The Samsung Frame Pro arrives in 2026 as the most convincing argument yet that a black rectangle need not be a design crime. Nearly a decade after the original Frame turned the living-room TV into a chameleon, this latest iteration adds Mini LED brightness, a genuinely matte finish and a wireless connection box that banishes the tangle of HDMI snakes to a single power cord. It remains expensive — the 65-inch model tested here retails at £1,698 — but for anyone who has ever winced at a switched-off screen dominating a carefully curated room, the Frame Pro still feels like the only serious answer.
The art of disappearance
Samsung understood the problem long before its rivals: when a 65-inch panel goes dark, it becomes a void. The Frame Pro solves this with a magnetic bezel system that snaps on in seconds, transforming the set into something that resembles a framed canvas. Samsung sells its own bezels in four finishes — dark brown, teak, white and a sandy gold — but the real playground lies in the aftermarket. The review unit wore an ornate antique gold frame from Deco TV Frames, a third-party specialist, and the effect was startling. Guests compliment the “artwork” before the reveal; the moment of realisation never gets old.
Beneath the frame sits the critical upgrade: an anti-reflective matte coating that diffuses glare rather than mirroring it. In a thirteenth-floor apartment with east and south-facing windows, the screen remained legible at midday without the usual curtain-drawing ritual. The coating also deepens the illusion of pigment on paper when Art Mode is active, eliminating the tell-tale sheen that betrayed earlier models.
Mini LED muscle meets AI upscaling
Picture quality has historically been the Frame’s compromise. The Pro changes that calculation with Neo QLED Mini LED backlighting — thousands of microscopic dimming zones that deliver OLED-adjacent contrast without the burn-in risk. Blacks are inky, highlights punch through bright rooms, and the third-generation Neo Quantum 4 AI processor (shared with the flagship S95F OLED) upscales sub-4K sources with surprising finesse. YouTube nature reels in 4K HDR looked spectacular; older HD cable channels held together far better than expected.
It is not a reference monitor. Home-cinema purists will still gravitate toward the S95F or LG’s G-series OLEDs for absolute black levels and off-axis uniformity. But for mixed usage — sport, streaming, gaming, the evening news — the Frame Pro delivers a image that feels premium rather than penalised by its lifestyle remit.
The wireless hub that almost works
Samsung’s Wireless One Connect Box is the unsung hero. A slim puck that sits up to ten metres from the screen, it accepts every HDMI, USB and optical connection, then beams video and audio to the TV over a proprietary 60 GHz link. Setup took five minutes: power the box, plug in the sources, pair once. The TV itself needs only a single mains cable. For wall-mounting scenarios, it is transformative.
The catch? Audio switching. Despite a Bose Lifestyle Ultra soundbar connected to the box, the Frame Pro defaulted to its internal speakers at every wake-up, requiring a manual trip to the sound menu. The same quirk plagued the 2021 model with a Samsung soundbar, suggesting an OS-level oversight rather than a partner incompatibility. A minor irritation, but one that nags in daily use.
A curated gallery, not an algorithmic feed
The Samsung Art Store remains the Frame’s soul. For £50 a year (or £5 monthly), subscribers access thousands of works from the MoMA, the Tate, the Met, the Louvre and dozens of other institutions, plus contemporary collections from Vogue, Disney and independent photographers. Crucially, the curation is human. Daria Greene, Samsung’s head of content and curation, describes the philosophy as “decision-making, the way you put your Spotify on in the subway and decide what song you’re in the mood for.” The result is a rotating roster of themed collections — “Morning Light,” “Portrait Photography,” “Abstract Calm” — that feels editorial rather than algorithmic.
The free tier offers 30 rotating pieces monthly plus 70 permanent images, but the depth of the paid library justifies the subscription for anyone who treats the wall as a living gallery. The only friction: no search function. Hunting for a specific Monet or a particular colour palette means browsing collections until serendipity strikes.
The competition closes in
Samsung no longer owns the category. Hisense’s 2026 Canvas Series (£998 for 65 inches) brings Mini LED and a magnetic teak frame at nearly half the price, though its art library is threadbare. LG’s new Gallery TV (£899) matches the matte screen, removable bezels and Mini LED spec while offering 4,500 works via its Gallery+ subscription — untested here, but spec-for-spec the closest rival yet. Amazon’s Ember Artline (£625 for 55 inches) undercuts everyone with a free 2,000-piece library and ten included frame colours, but lacks the institutional partnerships that give the Frame its curatorial weight.
Each alternative makes sense for a different buyer. The Frame Pro remains the choice for those who want the complete package: display technology that competes with flagship tellies, a wireless installation that actually works, and an art ecosystem that feels like a museum membership rather than a screensaver folder.
Why it Matters
The Frame Pro matters because it refuses the false choice between technology and taste. As screens colonise every wall in the home, the demand for devices that earn their visual keep will only intensify. Samsung’s decade-long head start shows in the details — the matte coating that survives direct sunlight, the magnetic bezels that align perfectly, the human-curated art library that surprises rather than serves. The rivals are closing fast on price and specs, but the Frame Pro still feels like the only art TV designed by people who actually live with art. That distinction, for now, justifies the premium.
