Samsung just showcased its 2018 line-up of QLED 4K TVs at an event in New York City, focusing more on the intelligence, smart home control and external appearance. The Korean company has long been working to make its TVs look attractive, even when they are switched off. And, with the latest series, it has somewhat succeeded in its objective – thanks to the Ambient mode.
Samsung QLED 4K TVs come with the Ambient Mode, a feature that can mimic the texture on the wall behind, and almost make it disappear. Giving a demo of the feature at the event, a Samsung representative just took a picture of the wall through the SmartThings app, which it then sent to the TV. The TV then built a screen to match with the wall around it, according to Gizmodo.
Once the Ambient Mode is enabled, the television looks like the wall behind it, with minimal differences. However, the wall in the demo was clean brick. Nevertheless, it still is a cool concept to make the TV almost invisible. Further, a user can also add dynamic effects on top of the ambient mode, for instance, mountains floating on the wall.
“With our 2018 TV lineup, we are changing the definition of visual display to Intelligent Displays,” said Samsung Electronics President Jong-hee Han. “Designed for total immersion and to enhance the daily lives of consumers everywhere, all while being incredibly easy to use, the new QLED TV lineup provides users with the best viewing experience.”
Talking of the invisibility thing, Samsung has also been able to remove the only issue that experts shared last year – that the TV itself needs to be plugged into a power outlet. With the One Invisible Connection concept introduced last year, the company made the wire nearly invisible by allowing all components to be connected into a stand-alone One Connect box.
This year, the company took the concept a notch up by folding power into its One Invisible Connection wire. It means, there is one nearly invisible connection point with the TV. Also, the One Invisible Connection cable is as long as 45 feet enabling it to be plugged into other components far away from the TV.
Talking of other features, the QLED 4K TVs come with the Bixby and offer voice assistant capabilities. The voice assistant would take commands to make searches, change inputs and picture settings or even control smart home devices through voice commands.
Further, these smart TVs would serve as a hub to Samsung’s SmartThings smart home platform, offering on-screen control over all Smart-Things compatible gadgets. The smart television could do a lot of things such as controlling the lights, security cameras, thermostat, and smart appliances all through the screen.
The QLED series includes the Q9, Q8, Q7, and Q6 – differentiated on the basis of price and image quality. Both the high-end Q9 and Q8 would feature a full-array local dimming (FALD) with Q9 being the more powerful. However, Samsung has not revealed further details. The Q9F would come in 75 and 65-inch screens, and the Q8F in 55, 65 and 75-inch. The Q7C would include 55 and 65-inch offerings, whereas the Q6 would start with a 49-inch and goes up to a 82-inch model.
Although FALD has been featured in various TVs from other makers, Samsung has incorporated it only for the first time, notes The Verge. Its inclusion would mean deeper black levels and greater contrast. The Q9 also comes with the best HDR output – “Q HDR EliteMax” as termed by Samsung. However, other QLED 4K TVs in the series support HDR10+.
Samsung QLED 4k TVs also come with the new school program guide. This universal guide brings together the live channels and streaming sources on the screen, displaying the individual shows and movies to enable easier searches.
Samsung has also worked towards enhancing the out-of-box setup experience. The TV not only identifies the connected sources such as the cable box, game console or Blu-ray player, but the remote can also be trained to control all those devices.
Further, Samsung phone users or those with Samsung’s Smart Things app on their devices can find the TV detected right on their screen and connected to Wi-Fi without having to enter the information. Such time-saving set-up would also be available to the QLED TVs built-in apps that are installed on the user’s device, like YouTube or Hulu.
Samsung QLED 4K TVs should start shipping in the next few weeks, so one would not have to wait much for further details. The South Korean firm also noted that the QLED series would be available in both the curved and flat version, but pricing details have still not been announced.
