In addition to Samsung's quirky portable projector, Freestyle, which doubles as a speaker and lamp that's geared toward
millennials,
the tech giant also updated its Neo QLED and The Frame TVs at CES 2022.
Samsung's focus is on software enhancements with minimal hardware changes.
For starters, the "Tizen" TV interface has been redesigned and now includes more functions in one place, and there is a new Gaming Hub.
On the hardware side, TVs are getting brighter, processing techniques have improved, and The Frame updated its technology to reduce glare.
Let's unpack it all as we share some insights from our conversation with Dan Schinasi at Samsung, director of TV product planning, and Lydia Cho, head of TV product marketing.
The Frame, now with a touch of fine art without glare
The main appeal of Samsung's sleek lifestyle TV is that it's not just an ugly black screen, it also displays a work of art when it's off.
And while it doesn't have a complete redesign, the new year will bring a well-deserved and fundamental change to The Frame.
By 2022, all sizes of Samsung's The Frame will now feature a matte anti-glare display, helping the art look more like a work of art.
Fine art has that parchment-like look.
And this panel will bring it out.
Schinasi notes that "no matter what [type of] art you look at, that will be one of the additional benefits based on the performance of the panel."
Regardless of what you choose to display, the new frame should appear more natural, allowing for improved colors and more precise details.
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This panel should help correct glare when you're not looking at the screen, which tends to reveal the living room trick that it's a TV, not a framed work of art.
We're excited to put The Frame's new finish to the test and see how much of a difference it makes in our everyday space.
And regardless of size, The Frame still delivers a 4K HDR image from a standard Quantum Dot panel.
You can still find the 2020 and 2021 model for sale for a lower price and we had a chance to review it:
The 2020 32-inch Frame (
USD $ 527 /
MX $ 13,142
at 15 MSI;
on Amazon)
The Frame 2021 50-inch (
Exhausted /
MX $ 16,975
at 15 MSI;
on Amazon)
The 2021 55-inch Frame (
USD $ 1,045 /
MX $ 22,999
at 15 MSI;
on Amazon)
The 65-inch 2021 Frame (
USD $ 1,379 /
MX $ 31,999
at 15 MSI;
on Amazon)
Neo QLEDs are brighter, but the real changes are with the software
Last year, Samsung impressed with its Neo QLED 4K and 8K TVs, taking home a Best of CES award from CNN Underscored. It was a change from standard LEDs to Mini LED technology, which essentially includes more miniature LEDs behind the panel to create a brighter and clearer image. The result was a more vibrant image that was better at imaging and scaling for an immersive viewing experience. This technology was combined with Samsung's processing techniques and a 4K or 8K resolution HDR television that could achieve a 120Hz refresh rate.
All of that holds for 2022 on most Neo QLED models - the mainline will remain 4K and 8K variants. But this year, these LEDs will get even brighter for a better picture. And like Sony's Bravia XR processor, Samsung's processing and magnification will now use AI to identify the focal point of a scene, helping to make the area you're viewing more detailed. The idea is to create a more immersive viewing experience, although we won't know for sure until we test it.
The other change is that the "Premium Neo QLED models" will offer a variable 144Hz refresh rate, which should appeal to gamers and live sports fans.
This is higher than the old 120Hz of the other standard models.
And all Samsung 2022 smart TVs will also come with a new Gaming Hub.
Hisense at CES 2022: New TVs with Google TV, Projectors and Sound Bars (cnn.com)
"It's a completely new platform designed to make it easy to navigate, discover, access and launch all your games. With cloud games in the hub, you can also access games from different places," explains Cho. The Gaming Hub will allow you to extract games from a connected console such as PlayStation 5 or Xbox Series X, along with cloud services such as Google Stadia or Nvidia GeForce Now. Surprisingly, Xbox Game Pass is not on board yet, but the company is not ruling out the possibility in the future. You can also customize specific game modes on the TV, such as adjusting the screen size and aspect ratio.
All of these features are part of a more extensive redesign for Samsung's Smart TV interface, giving you one-stop access to other services like on-demand, live programming, and streaming without fumbling for a ton of menus.
The new interface will be divided into media, games and an ambient mode, the latter of which will offer content that can be displayed when the TV is off.
In an attempt to capitalize on the popularity of NFTs, Samsung will launch support for NFTs to be displayed and even purchased on the television itself.
They also expanded
"look together" options and offering smart calibration, making it easy to optimize image quality.
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The 2022 family of Neo QLED TVs will be available in the coming months, along with more minor updates to the standard QLED models.
Eco remote control gets smarter with radio waves
Last year, Samsung's Eco remote integrated a rechargeable battery with a USB-C port and a solar power cell, allowing us to ditch those user-replaceable batteries and take advantage of ambient or artificial light.
By 2022, it got "smarter and more environmentally friendly" and will be included in most Samsung 2022 TVs - white for lifestyle TVs like The Frame, The Sero, and The Serif and black for smart TVs.
The new Eco remote will be able to collect RF waves and frequencies for recharging, which means it will actually pull radio waves out of airspace and convert them into energy.
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Let's recap
Samsung's traditional TV hardware isn't getting a huge update, but that doesn't mean it's going unnoticed.
Enhancements to the Neo QLED should give a better picture, and we can't wait to try the improved smart interface.
The Gaming Hub will launch at exactly the right time and will focus on more cloud gaming services.
More interesting, though, is now having a glare-free The Frame, which we named a finalist for the best TV of CES 2022. We also named the Freestyle projector a finalist, and you can see our full breakdown of CES highlights on our site.
We look forward to reviewing Samsung's The Frame and Neo QLED 2022 in the coming months along with the updated Eco remote.
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For more recommendations, deals and reviews read CNN Underscored in Spanish.