Samsung The Frame Pro 2026 Review: Pricey But Worth It

Intuitive caller OS. Excellent opposition and representation quality. Massive fig of creation images. New anti-glare coating really works. High refresh complaint for gaming.

Expensive. Paywalled creation enactment requires monthly subscription.

The marketplace for creation televisions is blistery close now. Amazon burst onto the country with the Ember Artline, a svelte and stylish 65-inch exemplary for lone $1,100. Hisense and TCL besides marque low-cost models. But if you privation the best, Samsung’s The Frame Pro is inactive king. Samsung offers respective enhancements for the 2026 model, including a caller idiosyncratic interface, other AI features, and refined surface tech to marque creation look adjacent much realistic.

I was already impressed by the 2025 model, which leveraged its exceptional opposition and coagulated representation prime to uncover beauteous textures successful artwork starring to amended show than the TCL NXTVISION. For 2026, determination aren’t immoderate extremist plan changes, but the subtle improvements marque this high-end creation TV adjacent much compelling. That is if you tin tummy the $500 leap from past year’s exemplary to a terms of $2,000.

The Setup

The two-bracket setup process is comparatively straightforward. A insubstantial template helps you align the screws and drill holes, but this YouTube video provided a overmuch easier approach. I got the TV mounted successful 35 minutes, which is somewhat longer than 20 minutes it took to instal the one-bracket Ember Artline.

Once mounted, The Frame Pro sits mostly flush against the wall, and you tin usage foam spacers (available successful 2 antithetic thicknesses) to widen the TV retired from the wall. While the Artline allows you to propulsion the full portion retired a fewer inches to entree the ports, you’ll request to unmount The Frame Pro to entree the ports. Fortunately, unmounting is simply a uncommon script due to the fact that Samsung included a breakout box, which serves arsenic a wireless span to let you to link gaming consoles and set-top boxes without having to interaction the TV. For me, I lone had to interest astir the powerfulness cord.

Samsung sent maine the higher extremity Deco Burlwood wood frames (made exclusively for The Frame Pro) that outgo $699. Samsung's modular bezels outgo $199 and travel successful respective colors but are overmuch thinner. Both versions drawback into spot utilizing magnets.

The Samsung Wireless One Connect breakout container is the aforesaid 1 included with the 2025 exemplary and supports Wi-Fi 7 to link to the TV. The tv itself uses Wi-Fi 5 for amended compatibility if you usage the built-in apps connected the TV. I can’t accidental capable astir however the breakout container provides flexibility and acold little cablegram clutter. In contrast, the aesthetic of each different creation TV erstwhile mounted to a partition is hampered by an array of dangling cords.

The breakout container lives discretely successful my cabinet. I connected Klipsch's The Nines II speakers utilizing an HDMI eARC cablegram for Dolby Atmos situation sound. If you usage an AV receiver for situation sound, you whitethorn find that the HDMI 2.1 eARC larboard stops moving erstwhile switching betwixt HDMI inputs connected the receiver. Instead, I conscionable plugged my Xbox Series X and an Acer Nitro gaming machine to the 2 HDMI ports connected the breakout container (there are 4 total, including eARC). There’s besides a coaxial connection, an Ethernet port, and an optical larboard for audio, though I didn’t usage those for my testing.

Samsung’s caller One UI Tizen operating strategy this twelvemonth makes mounting up and utilizing the TV a batch much intuitive. Rather than going done Samsung’s SmartThings app connected past year’s model, the caller setup occurs wholly connected the television. It’s besides overmuch easier to find apps, browse done shows and different content, and find settings. The lone annoyance is that you’ll request to authenticate your relationship utilizing a telephone oregon by substance conscionable to get streaming apps and the artwork relation to work.

The distant is precisely the aforesaid arsenic past year’s The Frame, with dedicated buttons for Netflix, Amazon Prime, and YouTube. It’s small, light, and casual to use.

Testing the Artwork

I was mostly funny successful seeing however the caller anti-glare tech works connected The Frame Pro 2026. I was pleasantly amazed to spot caller Star Wars artwork successful the library. An perfectly glorious representation of AT-AT walkers with a acheronian entity and brownish tints matched the wood frames and looked hyper-realistic with the TV’s subtle matte finish. I was sold, and this was earlier viewing respective masterpieces from Van Gogh, AI-generated images, and my ain photos.

Beyond the monthly rotation of 30 escaped images, to get entree to the full room of artwork, you’ll request to wage a $4.99 monthly subscription. Rivals connection much worth here. Amazon includes 2,000 escaped creation images with the Artline, and TCL includes 350 connected the NXTVISION.

With the caller merchandise of the Ember Artline, Samsung present has immoderate superior competition, particularly with AI features. Alexa+ connected the Artline does a amended occupation of generating AI creation utilizing elemental dependable commands. The Bixby bot connected The Frame Pro 2026 inactive uses keywords similar "contemporary" and “landscape” to marque AI images, and the results are inactive appealing adjacent if the process seems little intuitive. Other bots similar Copilot and Perplexity are disposable but didn’t assistance maine make creation by voice. (My Copilot login did not authenticate, and Samsung is checking into this.)

Image prime is wherever The Frame Pro 2026 shines. The Neo QLED surface tech is acold superior to the Ember Artline and helps Samsung warrant its terms premium. The caller anti-glare tech this twelvemonth further improves the experience. Even compared to Samsung’s 2025 model, Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s World looks adjacent much realistic connected the caller hardware. Additionally, the 2026 The Frame Pro comes with Pantone colour calibration retired of the box, has exceptional opposition and colour depth, and ships with sensors to automatically set the show brightness based connected your room. Even successful a agleam room, the AT-AT representation inactive retained its textures and realism. Several masterpieces, including Starry Night by Van Gogh, looked stunningly clear.

Running the Spears and Munsil benchmarks, I recovered tegument tones person a vibrancy and variance that the Artline (and each different creation TV I’ve tested) lacked. A acheronian country astatine sunset revealed much details successful the shadows and acheronian areas. On competing creation televisions, that aforesaid representation appeared muddy successful a agleam room. A butterfly country revealed bully dynamic scope betwixt akin shades of orangish and red. Only OLED models oregon a projector similar the Leica Cine Play 1 oregon the Epson Pro Cinema LS9000 person much vibrant colors.

A diagnostic from the Ember Artline that I privation Samsung would follow is video artwork, wherever parts of the coating is animated and comes alive.

Movies, Shows, and Games

The matte show and caller anti-glare coating worked highly good for artwork. But if you’re transitioning betwixt creation to progressive entertainment, Samsung besides made improvements to representation and audio prime for movies, shows, and adjacent YouTube videos. While some 2025 and 2026 models of The Frame trust connected the aforesaid Neo QLED show technology, Samsung uses AI to amended representation and dependable prime connected this year’s version.

On the Netflix amusement Legends, AI processing was utilized to heighten a dimly lit bureau country to bring up the contrast. I had a akin acquisition watching scenes from Awake connected Netflix, which takes spot mostly astatine night. I could inactive spot the main characters adjacent successful darker areas of the scene. YouTube videos of WIRED interviews looked wide and colorful arsenic well. In comparison, low-cost televisions look much similar a machine show with stark agleam colors playing the aforesaid clips.

Samsung besides leveraged AI to amended dependable quality. In clip for the World Cup, Samsung’s caller AI audio diagnostic helps heighten the measurement of the broadcaster voices portion lowering distracting assemblage noises erstwhile watching shot matches. For movies, the AI Sound Controller Pro sliders tin assistance boost voices and trim the measurement of inheritance music, but the acquisition is inactive buggy. While I could set the sliders, they’d ever revert backmost to the default settings. Still, with Dolby Atmos support, I recovered myself immersed successful the acquisition arsenic audio emanated from astir the country erstwhile watching Unbroken.

There were besides respective glitches I’ve noticed successful testing. AirPlay worked fine, but erstwhile trying to usage Google Cast to watercourse Alien: Romulus connected HBO Max from my Android phone, an mistake occurred. Cloud gaming connected GeForce NOW besides presented with a bug that prevented maine from authenticating with the service. Samsung reps are looking into these issues.

Despite the bugs, I’m convinced that The Frame Pro is simply a susceptible gaming display. Gamers looking to link a console oregon gaming PC tin usage the Mini HDMI larboard connected the rear of the tv oregon the Wireless One Connect box. Both enactment refresh rates up to 240 Hz. I’m not a competitory gamer, truthful I stuck with the breakout container to link my PC. I was amazed astatine Crimson Desert’s stutter-free performance. Everything looked affluent and vibrant—there were besides nary delays utilizing an Xbox controller.

I besides tested the Aphelion utilizing the Xbox Cloud Gaming app for console-free gaming. Other than flimsy stuttering owed to lag, it each worked fine. Senua's Saga: Hellblade II, a crippled that typically looks washed retired connected immoderate competing TVs and projectors, appears vibrant connected the screen.

The Frame Pro 2026 is an exceptional creation television, and it’s among the champion I’ve tested. Improvements to the Tizen OS, matte decorativeness with anti-glare coating, and AI enhancements marque it adjacent much appealing. My lone flimsy intermission is the price. The Amazon Ember Artline besides looks stunning and costs astir $900 less. But The Frame Pro is the 1 you privation for implicit realism and vivid colors.