Samsung's new Frame Pro TV retains its signature art-like design but features a Mini LED backlight for improved brightness and contrast. While it excels in bright rooms, its black levels still lag behind Samsung's high-end QLED models.
The Frame Pro TV offers a significant upgrade in picture quality for consumers who prioritize design and ambient light performance, making it a more viable option for those who want a TV that doubles as stylish home decor without sacrificing too much visual fidelity.
Samsung's Frame TVs are known for their ability to blend into home decor by resembling artwork when not in use, featuring a flush wall mount and a matte panel. However, their overall image quality has historically been a compromise compared to other high-end televisions.
The new Frame Pro model aims to address this by offering enhanced picture performance, including improved contrast and brightness, while retaining the signature design elements. A key upgrade is the use of a Mini LED backlight with local dimming, a technology that allows for better control over dark and bright areas of the screen, leading to improved black levels and overall contrast.
In testing, the Frame Pro demonstrated a noticeably brighter screen than standard Frame models, reaching nearly 1,000 nits on a 10% test pattern in Filmmaker HDR mode. This increased brightness, combined with the anti-glare matte display, makes it particularly well-suited for use in brightly lit rooms, outperforming other art-style TVs from brands like Hisense, TCL, and Amazon in daytime viewing conditions.
Despite these improvements, the review notes that the Frame Pro's contrast and black levels still do not match those found in Samsung's higher-end QLED TVs.