Samsung 2022 TV lineup: The Frame, MicroLED & Neo QLED 8K upgrades
CES is known for its big TV debuts, and Samsung is bringing plenty to this year's show including a new version of its The Frame, an upgrade to its huge, modular MicroLED system, and up to 8K Neo QLED models. As well as the TV sets themselves, there's also a broader focus on what you might be watching – and how – with new AI-powered image processing and more.
Samsung The Frame 2022
Samsung's TV that pretends to be art is narrowing the gap between the two worlds even further, with CES 2022 bringing a new model with even more realistic graphics. The QLED panel has a new matte, anti-reflective coating, which is designed to cut the light-scattering that glossy screens would traditionally exhibit. The result is fewer reflections, and a surface that looks more like paper or canvas.
As for what can be shown on that display, there's a new Art Store UX which Samsung says should make it easier to find new artwork content. Like before, there are interchangeable bezels and the My Shelf, to better integrate The Frame into a domestic setting. For 2022, screen sizes from 32- to 85-inches will be offered.
Samsung MicroLED 2022
If The Frame 2022 is meant to blend in, Samsung's new MicroLED TV range can't help but catch the eye. That's in part because of its modular nature, with the panel system supporting up to 178-inch configurations. If that's a little too big for your space – or budget – 2022 is bringing a new 89-inch preconfigured MicroLED system, alongside the 99- and 110-inch versions.
Size isn't the only change for CES 2022. The new displays still rely on 24.9 million micro LEDs, but Samsung says there's 10% wider color support now, too. There's Dolby Atmos and Samsung Object Tracking Sound Pro as well.
Samsung Neo QLED 2022
More attainable, Samsung's Neo QLED range also gets imaging updates for CES 2022. There are both 4K and 8K models – the latter now the first in the world to support 144Hz input – with support for Dolby Atmos, Active Voice Amplifier, Object Tracking Sound, and SpaceFit sound. With specific Samsung soundbars, 2022 TVs will use both their own and the soundbar's speakers, rather than turning the former off when the latter is active. Select soundbars will have wireless Dolby Atmos support, too.
Samsung has also made more use of AI for image processing. Object Depth Enhancer, for example, analyzes what's on-screen and figures out what's the foreground and what's in the background. Then, it can treat the two differently, sharpening the subject and bringing what Samsung claims is almost a 3D effect as a result – only without demanding special glasses. AI is also used for Shape Adaptive Light Control, which analyzes the shape of objects and then adjusts the shape of the light to suit.
The result, Samsung says, is that bright places look brighter and dark places look darker, but without losing clarity for shapes whiten them. For 2022, Neo QLED also gets a bump from 12-bit to 14-bit backlighting, for more accurate brightness control too.
Samsung Watch Together
Like Apple's SharePlay, Samsung Watch Together promises to make watching the same content more straightforward. In the case of the 2022 Samsung TV line-up, it uses the new Multi View feature – which can show up to four sources on-screen at once – but to show live camera feeds from friends and family rather than streaming or broadcast sources.
It'll work either with a USB webcam or, wirelessly, with the camera built into a compatible smartphone or tablet.
Samsung Gaming and SmartThings
The other big interface change is around gaming. The new Samsung Gaming Hub will bring together physical and streaming gaming platforms, for example, in a centralized place that shows any connected console and any on-demand services – like Stadia – that you might have access to.
There's also up to 4K @ 144 Hz VRR support, and all four of Samsung's HDMI ports now support HDMI 2.1. There's a new Game Bar, too, which shows individual settings to make tweaking to match personal taste more straightforward. Finally, there's both Zoom in Mode – which can be used to magnify harder-to-see graphics, such as maps – and ultrawide Multi View that can show both a game and something like a YouTube walkthrough on-screen at the same time.
Finally, Samsung's 2022 TVs are gaining an integrated SmartThings Hub. That'll support WiFi smart home devices natively, and – with an optional dongle – Zigbee devices too. There's also a new, customizable home map which can show an easier graphic of the different controllable gadgets around the house.