CES 2019: Samsung bolsters Smart TV software with iTunes, AirPlay support
Samsung’s smart TVs are set to get that little bit better in 2019 with the arrival of support for iTunes Movies & TV Shows and AirPlay 2.
“We pride ourselves on working with top industry leaders to deliver the widest range of content services to our Smart TV platform,” said Won-Jin Lee, executive vice president, visual display business at Samsung Electronics.
“Bringing more content, value and open platform functionality to Samsung TV owners and Apple customers through iTunes and AirPlay is ideal for everyone.”
Samsung’s 2019 TV range (which is due to be officially announced or revealed any day now) will all feature a new iTunes Movies & TV Shows app and AirPlay 2 support, which will allow customers to share videos, photos, music, podcasts and more from Apple devices directly onto their Samsung Smart TV.
Samsung’s 2018 TV range will also gain this new functionality via a firmware update.
“We look forward to bringing the iTunes and AirPlay 2 experience to even more customers around the world through Samsung Smart TVs, so iPhone, iPad and Mac users have yet another way to enjoy all their favorite content on the biggest screen in their home,” said Eddy Cue, senior vice president of Internet Software and Services at Apple.
Samsung also added a second model to its line of micro-LED televisions this week dubbed The Wall. It seems last year’s 146″ set just wasn’t big enough. So this year, the company will unveil a new Wall that stretches a staggering 219″.
The Wall makes for great bragging rights for the very well off, but it’s just not all that practical for the typical consumer. So Samsung is bringing its micro-LED tech to a slightly more modest endeavor: A 75″ 4K UHD model it’s calling The Window. A 75″ display is still pretty big, but at least it will fit on the average living-room wall.
The Wall series of TV is modular, in that it consists of multiple sub-panels that can be arranged to create different aspect ratios and shapes, as shown in the museumesque illustration below.
Micro-LEDs, much like OLEDs, are tiny, self-lit colour pixels. As self-emitters, mLEDs can be turned completely off to facilitate true black, unlike LED-backlit LCD technology, where light bleed is a constant issue. Unlike OLEDs, mLEDs are not organic; as such, they’re not subject to decay or loss of brightness over time. Complete failure (rare), yes; degradation no.
Back in the LED-backlit LCD world, Saumsung’s QLED quantum-dot TVs will go 8K UHD this year. The QLEDs are arguably the best LED-backlit LCD TVs on the market, so 8K will be a nice upgrade. Or it will be when material in that resolution actually starts to show up.
The 2019 versions of Samsung’s artsy The Frame and SERIF TVs will also be manufactured using Samsung’s quantum-dot technology; as such, they should offer even brighter images with truer color.
IDG News Service
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