Samsung’s TV series 2021, introduced during CES 2021, introduces several next-generation display technologies such as mini-LED and MicroLED, as well as updated smart home functions and a super practical change to the company’s remote control.
After Samsung’s First Look event, I sat down with Mike Kadish, Samsung’s Product Marketing Director, and asked him about the most important Samsung TV upgrades coming this year. He talks about the switch to NeoQLED for top-shelf sets and the insatiable interest in microLED animals on the big screen. Smasung exec also offers a view on the TV market’s priorities.
Kadish takes us through the prominent Samsung 2021
Editor’s note: The interview transcript is abbreviated for the length. See our full video interview for more commentary from Samsung’s Mike Kadish.
Kate Kozuch, senior author of Tom’s Guide: This year you have made some big changes in QLED TVs, now they are called NeoQLED. What are the major changes coming to QLED that inspired the change in branding, and what does that change in branding really mean?
Mike Kadish, Samsung Director of Product Marketing: We will continue to have traditional QLED series as well, but NeoQLED is our development, or step change in QLED technology. We are adding a new backlight with mini-LED, which will simply give consumers a superior viewing experience. It’s a quarter the size of the LEDs that are inside some TVs today, and that allows the TVs to really offer superior contrast because the light source is so much smaller.
Let’s talk about MicroLED. Samsung just announced the MicroLED TV you can actually buy, which was shrunk from the 146-inch The Wall you’ve been showing at CES for the past couple of years. Are there any concerns that TVs are getting too big now that you can not even take them home from a store, when it comes to MicroLEDs? Are you responding to the demand for large TVs or trying to nurture it?
Kadish: There is a bit of both in terms of demand. Consumers have told us with their wallets and wallets that a large screen is what they want. The 75-inch and above segment is the fastest growing segment in the US market. We are very happy to bring large screen products to market.
This new product, which we launch in 2021, brings MicroLED to the consumer’s home. We have three screen sizes, the 88-inch, the 99-inch and the massive 110-inch. This is truly the future of display technology. These products are for the ultra-premium segment, so there is a relatively small subset of consumers, but we are happy.
With this involving MicroLED technology and QLED mini-LED technology, what do you think Samsung TVs will look like in the coming years based on what we’re watching right now?
Kadish: Larger screen sizes, better image quality with MicroLED, NeoQLED, these are both themes we run with. It’s not just about image quality and form factor, we make many changes to the smart features and functions we bring to market.
For example, in 2020, consumers have not been able to go to the gym as often as they would like, so Samsung TVs have Samsung Health, and we are introducing a smart trainer in 2021. They can get real-time feedback on their attitude and form , as well as progress on all its goals in the Samsung Health Dashboard.
So if I use one Samsung Galaxy Watch 3, what does that relationship look like? Can I pair my watch with the TV?
Kadish: This is exactly the complete Samsung Health ecosystem where you can watch or track your training progress on your portable, mobile device and TV.
What can you tell me about the Samsung Eco Solar Power Remote? It is a function that has both user-friendliness and environmentally friendly development.
Kadish: Of all the changes such as image quality and smart features, one of the ones I am most excited about is our sustainability efforts. If you think about Samsung and our scale, we sell millions of TVs a year. Each remote comes with two triple-A batteries, and if we can keep two triple-A batteries out of a landfill, you multiply that by all the millions of TVs we sell, we talk scale, and there are plenty of batteries we can keep outside the landfills at your house and mine.
I thanked Mike Kadish for joining Tom’s Guide to talking about Samsung’s 2021 TVs. Be sure to keep it locked in on our website for more CES coverage as the technology’s biggest summit continues.
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