If you find the physical design of modern TVs to be lacking, Samsung understands your concern. For almost a decade, the brand has been winning hearts and minds with The Frame, a TV designed to be just as much a part of one’s living space as a framed work of art. It’s been wildly successful, and years later, I still field more questions about The Frame than any other TV series.
In fact, Samsung’s The Frame has been so popular, competing brands like TCL, Hisense and LG have released their own spin on the concept. Referred to as lifestyle TVs, these sets seek to strip away the most mundane aspects of contemporary TV design and to put them in conversation with its surroundings.
It’s been a refreshing era for TV design, but I won’t be satisfied until the influence of lifestyle TVs reaches the best TVs on the market. It’s time to get weird and daring with TV design, and there are plenty of brands can learn from The Frame’s success.
What makes Samsung’s The Frame so special?
The secret to The Frame’s success lies in the details of its design: It trades the plain, black borders found on most TVs for replaceable “frames” — artful bezels in various colors, some with subtle, wood-like textures. It’s quite chic.
With few exceptions, most TVs can’t help but bulge outward when mounted on a wall, usually due to dimensions of the panel. If you choose to wall-mount The Frame, its narrow, uniform panel — along with Samsung’s specialized Slim Fit Wall Mount — will keep it flush against the wall.
To avoid dangling, unsightly wires, The Frame makes use of Samsung’s One Connect Box, which houses all of the TV’s ports away from the panel itself. The One Connect Box connects to the rest of the TV with an “invisible,” light-colored cable that doesn’t call attention to itself.
Newer versions of The Frame feature a matte finish that serves two purposes: to cut down on glare and to give the picture soft, non-glossy finish, like a painting.
The rest of The Frame’s most intriguing features consist mostly of optional attachments: a tripod-style stand apparatus that Samsung calls the Studio Stand, customizable shelving units meant to be placed above, below and along the sides of the TV while it’s wall-mounted, as well as a piece of software called Art Mode, which puts works of art on the screen when The Frame is not in use.
These design elements make for a compelling TV, particularly for those who find TVs to be out of place or disruptive to the overall flow of a room. Unfortunately, it's a less-compelling option for folks looking to maximize their spending on picture quality.
What are the downsides to Samsung’s The Frame?
The Frame might be the perfect fit for someone who carefully considers every corner of a room, but it’s a less attractive option for dedicated A/V enthusiasts searching for the best possible picture.
Our testing revealed that the 2024 model doesn’t get much brighter than 600 nits in HDR ... it lags behind other mid-range and high-end LED TVs when it comes to color volume, too
Our testing revealed that the 2024 model doesn’t get much brighter than 600 nits in HDR, and that’s only a modest improvement over its predecessor, The Frame from 2022. It lags behind other mid-range and high-end LED TVs when it comes to color volume, too (in part due to its relatively low brightness). The Hisense U8N, a much more affordable TV, can easily clear 3,000 nits in HDR, and covers about 82% of the Rec. 2020 color gamut compared to The Frame’s 68%.
In addition, The Frame is built around an edge-lit panel, which limits the TV’s contrast control. Even mid-range TVs like the TCL QM7 and Hisense U7N (both of which are currently $500 to $700 cheaper than The Frame in a 65-inch model) offer Mini-LED backlighting with local dimming.
Without better lighting elements, The Frame can struggle to create a high-contrast, compelling picture that home theater enthusiasts often look for.
This is perfectly OK! For many people, that’s a fantastic tradeoff. The Frame’s approach is not for everyone, but the people I’ve spoken to who love the TV are fully aware of its performance-based shortcomings.
However, this brings me back to my initial point: There’s plenty of room for brands to build off of the success of The Frame and to incorporate some of its design philosophies into the blueprints of high-end, high-performing TVs. And there are signs that we’re moving in that direction.
How can more TVs be like The Frame?
Recently, TCL and Hisense have launched lifestyle TVs of their own, both of which take a similar design approach as The Frame.
The TCL Nxtframe TV (pictured above) is made up to resemble a piece of art when wall-mounted and is also available for use with a four-footed stand that resembles Samsung's Studio Stand. The brand also partnered with audio titan Bang & Olufsen for the Nxtframe's dedicated soundbar.
Hisense also recently released its own take on the TV-as-artwork concept with the Hisense Canvas TV, a TV we found to be quite aesthetically pleasing despite its performance limitations.
What I really want to see is the spirit of The Frame's design approach making its way into top-shelf, high-performing TVs, like Samsung's celebrated S95 Series OLED, LG's G Series OLED, and so on.
But while additional, competitive lifestyle TVs are a breath of fresh air, what I really want to see is the spirit of The Frame's design approach making its way into top-shelf, high-performing TVs, like Samsung's celebrated S95 Series OLED, LG's G Series OLED, and so on. This way, no one needs to choose between thoughtful design and overall picture quality.
And, lucky for us, there are signs that the lifestyle TV influence is already creeping into other high-end lineups. Some sizes in the Samsung S95D OLED series (and upcoming S95F series) feature a matte finish, much like The Frame.
The LG G5 OLED will once again be sold without a stand, as most G Series owners prefer to take advantage of the series' seamless wall-mounting capabilities. If you take a closer look at the upcoming Panasonic Z95B, you'll notice that much of its exterior is wrapped in fabric, which I find to be a nice aesthetic touch.
And, while we won't be getting these TVs in the United States, Philips' newest Ambilight TV, which synchronizes colorful LED lights to on-screen action, looks absolutely stunning. It's the type of feature that tip-toes right up to the line of being gimmicky but still manages to make me appreciate the boldness of its approach.
It's not widespread yet, but the success of The Frame has clued brands into the fact that many viewers are in the market for a TV that looks good even when it's not in use. Hopefully that's a trend that will only continue to grow in the coming years.
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