Samsung unveils TV that can flip vertically for watching smartphone content

midian182

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WTF?! Do you ever look at your TV and think “I really wish it rotated 90 degrees so I could watch smartphone content in its native portrait mode?” The answer is almost certainly no, but that hasn’t stopped Samsung from unveiling a television that caters to this unusual desire.

Part of its 2019 TV lineup, the Sero is a 43-inch quantum-dot TV that’s part of Samsung’s Serif and Frame QLED family. The company claims it came up with the idea by studying the habits of millennials, who it says love their smartphones.

The idea is for users to view standard TV content on the Sero in a landscape orientation, but they can flip into the vertical mode and mirror their smartphones to watch portrait-aspect videos from the likes of Snapchat, Instagram Stories, and TikTok.

Samsung added that the TV's portrait mode could also be suitable for viewing photos and visiting “shopping sites with comments on the bottom.” The company also argues this orientation might improve web browsing in general.

"Samsung will continue introducing screens that respect personal consumer tastes," said display president Han Jong-hee.

Other Sero specs include 4.1 channel audio, a built-in 60-watt speaker system, and a microphone for operating Samsung’s AI assistant Bixby and issuing voice commands. It's also likely to be 4K. Like The Frame, The Sero can show images, widgets, and other information when in standby mode.

The Sero is set to launch in Korea next month for 1.9 million won, which is around $1,600 (not the $16,000 some sites reported). No word on whether it’ll ever make its way to the US.

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Actually the answer is yes. But then I'm a photographer and wish I could flip my TV into portrait mode so pictures captured in portrait mode can be properly displayed without the massive black borders in landscape mode.
 
Yet another "feature" nobody has ever asked for. Honestly, who comes up with these ideas and assumes everybody wants it?
 
Yet another "feature" nobody has ever asked for. Honestly, who comes up with these ideas and assumes everybody wants it?

Someone's assuming that someone assumes everyone wants it. HYPE HYPE HYPE

...nobody wants it, Samsung is just taking risks because, why not...

On the other hand, I do have a couple monitors in portrait mode. It's more common than you might think, but for a TV? No thanks.
 
"The company claims it came up with the idea by studying the habits of millennials, who it says love their smartphones."
I don't think you need to say "it says". It's a fact that they love their smartphones. If it was possible for them to marry their smartphone they'd be doing it in droves.

I'm looking at this TV and thinking, ok, maybe somebody could find a use for a rotating TV. But how do you plug cables into it (perhaps via a hub on the back which doesn't move). And where does the soundbar or TV box go because that stand blocks everything. I also wonder how good a 4.1 channel 60w speaker system will sound in portrait mode.
 
From a standard point of view, this looks stupid. But then, you think of retro gamers who like old arcade vertical shooters and suddenly this doesn't sound THAT bad. Just for those cases, of course.
 
Actually the answer is yes. But then I'm a photographer and wish I could flip my TV into portrait mode so pictures captured in portrait mode can be properly displayed without the massive black borders in landscape mode.
And what %age of your photos are shot in portrait orientation? If it's that many, just buy a friggin $50 mount.
 
And what %age of your photos are shot in portrait orientation? If it's that many, just buy a friggin $50 mount.

I have a few wall mounts, none of them support the weight of the TV if a TV were to be mounted in portrait mode. Seems like ones that support a TV with the ability to rotate from landscape to portrait all cost at least $299+

Rotating Portrait/Landscape Articulating TV Wall Mount for Samsung UN40F6300AFXZA LED TVRotates 90 Degree

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HAL4DW8/?tag=httpwwwtechsp-20
 
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