Samsung’s 2018 QLED displays go on sale today, starting at R22k

Samsung has unveiled its 2018 range of QLED TVs at an event in Johannesburg today. The company will be bringing nine models into South Africa, divided into 7,8, and 9 Series. Screen sizes start at 55in, but the company says its expecting the 65in models to be the best performers. Pricing starts form R22,000 for the entry-level 55in, and climbs to well over R100,000 for the gigantic 82in models.

Want a curved model? You can have it, but it’ll have to be an 8 Series, 65in version. Pricing for the 65in options starts at R45,000, and climbs to R60,000, with the curved version falling somewhere in the middle.

Samsung’s also talked up its Signature Service, which sees an installer arrive with the TV to help get it mounted on the wall or positioned on a stand, and connected to the necessary set-top boxes, gaming consoles and other devices a consumer might have. In addition to offering the service for free to anyone who buys one of the new devices in the first few weeks after launch, it’s bundling the new TVs with various Samsung soundbars, and including a R1,000 voucher for Google Play movies.

QLED is Samsung’s proprietary “quantum dot” technology that it says enables it to produce richer blacks, natural colours and prevents image burn-in on displays, and which is limited to its premium displays.

The QLED range also includes a single “invisible” translucent cable that connects from the display to a separate unit for connecting peripherals. The company says this gives customers greater flexibility when it comes to deciding where to position their TV… plus it does away with the mess of electronic spaghetti that plagues most TVs (of course, it doesn’t overcome it, but it does make it easier to relegate it to a cupboard or similar).

One of the new features of the updated displays is the chameleon-like “ambient mode” function that displays the colour of the wall behind the display, a pattern bricks or wallpaper, or an image of your choosing, and adjusts the brightness to match the room. Essential? Hardly. Cool? Undoubtedly.