Samsung is one of the world’s most popular manufacturers of TV and PC monitors. With the Samsung M7 Smart Monitor (LS32AM702UNXZA), the South Korean company has found a way to go beyond rivals by offering extended functionality than you’d find in an office display.
The new M7 Smart Monitor looks like a typical 32-inch productivity monitor, but under the hood, it boasts built-in smart TV features, so it works fine for both work and entertainment. Among the smart features included are Office 365 and the ability to use the 4K screen to open a desktop environment from your smartphone or tablet.
We’re just wondering how it took too long for someone to reckon that TV functions fused into a 4K monitor would prove useful and practical. And with so many people working from home and using the same display for computing and entertainment, is this a game changer? Let’s find out.
Samsung M7 Specifications
- Resolution: 3840 x 2160
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Brightness (Typical): 250 cd/㎡
- Contrast Ratio Static: 3000:1
- Response Time: 8(GTG) ms
- Refresh Rate: Max 60Hz
- Tizen OS installed
- Remote included
- Wireless DeX support
Price and Availability
The Samsung M7 (model LS32AM702UNXZA) has a solid feature set, making the price particularly impressive. It’s available in all major territories, perhaps the only difference should be the kinds of apps installed.
The closest competitor is the BenQ EL2870U, available for around the same price. The Benq, however, doesn’t have the smart features of the M7, but it’s smaller, has a sharper 4K display with lots of connectivity and gaming extras including 1ms response time and AMD Freesync technology.
If you need something more intuitive and stylish, the Samsung M8 is available. This display offers a better-looking design, streaming capabilities including Netflix, and a slim-fit webcam along with built-in speakers.
Samsung M7 Review: Design and Features
One of the most impressive features of the Samsung M7 is its connectivity. If you have a compatible smartphone or tablet, you can use DeX to wirelessly open a desktop platform from your mobile device on the M7. Combine this with Bluetooth peripherals and you’re ready to work.
The Samsung M7 supports screen mirroring and Apple AirPlay 2, meaning it can wirelessly extend displays from Windows, iOS, and Android devices. It also includes dual-band 802.11ac wireless, making it a versatile, multi-device environment free of cables, and it works consistently across different types of wireless connections.
In addition to strong wireless connections, wired connections are reasonable too. The Samsung M7 Smart Monitor has three full-size USB 2.0 ports and a USB-C connector that supports DisplayPort and delivers 65W of power, enough to charge a laptop or even a smartphone. It also comes with two HDMI ports. Automatic backlight adjustment and source switching are also included.
For a smart monitor and one of its kind, the M7 has lots of other welcome features, too. It has all of the big streaming apps, and there’s an app store with plenty of additional options. Surprisingly, this display even supports Amazon Alexa and Google Assistant in eight languages.
Samsung flaunts Office 365 and makes it look like a big deal, but in real-world use, the experience is a little underwhelming. While Office, Outlook, and OneDrive work on this panel, apps and files load very slowly, and there’s a lot of lag when inputting text. The experience is frustrating to use.
Moving away from features, the Samsung Smart Monitor is cast in a fine-looking design. The M7 is elegant and straightforward, with slim bezels and a thin, stylish metal base. It weighs a reasonable 13.7 pounds, which is as small as it gets for a 32-inch display. Kt won’t take up a lot of space on your desk. That said, the M7 is as sturdy as we’d expect, it wobbles too much, and the plastic around the rear flexes under pressure.
At least Samsung does include a sleek remote control, making it easier to use the M7 from across the room and without reaching around the screen’s rear to find awkward buttons. The small, simple stand also means you don’t get height swivel or pivot movements on this display. It does tilt and supports 100mm VESA mounting just in case you need to hook it up to a mount.
The two five-watt speakers are fine for casual media consumption, but they feel a little muffled at high volume. It’s shameful that for such an excellent monitor, Samsung didn’t see the need to include Wi-Fi 6, thunderbolt, or faster USB ports. The rival BenQ EL2870U doesn’t have the smart feature, but it has better USB connectivity, height adjustment, and a DisplayPort input. Depending on what you need from a PC monitor, the Benq could prove more versatile.
Samsung M7 Review: Performance
At the end of the day, the Samsung M7 is a 32-inch VA display with a 4K (3840 x 2160) resolution only that it adds some flavor with TV capabilities. As a 4K monitor, it doesn’t disappoint, offering a crisp imager and tons of on-screen real estate multitasking and detailed visuals.
Out of the box, the Samsung smart monitor delivers a contrast ratio of 3,244:1 which is spectacular and helps provide loads of vibrancy and clarity. Samsung rates the maximum brightness at 250cd/m2 but the hits 267cd/m2 in testing, which is good for office use, and the black point of 0.06cd/m2 is great, creating admirable depth in darker scenes.
The monitor’s mainstream color reproduction is decent too. The Delta E of 2.3 guarantees reasonable accuracy and the color temperature of 6,249K is not too off. The Samsung M7 renders a decent 97% of the sRGB color gamut, so it will handle every shade required by mainstream tools and media apps.
Beyond, the monitor begins to falter, displaying only 71% of the Adobe RGB gamut and the VA panel uses 8-bit rather than 10-bit color, so it isn’t going to be the best for color-sensitive design and photography tasks. Also, the peak brightness and the DCI-P3 gamut coverage, and the DCI-P3 gamut coverage level mean that it isn’t going to be good enough as the BenQ EW3280U when handling HDR media or workloads.
Also bear in mind that the Samsung M7 Smart Monitor has an 8ms response time, a 60Hz refresh rate, and no adaptive sync technology. All these extra features make no difference in work applications when browsing the web and watching media, but you’ll need them if you need to play games on this display. Adaptive sync prevents screen tearing and you’ll want a higher refresh rate if you want smooth animation in certain work tasks too.
Overall, the Samsung M7 may not have the character or gamut ability to handle graphic-intensive workloads, but it has vibrancy, accuracy, and contrast required for tackling everyday mainstream tasks where color isn’t paramount – and it’s excellent for media after work, too.
Samsung M7 (LS32AM702UNXZA) Review | Verdict
With the M7 Smart Monitor, Samsung has created a 32-inch monitor with excellent image quality, and the 4K resolution means it can handle lots of different tasks. In addition to vibrant image quality, this monitor is paired with loads of connectivity and plenty of smart features. Straight out of the box, the Samsung M7 looks beautiful and is surprisingly affordable given the hardware and software it packs under the hood.
The low price, however, means a few compromises. Connectivity options, for instance, would be better to match the ample features, and Samsung’s build quality is a little underwhelming. Elsewhere, while Office 365 is a useful productivity feature, on the Samsung it’s a tad too slow, and image quality is good – but not great.
These issues don’t overturn the fact that Samsung is offering most of us an affordable monitor that’s suitable for certain tasks or sensitive tasks. Nevertheless, the Samsung M7 Smart Monitor does succeed in most areas and is a great option if you need a versatile, well-designed 4K panel for everyday work and home use.
Should you buy the Samsung M7 Smart Monitor?
Yes. The Samsung M7 Smart Monitor is a stellar-all-purpose screen that can comfortably be used as a small-form-factor TV and home office monitor. It features a compact, easy to setup design, and includes a useful TV remote and all the perks of Samsung’s Tizen TV platform.
The Review
Samsung M7 Smart Monitor
The Samsung M7 Smart Monitor (LS32AM702UNXZA) is a stellar-all-purpose screen that can comfortably be used as a small-form-factor TV and home office monitor. It features a compact, easy to setup design, and includes a useful TV remote and all the perks of Samsung’s Tizen TV platform.
Recommended Configuration
SAMSUNG 32" M7 Smart Monitor&Streaming TV, 4K UHD, Adaptive Picture, Ultrawide Gaming View, Watch Netflix, HBO, PrimeVideo, AppleAirplay, Alexa,BuiltIn Speakers, Remote,HDMI,USB-C,LS32AM702UNXZA,Black
$299.99 in stock
PROS
- Excellent 4K image quality
- Lots of connectivity and smart features
- Beautiful stylish design
CONS
- Mediocre build quality
- Not great for gamers or creatives
Review Breakdown
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EDITORS RATING
Last update on 2024-12-21 at 10:16 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API
