Samsung just revealed how NFTs will work on its TVs — what you need to know

News
By published

Purchased NFTs can appear onscreen as ambient art when you’re not watching the latest blockbuster

NFT on Samsung TV
(Image credit: Samsung)

Back at CES, Samsung revealed that its 2022 TVs would include support for non-fungible tokens (NFTs). Now, thanks to the NFT auction site Nifty Gateway, we have an idea of how that’ll actually look in practice.

According to Nifty Gateway's press release, its platform is “now integrated with Samsung’s NFT platform” and will let you “browse, display, and interact with NFTs” on Samsung’s premium 2022 TV offerings, including QLED and Neo QLED models.

In short, it seems that Samsung views its televisions as a frame for viewing your unique digital art when not in use. Decrypt also states that you’ll be able to buy or sell artwork through the platform, too, if you can get past the weirdness of spending hundreds of dollars via a remote control.

If you’re into the whole NFT thing, then it sounds about as well integrated as it could be — although limiting it to Nifty Gateway puts a ceiling on what you’ll be able to buy. 

Gimmick or the future? 

For Samsung, the advantage of this move is clear: you would imagine the company has negotiated a cut of NFT transactions purchased via the sets, and with artwork going for hundreds of dollars, that’s potentially quite a nice stream of passive income.

For everyone else, I’m less convinced. You don’t have to look far to see a consumer backlash against the introduction of NFTs, with gamers forcing companies to abandon their plans to embrace the medium. 

Here, the implementation feels less forced, but I suspect that’ll be the problem. It’s clearly something you can just ignore if you’re not interested, and I can’t help feeling that that’s exactly what nearly everyone will do.

Remember when almost every TV came with 3D support, and a bunch of cheap-looking 3D glasses to go with it? Try to find one today and you’ll struggle — and I suspect that’s what we’ll find with NFT-displaying televisions in just a few years’ time, too.

Alan Martin
Alan Martin

Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. He also handles all the Wordle coverage on Tom's Guide and has been playing the addictive NYT game for the last several years in an effort to keep his streak forever intact.