Samsung released its latest television line-up in Aotearoa this week with the top-of-the-range being the latest 8K Neo QLED: the QN900D.
For a lot of people buying a premium TV the best option may be the Korean tech company's latest flagship OLED - the S95D, a follow-up to last year's amazing S95C - but the QN900D is the pick Samsung reckons is the number one choice for customers willing to invest big in their home entertainment.
It'll set you back around $10,000 for the 65-inch option, $15,000 for the 75-inch and $18,000 for the 85-inch.
Samsung's Neo QLED screen technology has gotten particularly good in recent years, but the big selling point of the QN900D is the upscaling capabilities of the highly advanced new chip powering it: the NQ8 AI Gen3 processor.
It's that processor that allows a new level of AI-upscaling that Samsung insists means 2024 is the year to finally upgrade to an 8K TV.
"I definitely think so," Peter Huang, consumer electronics product trainer at Samsung NZ, told Newshub.
"The QN900D is the TV with the most punch, it gives you extra depth that other TVs just simply can't because of the extra pixels, and it's powered with this insane chip."
The NQ8 AI Gen3 processor packs a whopping 512 neural networks which means it can comfortably use an array of different algorithms to upscale different content in different ways.
Samsung has been rolling out various AI features and services across all of its products this year, most notably Galaxy AI with its smartphones. The QN900D's display is, so far, the very best image quality the company can achieve by flexing its AI muscle.
But spending the extra cash required for an 8K model is still difficult to justify for a lot of Kiwi families.
For years, manufacturers have been pushing 8K TVs on consumers, despite a continued dearth of 8K content. There's a few demos around, you can shoot 8K on some phones and cameras - but you won't be able to watch movies or TV shows in the 7680x4320 resolution, so what's the point?
"It's actually because you don't have 8K content that we think you need this TV. You wouldn't need all that power in the chip if you have 8K content, because why would you need to upscale 8K? It's already 8K, right?," Huang said.
"So it's actually because you don't have 8K content that you need all this extra power. It makes a significant difference - no matter what you chuck at it, it's going to deliver a superior experience to that which a 4K TV could give you."
At a demonstration of the new TVs in Auckland this week, I saw the QN900D and its 4K little brother - the QN90D - alongside each other, simultaneously playing a 4K file of a Taylor Swift The Eras Tour live show.
The QN900D was undeniably better looking. Samsung attributes the improvement to the upscaling, but I should note it was in a controlled environment and I wasn't able to check myself the picture settings on both models to confirm they were exactly matching.
As for the new OLED, the biggest improvements in this year's S95D are its improved brightness (independently tested at 1777 nits in HDR, up from 1369 with last year's model) and new anti-glare technology. Seeing a light shone at the screen of the S95D alongside another model that didn't have the anti-glare technology, it was striking how effective that is.
There's also a less expensive S90D OLED which doesn't have the anti-glare technology, the One Connect box or quite as bright a screen, but will still deliver the pure blacks and vibrant colours OLED fans love. At launch, Samsung NZ lists the S90D at $5200 for the 55-inch model versus $6300 for the S95D in the same size.
Elsewhere in Samsung's new range are updated versions of The Frame, the lifestyle TV model said to be unusually popular with Kiwis, along with new soundbars and the new 'Music Frame'.
Inspired by the popularity of the Frame TV, the Music Frame is a smart speaker that is square shaped and an actual frame for a photo or other printed image. It's intended to elegantly blend into a room and more resemble a piece of art than a piece of tech. It has launched at $750 in New Zealand.
The same week Samsung released its latest TVs in Aotearoa, Sony announced its latest TVs are also coming here soon, as the Japanese tech giant announces a big shake-up of its television line-up.
Sony has simplified the naming of its TVs to bring them more in line with LG's simpler system. Also, as with Samsung, Sony's flagship model isn't its OLED, but rather a new mini-LED that won praise at CES this year.
Newshub has approached Sony for New Zealand pricing on its Bravia 7, 8 and 9 models.
