Samsung last night held the Australian launch of its 2017 flagship TVs ahead of retail availability in the middle of April. Dubbed the QLED range, one of the key features is a revamped user interface that consolidates your HDMI devices as apps.
If the TV can recognise your device, whether it's a Foxtel box, Telstra TV, PlayStation 4, or a Blu-Ray player, it will appear as an "app icon" on Samsung's smart TV interface. No more wondering what the hell is plugged into HDMI1. Notably, Samsung's "One Remote" can be used to navigated many connected devices (although obviously you'll still need a controller for your console, if you're planning on gaming, but the remote will work fine if you're just using your console for a media app).
In a demo shown to media last night, a Samsung spokesperson highlight this functionality by hoping from a Telstra TV to a Samsung 4K Blu-Ray player to a native YouTube app installed on the set. Impressively, going from device to app to device was almost as seamless as swapping channels. Which is great, cause who watches live TV anymore?
An app available for iOS and Android can also be used instead of the One Remote.
Notably, QLED TVs also have Steam Link integration, allowing gamers to wireless beam games from a PC directly to the TV, using Steam's Big Picture interface.
From a technical perspective, the big change in this year's high-end Samsung TVs is reengineered quantum dot (the Q, in QLED, for what it's worth) technology that further bumps the panel's brightness. In fact, high-end Q9 is twice as bright as last year's flagship. This increase in brightness also facilitates 100% colour volume; Samsung says this means the TVs can display even subtle differences in colour.
Samsung's Q9 series of TV are edge-lit from the sides, have flat panels, and offer 2,000 nits of brightness. The Q8 and Q7 series are edge-lit from the bottom, and offer 1,500 nits of brightness. Th Q8 is curved, while the Q7 is flat.
The TVs all use a "Clear Connection Cable" - a thin, transparent lead - to all reduce cable clutter when - especially when wall mounting. The cable hooks into the "OneConnect" box, which houses all of the TV's inputs and connectors other than power.
Pricing for Samsung's new TVs is as follows:
- QLED Q9 65-inch TV - $9.499
- QLED Q9 75-inch TV - $14,999
- QLED Q9 88-inch TV - $39,999
- QLED Q8 55-inch TV - $5,499
- QLED Q8 65-inch TV - $7,499
- QLED Q8 75-inch TV - $12,499
- QLED Q7 55-inch TV - $4,499
- QLED Q7 65-inch TV - $6,499
- QLED Q7 75-inch TV - $10,999
You'll find them in stores from April 17.
Alex Choros
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