Are you looking for another television? We've reviewed the Samsung The Frame (2020) in the 32in screen, which would be worth a look if you want quality visuals when the TV is switched on or off.
We've been fortunate to have this television, and one of its coordinating bezels, in our home for the past few weeks. It's even been tried out with the Samsung HW-S60T Soundbar, so all bases of the television viewing experience are covered. But, of course, this means we've been assessing just how good the picture and sound quality are (with and without the soundbar), the ease of setup and use and how it looks.
Keep scrolling to see what we thought about it, then check out our best 32 inch TV guide for more top buys.
Samsung The Frame (2020) 32in: Key specs
- No. of pixels: 1,920 x 1,080
- Screen type: QLED
- Smart TV platform: Tizen OS
- HDR?: Yes
- Ports: 2x HDMI; 2x USB
- Additional screen sizes available: 75in, 65in, 55in, 50in, 43in
Samsung The Frame, Samsung Customizable Bezel and Samsung HW-S60T arriving for reviewing
Samsung The Frame (2020) 32in: Set-up
The Samsung The Frame and bezel arrived in two separate cardboard boxes, securely packed with compartmental packaging. They were both very lightweight, so you can easily maneuver them into the room where you would like to set them up, and they are also easy to unpack.
Setting up the Samsung The Frame 2020 – no bezel
It was straightforward to set up on our television stand. The supplied feet were fitted easily into place and can be orientated landscape or portrait, should that suit your needs. The feet can be screwed into either tilt back slightly or stand up vertically, depending on which viewing angle is preferable to you.
The Frame is designed to appear like artwork and is more suited to wall mounting, and can be fixed flush to the wall to truly mimic a picture frame. There is a gallery of a half-a-dozen-or-so images, which you can access for free. Alternatively, you can buy more from the Samsung Art Store for £3.99 per month or upload and exhibit your photography for all to see via Samsung's SmartThings app. Admittedly, we did not test uploading our artwork or accessing the Art Store because the television was soon to go off to its following reviewers' homes. Still, all the comments we've seen on retailer sites have been positive about this aspect, so there's no apparent reason it shouldn't work for you.
Another feature that Samsung has provided is a clever way to move the hubbub of cables that would need to find a way into the back of the TV: their OneConnect system is a single (albeit chunky) cable leading to a small box that provides the ports into which you can plug your cables. This leaves you free to place the OneConnect box and associated wires in a more discreet location.
Once the cables are all installed, on the first switch-on, the on-screen instructions are easy to follow to get the TV set up and connected to your smartphone. After that, it was seamless to connect to Samsung's SmartThings app, which you can use to mirror and play your favorite videos, music, and photos on the screen.
Samsung The Frame (2020) 32in: Picture Quality
The picture quality when watching live TV is excellent. There are a few pre-set modes (we found “Natural” to be the most versatile), but many display settings are available in the advanced menu for you to tweak and adjust to your heart’s content.
The picture is crisp and even when streaming via the inbuilt apps or casting from a smartphone, although it is sometimes a little dark, even with brightness on its highest setting.
We also connected via HDMI to a PC. Although this is not intended for use as a PC monitor, we found it still performed well.
Samsung The Frame (2020) 32in: Sound
The sound quality for general TV watching is excellent. However, there are limitations due to how thin the TV body is (a challenge for all modern flatscreens). Still, The Frame is entirely suitable unless you are looking for a more immersive cinematic experience.
And if you are looking for a heftier sonic experience? Look no further than the Samsung Soundbar S60T. Paired with The Frame, it will provide you with rich bass and an engaging stereo sound in a simple modern package. Read our Samsung HW-S60T Soundbar review for deeper insight.
Samsung The Frame (2020) 32in: Design
Out of the box, the Frame looks like a typical modern flatscreen TV, with a high-quality black metal built-in bezel 11mm wide on all sides, so not the thinnest available. However, this becomes apparent when using the customizable bezel system that allows you to change its look to suit your interior decor. Bezels are sold separately and designed to look like a modern slim picture frame.
We tried beige, which is similar in tone to a light beech color and has a subtle wood effect, but there are six other colors to choose from – Black, Brown, Vivid Lemon, Platinum, Neutral Pink, or White – to suit your chosen decor. After some minor adjustments, we were impressed that they fit into place with virtually no visible join at the corners.
And what if you change your interior look? You can just unclip the magnetic bezels and attach one of the seven available colors. Simple.
Anything else?
The Frame comes pre-installed with many popular apps, including Netflix and Apple TV. More can be installed via Samsung's intuitive Tizen operating system. It also comes with Samsung TV Plus, a subscription-free service that can have you watching from a variety of channels as soon as you switch on.
And a little quirk which we noticed when clicking around is that the One Remote Control can operate and navigate other Samsung televisions – we have a Samsung TV as our main television, so we were baffled to see it turn on when we went to control The Frame until we cottoned on to what was happening...
Samsung The Frame (2020) 32in: Our verdict
The Frame, along with The Serif, The Sero, and now the Terrace, fall under Samsung's category of "Lifestyle TVs," which give us an alternative from the large black rectangles sitting in the corner waiting to be switched on again.
The 32in is the smallest size Frame model available and would be an ideal purchase if you are looking for a second TV in, say, a bedroom or kitchen, and where it is not the room's central focus.
While it performs to a very good level in such settings, if you are looking for a more dramatic, immersive viewing experience and are not concerned about the TV looking like a TV when not being used. There are other more appropriate options out there for you.