Samsung unveils 2018 lineup of QLED 4K TVs

Samsung, the world's leading TV manufacturer, has unveiled its 2018 lineup of QLED 4K TVs at an event in New York City.

According to commentators, while modest improvements have been made to this year's sets, mainly black levels, the major focus is intelligence and smart home control.

The new QLEDs that should not be confused with OLEDs, ship with Bixby and offer voice assistant capabilities right out of the box. They also act as a centralised hub for Samsung's SmartThings smart home platform, giving users on-screen control over all SmartThings-compatible gadgets.

Included in the 2018 QLED lineup are Q9, Q8, Q7, and Q6 (in descending order of price and image quality). Samsung has still not given up on curved TVs, as each series would be sold both in flat and curved versions. Pricing details have not yet been disclosed for the new QLEDs, but they're scheduled to start shipping within the next few weeks so it should not be much longer.

The Q9 and Q8 both come with full-array local dimming; with 9 having more zones, but Samsung does not specify how many are in each. FALD is a feature found in many flagship TVs, which is actually a first for Samsung's QLEDs. The improvement should lead to deeper black levels and greater contrast. The Q9 also offers the best HDR output of the bunch, which Samsung calls ''Q HDR EliteMax.''

The new line-up of flagship QLED (Quantum dot Light Emitting Diode) TVs – including the 85-inch, 8K Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered TV comes with an ''Ambient Mode'' feature that mimics the pattern on the wall behind the TV to create a visual effect, in which the TV blends seamlessly into the wall like a chameleon.

Users can achieve the effect by downloading the ''Samsung SmartThings'' app on their smartphone and taking a picture of the wall. The app, which is available in both iOS and Android versions then sends the image to the wall-mounted TV and works  out how to fill the screen with that image.