Samsung Takes On Ikea With Musical Photo Frame
Samsung Music Frame is a traditional picture frame with a speaker Inside.
- Ty was nominated for Best New Journalist at the Australian IT Journalism awards, but he has only ever won one thing. As a youth, he was awarded a free session for the photography studio at a local supermarket.
If there's one thing we learned as youngsters it's that if you want to cover something ugly -- like a crack in the wall -- put a poster over it. LG's ArtCool air conditioners use this concept, and Ikea's Symfonisk picture frame does too. Samsung's new HW-LS60D Music Frame, showing at CES 2024, builds on Ikea's idea by hiding an Internet of Things hub in there as well.
The Music Frame can be used as a standalone Bluetooth or Wi-Fi speaker, or it can pair with Samsung TVs and soundbars for use as a TV speaker, surround speaker or, unusually, a subwoofer. The speaker delivers "excellent Dolby Atmos sound" though with a stereo-sounding mix of two woofers, two tweeters and two midrange drivers.
Unlike the photo frames you give your Gran for her birthday, there's no LCD display in the Music Frame -- just an empty frame. The product enables you to fit a photograph or printed image inside it, or buy an accompanying Art Panel (which is a "diasec" matte acrylic plate). Pricing and availability for the HW-LS60D is yet to be announced.
Update, Jan. 8, 4:16 p.m. ET: Added Music Frame illustration and clarified that the Art Panel is a separate product.