The Samsung Smart Monitor M7/M70C S32CM70 is a 4k monitor that's available in 27 and 32-inch screen sizes. Part of Samsung's Smart Monitor lineup, it's a smaller and updated version of the Samsung Smart Monitor M7 S43BM70, and it sits between the 1080p Samsung M50C S32CM50 and the higher-end Samsung Smart Monitor M8/M80C S32CM80. It's very similar to the M80C, with the main difference being that it doesn't come with Samsung's proprietary SlimFit webcam, but it still supports it, so you can buy it separately. Its built-in Tizen smart platform lets you stream content without a PC, essentially making it a small TV that doesn't have a tuner. The included remote has a mic that works with Bixby and Alexa voice assistants, so you can quickly open apps with just your voice. You can even cast content directly from your phone as it's compatible with Samsung devices with DeX and supports Apple AirPlay.
Our Verdict
The Samsung M7 32 is good for most uses. It's good for media consumption thanks to its built-in smart platform that makes it easy to stream content. It also performs well in bright and dark rooms thanks to its high peak brightness and good reflection handling, and it displays deep blacks in dark rooms. However, without a local dimming feature and with low HDR peak brightness, its HDR performance is limited. Besides that, it's great for office work or content creation as it has a big screen and delivers sharp and detailed images, but its narrow viewing angles are disappointing if you want to share your screen with someone else. Lastly, it's just okay for gaming as it has low input lag, but motion is blurry, and it's limited to a basic 60Hz refresh rate.
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Gets bright enough to fight glare.
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Sharp text clarity.
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Extra features like a USB-C port.
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Built-in smart platform.
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Narrow viewing angles.
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No swivel adjustments.
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Any type of motion is blurry.
The Samsung M7 32 is great for office use. Its 4k resolution and high pixel density help result in sharp text clarity, and its 32-inch screen is big enough for multitasking. It also has good reflection handling, and it gets bright enough to fight glare, so visibility isn't an issue in well-lit rooms. Unfortunately, it isn't an ideal choice if you often need to share your screen with a coworker, as it lacks any swivel adjustment, and its narrow viewing angles make the image look washed out from the sides.
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Gets bright enough to fight glare.
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Sharp text clarity.
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Extra features like a USB-C port.
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Large 32-inch screen.
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Narrow viewing angles.
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No swivel adjustments.
The Samsung M7 32 is just okay for gaming. Its biggest downside is that it lacks any gaming-oriented features, as it doesn't support variable refresh rate (VRR) and has a basic 60Hz refresh rate. It also has poor motion handling that makes fast-moving objects look blurry. However, besides that, it has low input lag for a responsive feel, and its 4k resolution helps deliver detailed images, which is useful if you care about graphics in your games.
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Low input lag.
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High contrast for deep blacks.
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No VRR support.
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Lack of HDMI 2.1 bandwidth.
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Limited to 60Hz refresh rate.
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Any type of motion is blurry.
The Samsung M7 32 is very good for media consumption. It comes with Samsung's proprietary Tizen smart platform, which lets you stream content without needing a PC. It also has a remote that supports voice assistants to quickly open apps. In terms of picture quality, it has a high native contrast ratio that makes blacks look deep in dark rooms, and while it lacks a local dimming feature to improve that, there's minimal blooming around bright objects. It also performs well in bright rooms thanks to its high peak brightness, but with narrow viewing angles, it's less ideal if you want to watch content with a friend next to you.
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Gets bright enough to fight glare.
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Large 32-inch screen.
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High contrast for deep blacks.
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4k resolution delivers detailed images.
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Built-in smart platform.
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Narrow viewing angles.
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No swivel adjustments.
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Lacks a local dimming feature.
The Samsung M7 32 is great for media creation. Its high resolution helps deliver detailed images with sharp clarity, and its screen is big enough to view a lot of your video timeline at once or for multitasking. It's a great choice whether you edit content in bright or dark rooms as it gets bright and has a high native contrast ratio, but it lacks a local dimming feature to improve the contrast. While it has good accuracy, you must still calibrate it if your work requires very accurate colors.
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Gets bright enough to fight glare.
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Sharp text clarity.
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Extra features like a USB-C port.
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Large 32-inch screen.
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Narrow viewing angles.
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No swivel adjustments.
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Needs full calibration for the most accurate colors.
The Samsung M7 32 is decent for HDR. It has an excellent contrast ratio that makes blacks look deep, and there isn't much blooming around bright objects either. However, without a local dimming feature, neither of those are improved, and it fails to make small highlights stand out against the rest of the image. It also has low HDR peak brightness, and combined with its incomplete color gamut, highlights and colors aren't vivid for a good HDR experience.
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High contrast for deep blacks.
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4k resolution delivers detailed images.
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Minimal blooming around bright objects.
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Lacks a local dimming feature.
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Small highlights don't pop against rest of image.
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Limited HDR color volume.
- 7.6 Mixed Usage
- 8.1 Office
- 6.7 Gaming
- 7.9 Media Consumption
- 8.1 Media Creation
- 7.2 HDR
- Updated Sep 27, 2023: Review published.
- Updated Sep 21, 2023: Early access published.
- Updated Sep 14, 2023: Our testers have started testing this product.
- Updated Aug 18, 2023: The product has arrived in our lab, and our testers will start evaluating it soon.
- Updated Aug 03, 2023: We've purchased the product and are waiting for it to arrive in our lab.
Differences Between Sizes And Variants
We tested the Samsung M7 32, and it's also available in a 27-inch size. Unlike the Samsung Smart Monitor M8/M80C S32CM80, it's only available in one color. Note that the full model code, and in particular the last four letters of it, can vary between retailers and regions. For example, you can find the S32CM701UN and S32CM703UN model codes both available in the US at different retailers, but they're the same monitor.
| Size | US Model Code(s) | Resolution | Body Color |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27" | LS27CM701UNXZA | 4k | Warm White |
| 32" | LS32CM701UNXZA LS32CM703UNXZA |
4k | Warm White |
Our unit was manufactured in April 2023; you can see the label here. We tested it with firmware 1280.7.
Compared To Other Monitors
The Samsung M7 32 is a good smart monitor that's useful for sitting back and watching your favorite content. The smart system is a nice touch for a monitor in its price range, and it has good picture quality with high peak brightness and an excellent contrast ratio. However, without a local dimming feature, its picture quality isn't anything special against other monitors anyway. That said, because it doesn't come with a webcam like the Samsung Smart Monitor M8/M80C S32CM80 and costs less, it's a good alternative if you don't need the webcam for video calls. It's even cheaper than some 32-inch TVs, which tend to have lower resolutions, so it's another option if you want a small display and don't need to get a TV with a tuner. However, if you need a monitor for gaming, there are better choices, as this has a slow response time and lacks gaming features.
See our recommendations for the best 32-inch monitors, the best 4k monitors, and the best multimedia monitors.
The Samsung Smart Monitor M7/M70C S32CM70 is a newer version of the Samsung Smart Monitor M7 S43BM70, with a few differences. The M70C has a smaller 32-inch screen and a different stand with much better ergonomics. As the M70C has higher pixel density, it also has better text clarity. On top of that, the M70C has improved picture quality with better color accuracy and higher peak brightness.
The Samsung Smart Monitor M8 S32BM80 is an older and higher-end monitor than the Samsung Smart Monitor M7/M70C S32CM70. They share many similarities with their performance, but the differences come down to their features. The M8 comes with Samsung's proprietary webcam, but the M70C still supports it; you just have to buy it separately. Their stands have different stands, and the M70C has better ergonomics, and you can remove it if you want to wall-mount it. The M70C also has a few different inputs, as it has two USB-A ports, which the M8 doesn't have. Besides that, they perform very similarly in terms of picture quality.
The Samsung Smart Monitor M8/M80C S32CM80 is a higher-end model than the Samsung Smart Monitor M7/M70C S32CM70. They perform very similarly, so the biggest differences are with their features. The M80C comes with Samsung's proprietary webcam, and while you have to buy it separately from the M70C, it still supports it. Their stands are different, but they offer the same good ergonomics. However, the M80C has better build quality as the plastic materials don't feel as cheap as on the M70C. Regarding picture quality, the M80C gets a bit brighter, but the M70C has better accuracy before calibration, so each has pros and cons.
Test Results
The Samsung M7 32 has a simple design with a white body and a basic stand. It features a pattern on the back, but note that the plastic body isn't pure white, and rather it's an off-white color. You can tell this by comparing it to the remote or even the power brick, as both are pure white.
The build quality is okay. It feels cheap with flimsy plastic, the back flexes easily, and the bottom bezel isn't flush with the entire screen. The stand doesn't hold the screen well as it wobbles easily but quickly goes back into place. The one big downside with our unit is that the screen isn't level with the front of the stand, so if you place the stand on a straight edge, the screen is off by about one degree. It's unclear if this is an issue with our unit only or a common problem, but it's worth noting.
The ergonomics are good. While adjusting the screen for yourself is easy, the lack of swivel range is disappointing if you want to turn it to share with a friend next to you. The stand also features a clip for basic cable management.
The Samsung M7 32 has a remote that makes navigating through the Tizen smart interface easy. It has quick-access buttons to popular streaming services and a mic that works with Alexa and Bixby voice assistants. You can even use the monitor's internal mic for hands-free voice control, and there's a switch to turn that feature off if you're concerned about privacy. There's also a power button at the back of the monitor.
- HDMI cable
- USB-C cable
- USB-A female to male cable
- Remote
- Power cable and supply
- User documentation
The Samsung M7 32 has a high native contrast ratio that helps it display deep blacks next to bright highlights. However, it lacks a local dimming feature to further improve it.
This monitor doesn't have a local dimming feature. We still film these videos on the monitor so that you can compare the backlight performance with a monitor that has local dimming.
The SDR brightness is great. It easily gets bright enough to fight glare, and different content maintains the same brightness. However, its minimum brightness is very high if you want to use it in the dark and are sensitive to bright lights. These results are from after calibration in the 'Custom' Picture Mode with Game Mode enabled and the input label set to 'PC'.
The HDR brightness is okay. Without a local dimming feature, highlights don't pop against the rest of the image, and it doesn't get bright enough for a vivid HDR experience. The EOTF is a bit dark with most dark highlights, but it follows the target better with mid-tones, and because there's a sharp cut-off at the peak brightness, it lets highlights get the brightest they can.
These results are in Game Mode with Game HDR set to 'Basic', and the input label on 'PC'. The screen is even dimmer with Game HDR set to 'Advanced' instead, as it reaches around 270 cd/m² with most windows, and the EOTF has a slower roll-off as you can see here.
The horizontal viewing angle is disappointing. The image quickly washes out from the sides, so it's a bad choice if you want to watch something with a friend sitting next to you.
The Samsung M7 32 has a poor vertical viewing angle. You'll notice the image looks inconsistent when standing up and looking down on the display.
The gray uniformity is very good. There's some banding, and the edges are darker than the rest, but the middle of the screen has minimal dirty screen effect.
The Samsung M70 32 has fantastic black uniformity. Despite not having a local dimming feature, blacks are deep, and there's minimal blooming around bright objects.
The accuracy before calibration is great. Colors aren't oversaturated, but some noticeable white balance and color inaccuracies remain. The color temperature is also on the cold side, giving the image a blue tint, and gamma is off, as dark scenes are too dark, while bright scenes are too bright. While this monitor doesn't have a dedicated sRGB mode, setting Color Space Settings to 'Auto' instead of 'Native' locks colors to the sRGB color space well. Using 'Native' slightly oversaturates colors, but everything else is the same, as you can see here.
The Samsung M7 32 has excellent accuracy after calibration. Calibrating it fixes most issues, but it still isn't perfect. That said, those remaining accuracies are hard to notice.
The SDR color gamut is fantastic. It has full coverage of the common sRGB color space, but colors are oversaturated. That's also the case with red and magenta in the Adobe RGB color space, but greens are undersaturated.
The SDR color volume is incredible. It displays a wide range of colors well but struggles with very dark colors.
This monitor has a decent HDR color gamut. It has good coverage of the DCI-P3 color space used in most HDR content, and while tone mapping is good for the most part, whites are off. Unfortunately, it has worse coverage in the wider Rec. 2020 color space, with worse tone mapping as well. These results are with Game HDR set to 'Basic', and while the coverage with it set to 'Advanced' is similar, it has worse tone mapping, as you can see here:
The reflection handling is good. Combined with its high peak brightness, you won't have issues using this monitor in most well-lit rooms, but placing it opposite a window with direct sunlight results in distracting reflections.
The Samsung M7 32 has fantastic text clarity. Thanks to its 4k resolution and high pixel density, text looks sharp and easy to read. Enabling Windows ClearType (top photo) helps result in even sharper text than without it. These photos are in Windows 10, and you can also see them in Windows 11 with ClearType on and with ClearType off. Also, you need to set the input label to 'PC' for it to display proper chroma 4:4:4, which results in the best text clarity.
The gradient handling is fantastic. You won't easily notice banding with most 10-bit content.
This monitor has a basic refresh rate, and due to bandwidth limitations, the max refresh rate is limited with 10-bit signals.
This monitor doesn't support VRR.
| Overdrive Setting | Response Time Chart | Response Time Tables | Motion Blur Photo |
| Standard | Chart | Table | Photo |
| Faster | Chart | Table | Photo |
| Extreme | Chart | Table | Photo |
The response time at its max refresh rate of 60Hz is poor. There's visible smearing and blur with fast-moving objects in any type of content. The recommended overdrive setting of 'Standard' has a faster total response time and less overshoot than 'Faster' and 'Extreme', but all three settings perform poorly.
This monitor doesn't support a 120Hz signal.
The Samsung M7 32 doesn't have an optional backlight strobing feature to reduce persistence blur.
This monitor has a flicker-free backlight at all brightness settings, which helps reduce eye strain if you're sensitive to it.
The Samsung M7 32 has low input lag for a responsive feel, and you won't notice any delay.
This monitor has limited compatibility with the PS5 as it only supports 60Hz signals. However, it knows when you connect it and switches the input label to 'Game Console'.
The Samsung M7 32 has limited compatibility with the Xbox Series X|S as it only supports 60Hz signals. However, it knows when you connect it and switches the input label to 'Game Console'.
Although the Samsung M7 32 comes with an input for Samsung's proprietary webcam, it doesn't come with one like the Samsung Smart Monitor M8/M80C S32CM80 does.
The USB-C port supports DisplayPort Alt Mode, letting you connect a compatible device to display an image from it and charge it using a single cable. The 65W of power is enough for most small laptops but not enough to charge power-hungry ones. You can use the USB-A ports to connect devices directly to the monitor, but only with computers that support USB-C, as the USB-C serves as the upstream port.
The Samsung M7 32 works well with macOS over USB-C. Although the default resolution is 1080p, you can change it to 4k and get a refresh rate up to 60Hz. There aren't any issues, but HDR looks washed out, which is a limitation of the monitor. When using a MacBook, you can close the lid and continue working on the monitor, and windows return to their original position when reopening the lid.
As a smart monitor, the Samsung M7 32 has many extra features related to its Tizen OS smart platform. The interface is user-friendly and has a bunch of apps you can download. It's the same platform as on their TVs, which you can read more about here. As mentioned in Controls, the remote gives you access to Bixby and Alexa voice assistants, and you can also control other smart devices in your house with this feature.
Its Multi View feature lets you view images from two external sources simultaneously. It even supports Wireless DeX and Apple AirPlay for use with compatible devices. It's also compatible with Samsung's proprietary SlimFit webcam, although you have to buy it separately. Besides the features you get with the smart platform, it has a few extra gaming features, like Virtual Aim Point for a virtual crosshair.
