CES has had its ups and downs over the years, big companies coming and going, but one thing’s never changed — it’s always where you’ll find the biggest and best new TVs of the year to come. Samsung is usually right there in the vanguard, and there’s no reason to expect any different this year, either. The 2024 Samsung TV lineup looks as good as ever, but they’ve also brought a whole new concept to the show — a completely transparent display.
The demo they had at their First Look event tonight had a completely see-through display with splashes of color drifting across it — the Micro LEDs are small enough to make eliminate seams and glare, making the transparency trip work. Samsung also says the underlying tech is modular, which opens up the possibility for made-to-order screens.
This won’t exactly be the future of TVs — we’d imagine having to use energy to produce black wouldn’t be very efficient, and it’d be hard to compete on contrast with a regular Micro LED TV — but it opens up a ton of possibilities in the home tech space, and as we all know, Samsung loves putting screens in the kitchen. We could see an oven with a cool overlay on the front window, as long as the display can handle the heat. Why? Not sure, but it sounds cool!
No word on what Samsung has planned for their transparent Micro LED tech yet, but we’re guessing we’ll see fun implementations in CES shows to come.
In the meantime, Samsung is keeping their QLED and OLED lines of TVs rolling this year, and they will benefit from AI in a couple ways — upscaling and optimizing for content. Both ways, AI will be doing the work of detecting what’s going on on screen and adjusting output accordingly. Turn on a basketball game, and the TV will be able to figure out it’s a basketball game and optimize for smooth motion and quick focus for a fast-paced sport. It’s like an evolved version of switching between game mode or movie mode on older TVs, except the TV just handles everything automatically and dynamically. And, it’s a lot more granular — 2024 Samsung TVs will be able to figure out what sport is being played and track the ball more precisely. Easy to imagine that will be a nice feature for faster sports where it’s harder to track the action, like hockey. Meanwhile, Real Depth Enhancer Pro will use that same AI processing to adjust contrast on the fly.
Upscaling is nothing new, but Samsung is taking the practice further – on their 8K QLED TVs, SD and HD video can be upscaled to 4K, and 4K video can be upscaled to 8K. That’s a big deal, because, well, there’s still not a whole lot of native 8K content out there to make an 8K TV worth it. Some major studios are starting to push more 8K content out, but until that movement really gets going, having an AI processing system that can take 4K content and make it look passable as 8K content is a good way to justify the cost.
Aside from AI processing goodies, Samsung is introducing a few new features to some of their TVs. Audible subtitles will read subtitles aloud. Your mileage might vary on this one — the feature is more for folks watching something in a language they don’t know. Depends on how you enjoy watching foreign language media, I think — if you prefer listening to the original audio, this feature might not do anything for you. But, for folks with impaired vision, it’s an awesome accessibility feature to help them enjoy entertainment from anywhere without needing to read small subtitles on screen.
You can also expect new gaming features. 2024 Samsung QLED 8K TVs will be able to hit a 240Hz refresh rate, which is great if you regularly play really fast-paced games, like Valorant. AI even pokes its head in here, too — rather than having a general game mode, these TVs can recognize the genre of game you’re playing and adjust for speed of action versus attention to details like shadows.
Samsung is also bringing their Knox security features to their 2024 Samsung TVs. The QLED 8K TVs will have dedicated security chips that can house sensitive data and keep it sequestered from smart TV apps, unless you authorize specific apps to do so.
Most of these new features will be found in Samsung’s top-of-the-line QLED 8K TVs, but if history is any indicator, a lot of these features will make their way to more affordable TVs in the years to come.
2024 Samsung 8K TVs
The Samsung Neo QLED 8K lineup will be the top of the line this year, with the spotlight on the 85” Class QN900D Neo QLED 8K TV. Both QN800D and QN900D TVs will come in screens between 65″ and 85″, with Samsung promising even bigger options to come, up to 98″, with their own size-specific optimization features.
On top of the AI processing features, Samsung is working to make their QLED 8K TVs as design-friendly as possible. They’ve reworked the One Connect Box, which helps connect your TV to all your media devices without as many wires, to make it even more easily hidden behind the TV. The Infinity Air Stand is made of metal polished to a mirror sheen, helping to give off the illusion that the TV is floating. It’s 2024, and Samsung really isn’t leaving any detail overlooked.
Finally, the Now+ feature will make use of the TV when it’s off, basically making it a sort of home screen displaying household notes, weather, time, and the like.
2024 Samsung 4K TVs
Samsung will have both QLED and OLED panels in their 2024 4K TV lineup. The QLED 4K TVs will benefit from some of the new AI processing features, like Real Depth Enhancer Pro for color contrast. They’ll also be able to auto-detect what you’re watching and make adjustments accordingly, and the TVs will be able to upscale SD and HD content to something closer to 4K.
The 2024 Samsung QLED TVs will be available in panels from 43″ to 98″ in the QN90D line and 55″ to 85″ in the QN85D line.The OLED series will comprise the S90D line (55″ to 77″) and the S95D line (55″ to 77″). As usual with OLED, these will be a bit thinner — the S95D TVs will be only 11 mm thick, and with the updated One Connect Box will be perfect for wall-mounting cleanly. Samsung is also introducing display tech that will reduce glare without affecting image quality, so that’s something we’re excited to get our eyes on! Audio will also get an AI boost, with the TV adjusting audio output for moving objects, so True Channel Dolby Atmos processing can make it sound like a train on screen is really moving across the room.
2024 Samsung Frame TV
Samsung is back with their usual design-focused products, too, with the centerpiece being the Frame. The Frame has been around for a long time now, as Samsung’s TV disguised as a high-end art frame. Same as always — it’s a TV that can display high-quality digital art when not in use, if decoration isn’t its primary purpose — with some improvements that should speak to the art aficionados, including Pantone Art Validated colors. Acknowledging that the Frame is a bit of a power hog by its nature, Samsung is also trying to make it more energy efficient when in Art mode by limiting refresh rate.
This year, they’re also Framing the soundbar! The Music Frame is a picture frame that hides a speaker system and can be used as a TV speaker or a subwoofer when paired with another soundbar. No actual display like with the Frame TV, though — this one displays good old-fashioned canvas or printed photos, although it will ship with a Diasec matte acrylic plate that you can use for digital prints.
2024 Samsung Premiere Projectors
If you’ve got the space to turn a whole wall into a display, the 2024 Samsung Premiere 8K might be the spiciest thing Samsung has cooking this year. It’s an 8K short-throw projector that can put up a 150″ image despite being just a foot away from the wall. We’re looking at 4,000 lumens, which is super, super bright — you should still get a crisp image using it in daylight. Add in similar 4K-to-8K AI-based upscaling as we see on the QLED 8K TV, and you’ve got a projector that will be nearly impossible to beat this year.
It’s also being paired with a One Connect Box, which means it can go completely wireless. Chances are you’ll be using it with your own sound system, but in a pinch, the Samsung Premiere 8K can output 100W audio, and with Dolby Atmos, you get better spatial sound than usual from a native projector sound system.
Samsung will also have Premiere 5, Premiere 7, and Premiere 9 models, which will throw 4K images. The whole Premiere lineup will also bring interactive projector displays to Samsung’s home projectors for the first time — using the Lightwarp feature, you can interact with the projected image on your wall as you would a touchscreen.
2024 Samsung TV Availability and Pricing
As usual, CES is just the hype show for new TVs. We won’t know exactly how much these 2024 Samsung TVs will go for until we get closer to launch, usually sometime in spring or summer.