Samsung’s lifestyle TV lineup is kind of a mixed bag, but the flagship The Frame’s popularity earned it another refresh among the company’s other annual TV updates. The Frame 2022 features a new matte, anti-glare display that should make you forget it’s a TV — not a framed work of art — when it's on standby.
The Frame already welcomed a gallery-worthy aesthetic with swappable bezel frames and a degree of anti-glare support that held up for off-angle viewing of downloaded art. But the upgraded display promises a noticeable improvement, thanks to a screen engineered to maximize light scattering surface irregularities, limiting the glare you might get in your living room.
Even in bright spaces, The Frame 2022 should better create paper and canvas textures expected from real art, so the set can fulfill its secondary purpose of camouflaging a TV with museum-caliber masterpieces.
We’re interested to see just how well The Frame’s new display compares to the screen of dedicated digital art frames like the $400 Meural Canvas II. Meural’s matte finish prevents glare and makes it look more elegant than a TV showing a photo, which isn’t shade to The Frame but a reality of its existence.
Like past iterations, The Frame 2022 is not just an art frame but a full-featured Samsung smart TV, with all the apps and services of a standard Samsung 4K TV. When you’re done watching a movie or show, you can visit the Samsung Art Store, which gives you access to thousands of gallery-quality images of artwork. The Art Store features both famous works and modern material from upcoming artists, and continuously adds new collections.
This year the Art Store introduces a new UX, making it easy to find your favorite art and discover new works based on curated recommendations. You’ll have to buy works to display them on your Frame, but it’s more affordable than a trip to the Louvre.
Speaking of price, Samsung hasn’t announced how much The Frame 2022 will cost. Last year’s 65-inch The Frame configuration started at $1,999, and we’d expect a similar cost this year. The Frame 2022 will come in sizes ranging from 32 inches to 85 inches again, too.
