Samsung Reveals 2023 TV Range, Including Bigger, Better QD OLEDs, Improved Mini LEDs, And Small Micro LEDs

Samsung has kicked off the actual in-person business of the latest CES in Las Vegas in its usual spectacular style by unveiling its biggest – in every way – TV range ever.

There are many highlights to cover, but I suspect the news likely to excite AV fans the most is the revelation that Samsung will be not only launching a 77-inch Quantum Dot OLED TV to sit alongside new, improved 55 and 65-inch versions, but will also be selling two QD OLED ranges.

Both the premium S95C and more affordable S90C new QD OLED ranges will be available in 55, 65 and 77-inch screen sizes and use the new, improved generation of QD OLED panels.

Using the latest QD OLED panels means both ranges will benefit from the apparently substantial brightness and color performance improvements previously reported by QD OLED manufacturer Samsung Display. This will see brightness increasing by seemingly as much as 30% over 2022’s models, and color achieving more consistent, balanced and, above all, vibrant saturations.

The main differences between the QD OLED ranges will be that the premium S95C range will ship with external ‘One Connect’ connection boxes, and support a much more powerful multi-channel audio system.

Also promised by Samsung for its new QD OLED TVs is perceptual colour mapping designed to express colors so that they more closely resemble the way your eyes see the real world; an OLED brightness booster feature that works at pixel level to deliver optimised bright and dark areas; and 4K AI upscaling that now benefits from the combined knowledge of no less than 20 neural networks.

Gamers, meanwhile, will be excited to learn that Samsung’s S95C QD OLEDs will be the first OLED TVs ever to achieve AMD’s FreeSync Premium Pro certification.

While I suspect Samsung’s new QD OLEDs will be for most consumers the star attraction of its 2023 CES showing, it’s actually Samsung’s Mini LED TVs that continue to be positioned as the brand’s premium models. So it’s great to discover that unlike its 2022 Mini LED models, Samsung’s 2023 sets will benefit from an increase in the number of dimming zones they use to illuminate their pictures. Samsung won’t discuss exact numbers, but it’s certainly implied that the number of extra zones introduced this year is pretty extensive, at least on the flagship QN95 4K and QN900 8K ranges. In fact, industry rumors suggest we could even be looking at as much as a four-fold zone increase in at least the top Mini LED models.

The Mini LED TVs will get the latest version of Samsung’s Quantum Matrix light and power control system, as well as a neural quantum processor to apply the results of Samsung’s advanced picture AI system.

Among the new features delivered by the latest processor are Real Depth Enhancer Pro, which enhances the sense of 3D depth in the image by using deep learning to better understand which parts of any image your eyes will most likely be focused on, and then enhancing the image around that focal point to add more natural emphasis.

If you go for one of Samsung’s new 8K TVs, you will also benefit from improved 8K AI Upscaling that draws on the combined knowledge of a huge 64 neural networks in judging how to add the colossal amount of pixels required to convert 4K, HD and even SD to 8K. Previously this process only involved 20 neural networks.

After abandoning it for years, Samsung is also bringing back SDR to HDR conversion for 2023. The reason for the return of this feature is, once again, Samsung’s increased confidence in the deep learning algorithms of its AI picture analysis system, working in tandem with SDR and HDR image databases installed on Samsung’s latest chipsets.

The Object Tracking Sound systems in Samsung’s Mini LED TVs will also benefit from improvements generated by the new TVs’ improved processors, especially with the 8K models, creating a more immersive sound stage, delivering greater voice clarity, and providing a (very welcome) loudness equaliser.

One thing worth noting if you’re thinking of buying a Samsung 8K TV in 2023 is that your out of the box picture preset will likely look pretty dim – certainly much dimmer than the TV is capable of being – thanks to the EU’s ridiculously restrictive new TV power limitation regulations. So don’t forget to switch to another preset or turn off the TV’s eco picture settings to unlock what your new Samsung 8K TV is capable of.

if you’re looking for exact model numbers for Samsung’s 2023 Mini LED range, the Neo QLED 8K range will feature QN900, QN800 and QN700 models, all built around a premium super-slim design, while the Neo QLED 4K TVs will be built around QN95, QN90 and QN85 ranges.

Other more general new features common to Samsung’s latest mainstream TVs include extensive improvements to the ease with which they connect with other devices in the home, be they IoT devices, smartphones or Galaxy Buds headphones, as well as new light, sound and camera sensors allowing you to use the TV to set up light scenarios and the like in your home.

Samsung’s desire to deliver the best TVs for gaming also sees it delivering multiple new gaming features, such as a Super Ultrawide Game view and an improved Game bar that introduces a 16:9 Mini Map zoom-in feature, mini-map sharing that now supports consoles, and dual screen support – where the game plays on alongside a window showing something else, such as a YouTube play guide – that will cover a wider range of sources without adding anything to the screens’ all-important response time. Talking of which, Samsung is pushing for consistent Game Mode input lag across its premium TV range of 5.8ms with 4K/120 content and under 5ms with 4K/144Hz content.

The Gaming Hub will be improved by better Gamepass compatibility too, and there will be a new Virtual Aim Point feature to enhance your FPS gaming skills.

In some territories Samsung will be upping its in-home healthcare support, including monitoring of heart rate, stress and even oxygen saturation and respiration rates, all, remarkably, without the need for external equipment.

Samsung’s new 8K TVs will introduce the facility to access 8K NFTs as part of Samsung’s Ambient ‘screensaver’ system in a bid to add more 8K content to the very limited amounts currently available elsewhere.

Samsung has also started to refine the new full-screen Tizen smart system that launched last year to rather unhelpful effect, taking steps to simplify the presentation and increase the personalisation options.

No Samsung CES announcement would be complete without another mention of Micro LED TVs that we (as in, people who can’t afford to own a mansion or a super-yacht) will likely never have a prayer of being able to buy. So for 2023 Samsung is saying it will be able to sell modular (stitched together from much smaller Micro LED ‘blocks’) Micro LED displays in 140, 114, 101 and, crucially for living room adoption, 89, 76, 63 and even 50-inch screen sizes.

The ability to offer new, much smaller screen sizes will see Samsung taking a new marketing approach to its Micro LED offering for 2023. With Micro LED manufacturing processes still not advancing as quickly as hoped, though, even if the smallest Micro LED screens really do come to market for a change, they’ll still unlikely be cheap enough to be accessible to the vast majority of consumers.

Wrapping up Samsung’s 2023 CES AV display announcements are some innovations to its increasingly successful ‘ifestyle’ product range. Particularly eye-catching here is the promised launch in 2023 of an 8K version of Samsung’s The Premiere ultra short-throw laser projector that’s capable of driving a screen size of as much as 150 inches.

Owners of Samsung’s extraordinary little Freestyle portable projector, meanwhile, will be able to enjoy a new Smart EDGE Blending feature in 2023 that enables users to use two Freestyles together to deliver a 21:9 aspect ratio image with no obvious seam between their pictures.

Samsung’s popular The Frame range of designer TVs will be able to be partnered with a new metal bezel design, and mounted on an optional rotating wall mount and stand, bringing the automatic rotation and vertical viewing experience familiar with Samsung’s The Sero TV to both The Frame and Samsung’s new Neo QLED TVs.

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