Although Amazon first unveiled its rival Samsung Frame TV at CES, it is now available for pre-order.
Covered by Ember Artline, how does Amazon’s new TV lifestyle compare to the Samsung Frame? Before our review, we compared the initial specs of the Ember Artline and the four-star Samsung Frame and noted the main differences between the two below.
Once you’re done here, be sure to visit our roundup of the best TVs, the best cheap TVs and the best 4K TVs, for your next investment.
Price and Availability
At the time of writing, Amazon’s Ember Artline is available for pre-order and will officially launch on April 22 in the US and Canada, and May 7 in the UK. Germany is expected to see the TV later in May, although an exact date has not yet been announced.
The Ember Artline has a starting RRP of $899.99/£949.99 for the 55-inch model.
In comparison, the Samsung Frame is available to buy now and has a starting price of £799/$899 for the smallest 43-inch model. While the Ember Artline is only available in two sizes (55 and 65 inches), the Samsung Frame comes as a 43-, 50-, 55- or 65-inch screen.
Ember Artline supports Alexa+
Naturally as it is an Amazon TV, the Ember Artline is equipped with Alexa – especially the recently launched Alexa +. However, we must disclaim that Alexa+ is only free for Prime members, no non-Prime subscribers will have to spend £19.99 to access the voice assistant.
Alexa+ is essentially a smarter, more conversational and personalized upgrade over the original Alexa. While we’re yet to provide our full review on the voice assistant, our Home Tech editor Dave Ludlow offered his initial thoughts on Alexa+ and noted where it excels and still struggles.
Alternatively, Alexa+ offers hands-free control of the TV, and lets you search for programs, get personalized recommendations and have natural conversations too.
Fire TV vs Tizen
Another major difference between the Ember Artline and the Samsung Frame is their respective operating systems. While Ember Artline runs on Amazon’s Fire TV, the Samsung Frame is powered by Samsung’s Tizen OS instead.
Both smart TV systems offer access to streaming apps like Netflix, BBC iPlayer, Disney Plus and more, and they have their pros and cons. For example, while Tizen is not an easy way to navigate, it does offer recommendations and there is now an option to create multiple profiles for your family. In comparison, although the Fire TV is intuitive, we found that it has a tendency to promote Amazon Prime content – which is somewhat understandable.
Ember Artline includes artwork at no additional cost
The main selling point of the two TVs here is that they can display artwork on their screens when not in use. Samsung Frame has a dedicated art mode that presents a photo gallery and even your photos on the screen. Plus, with Pantone-certified color and the promise of no screen burn-in, images not only look vibrant and true to life but you can keep the screen on without worry.
However, while Samsung Frame offers you a selection of free pieces to display, you’ll need to pay to access the full library of over 3500 artworks.
In comparison, at least at the time of writing, Ember Artline offers its collection of 2000 pieces of art at no additional cost. As with Samsung, you can also choose to display your photos in Ember Artline, through the Amazon Photos app.
The Samsung Frame has many ports
You can never have too many ports, and the Samsung Frame offers the best selection overall. Next to its four HDMIs, there are three USBs (two A and one C), an Ethernet port and an optical port as well.
In comparison, the Ember Artline has a little less, with three HDMI 2.0, one HDMI with eARC, one USB Type-3 and an optical audio port.
However, the Ember Artline benefits from Wi-Fi 6 support while the Samsung Frame sports the older Wi-Fi 5.
Both are 4K QLED displays
Both the Ember Artline and Samsung Frame are 4K, QLED displays, and are packed with many premium screen technologies, including HDR. In addition, both displays have an anti-glare finish that reduces reflections. In our review of the 2022 Samsung Frame, we found that the screen did an excellent job of keeping displays on track, so we expect the latest model to do the same.
Otherwise, both the Ember Artline and the Samsung Frame have a motion sensor that can wake or turn off the screen accordingly.
Finally, it’s important to note that both TVs here have custom-made frames, or bezels, that are sold separately.
Preliminary Decision
Both the Amazon Ember Artline and the Samsung Frame are impressive lifestyle TVs. Since we are yet to review the Ember Artline, we will hold off on giving a full review for now. However, if you already own the best Amazon Echo devices, enjoy using Alexa with hands-free controls and don’t want to pay extra for artwork, then the Ember Artline seems like a good option.
On the other hand, if you need more ports, ignore TizenOS and want a wider choice of screen sizes, then the Samsung Frame might suit you better.
We will update this once we update the Ember Artline.