Samsung’s new ‘The Frame’ TV does not disappoint

The new updates to Samsung’s The Frame TV are seriously impressive and the latest feature is truly mind blowing.

It’s that time of year again where Samsung unveils a collection of new TVs with their latest enhancements in picture and sound quality.

Their hero TV range, Neo QLED, is back and better than ever but I’m honestly most excited about their updates to their range of lifestyle TVs, which includes the famed ‘The Frame’ TV.

Elly checks out Samsung’s updated ‘The Frame’ TV. Picture: Elly Awesome

Features

The Frame by Samsung has been around for a while now but if you aren’t familiar it’s a TV that mimics an artwork hanging on your wall.

It pulls off this illusion because, firstly, the TV is ridiculously thin, secondly, it can be hung on your wall with an even more compact wall mount and finally it can be styled with a magnetic clip-on frame (there are multiple colours to choose from).

The idea is that when you aren’t using your TV you can put it into ‘art mode’ and display artworks, of which thousands are available through the TV itself (though some require payment).

The TV mimics an artwork hanging on your wall when you are not using it. Picture: Elly Awesome

Impressively, Samsung has also created a ‘One Clear Cable’ design for the TV, which is how it’s able to make the TV so thin.

This means there’s only one cable coming out of the TV at all times, to keep things minimal, and it leads to the ‘One Connect Box’ that powers and houses all your TV’s typical ports such as HDMI. It is then easy to hide in a TV cabinet to support the TV’s ability to disguise itself as an artwork on the wall.

Even though everything about this TV is minimal, the display has Samsung’s QLED Quantum Dot technology that offers bright colours and impressive contrasts and also True Dolby Atmos sound support (though the Dolby sound is only on the 55” and above).

In person, although the TV’s quality is not as mind blowing as the epic Neo QLED range it offers an overall pleasing viewing experience with loud yet balanced audio quality.

The television only has one cable coming out of it to keep things minimal. Picture: Elly Awesome

Anti-Glare display

Already, in a room of other framed works of art the TV could blend in seamlessly. However, this year Samsung has improved the display so that particular artworks seem shockingly realistic.

This is enhanced by the Frame’s new Anti-Glare Matte Display which is designed to catch light and scatter it across the display’s surface so that reflections on the screen are severely minimised. It gives the TV’s screen an incredible matte finish and when displaying oil paintings you could almost swear they’re real, with certain textures looking somehow three dimensional. This new tech has truly taken ‘The Frame’ to the next level.

The Anti-Glare Matte Display is designed to catch light so that reflections on the screen are severely minimised. Picture: Elly Awesome

Artwork and NFTs

And maybe, with The Frame, we’ve finally found an appropriate vehicle for displaying NFTs. It makes so much sense that Samsung has not only incorporated the ability to display artwork on the Frame but they’ve announced that they’ve collaborated with Nifty, an NFT Platform which allows you to discover, purchase, trade and display NFT artworks (even on the Neo QLED TVs).

And although I’m unsure about where I stand regarding my opinions on NFTs, I think it’s important to be open minded about these ‘futuristic’ forms of digital content, which I believe are likely to develop practical uses and a value that we may not be able to fully understand yet.

The fact that you can electronically rotate the TV from landscape to portrait by pressing a button on the remote really impressed Elly. Picture: Elly Awesome

Rotate your TV portrait

Overall, what’s blown me away most about this TV is that it can also be mounted on your wall onto an ‘Auto Rotating Accessory’ which allows you to electronically rotate your TV from its traditional landscape positioning into what I call ‘portrait mode’.

That’s right, just press a button on your TV remote to have it rotate in front of your eyes while the Samsung OS also adapts into portrait mode. Arguably this feature is perfectly in-line with our thirst for consuming vertical content at the moment, with the likes of TikTok. Though this is also great for displaying portrait artworks or even family photos. I never thought I would see the day we’d have rotating TVs in our homes or big screen portrait displays but I think it’s starting to make sense. Regardless, it’s a fun and jaw dropping feature to witness.

The TV has an in-built motion sensor that can detect when no one is in the room so it can put itself into standby mode to save power. Picture: Elly Awesome

Should you buy one?

I can acknowledge that you will be using more energy displaying artwork or content during the day on one of these TVs but Samsung has at least incorporated an intelligent feature to combat this. There is an in-built motion sensor that can detect when no one is in the room, in which case the TV will go into standby mode to save power.

Conversely, it can turn on when you walk into the room. Also, it’s important to note that due to the static nature of a digital artwork the TV uses a lot less energy when displaying art as opposed to playing video content.

You can purchase the 32” model of the TV for $799 or the 55” for $1999. Picture: Elly Awesome

Price

I’d say this TV is a bit of a luxury item, however, the Frame TV starts at only $799 for a 32” model. However, I’d personally recommend a 55” TV at the very minimum these days – if you have the space and budget.

The 55” comes in at $1999, which I think is a fairly reasonable price for its unique features and awesome aesthetics and if you’d like the rotating wall mount it’s an extra $499.

Honestly, I think it’s the TV of the future!

Elly Awesome is an Aussie tech and lifestyle vlogger | @ellyawwesome | YouTube