Samsung Picture Frame TVs: Just A Gimmick, Or Worth The Price?

In a lot of futuristic science-fiction settings, decoration sensibilities tend to differ from those we hold here in the present. For one thing, rather than canvas artwork, many futuristic depictions of homes have artwork displayed on a screen, either hanging on the wall or floating in midair. It's certainly a good way to make your setting look future-y, but have you ever considered what it would be like to actually display artwork like that?

Samsung has approached the concept with aplomb in the release of their picture frame TVs, aptly named "The Frame." The picture frame TV is exactly what it says on the tin- a QLED HDR smart TV that, when not in use as a TV, can be used to display extremely realistic works of art, sci-fi style, doing so whenever you walk by thanks to a motion sensor. It's a fascinating device, for certain, but is such a thing actually worth the substantial buy-in?

The Frame is a QLED 4K-ready television set. The device features a Quantum HDR processor rated for the highest-quality color and contrast, Dolby Atmos and Object Tracking Sound, and built-in smart features courtesy of Tizen. In short, it's a pretty nice TV, but that's probably not what you wanted to know about.

The Frame's big draw is Art Mode, a feature that activates automatically when the TV isn't in use. The Frame draws from either your personal photo collection or a Samsung Art Store subscription to show realistic artwork on the screen whenever something sets off its motion sensor. Thanks to the display's special anti-reflection and matte display treatments, the image looks more like an actual piece of artwork, rather than an image on a screen.

To really cement the illusion, The Frame comes with a slim-fit wall mount you can use to display it anywhere, as well as a customizable magnetic bezel and frame. This frame snaps right onto the corners of the display, creating the image of a framed canvas. It also comes in seven different colors, so you can properly coordinate it with your other futuristic décor.

Is The Frame a cool device? Absolutely. A display that can swap between a 4K TV and classical art is most certainly cool in a modern sci-fi way. That said, realistic sci-fi decor doesn't come cheap. The smallest model of The Frame at 32' costs $599.99, plus an additional $99.99 for the frame and, if you want realistic artwork from the Samsung Art Store, another $5.99/month for a subscription. The display size goes all the way up to 85', which costs $4,299.99. That is a lot of money, substantially more than it would cost you to buy an actual painting and a wall mount. Yes, The Frame's image quality is fantastic, but you could definitely get a normal TV with similar fidelity without the artsy features for much less.

Let's put it like this: if you just want an excellent TV with a high-quality picture, you probably don't need The Frame. If you just want to display some nice artwork in your living room, you probably don't need The Frame. But if you're in the hyper-specific Venn diagram of someone who wants a high-quality TV that also becomes nice artwork when you're not using it, then The Frame will suit your incredibly particular tastes quite well.