Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. introduced an array of new smart TVs at CES 2022 today, as well as a remote control that generates its own electricity from sunlight and radio waves. 

The new TVs are joining Samsung’s Micro LED, QLED Neo and Lifestyle product lines. The remote control, meanwhile, will be included out of the box with all the TVs that the company plans to launch this year.

The Micro LED product line, the first display series that Samsung updated today, now features several new 89-inch, 101-inch and 110-inch screens. The product line is so-called because all the screens that it includes are based on microLED technology, an upgraded version of LED. 

A traditional LED display consists of two main building blocks: pixels and backlights that produce illumination for the pixels, which can’t generate any light on their own. A single backlight usually supports dozens or hundreds of pixels. 

A microLED display, in contrast, doesn’t have separate pixels and backlights. Instead, the display’s pixels produce their own illumination without the help of a backlight. This approach provides certain technical benefits that enable microLED screens to produce sharper contrasts and operate with higher power efficiency than traditional LED displays.

Another benefit of microLED technology is that consolidating the backlight and pixel layers frees up space. According to Samsung, its latest microLED displays feature bezels that take up a mere 0.01% of the TV’s area. 

Samsung’s Neo QLED display lineup is being refreshed as well. As the name suggests, the series is based not on microLED components but rather a different type of display technology known as QLED. 

A QLED display is similar to a traditional LED display in that it uses backlights to produce illumination for its pixels. The difference is that, before the photons generated by the backlights reach the pixels, they travel through a layer of semiconducting nanocrystals known as quantum dots. The quantum dots help significantly improve display brightness levels while increasing the display’s overall power efficiency in the process.

Samsung’s new Neo QLED displays feature a chip dubbed the Quantum Processor. According to the company, the chip can control lightning levels with four times greater granularity than earlier displays. Another improvement over previous-generation products: an EyeComfort mode that automatically adjusts screen brightness based on the ambient light in a room to reduce eye strain.

The third line of TVs that Samsung updated at CES 2022 today is the Lifestyle series. It consists of The Frame, The Sero and The Serif, three high-end screens that each feature a different chassis design. Samsung has added a Matte Display to all three devices that it says has “anti-glare, anti-reflection and anti-fingerprint properties” to optimize the viewing experience.

Consumers who order one of the TVs that Samsung is launching this year will also receive an Eco Remote. It’s a TV remote equipped with a built-in solar panel that can turn sunlight into electricity. Moreover, the device features so-called RF harvesting capabilities that enable it to turn radio waves such as signals from a user’s Wi-Fi router into energy.

On the software side, Samsung will equip its TV with a number of new applications. One of the new programs will enable users to access cloud-based video game streaming services such as Nvidia Corp.’s GeForce Now. Another application will provide the ability to browse and purchase nonfungible tokens. 

Image: Samsung