Samsung’s 146-inch TV is literally “The Wall”
Because when you've got a TV that big, who needs structural support?
Samsung's official press launch for CES 2018 isn't actually until tomorrow, US time, but the South Korean technology giant has already given media here a sneak peek at what it plans to show off in the TV arena.
For any launch (or in this case, pre-launch), what you need is a star attraction, and as heavily tipped before CES 2018, Samsung has gone large. Very large in fact, with a 146-inch Micro LED TV that looks like a wall and is named as such. Yes, Samsung has a huge wall-sized TV that it's calling simply "The Wall".
Samsung's contention is that you probably won't want to use all 146 inches at once, which is why it's pitching it as a "modular" TV. That's modular in the sense that it can scale the picture down to smaller frames appropriate to your viewing context, whether you want it to appear as a virtual window to the outside world, as a display for 8K-quality artworks, or simply to watch a slightly more regular sized panel instead. It's Samsung's first MicroLED TV, and while the official launch isn't until tomorrow, it seems unlikely that other MicroLED models will be announced there, with Samsung more likely to pitch further QLED panels, although many will be 8K.
What we will see out of Samsung is a slew of new features designed to make the TV even more a centre of family life, from easy smartphone-driven setup routines to artificial intelligence that will automatically scale content to the best possible quality, including the new 8K panels. Those TVs will be made available immediately in South Korea, with other markets worldwide to follow.
Not surprisingly, Samsung's Bixby (also found in its Galaxy Note 8 and Galaxy S8 handsets) is also present, as Samsung works to promote its own virtual assistant technology across all of its product ranges. Digital assistants are a hot commodity item at CES 2018, with Google, Samsung and Amazon all jostling for space in tomorrow's consumer gadgets.
Samsung Australia representatives couldn't give a timeframe for when we might see The Wall go on sale in Australia, but it doesn't take much crystal ball gazing to suggest that it won't be inexpensive when and if it actually does appear. From my brief eyes-on with the demo showreel, it's a seriously impressive bit of kit. I probably can't afford one, but I do kinda want one.
You can check out our Finder Tech Facebook Live video tour of The Wall over on the Finder Tech Facebook page.
For more on CES 2018, check out our CES 2018 news hub.
Alex Kidman travelled to CES 2018 as a guest of Samsung.
