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Samsung unveils first curved OLED TV

Samsung is flaunting its curves with a new 55-inch OLED HDTV, Samsung's first curved TV.

Richard Trenholm Former Movie and TV Senior Editor
Richard Trenholm was CNET's film and TV editor, covering the big screen, small screen and streaming. A member of the Film Critic's Circle, he's covered technology and culture from London's tech scene to Europe's refugee camps to the Sundance film festival.
Expertise Films, TV, Movies, Television, Technology
Richard Trenholm
2 min read

In a move that would make Gok Wan proud, Samsung is flaunting its curves: the new 55-inch OLED HDTV is also Samsung's first curved TV.

Why would you want a curved TV? Because when you watch a flat TV, the edges are further away from you than the middle. But sit in front of a curvacious TV, and all of the screen is the same distance from your eyes.

Does that matter? The folks at Samsung clearly think so -- in fact, they think it matters enough that you might fork out 15 million Koreanquids. That's somewhere around £8,565, directly converted.

The new TV is available in Korea. There's no word yet on when or even if the curved OLED TV will come to the UK.

The curved TV is also a 3D model, so you can watch 3D films, sport and TV. Even if you're not interested in 3D, the ability to project 3D images on the same screen means two people can watch completely different things at the same time.

No, seriously. It's dead clever. It's called Multi View. Say you and a bud are chilling out playing a two-player game; pop on a pair of 3D glasses each and, instead of splitting the screen in half like you're used to, you both get to see your game and only your game, taking up the whole screen. Or you can watch the football while your other half watches TOWIE, with headphones built into the glasses meaning you both hear the correct audio for what you're seeing. See? Told you it's clever.

Like all Samsung's new flashy televisions, the curved OLED model comes with what the Korean company calls its Evolution Kit. That means the TV can be upgraded in future so you can benefit from forthcoming cool features without having to fork out for a whole new telly.

At the launch of the curved gogglebox, Samsung also showed off its 55- and 65-inch F9000 UHD TV, making ultra highdefinition 4K more affordable. Slightly.

Are curves the future of television? Tell me your thoughts in the comments or throw me a curve ball on our Facebook page.