We're increasingly littering our homes with smart devices from TVs and fridges to home assistants, known broadly as "the internet of things". The internet of things now extends to devices aimed at new parents, marketed as making parenting easier, and babies safer. These include the types of products you'd expect (wifi-enabled baby monitors) and a whole range of more surprising objects (remote-operated white noise machines; smart cots that soothe babies to sleep; socks that monitor a baby's heart rate and oxygen levels; smart toys that get to know their child owner). There are even surveillance systems that read the facial expressions, sounds and movements of babies, with the promise of alerting parents to potential dangers lurking in their little one's cot. Many baby monitoring devices work by using facial recognition technology, designed to pick up changes in a child's expression.

Samsung's M8 Smart Monitor is a well-rounded display that can function as both a television and a computer monitor. It has impressive image quality and comes equipped with Samsung's Tizen OS for streaming, but a few questionable design decisions hold it back from being truly great. Samsung's M8 Smart Monitor is a 32-inch 4K HDR television disguised as a monitor. It ships with the same Tizen operating system found in the company's smart TVs. You don't even need to connect a PC to watch Netflix, Hulu, or Apple TV. It's a good fit for those who want smart TV features but plan to connect a PC.