Everything new from Samsung at CES 2023
MicroLED and artificial intelligence for TVs, 5K for screens, dual video projectors and sound bars that can automatically improve sound… Samsung is cooking up new things in Las Vegas. Numerama visited the huge stand of Korea.
At CES 2023 in Las Vegas, Samsung is quite conservative. None of the new features announced to the press on January 3rd are really new, as they are more improvements than true technological revolutions. Is it enough to miss? It’s weird, isn’t it. Most of the products displayed by Samsung are so impressive that they still manage to dazzle passers-by and even make them want to use them. The Korean manufacturer, which is the 1st in many categories of the world, will not be dethroned tomorrow.
5K screen to answer Apple
Chosen by Apple for its professional displays (including the Studio Display tested by Numerama), the 5K definition appears for the first time on Samsung, which until then favored Full HD and 4K. 5K, which is very appealing to image purists due to the pixel density it offers, will allow Samsung to expand its offering to professionals (especially developers who need this definition to replicate the resolution of a smartphone). This is, of course, a unified screen with access to all Samsung apps.
To tempt professionals, Samsung uses software to calibrate the screen. By using your mobile phone’s camera and scanning the sample on the ViewFinity S9’s 27-inch screen, you can achieve perfect colorimetry. In short, this screen is not aimed at the general public.
Samsung is increasingly embracing OLED
After the first QD-OLED TVs last year, Samsung continues to make screens with the technology it has long avoided (not to mention its rival, the absolute king of OLED, LG). At CES 2023, Samsung is showing ultra-bright 55-, 65- and 77-inch OLED TVs.
But that’s not all. Among the new gaming monitors announced by Samsung is an impressive 49-inch curved display (32:9 aspect ratio). The latter also uses OLED technology.
Samsung, which has dominated OLED on small screens, is finally taking it seriously for big screens. After forcing fans of this technology to face the competition for several years, Samsung is finally getting reliable.
Lots of new software for TVs
Without a major hardware revolution, Samsung needs to innovate on the software side. For this 2023 release, the app has several new features, some of which are:
- Samsung’s new Neo QLED TVs automatically convert SDR content to HDR content thanks to new algorithms that can recognize faces and shapes.
- The new mode allows visually impaired people to watch TV with a filter that focuses on shapes.
- Chat Together lets you watch an event like a match with multiple people. You can chat with your friends or strangers while watching TV.
- The new mode allows you to make video calls from your smartphone, but show a copy of the screen on the TV.
- The TV Plus program, which provides access to live TV, allows you to search for programs, not channels. A kind of Netflixation of television.
- Connected home enthusiasts can model their home in 3D and control it from their TV.
- In video games, Samsung can detect the game map and display it on another screen, such as a smartphone or tablet. The idea is to offer players a second screen.
Smart soundbars
On the audio side, Samsung says it has developed a co-processor that can enhance audio in a similar way to the video scaling found in 4K and 8K TVs. The Neural AI Quantum Processor specifically improves voices and sounds to create a more realistic cinematic effect.
Two video projectors for watching movies in 21:9
How to watch a movie at home like in the cinema? By buying two video projectors, of course. Two Freestyles can now be paired to display a 21:9 aspect ratio image with intelligent sync. It’s cool, but definitely expensive.
Frame TV’s matte screens eliminate glare
You can check out The Frame and Serif TVs, which are known for blending in with the ambiance of the room. Thanks to the so-called “ambient” mode, these televisions, which can reproduce the appearance of a painting, are very popular among people who do not like the appearance of classic models. In 2023, Samsung improves them.
To achieve this, Samsung is betting on a new so-called matte coating. The result is impressive, almost invisible on TV. When it’s on or off, we don’t see ourselves on the screen. What makes these products even more appealing to people who don’t like TVs (Samsung also lets you customize the frame of your TV to mimic artwork).
8K and MicroLED to impress everyone
Finally, Samsung once again relies on exceptional technologies to show its superiority. Its booth in Las Vegas has 8K, though the content is still sparse. All the new models shown naturally have the new software features mentioned above.
If 8K is relatively “attractive”, microLED technology is still far from it. While waiting to drop the prices of what promises to be OLED and QLED killers, Samsung is showing that it’s moving forward with products of all sizes with breathtaking contrast ratio and brightness. . The result is truly incredible and makes you want to jump 5 years into the future.
What about more elegant products like the foldable tablet introduced earlier? Samsung says it’s a product made by Samsung Display, not its consumer division.
All of the products announced at CES will hit stores in the coming weeks at prices that are not yet known, but are sure to match the previous ones. That’s the advantage when you settle for upgrades.
