Samsung’s 2021 TV series, launched during CES 2021, offers several next-generation display technologies, such as mini-LED and MicroLED, as well as updated smart home features and a very easy change to the company’s remote control.
After Samsung’s First Look meeting, I sat down with Mike Kadish, Samsung’s product marketing director, and asked him about Samsung’s major TV upgrades coming this year. He talks about switching to NeoQLED for top-shelf sets and the insatiable interest in MicroLED animals on the big screen. The Smasung management also offers a look at the priorities of the TV market.
Kadish takes us through the striking brands of Samsung 2021 TV and provides some information on how Samsung’s kits are also equipped for all your video chat and fitness needs. Check out the interview for the full table of contents of Tom’s Guide, or check out the transcript below.
Editor’s note: The transcript of the interview was shortened for length. Watch our full video interview for more comments from Mike Kadish of Samsung.
Kate Kozuch, senior author of Tom’s Guide: This year you made some big changes to QLED TVs, now they are called NeoQLED. What are the major changes to QLED that have inspired the change in brand, and what does the change in brand actually imply?
Mike Kadish, Samsung Product Marketing Director: We’re still going to have traditional QLED series, too, but NeoQLED is our evolution, or a step change in QLED technology. We are adding a new taillight with mini-LED, which will simply provide an excellent viewing experience for consumers. This is a quarter of the size of the LED currently in some TVs, and it enables TVs to provide excellent contrast because the light source is so much smaller.
Let’s talk about MicroLED. Samsung has just announced the MicroLED TV that you can actually buy, which is shrunk from the 146-inch The Wall that you have been showing at CES for the past few years. Is there any concern that TVs are getting too big now that you can not even take them out of a store yourself, in the case of MicroLEDs? Are you answering the question of big TVs or are you trying to nurture it?
Kadish: It’s a bit of both in terms of demand. Consumers have told us with their pocketbooks and their wallets that they want a big screen. The 75-inch and higher segment is the fastest growing segment in the US market. We are very excited to bring products to the market on the big screen.
This new product we are introducing in 2021 brings MicroLED to the consumer’s home. We have three screen sizes, 88 inches, 99 inches and the massive 110 inches. This is truly the future of display technology. These products are for the ultra-premium segment, so it’s a relatively small portion of consumers, but we’m excited.
With this MicroLED technology and QLED mini-LED technology, what does Samsung think TVs will look like in the coming years based on what we currently watch?
Kadish: Larger screen sizes, better image quality with our MicroLED, NeoQLED, these are both themes we work with. It’s not just about image quality and form factor, but we’re making a lot of changes to the smart features and functions we bring to market.
In 2020, for example, consumers could not 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 posture and form, as well as progress with all of their goals in the Samsung Health Dashboard.
So if I have a Samsung Galaxy Watch 3, what does that relationship look like? Can I connect my watch to my TV?
Kadish: Exactly, it’s a complete ecosystem of Samsung Health where you can watch or track your exercise progress on your portable, your mobile device and your TV.
What can you tell me about the Samsung Eco Solar Remote Control? It is a feature that has both user convenience and environmentally friendly development.
Kadish: Of all the changes like image quality and smart features, one of the things I like the most about is our sustainability efforts. If you think about Samsung and our scale, we sell millions of TVs a year. Each remote has two triple A batteries, and if we can keep two triple A batteries in a landfill, multiply that by all the millions of TVs we sell, then we’ll scale, and that’s a ton of batteries we’ll add. can remove the house and mines.
I thanked Mike Kadish for joining Tom’s Guide to talk about Samsung’s 2021 TVs. Keep it on our site for more CES coverage as the biggest technology summit continues.