Samsung unveils new supersized, colour-rich TVs with more AI
Some of the company’s new televisions are larger than what was once considered standard
[NEW YORK] Samsung Electronics unveiled its 2026 home theatre lineup, aiming to cement its position as the leading TV maker amid intensifying competition and what it described as a shift towards jumbo televisions.
The company’s latest LCD-based 4K televisions make use of new display backlighting technology to reproduce a wider range of colours than previous models could manage, it said on Sunday (Jan 4). Samsung is also debuting its next series of high-end OLED TVs as it continues chipping away at LG Electronics’s position as the leading global brand in that category, which offers deeper blacks and punchier contrast than LCDs.
Some of Samsung’s new televisions are larger than what was once considered standard, with a few measuring around or above 100 inches. “Super big screens continue to be the fastest-growing TV segment and the market is expected to double in 2026,” the company told reporters last month ahead of Sunday’s announcement.
Samsung unveiled the lineup at an event in Las Vegas for the CES technology conference, where most major TV makers will also be showing off their next-generation products this week. The South Korean company already revealed a portion of its CES lineup late last month, including new Wi-Fi-enabled speakers with bold designs that set up the brand to compete more directly with Sonos.
Micro RGB
In what’s certain to be a prevailing trend at CES, Samsung is hyping a technology known as Micro RGB, which rejiggers the backlighting system in LCD TVs to improve colour accuracy. “Typical LCDs rely on either a white or blue backlight, limiting colour purity and realism,” the company said in the media briefing.
“Samsung Micro RGB employs an entirely new structure with individual red, green and blue backlights that are smaller in size,” it added, claiming that the tweak meaningfully improves colour reproduction.
Samsung introduced a 115-inch Micro RGB TV in September, but its US$30,000 price is well outside most consumers’ budgets. For 2026, the company is bringing the same display technology to smaller sizes ranging between 55 inches and an enormous 130-inch set, though it’s not sharing pricing yet. All of them are still destined to cost significantly more than Samsung’s more mainstream OLED sets and “Neo QLED” models, which use conventional Mini LED backlighting.
OLED
For many home theatre enthusiasts, OLED TVs are still unrivalled when it comes to black levels and contrast, since each individual pixel can be shut off for dark scenes. Samsung returned to the OLED segment in 2022 after many years of focusing exclusively on LCD sets – a move that ratcheted up competition with LG, the long-running leader in the OLED category.
Samsung has tried to differentiate from its South Korean rival with what it calls “Glare Free” displays that dramatically reduce reflections and “quantum dot” OLED panels manufactured by Samsung Display, which allow colours to remain lush even at peak brightness.
SEE ALSO
For 2026, Samsung made some minor exterior design changes to its latest flagship OLED model, the S95H OLED. It’s also once again dialled up the brightness over the previous generation, this time by 35 per cent, it said. This has been a recent area of focus for TV makers: Even a few years ago, premium OLED televisions generally were not bright enough for sunny rooms.
Meanwhile, the step-down S90H series now includes a low-glare screen and has 15 per cent improved brightness, according to Samsung.
AI
Artificial intelligence (AI) will continue to play a key role across Samsung-branded TVs: Like last year’s models, the new sets will be compatible with multiple AI agents – assistants that can help users find something to watch, summarise past episodes, plan a weekend getaway or answer random questions. That includes Samsung’s own Bixby assistant, plus rival offerings from Microsoft and Perplexity AI.
Samsung is also continuing to expand on software features that automatically adjust picture and sound settings without making consumers delve into advanced menus. For example, a new AI Sound Controller tool will let users independently adjust the volume of dialogue, music or sound effects on this year’s TVs.
Lifestyle TVs
Samsung also announced some tweaks to The Frame, its wall art-style TV, and the higher-priced Frame Pro that first debuted at last year’s CES. Neither introduces any notable image quality upgrades this year, even as the company faces a growing wave of competition that now includes LG.
Instead, Samsung is dramatically up-sizing The Frame with a new 98-inch version. The standard Frame will also now have its HDMI inputs and other hardware built directly into the TV set. Previously, Samsung included something called the One Connect Box to hide those wires, with one thin cable running up to the screen. BLOOMBERG
Decoding Asia newsletter: your guide to navigating Asia in a new global order. Sign up here to get Decoding Asia newsletter. Delivered to your inbox. Free.
Share with us your feedback on BT's products and services
