Samsung has unveiled a new “super big” television that may be one of the best budget options.
The Korean tech giant said on Monday that it’s now selling the 98-inch Crystal 4K TV DU9000. The television, which is available now on the Samsung website and at a range of big box stores, retails for $4,000.
While the television doesn’t offer Samsung’s QLED technology in higher-end versions, it does deliver HDR10 and HLG HDR. The television offers 4K resolution, and on content that isn’t in 4K, it’ll automatically upscale it to the higher-resolution format. The DU9000 also comes with a range of gaming features, including Samsung's Motion Xcelerator, a 120Hz refresh rate, and an AI Auto Game Mode for optimizing its picture for video games.
Perhaps most importantly, Samsung said that the television offers its Supersize Picture Enhancer, a feature specifically designed for such large screens. The technology can increase sharpness and reduce visible noise on-screen despite the pixels themselves getting larger as the screen scales in size.
Large-screen televisions like the DU9000 are becoming increasingly popular in the broader television market. A variety of companies, including Samsung competitors LG, HiSense, and TCL, offer exceptionally large displays. However, Samsung has largely competed in the higher end of the market, where prices tend to be a bit higher. At $4,000, the DU9000 puts the Samsung television in direct competition with some of its more budget-minded competitors.
For its part, Samsung didn’t comment on why it decided to offer the DU9000 at a more affordable price point, and the company noted that some of its other ultra-large screens, like the Neo QLED 8K and Neo QLED 4K, are decidedly more expensive. It did, however, say that consumers are increasingly turning to big screens, suggesting Samsung is firmly committed to that segment of the market.
“Just a few years ago, 65-inch TVs were considered ‘big,’” said Samsung Electronics America Senior Vice President of Home Entertainment James Fishler. “Today, people want even bigger screens. In fact, the number of 98-inch TVs sold across the industry has grown nearly 15 times since last year.”
The market, in other words, wants super-sized televisions and not everyone wants to spend upwards of $10,00 to get one. In the coming months and years, don’t be surprised if even more hit store shelves at all kinds of price ranges.
