Stop me if you’ve heard this one before: it’s a TV, but when you’re not using it as a TV it’s an art gallery. Nope, it’s not Samsung’s The Frame TV (or even Samsung’s Music Frame speaker). It’s TCL‘s Nxtframe, aka the A300, and it’s reportedly making its debut at IFA in Berlin in September 2024.
The most interesting thing about this TV might not be how it looks, however, but how it sounds. That’s because TCL has swapped audio suppliers: instead of its usual Onkyo audio speaker system, it’s going to be using a Bang & Olufsen-designed soundbar (see our Beosound Theatre review for a brief taster of what the Danish audio specialist can do in this area) and subwoofer that you can tune with B&O’s BeoSonic software.
As FlatpanelsHD reports, the new TV is the first product from a six-year agreement that will bring Audio By Bang & Olufsen to TCL’s high-end TVs sold worldwide. According to Bang & Olufsen CEO Kristian Teär, “We’ll collaborate to bring premium sound experiences to TCL’s customers and enhance the overall product experience” – and more partnerships may be imminent. Teär says that B&O is committed to “expanding our licensing partnerships business”.
You’ve been Framed: the Art TVs to watch in 2024
The Nxtframe has just been unveiled in China and joins a veritable gallery of frame-style TVs: we’ve also seen models from Hisense and Roku in the form of Hisense’s $999 CanvasTV and Roku’s Backdrops mode, which is coming via software update to its Pro Series QLED TV this summer. Detailed specifications for TCL’s model haven’t yet been announced and we don’t as yet know what content will be available for you to gaze at.
That could be important, because Samsung‘s secret weapon with The Frame TVs isn’t so much the tech (as impressive as it is), it’s the Art Store, which is so exclusive that even Samsung’s other TVs can’t have it. While it costs extra, it’s not a huge expense – and it means you don’t have to create your art collection manually.
But in terms of the TVs themselves Samsung is still the market leader here, and The Frame continues to evolve: adding anti-glare matte screens in 2023 was a big improvement, and the 2024 models also have Pantone Validated certification for color accuracy and a 60Hz mode to reduce power consumption when in Art Mode. The CanvasTV is anti-glare too but doesn’t currently have the Pantone seal of approval.
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