Samsung sells more TVs than anyone else in the world, with a market share just shy of 20 per cent. It always goes big at CES, setting out its stall for the year ahead. And 2024 is no different.
It has unveiled its brightest OLED TV yet alongside new Neo QLED models, ultra-slim soundbars, a picture frame that doubles as a home cinema speaker and the world's first wireless projector. It's going to be quite a 12 months.
Samsung S95D OLED TV
Samsung's latest OLED TV is "20 per cent brighter than previous models" and "Samsung’s brightest OLED screen yet". But is it 3000 nits? Regardless, it looks like quite a prospect, with a proprietary picture quality engine and an LG G4-matching refresh rate of 144Hz for PC gaming.
It also has Samsung's new 'OLED Glare Free' technology. This low-reflection coating aims to preserve colour accuracy and image sharpness while reducing reflections. LG's G3 had something similar, and while it did indeed reduce reflections, it did leave the screen looking slightly bronzed when switched off, like a contestant from Love Island. Still, what price can you put on daytime viewing in bright sun?
The S95D is joined by the slightly lower-specced S90D and S85D. These two will be available in screen sizes ranging from 48in to 83in, with the S95D "only" going up to 77 inches.
8K Neo QLEDs with AI superpowers
Outside of the S95D, Samsung's new 8K QLED TVs have AI at their core. The QN900D (above) is powered by Samsung's new NQ8 AI Gen3 processor, which features a Neural Processing Unit that's twice as fast as that in last year's 8K model. Samsung says that having eight times as many neural networks will help the TV to maximise picture quality.
But hang on, isn't there a dearth of 8K content at the moment? That's why Samsung is so keen to shout about its 8K AI Upscaling Pro feature, which upscales content to 8K. We'll reserve judgement on this until we've seen it in action.
AI Motion Enhancer Pro is designed to eliminate motion processing issues while watching sports. It detects which sport is playing and uses deep learning to apply the best settings. Similarly, Real Depth Enhancer Pro uses AI to control the TV's Mini LEDs and bring certain parts of a scene into the foreground to make them seem more realistic.
Samsung has put AI to work on the sound side, too. Active Voice Amplifier Pro (about the only feature not to feature 'AI' in the title) uses AI to boost dialogue and to separate it from the audio mix.
Samsung claims the QN900D is the world's thinnest 8K TV screen, with the 65-inch variant measuring just 12.9mm thick. The stand's mirror effect is supposed to make it seem like the TV is hovering, but we weren't fooled.
The world's first wireless projector
There's a lot more to Samsung than TVs. The firm has launched the world's first wireless projector, The Premiere 8K. On hand is a wireless One Connect Box into which you plug your sources like a Blu-ray player, set-top box and games console. Much like LG's new M4 wireless TV, this then transmits the info through the air to the projector which displays the picture. Clever.
Samsung hasn't revealed the exact wireless tech behind it yet, but stay tuned for more details.
Wireless aside, there's a lot to like. It's an ultra-short throw model, which, coupled with the wireless tech, makes finding somewhere to place it a lot easier. There's 100W of power, 8.2.2 channels and Dolby Atmos audio onboard, too.
A wireless speaker that doubles as a picture frame
The Samsung Music Frame is the wireless speaker version of The Frame TV. In other words, it looks like a standard picture frame – albeit much thicker to accommodate the speakers. Pair it to a Samsung TV and soundbar, and it can form part of a surround sound system, using Samsung's Q-Symphony tech. Or it can work as a wireless speaker all on its own.
And when you tire of whatever photo you've inserted into it, just swap it out for another.
An ultra-slim soundbar
The HW-S800D soundbar is just a third of the depth of the Sonos Arc, yet still packs 10 drivers, including overhead speakers and a centre channel for vocals, a subwoofer and passive radiator. It's joined by the Samsung HW-Q990D – a soundbar with an 11.1.4 configuration, Dolby Atmos and 4K 120Hz passthrough. This uses AI to optimise the audio of whatever you're watching.
The Galaxy S24
The Samsung Galaxy S24 will be available before any of the above hit shop shelves. It'll be unveiled on 17th January at Galaxy Unpacked, and – perhaps unsurprisingly – will feature AI as one of its main selling points. The tagline to Samsung's recent video (see above) is "Galaxy AI is coming".
We're expecting the same screen tech to be used across all three handsets for the first time, bringing some much needed parity to the range. It would also provide a point of difference between the S24 and iPhone 15 families, with Apple enlarging the gap between its Pro and non-Pro variants every year. We'll have all the details next week...
MORE:
CES 2024: all the latest news, highlights and product launches
Samsung’s 8K Neo QLED TV range uses AI to supercharge picture and sound quality
LG 2024 OLED TV range: everything you need to know
Our pick of the best TVs you can buy right now
