Samsung The Frame 2021 – The 2021 edition of Samsung's picture frame TV
A new year, a new “The Frame”. Samsung has launched a lifestyle TV in 2021. This is already the 4th edition of the design classic made by Samsung. With changeable magnetic frames and the “Art Design”, this TV adapts to your gallery and looks like a picture, even when it is just turned off. With a change in design and the introduction of “The Shelf”, a lot has changed with the Design TV. But is it worth switching? Read about it here!
Samsung The Frame 2021 buy cheap
Samsung TV with changeable Frames
Since 2018, Samsung shows that they can create a TV with a unique design. The magnetic frames are changeable. The “Gallery Stand” is available separately. In contrast to LG’s gallery TV, LG G1, the normal TV feet are included within The Frame.
The No Gap wall mount and a One Connect box are included with this device, making it easy to mount the TV to the wall. This eliminates an unnecessary mess of your cables and you only see the picture on the wall. Visually, the TV has changed a bit. It is now even thinner and can almost be mistaken for a picture in a gallery. In addition, there is now “The Shelf”, which can be used to frame the TV. However, at the time of writing, one size was not made by Samsung. The 32-inch version is missing from this year’s lineup.
- Great Design
- No Gap Wall mount included
- Made from plastic
- Changeable frames
- One Connect Box
- No 32 Inch Version
Bright colors with The Frame 2021
The Samsung The Frame 2021 has not changed significantly from the 2020 model. It is still a QLED TV that relies on a VAVertical Alignment, type of LCD Panel panel. The viewing angle on the device is quite limited after all, which does not necessarily contribute to the picture look. An Ultra-View-angle layer is also not included.
Compared to the previous year’s model, the native contrast is no longer as high, but it is at 5600:1, which means that the picture is not as bright. Local dimming is also still missing. Of course, this does not mean that the picture is bad, but the true beauty only comes out in a darker environment. The Dual LED, which is now common for Samsung, has also been installed. These lights artificially increase the contrast once again. The image looks very vivid due to the wide color space and the rich, bright colors. With a peak brightness of ~540 nitsSI unit of luminance: 1 nit = 1 cd/m2 – The best way of measuring and comparing a TVs brightness , the TV is not too bright. Unfortunately, the device lacks Dolby VisionDynamic HDR-format with a color depth of up to 12 Bits and Mastering of up to 10,000 Nits, but the HDRHigh Dynamic Range – image/video with more dynamic range (contrast range) quality is okay, since at least HDR 10+ is used.
- 10 (8+2) Bit VA panel
- Wide Color Gamut
- Good picture in dark areas
- Limited viewing angle
- Contrast 5600:1
- No Local Dimming
- No Anti-Reflection
Lifestyle TV with good Motion Handling
The motion handling in The Frame 2021 is pretty good. The Gallery TV uses a 120 HzHertz is the derived SI-unit of frequency with 1Hz=1/s – When talking about TVs this means how many different pictures a TV can display in one second. panel in most sizes and its response time of ~4 ms is really low, which means that only little motion blur is visible. However, this can be minimized even further with the Black Frame InsertionProcess that inserts black “blank images” as intermediate images. This makes movements appear finer and clearer. feature that can be switched on voluntarily. But the brightness suffers somewhat. The smaller variants in 43 and 50 inches have a 60Hz panel and therefore perform a bit worse in this category.
The backlight flickers with a frequencyHertz is the derived SI-unit of frequency with 1Hz=1/s – When talking about TVs this means how many different pictures a TV can display in one second. of 960Hz, which is so fast that it should be perceived as continuous illumination by the human eye. What is really pleasing, is that JudderInconsistent time frame due to the input frequency not mismatching the TV’s frequency (e.g. 24p via 60Hz) can be removed from all sources.
- 120Hz Panel from 55"
- Response time ~4ms
- 120Hz Black Frame Insertion Feature
- 43"&50": Only 60Hz
- No Judder
Low Input Lag with The Frame
The Samsung The Frame 2021 has a HDMI 2.1 port as standard – this year even for all sizes. FreeSync Premium ProVariable Refresh Rate with AMD graphics cards or consoles with at least 120fps at Full HD and HDR is available as a variable refresh rateHertz is the derived SI-unit of frequency with 1Hz=1/s – When talking about TVs this means how many different pictures a TV can display in one second., which is only really worth from the 55-inch variant onwards, since they use the 120Hz instead of the 60Hz panel. An Auto Low Latency Mode is also integrated in the 2021 version of The Frame. This allows the QLED to recognize the console and automatically switch to gaming mode.
The very low input lag of just 6ms at 1080p@120Hz and 10ms at 4K@120Hz also let gamers’ hearts beat faster. In summary, we can say that the Samsung The Frame 2021 is a very decent gaming TV.
- HDMI 2.1 port
- From 55": 120Hz panel
- VRR via FreeSync (from 55")
- ALLM
- Input Lag: ~10ms
- 60Hz panel and no FreeSync at 43" and 50"
Appropriate sound with Q Symphony
We all know that most TVs don’t have the outstanding sound of a 5.1 sound system coming out of the speakers – that’s also the case here. The sound is okay and this year even features Q-Symphony and Object Tracking Sound, which is an improvement over the last year.
If you want to expand your setup with an external sound system or soundbar, you’ll be pleased to know that the QLED supports uncompressed Dolby AtmosObject-based surround sound format with 3D-Sound from any direction through the HDMI eARC, so you can create a truly outstanding soundscape with the right equipment. Unfortunately, DTSMulti-channel-sound-system (Surround Sound) competing with Dolby Digital is not available in 2021.
- Good sound
- No basses
- Q Symphony and Object Tracking Sound
- HDMI eARC
- Dolby Atmos
Samsung Smart TV with Tizen 6.0
The new Samsung The Frame 2021 now also runs on a new operating system – Tizen 6.0. However, not much has changed here compared to the previous year’s version. It runs without problems, is easy to use and has a large selection of apps. Alexa is integrated and the TV is also compatible with the Google Voice Assistant and Apple AirPlay 2. With the help of the remote app “Samsung SmartThings”, you can easily control the Art Mode and thus, even in power-saving mode, display beautiful pictures that the TV has available in a gallery.
Unfortunately, The Frame 2021 lacks a twin tuner, but you still don’t have to life without the USB recording function or time-shifting.
- Easy to use
- large selection of apps
- Apple Air Play2
- Voice control integrated (Alexa)
- No Twin Tuner
- Time-Shift & PVR
- Art Mode
QLED Lifestyle TV with a great Design
Overall, The Frame is a well thought-out TV model that also has something to offer beyond its unique design. One of its strengths is undoubtedly its motion handling, which unfortunately has little value in Art Mode. Compared to the previous year’s model, hardly any serious differences can be found and in many of its features it is very similar to the Samsung Q70A. The 43-inch version is only useful for its Art Mode due to some technical cutouts, as its size makes it to be integrated into a picture wall. Still, it’s questionable why Samsung doesn’t rely on its Ultra Viewing Angle layer with this model, to compensate for the limited viewing angle, or install an IPS panel like they did on the Samsung QN85A. With such means, the TV would have passed as a real art object.
If you don’t care so much about the different designs and are looking for an allrounder, you will probably be able to find a cheaper one. Other models are definitely ahead in terms of gaming as well. However, if you want a TV where the design is really important and which also offers a decent picture, with good motion handling at the same time, you will definitely find it with this TV. Nevertheless, Samsung’s The Frame 2021 is only equipped with all features from 55 inches upwards.
Due to the main focus on the design, savings are made elsewhere. That being said, this is a 2021 model which brings along the most important details for a lifestyle TV of this year. And who can claim that you can directly watch your favorite series on the picture in the living room?
- Good Motion Handling
- No Judder
- HDMI 2.1
- Q Symphony and Object Tracking Sound
- No differences compared to the previous year's model
- Limited viewing angle
- No Dolby Vision
- From 55" with all features