Is that all you got?

“This year, the tech giant is rolling out the red carpet for South Africans, and redefining the Black Friday narrative as an opportunity for every shopper to become the leading character in their own shopping story,” Samsung South Africa said in a press release.

For being one of the most recognisable (and well-off) brands, we’re somewhat disappointed in Samsung’s selection of deals this year. The campaign covers a small range of the more expensive TVs, soundbars, washing machines, and fridges, ensuring any great deals will be found elsewhere.

If you’re the type willing to spend R100,000 on the Samsung 98in QLED Q80C, you’re not going to get hot and bothered about R30,000 worth of gifts. Even if the bundle includes a Galaxy Watch Ultra, Q-Series Soundbar (HW-Q800D), and the Galaxy Tab A9. Why? Because you’ve probably already got them.

Read More: Samsung’s budget Galaxy A16 set to drop with six years of OS updates

The next best thing is the 55in QNX1D Neo QLED, currently on sale for R20,000 – R5,000 less than the usual price. Up that to 75in on the QLED 4K QE1D Tizen (2024), and you can save R6,000 on the R17,000 cost price. And finally, there’s the 65in DU7010 Crystal UHD for R9,500, making it the only sub-R10,000 TV on sale.

Those are joined by the two deals running on monitors, the best of which is the R8,000 32in M70D, though if it’s an affordable price you’re after, you can’t go wrong with the 32in CR50. As for the soundbars on offer, Samsung put an R18,000 price on the head of the Q-Series Soundbar Q990D while the Q-Series HW-Q800D gets an R8,000 price – down R3,000.

Samsung’s Black Friday brings a range of fridges and washing machines into the mix:

• Side by Side Fridge, Plumbed Water & Ice dispenser, 617L – R23,000 (save R7,000)
• Bespoke French Door Fridge, 630L – R40,000 (save R17,000)
• Side by Side Fridge with Space Max Technology, 647L – R18,000 (save R7,000)
• Bottom Freezer With Water Dispenser and Cool Pack, 303L – R10,000 (save R3,500)
• AI 11KG Front Loader, with Eco bubble – R13,000 (save R500)
• Bespoke AI 12KG Front Loader, with Eco bubble – R15,000 (R3,000)
• 7/5kg Front Load Washer / Dryer Combo, with Eco Bubble – R11,000 (save R1,000)
• 95L 90 cm 5 Gas Burner With Triple Flame Wok Plate – R15,000 (save R3,000)

The post Samsung unveils Black Friday deals for November 2024 appeared first on Stuff South Africa.

Wondering what Samsung is so riled up about? Upscaling. You know, giving a bump to the visual fidelity of your content, even if there isn’t much to work with, quality-wise. Specifically, though, it’s the NQ8 AI Gen 3 and Gen 2 processors handling all the upscaling that’s got Samsung all hot and bothered. Or it might be all the money these bad boys are about to make them. Probably both.

Neo QLED 8K dreams

Headlining the event is the Neo QLED 8K QN900D and its little brother, the QN800D, the first of which can be bought in 75in and 85in sizes, while the weaker can only be picked up as a 65in model.

The QN900D has the biggest numbers, so it makes sense that it should be the one to bear that NQ8 AI Gen3 processor we mentioned earlier. Described as the company’s “most powerful processor to date”, it carries a neural processing unit (NPU) that gives the TV its AI powers.

Those consist of features Samsung call 8K AI Upscaling Pro and AI Motion Enhancer Pro, powered by 512 AI neural networks that all work in tandem to elevate the quality of whatever content you’re watching. Edges are sharper, while footballs and Jason Statham movies all look and feel smoother. And gaming? It’ll hit 240Hz with no difficulties – far exceeding the PS5’s 120Hz refresh rate limit.

Sounding like your worst idea of an MCU movie trying to sound sciencey, the Neo QLED 8K QN900D features Quantum Matrix Technology Pro and Neo Quantum HDR 8K Pro that the company believes can take SDR content and turn it into “HDR-like quality with brighter highlights, more vibrant colours and clearer details.”

The less-capable (and less expensive) QN800D doesn’t do a whole lot different from the QN900D. It misses out on the ‘Pro’ features but still sports Neo Quantum HDR 8K tech and a slightly simpler NQ8 AI Gen 2 processor. It’s not as speedy, and it’ll “only” hit 120Hz, but it’ll get the job done all the same. The job being to upscale your TV’s content to 8K no matter what.

Now for the bit you don’t want to hear — pricing. Those with deep enough pockets can grab a 75in QN900D for R130,000, or spring for the 85in model going for R150,000. If your bank balance doesn’t quite stretch the six figures, the QN800D retails for R70,000.

Stepping into the OLED ring

Samsung’s claim to fame for this year’s flagship OLED, the S95D, is what it calls ‘OLED Glare Free’ technology which “preserves colour accuracy and reduces reflections while maintaining image sharpness to ensure an immersive viewing experience, even in daylight.” We’ve since only been able to find the S95D on samsung.co./za, though we’re sure the other two, the S80D and S90D, will be along shortly.

The NQ4 AI Gen 2 processor inside this year’s OLED TVs offers similar AI upscaling performance to that of the Neo QLED range. The S95D comes equipped with Samsung’s ‘144Hz Motion Xclerator’, ‘OLED HDR Pro’ and a whole bunch of AI features that help objects stand out from their backgrounds, offers increased brightness, and achieves the best colour reproduction possible.

And it can back it up on that last bit. Samsung’s 2024 OLED range is Pantone Validated. Samsung’s claiming sound has seen a big upgrade, too, with Dolby Atmos support and Object Tracking Sound+ — the company’s way of slipping in another AI mention. By analyzing each scene with AI, OTS+ is able to recreate realistic 3D audio by targeting specific speakers in the TV.

The S95D OLED starts at R65,000 and will take up 65in of your wall, while the 77in size requires a cool R100,000 before it’ll come home with you.

They put music in a frame?

The quirky uncle of the Unbox & Discover event was the Music Frame — itself a close relative of ‘The Frame‘ TV that turned out to be so popular Samsung couldn’t resist turning it into a Bluetooth speaker. Or, if you’ve got the dough for those anti-glare OLEDs or 8K Neo QLEDs, these can act as surround sound speakers if you can shell out for two of them.

It’s got space for a customisable 8in print on its front and interchangeable bezels (in the US, at least) that hide the speaker’s tweeters, mid-range drivers and subwoofers which will also pump out Dolby Atmos audio. It can be hung up, or simply left to stand on a side table if you decide to not pair it up with a 2024 Samsung TV using Q-Symphony.

It’s the cheapest of the products unveiled at Samsung’s Unbox & Discover event, coming in at R6,000 per speaker on Samsung South Africa’s website. But really, what good is one speaker?

The post Hide your wallets, Samsung South Africa just unveiled its 2024 TV lineup appeared first on Stuff South Africa.

https://soundcloud.com/user-492019255/samsungs-galaxy-note-10-and-note-10-features-explained

For more info on the Samsung Galaxy Note 10+, head to our full review.

Catch up on previous episodes of Stuffed over here. Or subscribe to Stuffed in iTunes or via the podcast app of your choice (our favourites are Pocket Casts and Google Podcasts).

The post Stuffed Ep 27 – Samsung’s Galaxy Note 10 and Note 10+ features explained appeared first on Stuff South Africa.