On-device, as Samsung cites at launch, thus becomes a hollow concept. Even in 2025, we must remain vigilant to the uninhibited and uninformative use of the letters A and I by marketing departments.
Further specifications of the screen are then more relevant. The M9 has a 32-inch screen diagonal with 4K resolution and relies on an OLED panel. The thing is DisplayHDR True Black 400-certified and has a built-in webcam on board.