Samsung debuts 8k TV, MicroLED TV at CES 2020
2020 is set to be a major year for 8k screens, according to Samsung executives.
The Seoul-based company unveiled a plethora of products and services at a CES media event Sunday evening, including its new flagship: the next generation of its QLED 8K line.
“It’s clear 2020 will become a tipping point, the year when 8k broke into mainstream as the definitive viewing experience,” said Joe Stinziano, executive vice president of Samsung Electronics America, at Samsung’s The First Look event.
The spread of 8k
Samsung is just one company looking into 8k televisions. Earlier that day, representatives from the Consumer Technology Association, which sponsors CES, shared projections that the average TV screen size in 2022 would be 50 inches with 8k resolution.
The Q950TS QLED 8K TV nearly eliminates the bezel — the border around the screen — making the edge on the “Infinity Screen” nearly impossible to notice. Its screen-to-body ratio is nearly 99 percent, which Samsung claims is the largest in the market.
The 15 millimeter-thin Q950 has deep learning abilities through the company’s AI.Quantum chip, which recognizes and adjusts to environmental changes such as dark or bright lighting; restores lower quality video to 8k resolution; and more.
It’s “a total game changer,” said JH Han, Samsung’s president of visual display business.
The screen also includes Object Tracking Sound+, or OTS+, technology that produces sound that matches the movement of images on the screen. And the Active Voice Amplifier feature adjusts the volume of dialogue in response to background noise, like a blender or vacuum cleaner.
But 8k will be featured on more unique screen models. Samsung’s Sero — which means vertical in Korean — rotates between a horizontal and vertical display, and is meant to better fit videos recorded in portrait mode on smart phones. The rotating screen is Samsung’s latest lifestyle TV, and received a CES Best of Innovation award this year.
The company also announced that The Frame, a screen with an “art mode” that first launched three years ago, will be available in a 32 inch and 75 inch display this year.
For gamers, the company has added to its Odyssey gaming monitor series: the G7 and G9. Both feature a 1000R curved screen, which matches the contours of the human eye, and a 240Hz refreshment rate, which Samsung says eliminates lag.
Samsung also showed off The Wall, which can be customized to fit any size and ratio and features a MicroLED display. The TV on display at the CES event was a 292 inch version.
“This is the screens everywhere era,” Han said.
Smarter screens
According to Han, Samsung is working on screens that evolve to meet people’s demanding lifestyles. That means newer models are “smarter than ever before.”
Starting this year, Samsung devices will let users choose their favorite voice assistant to use: Brixby, Alexa or Google Assistant.
The AI.Quantum brings in Samsung’s “Digital Butler,” which brings smart devices to one dashboard and can use infrared technology to detect and control non-Internet of Things devices within the home.
Other new features include Tap View — which lets users mirror content from their phone to their TV by tapping the TV screen with their device — and Samsung Health, which launches later this year.
The program will have free and exclusive content from partners such as Jillian Michaels, FitPlan, Barre 3 and Echelon, and can and can give “smart nudges” to users. The company is also launching the Privacy Choices app, which aims to make it easier for consumers to look at relevant privacy policies and adjust settings.
Contact Bailey Schulz at bschulz@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0233. Follow @bailey_schulz on Twitter.
