Samsung’s Newest Speaker Doesn’t Want You to Know It’s a Speaker
A few years ago, Samsung elevated the TV to an elegant piece of home decor and now its giving speakers a similar treatment.
The South Korean electronics company has unveiled its 2024 TV and audio lineup with a new addition to its Frame series. Dubbed the Music Frame, the customizable speaker doesn’t look like one at first glance. But underneath the understated picture frame are six speakers along with Samsung’s audio processing tech.
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Similar to Samsung’s Frame TV, the forthcoming device has a minimalistic design that easily blends into its surroundings. You can, of course, display your favorite artwork or photography on its center screen. But what’s more interesting is the speaker’s use of the Samsung Q-Symphony technology. It allows the Music Frame to crank out surround sound when paired with TVs and soundbars from the company’s 2024 catalog, or operate as a standalone speaker.
In talks with Tech Radar, the electronic company revealed that the Music Frame is meant to be hung on the wall and used as “a TV speaker, rear speaker, or a subwoofer” when paired with other Samsung devices. It hides two woofers, two tweeters, and two mid-drivers behind the “Art Panel,” which is a diasec matte acrylic plate. Plus, it features Samsung’s SpaceFit technology that allows it to adjust the volume of your tunes to suit the environment.
The Music Frame comes on the heels of Ikea and Sonos’ recent collaboration, which debuted the Symfonisk picture frame speaker in 2021. The Swedish retailer collaborated with high-end speaker company to produce the 22 x 16-inch device in black and white. That’s bigger than the 13 x 13 Music Frame on display at CES this year, but Samsung’s speaker has both Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity, whereas the Symfonisk is Wi-Fi only. Additionally, Samsung has a screen that lets you choose the image on display, and Ikea only offers a couple static designs.
If you’re in the market for other chameleon-like speakers that could go unnoticed by your friends and family at home, Bang & Olufsen’s Beosound Emerge is a stylish alternative. Teaming up with Benjamin Hubert of British industrial design studio Layer, the Danish audio company released the Beosound Emerge which resembles a high-tech book. The brand’s Beosound Level, featured in our 2023 Audio Awards, is another incognito-style release worth looking into.
Although the Samsung Music Frame currently has no release date or pricing, you can view it on display now at CES 2024 until January 12.
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