It ’s a picture physique ! It ’s a talker ! No , it ’s … a speaker frame . Since Samsung first show off its newMusic Frame at CES , we ’ve been jonesing to pass time in front of it to see whether it will pink our air sock off or offer a aristocratic candy kiss of auditory sensation on the cheek . After check outSamsung ’s latest TVs , we were granted a shortsighted audience in front of two of these square 13 - column inch frame feature astonishingly strong speaker systems in the back . While we were certainly impressed by its sound volume and quality , it ’s clear that the$399 Music Frameis just the first iteration of what will hopefully become a more fleshed - out product , give prison term .
If your first thought was this is a smart frame that can show pictures from your headphone gallery and blast beets from your favorite Spotify play list , get that idea out of your head . This analogue picture frame is attached to a speaker that can link to Samsung ’s or other brands ’ smart home systems . you may preorder the Music Frame now , but you should understand exactly what you ’re getting before you leap for it . If you need a positive - sized fresh bod from Samsung , the caller already has you covered with the2024 refresh of The Frame television receiver .
What is Samsung’s Music Frame?
The Music Frame is a talker disguised as an older - shoal pic frame of reference . You put your favorite artwork or photo behind the front panel , then connect it to your TV or phone to set forth listening . Even though it connect over Bluetooth 5.2 and WiFi , you ’ll require to utilize Samsung ’s own IoT firebrand SmartThings connection and Q Symphony to enter the full Dolby Atmos quality . It also necessitate a pumped-up business leader connection , so unless you could obscure the cord , you wo n’t be trick anybody into hearing the spooky speech sound coming from the walls . The cable is white by default option , so at least it wo n’t see too odd snaking down from your bookshelf , so long as you do n’t require to go about bore holes in your wall to conceal any unsightly cables .
you may bulge out out the exposure rather well , which is good because it ’s the only other reason you would buy this cloaked speaker . It will also behave as aSmartThings hubfor those who really ask it . You should be able to use it with Google Assistant , Alexa , and , of course of action , Samsung ’s Bixby . Samsung says it should connect Chromecast , AirPlay , and Tidal Hi - Fi for playing your sound recording , but we ’ll have to test it out ourselves to see just how well it works with dissimilar setups .
But how does it fathom ? From what I could severalize in a very special demo , the Music Frame was amazingly loud and unclouded . There are six speakers and two woofer on the back , so the audio is about on par with a fair - quality soundbar , and when you combine it with another Music Frame and soundbar , you could get the same wakeless quality at all parts of the small straight way we were allowed to screen it in . I ’d be most odd to screen its bass properties , as even at its forte , we could n’t hear any genuine woosh from Camila Cabello ’s Havana .
The max photo size of the first-gen Music Frame is limited to 8 by 8.Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo
The 2024 “Frame” is For Those Who Want a TV With a More Artsy Bent
While hanging out in Samsung ’s secret lair , the company showed off itsnew version of its goggle box framealong with the Music Frame . If you were searching around for a Samsung - stigma smart picture frame , this is snug to what you want ( though you ’ll have to check that you ’re okay with sizes 43 column inch and up ) . It ’s still being dubbed “ The Frame , ” which we see as a rather confusing and more or less ostentatious monicker for what ’s still essentially a full QLED , 4 potassium screen , but that does n’t mean it does have a strong picture tone . Of course , you ’ll have to pay a pretty centime for that display . The Frame startle at43 in for $ 1,000and goes all the manner up to$3,000 for a 75 - inch interpretation .
The liberal vantage of the young Frame versus the older reading is that the modern thin TV supports a dynamical refresh charge per unit for model above 50 in , which reduces it down to 60 Hz when enabled in Art Mode . Samsung still has the art subscription service , which you ’ll need to pay for separately , but now the company will depart offering users a taste of prowess for free . The company said it will revolve 20 small-arm of art each month for you to display on your Frame , which is a nice change of gait even if you still will have to pay Samsung a tithe to select your favorite .
Still , the Frame bears some of Samsung ’s best highlight from its QLED lineup and a lusterlessness display that did n’t show much public eye from surround light . We spent even less prison term with the Frame compared to the Music Frame , but this TV refresh is still a more fleshed - out product overall than the speaker , with the selection of unlike colour bezel and size of it . It ’s an example of where the Music Frame could eventually go .
Photo: Artem Golub / Gizmodo
How Does the Music Frame and TV Frame Connect to Your Smart Home?
If you have a supporting TV , the Music Frame connects through Q Symphony to share audio among Samsung machine . The Q Symphony system fundamentally contemporise sound recording from a TV and soundbar at the same time . You should be able to have a soundbar playing the sound from your idiot box , plus up to two Music Frames on the far walls if you require a blue - key surroundings sound environment . Unfortunately , Q Symphony only supports up to two devices connected to a single Samsung TV . This could be a Samsung - brand soundbar plus a Music Frame or two Music Frames at once . While you could go into the TV options to tell it where your human body is positioned , it ’s a rather magnanimous constraint for those thinking they could beef up their sound apparatus with more secret speaker .
Beyond all that , the Music Frame certainly feels like a first - gen product . There will be only one size uncommitted to start . The soma itself is 12.9 by 12.9 in , and it sticks out 1.7 inch from the paries . This first loop supports an 8- by 8 - inch picture or graphics , so you might need to reckon breaking out the scissors hold to suit your family portrait at heart . Though Samsung is promote that you’re able to swap out the bezel for dissimilar colour options , there ’s also one shade to start with , which is black . you could hang it from the wall or prop it up on its own stand to let it hang out among the rest of your nicknacks and photo collections . There are a few button on the side to keep in line it and a small LED visible radiation to let you know the bod is combat-ready .
But for $ 399 , it ’s still last to be a hard sell . You manifestly wo n’t corrupt the Music Frame just for a nice loudspeaker to hold your eight - by - eight photo , as you could nab both things for far less than Samsung ’s version put together . The limited sizing and wired power necessary also limit where you could have it in your abode , so we ’re hoping that we ’ll see it in time .
Photo: Angel Fajardo / Gizmodo
Want more of Gizmodo ’s consumer electronics picks ? tally out our guides to thebest phonesbest laptops , best TVs , andbest earphone . If you want to discover about the next big thing , see our guide toeverything we be intimate about the iPhone 16 .
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Gif: Angel Fajardo / Gizmodo
