Samsung just revealed The Frame TV 2024 at CES with a game-changing upgrade
Here's what new for Samsung's popular Frame TV
Samsung's The Frame TV has only grown in popularity over the years — it's such a coveted item on social media that people are literally trying to DIY their own versions using a regular TV and molding from the hardware store. But it's really hard to recreate the effect, and that's even more the case for the new Samsung The Frame 2024 that just debuted at CES 2024.
Alongside the rest of the Samsung 2024 TVs like the Samsung S95D OLED TV, Samsung refreshed its lifestyle TV category with an updated version of The Frame. Its purpose is the same: to look like art hung on the wall when it's not in use. But this year's version has some noteworthy upgrades.
The most consequential of which is a new eco-minded setting that will actually kick down the refresh rate of the TV when in it's in art mode (a.k.a. when you're not watching a show or movie). Normally, the anti-reflective 4K TV runs a 120Hz signal, but when in art mode, it'll jump down to 60Hz.
Since most artwork is static, the lowered refresh rate has virtually zero impact on the appearance of art. And from what I saw personally at CES, the displayed artwork looks as eye-catching as ever. It even has a new Pantone Validated Artful Color check, which basically means that the artwork, under normal lighting conditions, looks as true to museum quality.
So, why is this change a big deal? The lowered refresh rate demands less power, making the TV more energy efficient when it's not in use. But for a TV like the Frame, it's being used even when it's not in use to display art and images. Some users keep the TV turned on 24/7.
When a TV is using power constantly, it's important that it's doing so in the most efficient way possible. Now, the best answer would be to just turn the TV off between use, which I highly recommend doing if you've fashioned a DIY Frame. But that kind of defeats the purpose of the Frame, so at least this year's version is better equipped to save energy. If you were to upgrade from a 2021 or 2022 Frame with the 120Hz refresh rate to the new one, you'd possibly see those savings reflecting on your energy bill, too.
On the topic of saving money, starting in 2024 the updated Art Store will be offering 20 complimentary pieces of art per month. This curation will be available to all users free of charge. There were already a handful of free pieces if you didn't want to pay for the Art Store's collections, but now, there will be fresh works to hang on your wall every month.
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If you prefer your own photos instead, the image upload process in the SmartThings mobile app will apparently be easier than before, too.
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Kate Kozuch is the managing editor of social and video at Tom’s Guide. She writes about smartwatches, TVs, audio devices, and some cooking appliances, too. Kate appears on Fox News to talk tech trends and runs the Tom's Guide TikTok account, which you should be following if you don't already. When she’s not filming tech videos, you can find her taking up a new sport, mastering the NYT Crossword or channeling her inner celebrity chef.
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Gregdn I wonder jus how much difference this will make. I'm hopeful, but I do feel that Samsung misinformed on the previous versions. We have a 50" Frame. The salesman told us it has a separate backlight for art mode that is much lower wattage. Well, I have my TV running through an energy metering smart strip so I know EXACLY how much energy it is using and is typically around 70W when we are watching TV and typically 70-100Watts in art mode. I do believe that is due to it actively adjusting brightness to match ambient light to keep the art looking arty and our couch is right up against a window. But even so, I feel lied to. I dont actually think the salesman was lying. I think he was just being a salesman and confidently espousing the (actually false) information he was given. But it does feel like there was some dishonestly somewhere down the line. That said, its a great TV. We leave it in art mode sometimes, and I just turn it off a lot.Reply -
echen Whether the LCD refreshes 60Hz or 120Hz it will still need a backlight and use the same power to stay lit. The savings will be on the silicon transistors running in the background to calculate the colors on each pixel. The ultimate solution would be to drop the TV functionality and switch to color E-Ink.Reply -
Gregdn
Good point. to be fair, only know the total consumption and couldnt begin to say how much of that is backlight vs processing. Yes, a color e-ink would be incredible if it were doable. I'm not sure how E-ink does for refresh rates and if that would then require having a combo of e-ink and perhaps OLED, or if an e-ink could theoretically handle both tasks.echen said:Whether the LCD refreshes 60Hz or 120Hz it will still need a backlight and use the same power to stay lit. The savings will be on the silicon transistors running in the background to calculate the colors on each pixel. The ultimate solution would be to drop the TV functionality and switch to color E-Ink. -
zilexa0 This upgrade is nonsense, The Frame TVs have been 60Hz for a couple of years until they released new models that supported 120Hz.Reply
The fact that recent models kept running in 120Hz mode, when the content did not provide a matching framerate, especially for static content, is more a bug or bad design than anything else.
I have The Frame 2018 (which supports 60Hz max) but only because it was the only TV that can be installed against a wall seamlessly. The picture quality and energy consumption has always been sub-par for every The Frame model.
The day LG releases smaller versions of its G-series (LG G3, LG G4), like 48", 49" or max 50", I will replace The Frame. The LG G series are the only other tv model that can be hanged seamlessly against a wall. -
ashwinmj Will the Art Store updates be limited to the new 2024 models only or will they be coming to the older 2022/2023 models as well?Reply