The CES Las Vegas 2024 event is on with considerable gusto but among the many high-tech announcements came the reveal of a considerably stylish one—the Samsung Music Frame. The original version of Samsung’s Frame TV made an appearance all the way back in 2017, a time of much simpler expectations from technology, and it essentially redefined what home gadgets could aspire to look like. The Frame TV turned a regular home appliance into an integral component of the home decor and the new Samsung Frame speaker is essentially set to do just that, replacing your boxy audio device at home with an art piece. Here’s what we know about it from Samsung’s CES presentation.

The Samsung Music Frame—An Audio Accessory That Doubles as Art Decor

Screens are everywhere and we appear to have tired of them already despite how many we engage with on a daily basis. From smartphones to smartwatches, we spend the majority of our day looking at these digital devices and that’s likely why we’ve moved on to the next phase of trying to hide them when we don’t want to look. The popularity of Always-On displays on phone screens and the instant adoption of the Samsung Frame TV is likely a result of this preference, hiding a black screen behind something that is more appealing to look at. Some have considered replacing screens in their home entirely with devices like LG’s CineBeam Qube projector, so it is quite evident that the home aesthetic has been growing as a priority for consumers.

Keeping in line with that thinking, the new Samsung Music Frame announced at CES Las Vegas 2024 is an audio device that also doubles as a frame for all the artwork you want to have on display at home.

Samsung Frame Speaker Specs 

Much like the Samsung Frame TV, the Samsung Frame speaker has the design of a flatscreen device but it isn’t actually a digital display. Instead, the Music Frame (HW-LS60D) has a square frame where you can manually swap out the artwork to fit the aesthetic of your home, allowing you to customise it to your own needs and change it up as you’d like. Producing Dolby Atmos audio, the device has two woofers, two tweeters, and two mid-range drivers that are maximized using the capabilities of Samsung’s SpaceFit technology in order to adapt to your space. Unlike the Samsung Frame TV, the Music Frame does not need to consume power to stay “always on” which is a bonus but it does take away from some of the magic, knowing the artwork is simply a printed image you could technically stick onto anything in your home.

“Music Frame can either operate as a standalone wireless speaker or pair with a Samsung TV and soundbar via Q-Symphony to augment bass and surround sound. Seamlessly blending into its environment by camouflaging itself inside modern picture frames, Music Frame provides high-quality sound without being an eyesore.”

The Verge compares the device, rather fairly, to Ikea’s Symfonisk picture frame with the Wi-Fi speakers, another device that disguises technology to blend into your decor at home. The $199 device doesn’t have an artwork display space like Samsung’s Frame speaker but is designed to appear more pleasing than a regular audio device and can be mounted on the wall like an abstract, wired art piece. The Samsung Music Frame reportedly measures 12.9 x 12.9 inches and looks a little thicker than we’d like from a device really committing to the artsy aesthetic. The device is Bluetooth and Wi-Fi enabled so connectivity should not be a problem, but like the Symfonisk picture frame, it does require a wired power connection so you might want to think about your set-up a little carefully to truly sell the idea that it is regular artwork on display.

Samsung CES Las Vegas 2024

Interestingly, the Samsung Frame speaker is probably one of the smaller announcements Samsung is set to make at CES Las Vegas 2024. The company debuted the world’s first transparent MicroLED screen at CES 2024, which left everyone talking about the potential uses of such technology. Samsung’s newest Neo QLED 8K and 4K TVs have provided much food for thought as the devices appear to be quite advanced for a TV setup, with its neural processing unit that promises to be twice as fast as its predecessors. In terms of updates to look forward to, the upcoming Samsung CES lineup should also include announcements about other home appliances such as a new vacuum, as well as the debut of the much-awaited Samsung Galaxy S24 series, which will lead the conversation regarding AI in tech. The Samsung Frame speaker is only one component in the much larger picture of the company’s journey in innovation.

As excited as we are about the Samsung Music Frame, details still have not been revealed about the device’s availability or its expected price. While it does look quite gorgeous in Samsung’s CES presentation, unless you can ensure a setup that hides the wires, you might not be able to get the speaker to fit into your space as seamlessly. It does bring up the question of whether you really need a speaker that looks like art and all things considered, the pricing system the company lands on will likely be what helps you decide on the answer to the question.

Many companies have been redesigning the traditional boxy speakers for something far more minimalist like Bang & Olufsen’s classy BeoPlay S3 or the Devialet Dione soundbar, both devices that still resemble speakers but provide interesting decor to your home at a considerable price. In comparison, the Samsung Music Frame might just be a steal if the prices match what Ikea is currently offering for its audio picture frame. We’ll have to keep a close eye on what Samsung decides to do next.

tagged in CES Las Vegas 2024, Samsung CES, Samsung Frame speaker, Samsung Frame TV, Samsung Music Frame
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