CES: Samsung unveils 98-inch 8K TV

Samsung has staked its claim in the 8K TV market by unveiling a massive 98-inch set that features AI-based technology.

Samsung has unveiled its new 8K range of TVs. Picture: AP

Samsung has staked its claim in the 8K TV market by unveiling a massive 98-inch set that features AI-based technology.

Samsung announced the QLED set at the Consumer Technology Show (CES) in Las Vegas today. It will be available as 65, 75, 82 and 85-inch models as well as 98 inches and will feature the company’s quantum processor 8K chip for upscaling lower resolution content to 8K.

LG, Sony and TCL also have announced 8K sets at CES.

Samsung’s new TV was among a string of announcements made by the Korean technology firm.

It confirmed that Apple iTunes movies and TV shows will debut on its smart TVs in more than 100 countries this year. Apple AirPlay 2 support will be available on Samsung Smart TVs in 190 countries worldwide. 2018 TV support will be available through a software upgrade.

Apple iTunes will make its debut on Samsung TVs in 2019. Picture: AP

This was the second 8K TV that Samsung announced at the show. The other, a microLED 8K TV, is unlikely to come to market any time soon.

TVs were not the only hardware on Samsung’s mind. It unveiled a flagship notebook called the Notebook 9 Pro which looks promising with 8th generation Intel processors, 256GB of SSD storage and three USB-C ports, two of them supporting Thunderbolt 3.

It showed it was serious about gaming by announcing the Notebook Odyssey, a gaming laptop powered by a high-end NVIDIA graphics processor, and a “space monitor” with a clamp stand that is designed to free up space on a desk. It comes in 27-inch and 32-inch variants.

Samsung unveiled an AI-robotics platform with a cute-looking virtual robot that can help elderly people manage their daily routines.

It announced that its homegrown personal assistant, Bixby, will be available on its 2019 TV appliances and mobiles. Samsung has taken a different approach by developing its own personal assistant, rather than adopting LG’s approach which is to tailor the existing personal assistants Amazon Echo and Google assistant to its devices.

Samsung introduced its latest innovations in modular Micro LED display technology during its annual First Look CES event. Picture: AP

Bixby isn’t as advanced as Alexa or Google Assistant, but if today’s demonstrations are an indication, it’s getting better. Samsung says Bixby will be built into its 2019 QLED and premium TVs, and smart appliances like refrigerators, washers, as well as air conditioners, mobile devices, AI speakers and more.

The company also showed off a digital cockpit that not only provides entertainment to back seat passengers via the rear seats, the cockpit will also enable them to perform computer work on the screens using Samsung’s DEX system and, again, and use Bixby to issue voice commands.

Chris Griffith is attending CES in Las Vegas courtesy of Hisense Australia.