Samsung has revealed details about its 2021 television line-up, showing off a massive 110-inch Micro LED model that'll be in shops this year.
The Korean tech giant announced its latest TVs in a media release before the annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES), which is being held virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Announcing a handful of its latest premium 8K and 4K TVs, Samsung split them into three categories:
- Micro LED: An emerging flat-panel display technology said to take the best qualities of OLED, but remove almost all its shortcomings. This technology is used commercially as several small modules that can be assembled in various configurations, but Samsung will sell a consumer version in the form of a pre-assembled, complete flatscreen TV.
- Neo QLED: Samsung's flagship QLED line offers a "quantum leap in TV display technology" by utilising Mini LED tech, the company says. Smaller LED backlights will radically increase brightness when needed, among other upgrades.
- Lifestyle: This line of Samsung TVs includes The Frame, The Sero, The Terrace and so on, with updated versions to be released this year.
Samsung NZ says which of the newly announced TV models will be sold in Aotearoa is yet to be confirmed.
While the Micro LED sets bring with them exciting new tech, they're likely going to be extremely expensive. Samsung hasn't indicated what their retail price will be, but Business Korea estimates one of these will set you back more than 100 million South Korean won, which is about NZ$126,000.
"Samsung has made Micro LED available in a traditional TV form factor for the first time, bringing consumers a breathtaking visual experience on an ultra-large next-generation screen," says Samsung.
"Available in 110-inch, 99-inch and smaller sizes by the end of the year, the new Micro LED line uses micrometer-sized LED lights to eliminate the backlight and colour filters utilised in conventional displays. It is self-illuminating, producing stunningly lifelike colours and brightness through its 24 million individually controlled LEDs."
As well as an enormous screen with extreme fidelity, the Micro LED televisions offer new features like '4Vue', which allows the screen to be split up into multiple displays - if you wanted to plug in four different gaming consoles, they could run simultaneously, using a quarter of the screen each.
In 2020, Sony and LG released new TV models that supported cutting-edge features offered by next-generation Xbox and PlayStation consoles.
Now, Samsung is introducing new features offering "the ultimate TV gaming experience". These include the option to play in ultra-wide ratios of 21:9 and 32:9, as well as a 'Game Bar' feature that allows quick monitoring and adjustment of things like aspect ratios, checking input lag or connecting a headset.
Samsung is introducing Neo QLED technology to its flagship 8K (QN900A) and 4K (QN90A) models, calling it "a whole new display technology".
"[We] designed the Quantum Mini LED to be 1/40 the height of a conventional LED," it says. "Instead of using a lens to disperse light and a package to fix the LED in place, the Quantum Mini LED has incredibly thin micro layers filled with many more LEDs.
"Quantum Matrix Technology enables ultra-fine and precise control of the densely packed LEDs, which helps to prevent blooming and allows viewers to enjoy content as it's meant to be seen.
"Neo QLED increases the luminance scale to 12-bit with 4096 steps. This helps make dark areas darker and bright areas brighter, resulting in a precise and immersive HDR experience."
Among the upgrades announced for its lifestyle range, Samsung says its new The Frame is about half as thin as previous models, "mirroring the depth of a traditional picture frame".
New customisation options include attachable bezels in a range of colours and styles.
Samsung has also announced a new commitment to sustainability which means reducing its carbon footprint, shipping its TVs in 'eco-packaging' and offering solar-powered remote controls.
CES 2021 kicks off January 11. More about Samsung's announcement was revealed in a 46 minute video the company uploaded to YouTube which is embedded below.
